The Giants used a familiar formula for futility: Failure to drive in runs and failure of the bullpen to keep it close in the late innings. Key Lines:
Luis Arraez 2B- 2 for 5, 3B, R. BA= .326. Like clockwork. Arraez has a 10-game hit streak with five 2-hit games in that span. His efforts went for naught as the 1, 2 and 4 batters, Schmitt, Devers and Adames, went a combined 0 for 13 with 2 walks.
Jung Hoo Lee RF/CF- 2 for 5, 2B, 2 RBI. BA= .335. Lee continues his torrid hitting: .533 over his last 15 games, .374 over his last 30. He has a 17 game hit streak. 8 of his last 12 games have been multi-hit, three 2-hit, three 4-hit and one 5-hit. Arraez remains in second place in the race for the batting title because Otto Lopez went 3 for 5 and is now batting .341.
Bryce Eldridge DH- 2 for 3, 2B, HR(3), 2 BB. BA= .300. Pretty easy to see this is the guy the Giants need to build around. What a talent!
Overall, the Giants had 16 baserunners and 5 of their 9 hits were XBH's, yet they scored just 3 runs. They had the bases loaded 3 times, twice with less than two outs, yet came away with zero runs to show for it.
Adrian Houser RHP- 4.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 5.54. This is the 4'th game in a row in which Houser failed to get through 5 innings. You know he's going to give up his 2 and 3 runs per start but you need and expect a high percentage of QS. He has just 2 out of 13. Houser has never been a big QS guy, you say? In 2021 he had 7 out of 26, 2022- 6 out of 21, 2023-6 out of 21 and 2025- 11 out of 21. Yes, 2025 was a career year and an outlier and yes, he had 0 out of 7 starts, but he's way behind the other 3 seasons out of that stretch too. Overall, the Giants rank #16 in MLB with 22 QS. I don't have the time or patience to go through the game logs but I'm guessing most of those came in the first month of the season because I remember very few over the last several weeks.
The bullpen had it's usual suspects with Erik Miller LHP having the worst appearance with 2 walks and a single while recording 0 outs in a 2-run 7'th inning.
Robbie Ray LHP, who has not recorded a QS since May 8, tries to prevent a Nationals sweep facing Foster Griffin LHP who comes in with a 7-2 record and a 3.63 ERA.
I think it's time call up Carson Whisenhunt and move Houser to the bullpen. He just doesn't have it in his third turn around the lineup.
ReplyDeletePulling Houser with 1 out and a runner on 3rd in the 5th inning, given the suspect state of the Giants' relief corp, was going to be a gamble, and Hentges didn't solve anything nor did most of last night's relievers, 5 of whom were burned in a lost cause.
ReplyDeleteOddly, they don’t seem to have or use a long reliever.
ReplyDeleteAmong the short relievers, Miller looks like he’s added about 25 lbs., which may contribute to his erratic performance. (I am no one to throw stones, but I’m an old guy, not a professional athlete.)
I might even try Brubaker in rotation, can't do worst than Houser IMO.
ReplyDeleteHow in the world does our manager defend removing Cox, again for pinch "hitter" Gilbert, when Cox already smashed a triple in the game and is showing far more offensive talent than Gilbert, and is three best CF on the team.
ReplyDeleteThis caused Gilbert and Kennedy to be the key hitters, instead of Cox both times. Needless to say they went Oh-fer.
L-R batting stance be damned. Cox is a better hitter and it was only like the 5th inning when he was removed. I want to line Vitello, but it's getting hard to see his genius.
Does the Jonah Cox call-up remind anyone of 2023 when 23-year old Wade Meckler got called up for 20 games?
ReplyDeleteMeck didn't fare well, got no second chance with SF, and fell from favor this winter as the 26-year-old was picked up off waivers, put in play by the Angels, and has been extraordinaire!
SFG 2023 64 PAs: 1 2B, 0 HR .232/.328/.250/.578 OPS+ 65
LAA 2026 60 PAs: 5 2B, 2 HR .340/.417/.547/.964 OPS+ 171
Cox has fared well in 13 PAs thanks primarily to going 3-3 in Cubs blowout, but just 2-9 otherwise. He got a triple last night but was stranded at 3rd, and later pinch hit for by LHB Drew Gilbert, who grounded out with the bases loaded and a 3-2 score in what turned out to be SF's next-to-last chance.
Both Wade Meckler, Spencer Miles, and Kai Wei Teng players the giants all gave up (or didn’t protect) on this offseason currently have higher fwars than Devers or Adames.
Delete- Fan