Alex Cobb struggled with his command and used up 86 pitches while giving up 2 runs in 3.1 IP but the bullpen picked him up allowing just additional run over the next 5.2 innings. Key Lines:
Lamonte Wade Jr 1B- 2 for 3, BB. BA= .278. LMWJ just keeps getting better. He's hitting .348 over his last 7 games and .333 over his last 15.
Michael Conforto RF- 3 for 4. BA= .222. Conforto's resurgence continues. Hitting .440 over his last 7 games. He leads the team in HR's.
Casey Schmitt SS- 1 for 4. BA= .438. Let's see. The Phillies SP was a very good RHP, yet Schmitt was the starter at SS. Hmm......
Joey Bart C- 1 for 3, 2B. BA= .227. Bart drove in a run and scored a run. Pretty good line, right? The double was a pop fly down the RF line that the 1B was looking for way out in foul territory and dropped about a foot inside the foul line. There were 2 outs so Schmitt was running all the way from 1B and came all the way around to score. LMWJ drove Bart in from 2B with an oppo field single. Bart crossed the plate standing up and barely escaped the tag on the play at the plate. Weird sequence but hey, it's about time some of those went the Giants way.
Alex Cobb RHP- 3.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 5 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 1.94. As you can see, Cobb didn't have his best command by any stretch. The offense and bullpen picked him up.
Bullpen- 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K's. Taylor Rogers LHP(4.73) got the last 2 outs in the 4'th inning and the first out in the 5'th. John Brebbia RHP(4.96) went 1.2 scoreless frames with with 3 K's and Tyler Rogers RHP(2.45) pitched 2 scoreless innings to set up Doval with a Save Opp and a 2-run lead, which he needed.
The Giants try for a sweep tomorrow afternoon but have a dilemma due to no great choices for SP a day game after leaning heavily on the bullpen for this game including 1.2 IP from their standard Opener in these situations, Brebbia. I say hand the ball to Tristan Beck RHP. He's rested and has pitched well enough to deserve a shot. Let's see what the kid is made of.
I was at the game and the difference in the game was defense. The Phillies for the second game in a row look awful in the field. The Bart popup should have been an out and was the difference in the game. Schwarber in LF looks to be getting late jumps on the ball. Castellanos in RF is a liability. The younger Clemens should not be at first base. Meanwhile the Giants played good defense. Casey Schmidt and Thairo turned a couple key double plays that helped them get out of jams. Phillies offense is tough, but they left 12 men on base. Other note: Yaz looked rusty, lots of swing and misses against Wheeler and Soto (99MPH fastballs).
ReplyDeleteAgree YtY looked rusty. Too bad about the injury because he was getting into a sweet groove at the plate just as it happened. Hopefully he can get back to that quickly. That lefty Soto looked very nasty. Why don't the Giants have 1 or 2 of those?
DeleteCastellanos has been a defensive liability his whole career though not as bad in recent years. For comparative sake ran cumulative DRS from 1980 through yesterday. In negative DRS he's in a 3-way tie for 36th worst fielder in that 43+ year range. And it's not just DRS. he's -56 in OAA which is 2nd worst in the short-history of that stat.
DeleteAnd you know who is third with -54 OAA? Kyle Schwarber!!!
This game exemplifies how defense, routinely overlooked, matters. Good defense saves runs, bad defense gives them up. Giants SHOULD have lost 3-2 had the Phillies defense done its job. Instead the Giants won 4-3.
Looks like Stripling's name appeared overnight as the projected SP for today. Fingers crossed he's found something to turn his season around.
ReplyDeleteStripling nee Manaea give up ALL the runs. Giants win anyway
ReplyDelete