Willy Adames was honored with the Willie Mac Award just before the game started. He hit a 2-run home run in the first inning and the Giants never looked back in a wire-to-wire win. Key Lines:
Heliot Ramos LF- 1 for 5, HR(21), R, 3 RBI. BA= .258. Ramos added to the Giants lead with a 3-run blast in the third inning to give Trevor McDonald a 5-run cushion to work with.
Rafael Devers DH- 1 for 2, 3B, 3 BB, R. BA= .252. Devers drew a walk ahead of Adames HR in the first inning. He later doubled off the RF wall following Ramos' HR but was left stranded.
Willy Adames SS- 1 for 3, HR(29), BB, 2 R, 2 RBI. BA= .226. If Adames plays the last two games, he'll end up in 160 out of 162. Durablility is one of the things Buster signed him for. Adames put up 3.7 fWAR so far this season. Last year, Giants shortstops put up a combined 3.6 so Adames was not an upgrade from last season's shortstop production. The problem is 3.0 of last year's fWAR was from Tyler Fitzgerald. Would he have repeated that if he was the starting shortstop on Opening Day? Highly unlikely! So, I think we have to say Adames gave what Buster signed him to do. In his postgame interview, Adames was asked by Laura Britt what he was most optimistic about for next season. His response was The Core will have a full season together after taking this season to gel(or something to that effect). Hope he is right.
Jung Hoo Lee CF- 3 for 4, 3B, R. BA= .264. Speaking of The Core, Lee's second half split is .288/.342/.413. Historically Korean players take a year to adjust to the league. It looks like Jung Hoo figured something out at the All-Star Break. If he puts that line for a full season next year, he'll be part of and improved Core. Oh, and the triple was Lee's 12'th of the season which puts him 3'rd in MLB on the season behind Corbin Carroll(17) and Jarren Duran(13).
Grant McCray RF/LF- 0 for 2, 2 BB, R. BA= .091. Why is Luis Matos off the active roster? Why did the Giants call up Drew Gilbert? Why was Grant McCray starting in RF tonight? What happened to Jerar Encarnacion? Inquiring minds want to know.
Trevor McDonald RHP- 7 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 10 K's, 5/2 GO/AO. ERA= 3.60. Last start McDonald relied heavily on ground ball outs. Tonight he had the strikeout pitch going. He did not have command of his sinker tonight. It was sailing and tailing wildly, so he went after the Rockies with a tight, hard breaking ball. Statcast called a curveball but Kruk and Kuip thought looked more like a slider. I got a good look at the grip and delivery of one of those bad boys. It looked like he snapped his wrist down in a curveball motion but that thing was tight! If he wants to sustain success at the MLB level he's going to have to add a changeup or split. For now better command of the sinker and that breaking ball is an impressive combination.
Ryan Walker RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(17). ERA= 3.98. 7 Blown Saves is way too many but I looked up the Save/SvO for MLB and the Giants have far from the worst ratio(the Dodgers are one of the worst). The Giants rank #19 in Saves and #22 in Save Opportunities so you can make the case the bigger problem was the lack of Save Opportunities.
Justin Verlander RHP possibly makes his final start as a Giant tomorrow afternoon against Kyle Freeland LHP. Last time Freeland faced the Giants he started a bench clearing episode when he took exception to how long it took Devers to get to first base after a home run.
Its a problem that a .young player like Fitzgerald took a step back and didn't contribute much to this team. I look foe Adames to make adjustments next year hitting at oracle. Durability is a huge asset to his game.. Mcdonald was impressive throwing strikes, working quickly, not a lot of hard contact. I would think his stock went up and should get a long look in spring training at a possible spot on the pitching staff.
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