The Giants offense overwhelmed Rich Hill LHP and the Pirates in a runaway win. Key Lines:
Austin Slater LF- 3 for 6, 2B, HR(1). BA= .400. Is it too much to attribute the Giants early season struggles against LHP's as due to Slater missing much of it with various injuries? The man is an animal against LHP's. No less than Clayton Kershaw LHP named him as one if the toughest batters for him to face and the numbers back him up. Stay healthy Austin Slater!
J. D. Davis 3B- 2 for 4, BB, SB(1). BA= .278. Davis stays hot and even stole a base.
Mitch Haniger RF- 3 for 5, 2 2B. BA= .255. Haniger also missed most of the first month of the season and it took him a couple of weeks to get his timing down. Between Slater, Davis and Haniger, the Giants should be alright against LHP's going forward.
Casey Schmitt 2B/SS- 3 for 5, 2B. BA= .342. Not sure how long the magic will last but add Schmitt to the list of RH hitters who should help the Giants against LHP's. I will say he raked at every level in the minors and sustained it so maybe he's just that guy.
Patrick Bailey C- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(2). BA= .355. Speaking of magic....The Giants reportedly thought Bailey would hit better in the majors due to struggles adjusting to automatic strike zone in the minors. Maybe they were right? BTW, the HR was hit LH against a RHP. At this point, I think Bailey is the undisputed #1 catcher until he proves he's not much as I want to root for Joey Bart C.
Brandon Crawford SS- 3 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .202. Crawford started against a LHP and delivered from the same side of the plate after getting quite a bit of time off last week. Giants now have the luxury of giving Crawford the rest a veteran SS needs to stay quick and strong.
Anthony DeSclafani RHP- 7 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 3.48. Alex Cobb RHP doesn't want to hear about Tony D's first inning today: Line drive double, Line out to CF, Flyout to LF with runner doubled off 2B. 3 pitches, 3 outs. After the 2'nd inning he was pitching downhill and the Pirates never seriously threatened the Giants lead.
Taylor Rogers LHP pitched a scoreless 8'th frame and Brett Wisely LHP mopped up in the 9'th allowing just a solo HR.
With the Win, the Giants moved into a tie with the Marlins for the #5 and 6 seeds in the playoff race. They will likely remain 4.5 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West as the Dodgers lead the Nationals 6-1 late in their game as of this post.
Churn Watch: Tristan Beck RHP was optioned to AAA Sacramento to make room on the active roster for Austin Slater. That makes sense as Beck pitched 6.1 innings in the past 3 days so would not be available for several days and the pen is relatively rested. Look for Bryce Johnson CF to go down when the Giants need an extra pitcher.
Speaking of the pen and needing an extra pitcher.....John Brebbia RHP opens tomorrow evening's game facing Johan Oviedo RHP.
Bailey is the undisputed #1 catcher as I want to root for Joey Bart – did the "newish" regime see something they didn't like by the 2020 amateur draft? Could they have picked better than Bailey? Maybe Garrett Mitchell or Jordan Walker?
ReplyDeleteRight now Bailey is looking like win for the 2020 draft. I think the decision to draft him had more to do with taking the Best Player Available rather any dislike of Joey Bart. Well managed organizations do not let positional gluts or needs dictate their draft choices.
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