The Giants had some pop in their bats and built two leads in the early innings they weren't able to hold as Justin Verlander didn't have his best stuff and was not helped by a pair of errors. Key Lines:
Heliot Ramos LF- 2 for 5, HR(19), R, 3 RBI. BA= .258. Ramos' HR to lead off the Giants first inning gave them an early lead, but his 2-run single in the fourth inning was a more impressive piece of hitting. With the bases loaded and two outs he went the other way with a single through the right-side hole to drive in 2 runs and give the Giants a 4-2 lead. The other side of the situational hitting debate is if he swung for the fences and hit a grand slam the lead would have been 6-2 and the Giants probably would have won the game. IMO, we've seen too many times swinging for the fences leaves the bases loaded with nothing to show for it in the way of runs.
Rafael Devers 1B- 1 for 3, HR(13), BB, R, RBI. BA= .252. Devers was in a HR drought, but hit a line drive just over the wall in L-CF and just missed one in the first inning right after Ramos' leadoff HR.
Bryce Eldridge DH- 0 for 2, 2 BB. BA= .059. Eldridge makes good swing decisions. It appears when he makes contact he is just missing the barrel. Gotta think the process will eventually lead to good things.
Casey Schmitt 2B- 1 for 4, R. BA= .233. Schmitt bobbled a grounder with the infield in and with a chance to get an out at home which led to 2 unearned runs and was the difference in the game.
Jerar Encarnacion RF- 0 for 4, 2 K. BA= .208. I get Encarnacion's potential and he's out of options, but he's spent so much time in the IL this year and looks completely lost at the plate. I'm not sure there is any value in putting him out there at this stage of the season just to see if they can get him going. If Buster and Melvin believe in him, keep him on the 40-man roster through the offseason, bring him to spring training and see if he hits and stays healthy. If it's a choice between Jerar and Luis Matos, I would go with Matos.
Justin Verlander RHP- 4.1 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 3.88. Verlander reverted back to he early season struggles. He was not helped by the home plate ump who squeezed the top of the strike zone where Verlander likes to live.
Joel Peguero RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 2.79. What electric stuff! Probably too early to anoint him next season's Closer but he should be in the mix.
Logan Webb RHP needs 4.1 IP to reach 200 on the season. He'll try for that and more tonight facing Andre Pallante RHP who comes in with an ERA of 5.29.
Agree on Jerar Encarnacion. Hustle just isn’t there. His effort to first base after a routine ground ball is weak. Looks like he’s just going through the motions to me. I also think there are better options.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you back and I hope you enjoyed your trip.
Denver in Fresno
YtY leads all of his Giant RF replacements (Matos, Gilbert, McCray, Encarnación, & D. Johnson) in every category on B-R's compare function. Interestingly, he has more HRs/PA for KC than he had for SF even though Kaufman is tough on HR hitters.
ReplyDeleteLet's hope Yunior works out...
Prospect development and assessment is the most mysterious part of the MLB/AAA optics. In the FZ era it appeared that the POBO could make an assessment in a SSS and thereby push a Churn trigger quickly. Perhaps the rest of the season will just be a chance to learn the MLB for a number of our most promising prospects, with next year being the goal on separating the wheat from the chaff. Agree with Matos being a potential better OF although no one has a crystal ball. Which pitchers are the front-runners to be the 4th and 5th starter next year? McDonald? Teng? Tidwell? The Carsons? Beck? Winn? The 40 man roster is going to get crowded quickly.
ReplyDeleteIs Buster playing for a better draft position?
ReplyDeleteThey are tied with StL for the 12th overall pick (lottery might affect that), but only a game up on the Marlins and Rays (!), 3 up on the Braves, 4 on the A's and O's: they could fall to the 7th worse record in MLB, and that's the way they're playing!
It's well and good to see Eldridge, Gilbert, Encarnacion, McCray, and Knizner, plus the lesser of Schmitt/Koss, but is winning not a priority?
Probably not...
Agree on ENCARNCION, it's one of the reason why he is what he is, a non MLB player for the most part....And what's the deal with the extended run for this GILBERT character compared to the yanking of MATOS's chain/ The kid has nothing. Now, if you want a clubhouse mascot, by all means.
ReplyDeleteSteveVA
Drew Gilbert is 24 years old, in his MLB debut.
DeleteHe was a 1st round pick out of a good SEC program 3 years ago.
He was pushed up to AAA @ 23, 3½ years under the average age.
He makes good contact.
He's worth a look and will be part of the RF (and b/u CF) mix in 2026 ST.
I honestly feel that Matos, Luciano, and Fitzgerald are going to end up being part of the offseason purge.
ReplyDelete