Down on the Farm: 9/5/2015

AAA  Albuquerque Isotopes defeated the Sacramento River Cats 5-3:

Darren Ford(CF)- 1 for 3, BB, 2 SB(33).  BA= .257.
Tommy Hanson(RHP)- 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 5.60.

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AA  Reading Fightin' Phils blanked the Richmond Flying Squirrels 2-1:

Joe Biagini(RHP)- 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.42.

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High A Bakersfield Blaze edged out the San Jose Giants 3-2:

Aramis Garcia(Catcher)- 2 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .236.
Tyler Horan(RF)- 1 for 3, HR(13).  BA= .215.
Christian Jones(LHP)- 4.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.50.
Tyler Rogers(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.40.

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Low A  Charleston River Dogs outlasted the Augusta Greenjackets 4-3 in 11 innings:

Matt Winn(Catcher)- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .273.
Chase Compton(DH)- 1 for 5, HR(1).  BA= .231.
Michael Santos(RHP)- 3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K.  ERA= 3.44.
Connor Kaden(RHP)- 4.1 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.81.
Carlos Diaz(LHP)- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.63.

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Boise Hawks 2-1:

Chris Shaw(1B)- 1 for 4, HR(12).  BA= .286.
Andrew Leenhouts(LHP)- 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.37.
Ryan Halstead(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(8).  ERA= 2.33.

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Rookie AZL  Season is complete.

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DSL  Season is complete.  Giants won the 2015 DSL championship.

Game Wrap 9/5/0215: Giants 7 Rockies 3

The Giants Hall of Fame Manager, Bruce Bochy, ran out what looked suspiciously like a white flag lineup for this game, but instead got the best offensive performance of the last couple of weeks to break their 7 game losing streak.  Key Lines:

Angel Pagan- 2 for 5, 2B, HR(1).  BA= .263.  Pagan is 7 for 20(.350) since coming off the DL.  He continues to be a terrific player when fully healthy, which like Baggs, I strongly suspect he has not been all season until now.  He did have a brain cramp on a ball that CarGo probably trapped but was ruled a catch.  Instead of hustling back to 2B, Pagan wasted time pointing and yelling at the ump that the ball was trapped.  Angel, that is what the review coaches are for.  Your job is to get back to 2B if that's what the call on the field tells you to do.

Gregor Blanco- 2 for 4, HR(4), BB.  BA= .294.  Blanco has 2.3 fWAR in 358 PA so far this season, which projects to 3.8 fWAR in 600 PA.  He his under contract for next season.  The Giants opening day starter in LF, whoever that may be and it probably won't be Blanco, will most likely not be as good a player.

Matt Duffy- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .304.  The Duffman's season just keep rolling along.  The first 3 batters in the lineup got on base 8 times in 15 PA's.  They added 2 doubles and 2 HR's

Alejandro De Aza- 2 for 5.  BA= .260.  When I saw De Aza's name in the cleanup spot, I said to myself, this is a white flag lineup.  No Posey, no Belt.  Sanchez in the squaaat and Nick Noonan at 1B, a position he has never played as a professional.  As I like to say, there's a reason why they play the games. De Aza is a FA after the season.  Do the Giants try to re-sign him, pick up Aoki's contract or both?

Hector Sanchez- 1 for 1, 2B, Sac.  BA= .179.  Sanchez was having a fine game when he sprained his ankle stepping on 1B on the sacrifice forcing Buster Posey, who is banged up himself into the game.  I love Hector Sanchez, but the guy just can't seem to stay healthy!

Nick Noonan- 1 for 4, 2B.  BA= .250.  Noonan was brought up to spell Duffy at 3B.  Duffy just keeps doing the Energizer Bunny thing and Noonan got the start at 1B even though he has never played the position as a pro.  He drove in 2 runs with the double.

Jake Peavy- 2 for 3, 2 2B.  BA= .192.  Lots of jokes about why Peavy can't seem to see the catcher's signs but can hit .192.  

Jake Peavy- 5.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.41.  Like Hesto Presto yesterday, Peavy fell 1 out short of a QS.  It's probably a good start from Peavy if you get 5 innings or more out of him at this stage of he career.  

We'll dispense with the reports of how many games behind the Giants are until/unless they work their way closer.  Right now they are 7.5 games back with 26 games to play.

Andrew Susac will have his wrist immobilized for 3 months to try to heal a ligament that has bothered him since spring training.  With Hector Sanchez also out with the ankle sprain, Susac was placed on the 60-day DL to make room on the 40 man roster for Jackson Williams who will be the backup catcher for now.

Madison Bumgarner tries for a second win in a row today facing left Yohan Flande.

Down on the Farm: 9/4/2015

AAA  Sacramento River Cats cooled off the Albuquerque Isotopes 6-1:

Darren Ford(CF)- 2 for 5, 3B.  BA= .256.
Joe Panik(2B)- 1 for 3.  BA= .200.
Kevin Frandsen(1B)- 4 for 4, HR(4).  BA= .279.
Trevor Brown(Catcher)- 2 for 4.  BA= .268.
Chris Stratton(RHP)- 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 3.57.
Matt Cain(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.57.

Panik also made a spectacular acrobatic play at 2B.  Stratton has had his ups and downs this season.  He finishes up with one of his better starts.  Smooth rehab outing for Cain although he did throw 32 pitches.  We'll just have to hope Cainer gets everything working right by next season.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels downed the Reading Fightin' Phils 5-4:

Hunter Cole(RF)- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .292.
Ricky Oropesa(1B)- 1 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .253.
Joan Gregorio(RHP)- 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 3.09.
Kyle Crick(RHP)- 0.1 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.34.

Gregorio has a strong final start after an up and down season.  Crick had a K, BB and HBP.  The 2 baserunners scored in a hit given up by Jose Casilla.

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High A  Bakersfield Blaze blanked the San Jose Giants 2-0:

Daniel Carbonell(LF)- 2 for 4.  BA= .280.
Martin Agosta(RHP)- 6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 4.25.
Ray Black(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.00.

Second start in a row without allowing an ER for Agosta.  He has 18 K's in 13 IP in those two starts.  Again, I am predicting a breakout season for him in Richmond next year.

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Low A Charleston River Dogs beat the Augusta Greenjackets 3-0:

DJ Snelton(LHP)- 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K's, GO/AO= 10/1.  ERA= 2.86.

Strong final start for Snelton after 2 subpar ones.  Overall, he had a strong season for Augusta after washing out in SJ early on.

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Boise Hawks 8-3:

Ronnie Jebavy(CF)- 2 for 5, 2B, 3B.  BA= .266.
Steven Duggar(RF)- 1 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .279.
Chris Shaw(1B)- 2 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .287.
Luis Pino(RHP)- 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.43.
Dominic Mazza(LHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Game Wrap 9/4/2015: Rockies 2 Giants 1

Chris Heston settled down after allowing B2B first inning solo HR's to Carlos Gonzalez and Nolan Arenado, ending up 1 out short of a Quality Start.  Meanwhile, the Giants failed to sustain and offense against veteran LHP Jorge De La Rosa and the Giants suffered their 4'th 1-run loss in 5 games and 7'th loss in a row.  Key Lines:

Angel Pagan- 2 for 4.  BA= .261.  Pagan and Matt Duffy were the only Giants with 2 hits.  Pagan drove in the only Giants run of the game in the 6'th inning.

Chris Heston- 5.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 10/1.  ERA= 3.54.  Heston got off to a rough start allowing the 2 dingers in the first inning, but he settled down nicely, kept the ball on the ground and ended up 1 out short of a QS. This loss is on the offense.

The Loss dropped the Giants to 7.5 games behind the NL West leading Dodgers with 23 games to play.  The Giants had a run early in the season of 9 losses in 10 games and now this 7 game skid.  They go .500 in those games and they are just 0.5 games behind the Bad Guys.

Jake Peavy tries to be the stopper today facing Chad Bettis.

Andrew Susac flew back to SF to have his wrist examined. It has bothered him all season.

Down on the Farm: 9/3/2015

AAA  Reno Aces trumped the Sacramento River Cats 9-4:

Jarrett Parker(CF)- 2 for 4, HR(22).  BA= .284.

Ty Blach got shelled.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels defeated the Harrisburg Senators 4-2:

Hunter Cole(RF)- 1 for 3, 3B, BB.  BA= .287.
Devin Harris(LF)- 3 for 4, 2B, HR(13).  BA= .242.
Matt Gage(LHP)- 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.66.

Will Matt Gage be back in Richmond to start next season or will he get bumped down to San Jose which is one level above where he started this season?

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High A  San Jose Giants pounded the Harrisburg Senators 8-2:

Christian Arroyo(SS)- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .309.
Daniel Carbonell(LF)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .277.
Tyler Horan(RF)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .214.
Ty Ross(Catcher)- 3 for 4.  BA= .248.
Jose Reyes(RHP)- 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 5.82.

Seems like if the national prospect watchers have learned anything from Panik, Duffy and Tomlinson, Arroyo should be in the top 100 after what he has done at age 20 in SJ this year.  Jose Reyes struggled after his promotion to SJ from Augusta, but seems to have figured it out in his last two starts:  1 R allowed in 15 IP with 13 K's and 1 BB.

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Low A  Augusta Greenjackets stung the Charleston River Dogs 7-2:

Jonah Arenado(3B)- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .265.
Skyler Ewing(1B)- 2 for 3, BB, HBP.  BA= .233.
Chase Compton(DH)- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .243.
Chuckie Jones(LF)- 2 for 4.  BA= .254.
Mark Reyes(LHP)- 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.13.
Rodolfo Martinez(RHP)- 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.58.

I'm going to give props to Jonah Arenado for hanging in there all season in a fairly extreme hitter-unfriendly environment.  There were several times when it looked like his season may be going over a cliff, but he kept battling back from every mini-slump and ended up with a respectable average with some power.  Terrific season from Mark Reyes, but does he have enough stuff to succeed at higher levels.  Martinez does have the stuff and I think this was his longest and most dominant appearance on the season.  Any chance the Giants stretch him out next season and make him a starter?

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Short Season  Eugene Emeralds topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 5-1:

Julio Pena(RF)- 1 for 3, HR(6).  BA= .235.
Logan Webb(RHP)- 7 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.92.

Webb's short season campaign does not look so hot on the surface but he was just 18 years old and hung in there through some rough starts against mostly older competition.  I would think it was a great learning experience, certainly with lessons on how to bounce back from adversity.

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Rookie AZL  Season is complete.

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DSL  Season is complete.  Giants are DSL champions for 2015.

Game Wrap 9/3/2015: Rockies 11 Giants 3

Ryan Vogelsong hit his first MLB HR, but it was not enough to make up for the batting practice he served up to the Rockies' hitters in a blowout loss for that extended the Giants losing streak to 5 games. Key Lines:

Kelby Tomlinson- 2 for 4.  BA= .315.  Kelby was the only Giant to get more than 1 hit in the game.

Ryan Vogelsong- 3 IP, 11 H 8 R, 7 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.58.  Vogey has had his moments this season, but appears to be completely out of gas at this point as his longest start out of his last 3 is 4.2 IP.

Tim Hudson- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.69.  Huddy looked sharp in his 2 innings of work, albeit in mop-up time.  Look for him to get the start the next time Vogey's turn comes up.

Cody Hall- 1.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 10.80.  Hall appeared to have decent enough stuff, but not much of an idea where it was going.  In addition to the 5 hits he gave up, several of his outs were on hard hit balls.  He should get more chances before the season is over.

The Loss dropped the Giants to 7 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West pending the outcome of the Dodgers game against the Padres.

Chris Heston gets the start tomorrow.  For a guy who has been having trouble getting his sinker to sink, Coors Field would not seem to be promising place to get it back on track.

Down on the Farm: 9/2/2015

AAA  Sacramenton River Cats defeated the Reno Aces 5-4:

Mac Williamson(LF)- 1 for 4, HR(6).  BA= .260.
Trevor Brown(PH)- 1 for 1, HR(2).  BA= .260.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Harrisburg Senators 3-2:

Chase Johnson(RHP)- 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 5.93.
Adalberto Mejia(LHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.37.
Derek Law(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(11).  ERA= 4.94.

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High A  San Jose Giants edged out the Modesto Nuts 3-2:

Daniel Carbonell(LF)- 2 for 4, HR(6).  BA= .273.
Tyler Horan(RF)- 2 for 4, HR(12).  BA= .210.
Andrew Suarez(LHP)- 5 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 1.80.
Tyler Rogers(RHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.43.
Ian Gardeck(RHP)- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.63.

Carbonell is hitting .317 over his last 10 games.  I would expect Suarez to be pitching in AA by the end of next season.

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Low A  Augusta Greenjackets vs Savannah Sand Gnats PPD(Rain).

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Short Season Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Eugene Emeralds 3-2:

Byron Murray(LF)- 1 for 4, 3B.  BA= .125.
Chris Shaw(1B)- 1 for 3, HR(11).  BA= .284.
Grant Watson(LHP)- 3 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.50.
Nathanael Santiago(RHP)- 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.15.
Ryan Halstead(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(7).  ERA= 2.42.

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Rookie AZL  Season completed.

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DSL  Season completed.  Giants won league championship.