The Giants showed why they might be more pretenders than contenders as Ryan Walker blew a 2-run save without recording an out. Brutal! Key Lines:
Jung Hoo Lee CF- 2 for 4. BA= .269. Lee batted leadoff and continued his hot hitting but did not figure into the scoring.
Dominic Smith DH- 2 for 4, R. BA= .292. Smith started the 2-run rally in the 4'th inning with a single.
Matt Chapman 3B- 2 for 4, 2B, R. BA= .238. Chapman's double in the 4'th put runners at 2'nd and 3'rd with no outs.
Drew Gilbert RF- 1 for 4, 2B. BA= .263. After Casey Schmitt's sac fly, Gilbert got the second run home with a 1-out double but was left stranded at 2B.
Justin Verlander RHP- 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K's, 6/1 GO/AO. ERA= 4.09. One of Verlander's sharper starts and he only needed 88 pitches to get through 6 innings. In the process he passed Forever Giant Gaylord Perry for 8'th on the all time MLB strikeout list.
Ryan Walker RHP- 0.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 3.93. Not sure what was going on with Walker. It looked like he was throwing sliders early in the count and missing the strike zone by several inches producing easy takes for the hitters and putting him behind in the counts. And you just knew what was coming after the leadoff single. Brutal appearance and a brutal way to lose the game.
So, how far behind are the Giants in the Wild Card race? In the immortal words of Jim Mora, "Playoffs? Playoffs? You want to talk about playoffs? We're just trying to wind a game here!"
The Giants try to regroup tomorrow behind Kai-Wei Teng RHP who is facing.....Sonny Gray RHP who comes in with a 4.43 ERA.
What's brutal is this is another game that Verlander pitches well, and the bullpen couldn't hold the lead again. I count a handful of games this happened, brutal. The bullpen was a supposedly a strength for most of the season.
ReplyDeleteIt's not that I expect them to run the table on the month of September but if you are trying to make a late season run from the middle of the pack, you cannot lose a game like this, you just can't.
Deletemorale-killer
DeleteThis type of a game should add some clarity for the Giants' front office about the need to find a reliable closer over the offseason. I wouldn't be totally against bringing back Verlander, either. What a waste of a great effort tonight on his part.
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice, but I don't see any way the Giants bring in a closer from the outside. Money is spent on bats. (Love to see Tyler come back, but of course, he's not a closer and not sure the Giants are willing to even pay him anyway.) Our closer though, needs to come from within. Rodriguez, Peguero. Can Walker figure this out? Hopefully, but unlikely. Bring back Bednar from the dead, I don't care. But if we trade Doval with 2 years of control left, then we're saying we have the arms to replace him. Gonna hold Buster to that.
DeleteAnyway, the G's track record of signing closers (Melancon, Benitez..Taylor even) has been sub-optimal.
Would he want to come back after the bullpen blowups, lack of runs, and sloppy play behind him? Recetn stretch may be a mirage.
DeleteI just looked at the reliever free agent list on MLBTR. It's not encouraging.
DeleteBrutal loss considering the Giants had a 2 run lead in the 9th inning. but the Giants have been red hot the past couple of weeks and I'd just like to see them continue to play good baseball till the end of the season, if that leads to a wild card birth that's great if not thats ok I just want to feel good about the team going into 2026.
ReplyDeleteAgree ★★★★★
DeleteSmall consolation but the Dodgers loss was about as brutal as any I can remember for any team
ReplyDeleteI hope we find a way to bring Dominic Smith back for longer look. His bat and infield play impresses me. Yes, I agree, we need a closer. Walker seems to choke to me.
ReplyDeleteSolid player and seems an intelligent, caring guy...but the roster fit, especially if Eldridge proves ready, might be tough.
DeleteVerlander has pitched more than well enough to attract interest, even by real contenders.
ReplyDeleteOther than big bucks, what can SF offer? He's already seen their "run support."
Disappointing to lose a game like this. On the plus side, the bullpen seems to have one of the best ERA's in baseball. Unsure whether that held true in the post-deadline time frame after losing Doval and Rogers. Getting beyond the emotions of losing a game the Giants needed, closers with elite save percentages don't grow on trees. Walker has had a history of putting together a pretty good closer season (2024). Hopefully there is a mental toughness that builds as the season winds down. I agree that I'm most hopeful that 2026 is better, although getting into the wild card would be a plus.
ReplyDeleteWe seem to be in somewhat of a Closer desert around MLB. If you look around at how many teams have true dependable Closers, it's not very many.
DeleteOuch! That one hurt! It was almost 3 games back from the Mets....A hard one to come back from especially on get away day and with your 5th starter...Hope Teng has his control today..
ReplyDeleteAs for Walkers choke job letting the team down outing, I'll leave it at that..But when you lose your 3 best relievers (trade and injury). it's hard not to expect it to come back and bite you in the ass at some point...Not blaming anyone, the Giants being in that position yesterday was not expected. Just is what it is after the RROD injury and getting a good haul on Doval and Rogrers..
Giants used to have a penchant for coming back from painfull losses (the opposite of their tendency to faceplant)..Hope we get that today.
SteveVA
Maybe Birdsong could be the answer next year at closer. He isnt the answer to anything right now other than the Giant who has lost the most confidence this season. He is still struggling in a starting role which is why focusing on just one inning outings might help and based on his struggles in the Majors they all seamed to happen after his first inning of work.
ReplyDelete