Game Wrap 9/7/2016: Rockies 6 Giants 5

The Giants suffered yet another crushing defeat as the bullpen failed to hold a 5-3 lead in the 9'th inning in Coors Field.  Key Lines:

Buster Posey- 2 for 4, 2B, SF.  BA= .289. A productive night at the plate for Buster.

Hunter Pence-  3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .278.  Nice night out of the cleanup spot for Pence.

Gorkys Hernandez- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(1).  BA= .292.  We probably can't expect this kind of hitting from Hernandez, but he did hit over .300 with some power on  the season in Sacramento.  The really exciting thing to watch him do is go after balls in CF which we haven't seen in the last few seasons.  He has some kind of range out there!

Brandon Belt- 2 for 3, HR(15), BB.  BA= .269.  Belt has had other good games that were false starts in the second half.  Maybe this is the start of something better?

Albert Suarez- 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.37.  Pretty standard start for Suarez.  If the Giants got 5 innings with 3 runs allowed out of the #5 starter every game all season, I'm sure they would take it.

Steven Okert- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.15.  Okert looked really good including a strikeout of the fearsome Arenado.  Good FB movement with decent  command, great movement of the slider and pulled the string on a changeup or 2.

Santiago Casilla- 0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.52.   Arenado led off the inning with a massive HR.  Casilla got the next batter but then gave up a single to CF.  Bochy brought in Osich to face the left-handed PH Blackmon.  Not sure how Casilla gets a Hold when he was charged with allowing the tying run.  What a ridiculous stat!

Josh Osich- 0.0, 0 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 4.26.  Osich hit Blackmon with a pitch, which he definitely did not want to do, or at least should not have wanted to do.  Here's the thing.  Just before Osich drilled him with what looked an awful lot like a purpose pitch, Blackmon had called time which the ump granted after Osich had started his delivery.  Did anyone else see the look on Bochy's face in the dugout?  It was like "WTF, did he do that on purpose?"  I'm guessing we'll never know.

Joe Nathan- 0.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 0.00.  Inneresting that Bochy went to Nathan for the Save Opp here.  The first hit was a Coors Field special, a pop fly that fell in front of Pagan and Hernandez in no-man's land in left-CF.  The game winner was a no-doubter off the bat of Christhian Adames that clanged off the RF wall.

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The Loss dropped the Giants 5 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West and 0.5 games behind the Cardinals in the race for the first Wild Card Playoff spot.  They are 0.5 games ahead of the Mets for the second Wild Card spot.  Time is running out to turn this around.

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The Giants get a day off to lick their wounds before starting a 3 game weekend series in Arizona with the top of the rotation lined up.

End of Minor League Regular Season Q/A

To celebrate, or mourn, the end of the minor league regular season, we'll do a Q/A.  You can ask anything baseball related.  I'll do my best to answer and of course readers can chime in and give their own answers.  I will start it off with a question for you:  How would you rank these Giants OF prospects?

Austin Slater

Steven Duggar

Bryan Reynolds

Heath Quinn

Sandro Fabian

Explain your answer!

Game Wrap 9/6/2016: Giants 3 Rockies 2

Jeff Samardzija threw a dominant start and the Giants scratched out single runs in the 8'th and 9'th innings for a come-from-behind win.  Key Lines:

Eduardo Nunez- 1 for 4, HR(15).  BA= .280.  Nunez drove in the first Giants run in the 3'rd inning with a HR to left.  He drove in the second run on a groundout.

Kelby Tomlinson- 1 for 3, BB.  BA= .288.  Kelby didn't get a whole lot of respect this year from the Giants, but he might be the toughest out on the roster, especially now that Duffy is gone.  Maybe he can show some of the other hitters what a tough out looks like.

Jeff Samardzija- 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 4.00.  Not matter what happens this year, Samardzija's recovery from a brutal mid-season slump bodes well for the remaining 4 years on his contract.

Santiago Casilla- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, Save(31).  ERA= 3.21.  I guess Closers close and Casilla is the Closer.

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The Dodgers topped the D'Backs 5-2 to remain 4 games up in the NL West.  The Giants remain 0.5 games ahead of the Cardinals in the race for the first Wild Card playoff berth and 1.5 games ahead of the Mets for the second.

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Albert Suarez tries for a series win today against Jorge De La Rosa.

Down on the Farm: 9/5/2016

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies edged out the Sacramento River Cats 4-3:

Ali Castillo 2B-SS- 2 for 5, 3B.  BA= .309.
Mitch Delfino 3B- 2 for 3, SF.  BA= .242.
Daniel Carbonell RF- 2 for 3.  BA= .667.
Joan Gregorio RHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 5.28.

Gregorio finished the season fairly strong with a 3.97 ERA over his last 6 starts with 34 K's and 14 BB's in 34 IP.

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AA  Altoona Curve blanked the Richmond Flying Squirrels 2-0 in 10 innings:

Steven Duggar CF- 0 for 2, 3 BB, SB(9).  BA= .321.
Andrew Suarez LHP- 8 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 3.95.

Suarez finished the season with an ERA of 2.33 over his last 10 starts for Richmond.

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High A  Visalia Rawhide outlasted the San Jose Giants 9-7 in 14 innings:

Heath Quinn RF- 2 for 6, BB.  BA= .353.
Jonah Arenado 1B- 2 for 5, BB.  BA= .254.
Miguel Gomez 3B- 2 for 2, HR(9), BB.  BA= .267.

Gomez finishes strong, batting .359 over his last 10 games.  The power showed up in San Jose with 9 dingers in 172 AB after hitting 8 in 267 AB for Augusta.  That's 17 total HR's on the season between the two levels.  Jonah Arenado wins the team MVP award for the SJ Giants, probably mostly because he was there all season, but he did have a fine season, especially with the power numbers.

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Low A Rome Braves polished off he Augusta Greenjackets 5-0:

Heath Slatton RHP- 5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.37.

Slatton allowed just 1 ER in 15.1 IP over 3 late season starts with 12 K's and 3 BB's.  Breakout watch for next season!

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Short Season Salem-Keizer Volcanoes buried the Boise Hawks 12-2:

Woody Edwards CF- 1 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .269.
Gio Brusa DH- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .264.
Ryan Kirby 1B- 3 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .260.
Jacob Heyward LF- 3 for 3, 2 2B, BB, HBP.  BA= .286.
Melvin Adon RHP- 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 5.48.

It didn't take long for Heyward to have a big game after his promotion to S-K.  Adon is a raw, hard-thrower who seemed to make progress with an ERA of 3.47 over his last 4 starts.

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Thus ends the 2016 minor league regular season.  The San Jose Giants are the only Giants affiliate to make the postseason.  They will play Bakersfield in the first round of the Cal League playoffs.

Game Wrap 9/5/2016: Rockies 6 Giants 0

Matt Moore completely fell apart in the 3'rd inning allowing all 6 of the Rockies runs to score while failing to complete the inning.  In the end, it didn't matter as the Giants offense mustered just 2 baserunners all afternoon.  Key Lines:

Matt Moore- 2.2 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 4 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.14.  The big blow came after Moore intentionally walked Nolan Arenado to get the L-L matchup against Carlos Gonzalez.  That blew up in his face when CarGo hit a grand slam HR.  Nick Hundley completed the scoring later in the inning with a solo shot.

Matt Cain- 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 5. 65.  The damage was already done and this was mop up time, but maybe this is something for Cainer to build on?

Ty Blach- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, GO/AO= 5/1.  ERA= 0.00.  A resoundingly successful MLB debut for Ty Blach in his hometown.  No K's, but hey, if you can keep the ball on the ground like that in Coors Field or anywhere, you are going to win some games!

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The Dodgers crushed the D'Backs 10-2 to move 4 games ahead of the Giants in the NL West.  The Giants lead over the Cardinals for the first Wild Card Playoff spot shrank to 0.5 games.  Their lead over the Mets for the second Wild Card slot is down to 1.5 games.

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Jeff Samardzija tries to get the Giants back on the winning track tomorrow facing lefty Tyler Anderson.

Down on the Farm: 9/4/2016

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies defeated the Sacramento River Cats 5-4:

Grant Green LF- 3 for 4.  BA= .319.
Ruben Tejada SS- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .307.
Chris Stratton RHP- 7 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 3.87.

Stratton finishes the season strong with an ERA of 2.12 over his last 10 starts.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Altoona Curve 6-2:

Ryder Jones 3B- 1 for 4, HR(15), BB.  BA= .247.
Tyler Beede RHP- 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.81.
Carlos Alvarado RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.79.

Jones HR was his second grand slam in 2 days.  Tyler Beede finishes the season with the EL ERA title and second in K's.  I agree with Covechatter that he should get some buzz in next year's pre-season national prospect chatter.

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High A  Visalia Rawhide blanked the San Jose Giants 4-0:

Cory Taylor RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 6.75.
Alex Bostic LHP- 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 6.35.
Tyler Cyr RHP- 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.35.

Taylor was on a strict pitch count.  Big time watch list for next year.

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Low A Augusta Greenjackets outscored the Rome Braves 8-3:

Kelvin Beltre DH- 1 for 3, 3B, BB.  BA= .254.
Junior Arias 1B- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .278.
Jean Angomas LF- 2 for 4.  BA= .260.
Dominic Mazza LHP- 6 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.93.
Sandro Cabrera LHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Ryan Halstead RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.83.
Cesar Yanez RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.05.

I have Angomas and Cabrera as breakout candidates for next year.  Ryan Halstead has gone 20.1 IP over 16 appearances without allowing a run.  On the season he has 62 K's against 9 BB in 54 IP.  And, Cesar Yanez has 19 K's in 13.1 IP over his last 10 appearances and I'm still driving his bandwagon.

A scouting report from David Lee posted on Covechatter's Twitter feed:  Raffi Vizcaino sits 90-94 and tops out at 96 with above average sink and loose arm action.  Still raw in his approach.

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Short Season Boise Hawks buried the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 13-5:

Kevin Rivera 2B- 2 for 5, HR(3).  BA= .323.
Nick Hill 3B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .250.
Brandon Van Horn SS- 1 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .286.
Matt Krook LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 6.17.

Kevin Rivera should be getting some national attention.  Nice recovery for Matt Krook in  bullpen appearance after his last disaster start.  Maybe his future is as a Jeremy Affeldt type reliever?

Game Wrap 9/4/0216: Cubs 3 Giants 2 in 13 Innings

Every season, successful or not, has its share of gut-wrenching losses.  It sure seems like the Giants have produced more than the usual number this season.  Today's game will undoubtedly rank fairly high on the Gut-Wrench Index in a season which seems destined to go down as a season remembered for gut-wrenching losses.  You had to know deep inside how this one was going to turn out as soon as Santiago Casilla blew his 7'th Save of the season, but did they really have to prolong the agony for another 4 innings?  Key Lines:

Johnny Cueto- 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.92.  Cueto pitched great but his innings were a distant memory by the time this one was settled.

Santiago Casilla- 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 3.27.  Bochy said Casilla threw well.  I saw it differently watching the TV broadcast.  Yes, he threw hard, but had marginal command of the FB and none whatsoever of the hard curve that has been his go-to pitch a lot this season.  Approximately 90% of the curveballs he threw either hung out over the plate or else were so far out of the strike zone as to be "easy takes" as Kruk likes to call them.

To put it simply, Casilla cannot be trusted to save a 1 run lead, period which makes the Giants somewhat less than a playoff caliber team as long as he stays in the role.

Steven Okert- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 4.70.  Maybe it was BABIP luck but Okert dispatched the Cubs on 6 pitches in the 11'th inning.  He had been pitching a lot better in his last 4-5 appearances for Sacramento before his callup.

Joe Nathan- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.  I wasn't watching by the time Nathan came in, but he reportedly was hitting 92 MPH with the FB with good command.  He could be the closer before we're done with this season.

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The Dodgers topped the Pathetic Padres 7-4 to expand their lead over the Giants in the NL West to 3 games.  The Giants lead over the Cardinals for the first Wild Card playoff spot shrank to 1.5 games.  They lead the Mets by 2.5 games for the second Wild Card spot.

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The Giants move on to Coors Field where Matt Moore will face Chad Bettis tomorrow afternoon.