The Giants lineup wore their hitting shoes on another cold, windy night in Philly to pick up Robbie Ray's wild start and the bullpen shut it down over the last 5 innings. Key Lines:
Mike Yastrzemski RF- 2 for 4, 2B, 2 BB, 2 RBI. BA= .314. I am pretty sure this is the best start to a season of YtY's career. Stay healthy!
Willy Adames SS- 1 for 5, BB, R, RBI. BA= .205. Adames is still swinging at just about everything but at least he is 6 for 22(.272) over his last 5 games. Maybe trying a little too hard to prove he deserved the contract?
Jung Hoo Lee CF- 2 for 5, 2B, SF, 2 R, 2 RBI. BA= .338. Melvin raised a lot of eyebrows when he installed Lee as the #3 hitter in the lineup but that move is as responsible for the Giants early season success as anything. Oh, and he's already exceeded every major counting stat from last season in less than half the games and PA's.
Matt Chapman 3B- 2 for 4, BB, R. BA= .222. Chappy is 5 for 12 over his last 3 games.
Tyler Fitzgerald 2B- 3 for 5, 2B, 2 R, RBI. BA= .314. Fitz took some batting lessons from Barry Bonds and wow! Have they paid off! He's on fire going 11 for 23 with 3 2B, 3B, HR over his last 6 games.
Robbie Ray LHP- 4 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 5 BB, 8 K's. ERA= 4.19. The Giants lineup staked Ray to a 4-run lead before he took the mound. He promptly gave 2 runs back without allowing a ball out of the infield. He gave the other 2 back in the 4'th inning on Bryce Harper's HR. Out of 23 batters faced, 14 had either a walk, strikeout or home run. I guess that's what you call a 3-true outcomes pitcher? Oh, and the MLB pitcher to walk 5 batters while striking out 8 in 4 IP? That would be Robbie Ray!
Bullpen: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. Lou Trivino RHP really gets the credit here for stopping the bleeding and giving the lineup breathing room to build the lead to 7-4. Camilo Doval RHP looked great in a scoreless frame and Spencer Bivens RHP brought it home with two more scoreless frames in the 8'th and 9'th innings.
The Win improved the Giants overall record to 13-5 and gave them a 2-1 lead in the 4 game series and a 4-2 record on a road trip against two daunting teams and extremely difficult weather conditions.
Jordan Hicks RHP tries for a series win tomorrow in a 1:05 PM PDT start facing Christopher Sanchez LHP.
They going to get through 17 games in 17 days with the opening day roster? Every game's 1st few innings seems like it's going to explode bullpen, but starters have been gritty & are all now stretched to throwing >90 pitches, and relievers are all-biz every one of them now sub-4 ERA (two of them still at zero)
ReplyDeleteYaz came out pretty hot in 2020....but, that was weird year, for sure. Love seeing Fitz come alive.
ReplyDeleteWould have taken a split in Philly coming into the series, in a heartbeat. Thursday just feels like playin' with house money.
I would note that both Adames and Chapman have been historically slow to start the season, and heat up in summer throughout their careers. So I'm not concerned.
ReplyDeleteTwo walks and two strikeouts for Wade. He did score a run. They do seem to be getting a boost by mixing Schmitt in at 1B, though.
ReplyDeleteFlores has been everything that could have been asked of him.
ReplyDeleteWhat will the Giants do when Encarnación is ready?
2 RHB DH's...
Wilmer ices his knee every day. One never knows how long it will hold up.
DeleteI was just going to say my heart stopped for a second when Wilmer fouled that ball off his knee last night.
DeleteI wonder about the bullpen getting overused. I want Melvin to pull starters out specifically Verlander, Ray and Hicks when their pitch count gets up or they are getting hit too much. The 2022 Yankees are an example of overuse of their bullpen. The 2022 Yankees bullpen started red hot, but then faded due to diminished velocity and injuries. Yes, most relievers only pitch one inning every three days or so, but they do throw at a higher velocity. The Giants have backup guys in the minors like Hjelle, Lucchesi and a guy I never heard of, Trent Harris. Carson Wisenhunt could be a rotation option if one of the starters needs a break.
DeleteWilmer is who we think he is. He’s always been a guy capable of power surges. A lot of his success with us in the past was enhanced by platooning. There’s a reason why he’s a platoon player. Can’t play defense and he’s just a steaky inconsistent power hitter. Obviously he’s been a good pick up for us because we have had him dirt cheap and he’s produced very well for someone who’s basically been a bench player his whole career with us.
DeleteAdames is overrated and good but not THaT good, but I still supported the signing because he’s still super young. If you look at his career stats there are lots of positives and negatives. Positives: he can take a walk (but not with us this year so far), he’s got some power (not as much as you think but still has some), he plays a premium position, and he’s still young and in his prime. Now for the negatives. Defense isn’t that good, not known for stealing bases (though he randomly did it last year with all the new rules to help with upping stolen base numbers), not much of an average hitter and not known for having low strike outs. So obviously we over paid for him but at the same time the price could have been even higher. I still support the signing because it gives the Giants another solid piece to build around, which is super important to winning for many reasons. As long as Adames stays healthy throughout his career with us, then I think it works out. Just stay healthy and be solid. This guy isn’t a yearly all-star caliber player. But he’s very solid. As we know, the price for free agents is crazy now so that was the price to pay to get a solid player in his prime who’s capable of one or two all-star seasons.
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