The Giants offense came alive in the 5'th inning to support a pretty good start from Ross Stripling and get the second half of the season off on a winning note. Key Lines:
Wilmer Flores 1B- 2 for 5, 2B. BA= .279. Wilmer is quietly having a good season. I think the key for him is not letting him get too fatigued and not thinking he has to do it all by himself, which I think he tried to do last season.
Michael Conforto RF- 2 for 4. BA= .240. Looking for a big second half for Conforto.
Patrick Bailey C- 1 for 5, SB(1). BA= .290. Bailey threw out another runner trying to steal then smoked a 2-run single in the pivotal 7'th inning to drive in the tying and winning runs. Then he stole 2B himself and came around to score an insurance run on Luis Matos' bloop single. His sidearm delivery of throws down to 2B are unorthodox but seem to allow him a quicker release time and the natural tail it produces takes the ball right to the front of the bag for an easy drop tag.
Luis Matos CF/LF- 2 for 4, SB(3). BA= .263. Matos also hit a drive to the warning track in L-CF with 2 runners on base. If only he were just a little stronger! That will come naturally with age, but it's also something he may want to work on over the winter.
Ross Stripling RHP- 4.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 6.11. Stripling pitched shutout ball for 4 innings before appearing to tire in the 5'th. I am sure the Giants will be very happy if they can get 5 IP with 2 R or less out of him for most starts in the second half.
Sean Manaea LHP- 0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 0 K. ERA= 5.74. Manaea got Stripling out of his jam in the 5'th inning but then ran into command issues in the 6'th. Finding an effective role for him in the second half is a challenge for Gabe Kapler.
Tyler Rogers RHP pitched 2 shutout innings with the help of several lineouts. Camilo Doval RHP got his 27'th save with the help of a lineout and GIDP so the BABIP gods were friendly to the Giants tonight.
The Win kept the Giants 2.5 games behind the Dodgers, who won, in the NL West, but they closed to 1.5 games behind the second place D'Backs. They maintain their lead for the final Wild Card playoff spot by 0.5 games over the Reds and Brewers who are tied for the NL Central lead.
Alex Cobb RHP, who pitched well in the All-Star Game, gets the start tomorrow evening facing Johan Oviedo RHP.
I enjoy your comments. I am wondering if Wilmer is being auditioned for trade bait the last few weeks. I hope not.
ReplyDelete"Manaea - an effective role for him"
ReplyDeleteCan see the G's sending him with money in a trade package.
him & junis could be DFA candidates once we get some other arms healthy. junis has pretty much been relegated to mop up duties and i think will be DFA'd once disco comes off the IL.
ReplyDelete