The Giants showed fortitude and persistence in a see-saw game they could have easily let slip away. Key Lines:
Lamonte Wade Jr. 1B/LF- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .216. In the Giants half of the first inning, LMWJ smoked a ball off the RF wall that caromed straight back to Starling Marte holding him to a single. Later his hit a soft liner down the RF line the fell in for a double. Hard hit: Single. Soft hit: Double. As Vin Scully would say, "go figure!"
Joc Pederson DH- 1 for 3, BB. BA= .250. Pederson was activated from the IL before the game with Heliot Ramos OF going back to AAA Sacramento. The move paid immediate dividends as Joc singled in LMWJ from 3B with a 2-out single in the first inning to get the Giants on the board first.
Mike Yastrzemski LF/CF- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .269. YtY doubled in Joc Pederson from 1B for the winning run after Joc reached base on a walk. I think we would all agree that if YtY can hit .269 and play CF against RHP's, he's an asset to the team(checks notes: He's on a pace for about 2.8 fWAR).
Thairo Estrada 2B- 1 for 3, HR(4), HBP. BA= .329. Estrada crushed a HR to LF leading off the Giants second inning. He was already at 0.9 fWAR in just 82 PA before today's game. He joins J. D. Davis, Michael Conforto and YtY with 4 HR's to lead the team.
Ross Stripling RHP- 3.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, GO/AO= 5/2. ERA= 6.89. Stripling looked a little better than in his previous starts but was living dangerously giving up a lot of soft hits. He loaded the bases twice. He has shown a tendency to fall apart quickly so Kap was probably wise to pull him with 1 out and the bases loaded in the 4'th inning. Taylor Rogers LHP came in and got two flyballs which should have plated just 1 run but Conforto dropped the first one to extend the inning and allow another run to score on the next flyball. Rogers then ended the inning with a K of Starling Marte. Pretty good job considering the error and inheriting a 1-out, bases loaded situation.
Tyler Rogers RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 0.79. Rogers gave up a game-tying HR to Francisco Alvarez C but he also kept the Giants in the game for 2 big middle innings.
Camilo Doval RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(2). ERA= 3.00. Doval barely broke a sweat as he buzzed through the 9'th inning like a dominant Closer should for a much-needed Save.
Alex Cobb RHP tries to keep the winning ways going tomorrow evening against the Cardinals and Jordan Montgomery LHP. Will we see Austin Slater OF activated with the lefty going?
I enjoyed the game and your summation.
ReplyDeleteI do not know how Alvarez hit that HR of Rogers. It was a good pitch and it looked like he swung up to hit the ball.
ReplyDeleteWell, early performance notwithstanding, I suppose there is a reason Alvarez was the consensus preseason #1 overall prospect.
DeleteI noticed Joc looks noticeably thinner than last season. He actually might be in the best shape of his life.
ReplyDeleteDoval finally has a 'drama free' save!
ReplyDeleteI would rather have a true CFer and Yaz moved to RF, eliminating his range liability while using his strong arm and exceptional defensive jump to increase his worth to the Giants. Problem is that we have two FA corner OFers in Conforto & Haniger, plus Sabol plus Pederson plus Ruf plus Wade... So there is no room for him at the corner. Which is a shame because, defensively, he's probably the best corner-ofer we have.
ReplyDeleteAnd I bring that up because defense continues to be a problem. Two errors yesterday and the Giants are now the leader in errors/game. So while Tyler Rodgers saved the day, relievers aren't always going to bail the Giants out and we're going to pay in L's for all those errors.
Over the long haul Conforto will be a much better hitter than YtY and they need Haniger's RH bat to balance the lineup. YtY is only an asset if he can play CF which he does adequately. As for the errors, as Ben Kaspick points out, 5 of them have been pitcher fielding errors and 3 have been catcher interference, all buy Sabol. Giants D grades out much better with other metrics besides Defensive Runs Saved.
Delete...but yes, they have been hurt by errors. Hopefully some of those are due to SSS and will regress over time.
DeleteIf Stripling continues to have problems pitching deep into games, maybe they should consider starting either Hjellie and Beck, and have Stripling or Junis ready in middle relief. The youngsters gain valuable experience or hard knocks starting games and Kap can evaluate their future role with the team.
ReplyDeleteThe Giants are really hard to watch! I'm going to bed before I have a seizure.
ReplyDeleteYou might have given up on this one too early.
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