Christian Koss's grand slam home run in the second inning overcame a 3-0 deficit and sparked the Giants lineup out of their doldrums and a win in an unexpectedly high scoring game. Key Lines:
Mike Yastrzemski RF- 3 for 4, 2 2B, BB, SB(5), R. BA= .284. It's pretty sad when your leadoff batter gets on base 4 times with 2 doubles and a SB and only scores 1 run because your #2 and #3 hitters got a combined 0 for 8 with 2 walks. In the long run, though, a healthy and productive YtY is a very good thing.
Jung Hoo Lee CF- 2 for 5, HR(5), R, 3 RBI. BA= .288. Like most Giants hitters, Lee was in a bit of a slump. His 3-run HR in the 8'th inning tacked on some insurance runs and sent the Hoo Lee Gans in the upper deck down the LF line into a frenzied celebration on Korean Heritage Night, no less.
Wilmer Flores DH- 2 for 4, BB, 2 R. BA= .250. Wilmer's single to lead off the second inning helped set up Christian Koss's big blow.
Willy Adames SS- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(5), BB, 2R, 2 RBI. BA= .225. Kruk and Kuip went on endlessly again talking about how Adames is working on shortening his leg kick. At least it seems to be working. His slash line for May is .265/.333/.531. He is 4 for 13 with 2 doubles and a HR in his last 3 games.
Lamonte Wade Jr- 2 for 5, R. BA= .157. LMWJ returned to the lineup and hit the ball hard at least 4 times which got him 2 hits.
Christian Koss 2B- 2 for 4, HR(1). BA= .241. The consensus player of the game. Koss came up with one out and the bases loaded in the second inning after Robbie Ray gave up a 3-spot in the first inning. I was hoping for a sac fly or a single but Christian had other ideas. He took a breaking ball for a strike then got a knee-high, middle-in fastball and lined it over the LF wall for his first career HR and a grand slam to boot. He joins an illustrious list of Giants whose first career HR's were grand slams including Bobby Bonds, Brandon Crawford and forever Giants Brian Dallimore and Kelby Tomlinson.
Robbie Ray LHP- 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 9 K's. ERA= 3.04. Ray settled down after the first-inning 3-spot and finished with a Quality Start and thanks to Christian Koss he got credit for the Win to run his record to 6-0.
The Giants go for a series win tomorrow afternoon with Jordan Hicks RHP facing Eduardo Rodriguez LHP.
Koss doesn't deserve the flak some of the fans give him. I think he's gotten better the more he's become acclimated to the show. He's making Wisely a DFA candidate at this point when Schmitt and Fitz returns.
ReplyDeleteChristian Koss has done a lot of little things well, steady fielder, good and fast baserunner, bunts. He's proved to be a tough out in clutch situations. Batting .275 over his last 15 games when he's gotten more regular playing time. He'll probably go back to his former utility role when Fitz comes off the IL but there is no reason to keep Wisely in that role over Koss.
DeleteI'll bet Verlander wishes he had been slooted into the rotation where and Robbie Ray was...he's have 5 wins by now!
ReplyDeleteRay has pitched quite a bit better.
DeleteFWIW, Christian Koss was (apparently) purchased by Farhan from the Boston Red Sox in 2024, and, on the basis of his performance with Richmond, he was invited to 2025 Spring Training by Buster where he beat out LHB Wisely for the Opening Day roster by batting .341 with a .938 OPS and one homer over 28 spring games..
ReplyDeleteNice story of perseverance and how sometimes a change of scenery can make a big difference in a player's life and career.
DeleteFZ did find quite a few complementary players off the waiver wires although there was a lot of chaff that got blown through and away in the process. Zack Minasian was FZ's Director of Pro Scouting so hopefully he got a pretty good idea what FZ methods were, what worked and what didn't work so well.
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