Game Wrap 4/23/2023: Giants 4 Cardinals 0

 The Giants offense broke through for 4 runs in the 7'th inning and Alex Cobb pitched a rare complete game shutout for the Giants third win in a row.  Key Lines:

Austin Slater DH- 2 for 3.  BA= .667.  Kind of odd that Slater started at DH but I guess there are only so many RH bats.  If you have them all in the lineup, it doesn't matter if one DH's. 

Mitch Haniger LF- for 2, BB, SF.  BA= .000.  Good to see Haniger finally start his first regular season game for the Giants.  He drove in the Giants first run with a sac fly.  Later he flinched on a flyball at the warning track in what appeared to be a miscommunication with Mike Yastrzemski CF.  Alex Cobb calmly got out of that with a groundball out on Paul Goldschmidt and a strikout of Nolan Gorman.

J. D. Davis 3B- 2 for 4, HR(5).  BA= .304.  Davis followed Haniger's sac fly by hammering a 2-out, 3-run HR to give Alex Cobb and 4-run cushion for the last two innings.  Davis' 5'th HR of the season gives him the team lead and what a revelation he has been!

Mike Yastrzemski CF- 2 for 4.  BA= .280.  YtY had two hits in the game off a lefty who was taking advantage of a very generous strike zone by the home plate ump although one of those hits was a perfectly placed bunt single.  He reached base on an error against the RHP to lead off the 7'th and scored the first run on Haniger's SF.

Joey Bart C- 1 for 3, 2B.  BA= .303.  Bart's hard hit double following YtY reaching base was the key to the inning as it gave the Giants runners at 2'nd and 3'rd with no outs.  Alas, Bart appeared to pull a hammy between first and 2B and came out of the game.  These can be unpredictable but it sure looked like a month on the IL from the way he pulled up and limped off the field.  He did appear to be walking normally in the dugout after coming out so fingers crossed.  It's just so disheartening to see a young player like Bart get hurt just as he's starting to really find traction as a major leaguer.

David Villar 2B- 0 for 3, HBP.  BA= .159.  Villar didn't do much at the plate but showed some agility at 2B particularly in converting a double play on a comebacker to Cobb which Cobb tried to throw into CF. Villar stretched to glove it then had the agility to tag the runner and throw to first in time for the GIDP.  Plus he handled his share of the 17 groundball outs Alex Cobb served up.

Alex Cobb RHP- 9 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K', GO/AO= 17/2.  ERA= 1.91.  That's the way they did it in the good old days!  Get those groundball outs on 1 or 2 pitches, keep the pitch count down and go 9.  109 pitches and Cobb appeared to have plenty left in the tank at the end.  Cobb turned it into the equivalent of an off day for the bullpen.  Q: When was the last CG shutout for a Giants SP?  I honestly don't know.

The Giants have not named a SP for tomorrow's game against Jake Woodford RHP.  We'll see what happens with Bart.  They really can't afford for him to be DTD with just two catchers on the roster.

Churn Watch:  As we mentioned, Mitch Haniger and Austin Slater were activated off the IL. The corresponding moves were Brett Wisely UT getting optioned and Darin Ruf DH going on the IL with wrist inflammation. Oh, and the Giants returned the favor to the A's by trading Sam Long LHP for cash considerations.  I'll take a wild guess that the amount of cash matches the cash consideration for Cal Stevenson OF coming to the Giants.