The Giants scored 5 runs over the 7'th and 8'th innings to pull away in what was a see-saw battle. Key Lines:
Mike Yastrzemski RF- 1 for 5, HR(6), 2 Assists, 2 R, RBI. BA= .253. YtY's solo HR in the 5'th inning narrowed the Red Sox lead to 5-4. He also threw out two runners for his 6'th and 7'th assists on the season which puts him in a tie for the MLB lead for RF's.
Heliot Ramos LF- 2 for 4, 2B, 4 RBI. BA= .285. Ramos muffed a relatively easy catch in the first inning to give the Red Sox an unearned run. He more than made up for it with a 2-run single in the 3'rd inning and a 2-run opposite-field double in the 7'th. His fielding adventures aside, years of hard work have turned Ramos into the type of MLB hitter you want up there in big situations.
Willy Adames SS- 2 for 4, HR(9), 2 R, RBI. BA= .208. Adames singled and scored a run in the Gaints 4-run 7'th inning then homered in the 8'th to add an insurance run and make the 9'th inning a non-save situation.
Casey Schmitt 3B- 4 for 4, 2B, HR(4), 3 R, RBI. BA= .286. Speaking of hard work, Casey has been heating up since getting regular playing time with Chapman's injury. Since his BA dipped to .180 on June 8 he went 13 for 37(.351) coming into today's game. The 4 for 4 made it 17 for 41(.415). Although he's had hot streaks in the past, the quality of his AB's has improved remarkably with dramatically lower swings at pitches outside the zone. I could see him taking over at 2B once Chapman returns.
Tyler Fitzgerald 2B- 0 for 2, 2 Sac, RBI. BA= .230. Speaking of 2B, Fitzgerald's bat has gone ice cold but he executed a couple of sacrifice bunts. He advanced two runners in the third inning which contributed to a 2-run rally and the a perfect safety squeeze to score Willy Adames in the 7'th.
Robbie Ray LHP- 5 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K's. BA= .283. Ray seemed to recover well from the unearned run in the first inning but then gave up a 3-spot on a pair of home runs in the 5'th inning.
Spencer Bivens RHP gave up a solo HR in the 6'th inning. Erik Miller LHP, Tyler Rogers RHP and Randy Rodriguez RHP pitched scoreless frames as the Giants pulled away in the late innings ultimately making it a non-save situation.
The Giants get a rare day off at home to regroup before the Marlins come in for a 3-game series to close out the homestand. Justin Verlander RHP is expected back from paternity leave to start Tuesday against Cal Quantrill RHP.
Bring Matos up and play him! Lee could use some support, too!
ReplyDeleteSchmitt’s June numbers are encouraging, particularly the seven walks. I think he has earned the chance and that the front office should not trade away any more pitching depth. Casey has been a bit lucky and his .358 in June is not sustainable but .270 with pop and improved strike zone recognition is a reasonable expectation.
ReplyDeleteGreat to see the floodgates finally open. This next week will be important as the Giants play two last place teams this week. If they don't take 5 of the 6 against the Marlins and White Sox, I would be disappointed. I agree on Casey Schmidt taking over 2nd base once Chappy returns. Casey, in addition to hitting the ball, seems to be more selective as he is taking walks at around 10% of the time this season. He seems to have progressed (last year he only took 4 walks in 113 PAs). Let's see Verlander get the monkey off his back and get a win tomorrow night.
ReplyDeleteRamos may not be the player he is now had he not gotten a chance last year due to injuries in the OF. Schmidt is getting a similar opportunity and running with it. When Chappie is back he should slide over to 2B and Fitz to the bench or down.
ReplyDeleteSchmitt is a great right-handed option as the super-utility infielder many good teams have. With his ability to literally play every infield position and a plus arm, his bat does not need to stay on fire, he just needs to continue to have this improved control of the strike zone to establish himself as "not an easy out" and he should have a place on this team for many years.
ReplyDeleteNow our real issue is that some of our scuffling hitters are guys on contracts that traditionally "have to play every day." Unfortunately for us, that mentality isn't going to translate to a ton of success against great teams if Willy Adames & JH Lee (.600 OPS for May & June) are playing every day on $150mil deals and are "easy outs" to go along with Fitz and Bailey. Slotting Schmitt over at 2B may help a small bit, but we need some upgrades and, while it may be unpopular, Wilmer Flores has come back to earth and 1B seems to be a possible spot to upgrade and move him to the situational bench bat he should be on a good team.
Andy in OC
Considering development, Ramos is 2 years older than Luciano and Matos, and he's 1 year older than McCray, who only now has reached Ramos' breakout year.
ReplyDeleteSchmitt is a year older than Ramos and may have reached his breakout year. Schmitt has suffered by not having a position "handed" to him with Chapman, Davis, and Longoria ensconced ahead of him in his "natural" position.
If Fitzgerald continues to flounder while Schmitt rakes, his opportunity may come very soon.
Obviously we all know what we are talking about since Fitz just got sent down! Schmidt is getting his shot let’s hope he continues to show improvement. Interested to see if Devers will be at 3B until Chappie comes back….
ReplyDeleteI read that Devers has not been working out at 1B due to a mild groin strain so I highly doubt he's going to play any 3B.
DeleteFITZ sent down...who does that leave 2B in the hands of until CHAP comes back??? KOSS and Wisley? Yikes..that's risky......Or..maybe they have liked what they have seen from WADE MECKLER at 2B??
ReplyDeleteSteveVA
I am sure Meckler is the key to all this.....
DeleteSince Wisely was brought up when Verlander went on paternity, its Wisely for short term. Meckler is hitting .242 for the month of June in PCL so probably not. I'm guessing Wisely is just a placeholder until Fitzgerald gets straightened out?
Delete"I am sure Meckler is the key to all this....."
ReplyDeleteEw, feel the sarcasm...
Hah, could be sarcasm , or not (which I thought) , you never know on message boards....If sarcasm, out of line.....Anyways, the main point is that Giants have three equally "questionable" options at 2B until Chapman comes back..We'll see..
DeleteSteveVA
We should always be open to adjusting our opinions as new evidence emerges. If Wade Meckler suddenly starts for the River Cats every game for two weeks or a month I will re-evaluate but right now I don't see him as the Giants 2B of the future.
Delete....and a corollary is where Fitz is going to play for Sacramento.
DeleteI think that lack of confidence that Tyler Fitzgerald showed in an interview with Kruk and Kuip as the season started has led to his poor performance. I remember reading an article in Sports Illustrated 30+ years ago with the hypothesis that many hitters do better if their thought processes are not too complex. Not saying dumb hitters do better, just guys who don't over-think hitting sometimes do better than a cerebral type. Kind of the see ball, hit ball type of thinking.
ReplyDeletePerhaps this is a commentary on All-Star voting or an affirmation that the Giants are not high in national esteem: the only non-pitcher player on the SF team will be picked by Dave Roberts or the Commissioner.
ReplyDeleteFrom Sports' Bay Area (Alex Pavlovic):
Not Even Close
Devers is the only Giant who is anywhere near the top of his position in All-Star voting, but he's also about 1.4 million votes behind Shohei Ohtani at DH, even with the carryover from his time on the American League ballot. The only other Giants to make the top 10 at their position are Matt Chapman (eighth) and Wilmer Flores (ninth at first base). It's particularly grim in the outfield, where Heliot Ramos, an All-Star last year, ranks 19th among outfielders, four spots behind Michael Conforto, who is hitting .165 for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Does Conforto being "higher" than Ramos reflect poorly on Bay Area fans or highly on LA fans?
Defense is not pertinent: Bailey isn't in sight!
Adames, probably because he hasn't been particularly good as a Giant, has no presence.
Chapman, thought by many to be the best Giant, is behind Max Muncy among others.
Despite having the 5th best record in the National League, the "giant" offense gets no respect.
Will pitching be different? Starters Webb and Ray should get some consideration but will they? With strength in their bull pen, relievers get picked on reputation so Doval has a better chance than Rodriguez, Miller, Rogers, and others.
So, who cares?
I stopped caring or paying attention to the All-Star Game a long time ago.
DeleteMost All Star games are glorified exhibition. Players in the 1960s used to take it seriously and play to win. Nowadays, the objective is to get every team represented and to get every player into the game.
DeleteThe current voting process is computerized now and vulnerable to bots so its probably not legit nor is it a reflection of the fanbase. All I care about is that the Giant representative doesn't pull an Atlee Hammaker and embarrass themselves. Come to think of it, that was probably the last time I watched one of those all the way through.
I would not be overly concerned about the All Star Game voting. For all we know, the votes could be coming from overseas and the votes for Max Muncy and Michael Conforto could be the rainbow effect from being associated with Ohtani. The marketing of Ohtani overseas is otherworldly. In a single 7-Eleven store over there, you could see a picture of Ohtani holding a bottle of tea over a dozen times. That kind of marketing money is what allows Ohtani to receive minimal money from the Dodgers up front and to defer it California tax-free after he retires.
ReplyDeleteI gave up voting (and watching) after GIllette stopped making those punch cards and I will bet that is when DrB lost interest.