The Giants jumped out to an early lead against Antonio Sensatela RHP and got 7 shutout innings from Robbie Ray and two more from Hayden Birdsong. Key Lines:
Second Inning: Wilmer Flores DH(.239) led off with a drive to the wall in Triples Alley. I nearly had a heart attack when Kuip made it sound like Wilmer was going to try for a triple but Wilmer slowed up way before he got to 2B and just took a wide turn. Whew! Heliot Ramos LF(.252) reached on a swinging bunt which got Wilmer to 3B. Then, Lamonte Wade Jr 1B(.131) smoked yet another scorcher down 1B but this one deflected off the glove of a diving Michael Toglia(1B) and went down into foul territory. Wilmer trotted home with Heliot and LMWJ ending up at 3B and 2B respectively. Heliot scored on a long Sac Fly to RF by Sam Huff C and LMWJ came home on a Wild Pitch that was more of a passed ball. Voila! The Giants actually had the first lead of the game and a 3-run one to boot!
Matt Chapman 3B- 1 for 4, HR(6). BA= .202. After he struck out on a weak wave at a high-outside breaking ball to end the first inning, my friend and I texted that his swings weren't looking good lately and yes, he's in a slump. well, hanging curveballs in the middle of the strike zone have a way of breaking slumps and Chapman guaranteed the Rockies would need more than 4 runs to win this one by sending it deep into the LF bleachers with one out in the third inning. He also made his usual assortment of fantastic defensive plays.
Robbie Ray LHP- 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K's, 8/4 GO/AO. ERA= 3.05. Second game in a row that Ray went 7 innings with 8 K's and he's stepping up into the ace#2 role if not ace#1.
Hayden Birdsong RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 1.00. Birdsong's command seemed a bit off the first couple of batters he faced but that improved and his velocity picked up as he went along. He was electric in the 9'th inning. His 2 innings of work gave the rest of the bullpen a much needed day off so he's providing value in his multi-inning appearances but you still have the feeling this role makes him an underutilized talent. Good problem to have, though.
The Win broke the Giants 3-game losing streak and improved their overall record to 20-13.
Jordan Hicks RHP tries to get his game back on track and keep the winning going in an afternoon start facing Bradley Blalock RHP who has been knocked around in limited MLB experience. The Giants have a long history of faceplanting against pitchers like that.
I thought Huff played well, both offensively and defensively.
ReplyDeleteHuff has earned the right to earn more playing time until Bailey can get over the Mendoza Line
DeleteBirdsong and Harrison are putting the pressure on the Annointed Starters to GET WITH IT!
ReplyDeleteAnd ain't it nice we have pitching depth!
ReplyDeleteSo nice to check the pregame lineup > and seeing the same cast and crew > safe a sub or two.
Richard in Winnipeg
YES, agreed it's nice to see roughly the same lineup every day, but it would be even nicer if 33% of the players weren't below or near the Mendosa line.
ReplyDeleteWith 33% of the Giants games being 1-run games, it's unrealistic to think that they will continue to win nearly ⅔ of them.