AAA Las Vegas 51's outhit the Fresno Grizzlies 11-8:
Chris Dominguez(LF)- 1 for 5, HR(1), SB(2). BA= .222.
Mark Minicozzi(1B)- 3 for 4, HR(1), BB. BA= .429.
Tyler Colvin(RF)- 3 for 5, 2 2B. BA= .333.
Andrew Susac(Catcher)- 3 for 4. BA= .625.
Jeremy Affeldt(LHP)- 0.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 0 K. ERA= 108.00
Dan Runzler(LHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 0.00.
Heath Hembree(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 0.00.
Noah Snydergaard(RHP)(51's)- 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K's ERA= 3.00.
Dominguez showing his speed/power game. Susac is off to a hot start. Affeldt gets torched. Maybe he needs some more time on the DL?(hint, hint). Snydergaard is considered an elite pitching prospect who will probably get called up to the Mets as soon as he clears service time barriers.
AA New Britain Rock Cats grounded the Richmond Flying Squirrels 4-3:
Jarrett Parker- 2 for 4. BA= .500.
Mario Lisson- 1 for 3, 2B, BB, SB(1). BA= .333.
Angel Villalona(1B)- 2 for 4. BA= .375.
Clayton Blackburn(RHP)- 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K, GO/AO= 7/3. ERA= 1.80.
Nice first AA start for Blackburn. According to Bobby Evans as per Alex Pavlovic in Giants Extra, Angel V has 2 more options which means he could spend 3 more full seasons in the minors before the Giants would be forced to choose between keeping him on the 25 man MLB roster or exposing him to waivers. I did not see it likely that Angel V would be ready to contribute at the MLB level in just 1 year, but after 3 more minor league seasons? Man, the sky is the limit with that bat! Great news for the long term health of the Giants organization!
High A San Jose Giants edged the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 3-2:
Jesus Galindo(CF)- 1 for 4, BB, SB(2). BA= .444.
Elliott Blair(LF)- 2 for 5, 3B, HR(1). BA= .400.
Mitch Delfino(3B)- 1 for 3, HR(1), BB. BA= .500.
Chuckie Jones(RF)- 1 for 3, BB. BA= .333.
Kendry Flores(RHP)- 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 1.29.
Steven Okert(LHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 0.00.
Terrific start for Kendry Flores who reportedly was hitting 93 MPH with the FB. I believe he took a no-hitter into the 6'th inning and allowed only a bunt single until giving up a dinger in the 7'th. Galindo is off to a hot start. Mitch Delfino can hit! The Quakes SP was Josh Beckett who gave up all 3 runs in the first inning and left the game with an apparent injury after facing 1 batter in the 5'th inning.
Low A Augusta Greenjackets defeated the Charleston River Dogs 6-3:
Brandon Bednar(3B)- 3 for 4. BA= .714.
Tyler Horan(RF)- 1 for 2, 2 BB, SB(1). BA=
Ryan Tuntland(1B), Ryder Jones(SS)- 1 for 4, 2B. BA= .125.
Luis Ysla- 3 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 5 BB, 3 K. ERA= 6.00.
Matt Lujan- 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 0.00.
Ysla was wild, but may have been a bit anxious pitching in front of a big crowd. He reportedly hit 93 regularly with the FB and touched 95. Horan's steal of home was part of a double steal with Randy Ortiz.
Friday, April 4, 2014
Game Wrap 4/4/2014: Giants 8 Dodgers 4
Hyun-Jin Ryu has gained a reputation for being an escape artist. Today, the Giants did not let him get off the mat and torched him for 8 runs in 1.2 innings then survived a shaky start by Ryan Vogelsong and being no-hit for 7.1 IP the rest of the way by the Dodgers' bullpen. Key Lines:
Michael Morse- 1 for 4. BA= .286. Doesn't look like much but after Sandoval walked and Buster Posey's double put runners at 2'nd and 3'rd, the situation was tailor made for another Ryu escape act. Instead, Morse singled both of them home and took second on Matt Kemp's error in the OF, and the ball was rolling!
Brandon Hicks- 2 for 4, 2 2B. BA= .600. We've seen it many times before. Minor league lifer has a hot spring training, makes a roster, then disappears. How about this guy? Huge game against the Dodgers in their crib on their opening day. The stuff legends are made of! Now, what happens when Scutaro comes off the DL? Not sure he should hurry!
Ryan Vogelsong- 1 for 3. BA= .333. Vogey helped his cause by driving in 2 runs in the 6-run first. Turns out he needed those runs!
Ryan Vogelsong- 4 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 4 K. ERA= 9.00. Familiar pattern. Vogey starts out strong with a FB that hit 93, but appeared to be out of gas by the 4'th inning and was getting banged around. He says he drifts into bad mechanics. It looks suspiciously like he just runs out of gas. Very strange! Huff and Petit are waiting in the wings.
David Huff- 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K. ERA= It's terrific to have relievers who can go multiple innings, but when you are using them almost every game, it's going to burn out fast. Starters need to step up!
JC Gutierrez- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= JC was hitting 96-97 with the FB and backing it up with a nice changeup. Very nice appearance! What happens when Affeldt comes off the DL?
Jean Machi, Javier Lopez- 1 IP, 0 R each. Bochy now has Petit, Casilla and Romo rested for tomorrow. Giants need Bumgarner to go deep.
Yasiel Puig was scratched from the lineup before the game due to being late for stretching. He thought it started at 10 instead of 9:40. In the second inning, the fans in the OF bleachers were chanting for Puig! Dodgers have a problem on their hands and Puig is a hot mess!
The Win pushes the Giants record to 4-1 and into first place by 0.5 games ahead of the 4-2 Dodgers. The Rockies crushed the D'Backs 12-2 and are 2 games back at 2-3. The Padres lost to Miami 8-2 to fall 2.5 games back at 1-3, and Miami seems to have a pretty decent team this year. The hapless D'Backs are buried in last place at 1-6, 4 games back and things are getting ugly in Arizona!
Madison Bumgarner faces Paul Maholm in game 2 of the series against the Dodgers tomorrow afternoon.
Around the League:
Ryan Braun, who I have on my fantasy team, has a recurrence of his hand injury from last season. He reportedly has no feeling in his right thumb to the point that he has worn sores and blisters in it from throwing the ball and gripping the bat. Yikes! That does not sound good at all, and is not likely to get better with a day or two of rest! Probably serves him right!
Michael Morse- 1 for 4. BA= .286. Doesn't look like much but after Sandoval walked and Buster Posey's double put runners at 2'nd and 3'rd, the situation was tailor made for another Ryu escape act. Instead, Morse singled both of them home and took second on Matt Kemp's error in the OF, and the ball was rolling!
Brandon Hicks- 2 for 4, 2 2B. BA= .600. We've seen it many times before. Minor league lifer has a hot spring training, makes a roster, then disappears. How about this guy? Huge game against the Dodgers in their crib on their opening day. The stuff legends are made of! Now, what happens when Scutaro comes off the DL? Not sure he should hurry!
Ryan Vogelsong- 1 for 3. BA= .333. Vogey helped his cause by driving in 2 runs in the 6-run first. Turns out he needed those runs!
Ryan Vogelsong- 4 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 4 K. ERA= 9.00. Familiar pattern. Vogey starts out strong with a FB that hit 93, but appeared to be out of gas by the 4'th inning and was getting banged around. He says he drifts into bad mechanics. It looks suspiciously like he just runs out of gas. Very strange! Huff and Petit are waiting in the wings.
David Huff- 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K. ERA= It's terrific to have relievers who can go multiple innings, but when you are using them almost every game, it's going to burn out fast. Starters need to step up!
JC Gutierrez- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= JC was hitting 96-97 with the FB and backing it up with a nice changeup. Very nice appearance! What happens when Affeldt comes off the DL?
Jean Machi, Javier Lopez- 1 IP, 0 R each. Bochy now has Petit, Casilla and Romo rested for tomorrow. Giants need Bumgarner to go deep.
Yasiel Puig was scratched from the lineup before the game due to being late for stretching. He thought it started at 10 instead of 9:40. In the second inning, the fans in the OF bleachers were chanting for Puig! Dodgers have a problem on their hands and Puig is a hot mess!
The Win pushes the Giants record to 4-1 and into first place by 0.5 games ahead of the 4-2 Dodgers. The Rockies crushed the D'Backs 12-2 and are 2 games back at 2-3. The Padres lost to Miami 8-2 to fall 2.5 games back at 1-3, and Miami seems to have a pretty decent team this year. The hapless D'Backs are buried in last place at 1-6, 4 games back and things are getting ugly in Arizona!
Madison Bumgarner faces Paul Maholm in game 2 of the series against the Dodgers tomorrow afternoon.
Around the League:
Ryan Braun, who I have on my fantasy team, has a recurrence of his hand injury from last season. He reportedly has no feeling in his right thumb to the point that he has worn sores and blisters in it from throwing the ball and gripping the bat. Yikes! That does not sound good at all, and is not likely to get better with a day or two of rest! Probably serves him right!
Down on the Farm: 4/3/2014
AAA Las Vegas 51's pounded the Fresno Grizzlies 9-2:
Andrew Susac(C)- 2 for 4.
Adam Duvall(3B)- 1 for 4, HR(1).
Mike Kickham(LHP)- 5 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K's.
Not a bad start for Kickham. Vegas is a tough place to pitch. Kontos gave up 5 runs in 1.2 IP.
AA New Britain Rock Cats mauled the Richmond Flying Squirrels 10-2:
Jarrett Parker(RF)- 2 for 4, 2B.
Mario Lisson(LF-3B)- 1 for 3, HR(1), BB.
Ty Blach(LHP)- 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K's.
Again, we see the players who have seen this level before doing well and the newbies struggling.
High A: San Jose Giants topped the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 7-1:
Jesus Galindo(CF)- 3 for 5, 2B, SB(1).
Mitch Delfino(3B)- 3 for 5, 2B.
Rando Moreno(2B)- 2 for 4, SB(1), Sac.
Ben Turner(Catcher)- 2 for 4, 2B.
Chuckie Jones(RF)- 1 for 3, HR(1), BB, HBP.
Chris Stratton(RHP)- 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K, GO/AO= 8/2.
Ryan Bradley(LHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K.
Ian Gardeck, Jeff Soptic- 1 IP, 0 R each.
I think Chuckie Jones is really a guy to keep an eye on this year. Stratton seemed to have the two seamer going good. If anyone was there, maybe they can fill us in on velocities if the ballpark gun was working.
Low A Charleston Sea Dogs defeated the Augusta Greenjackets 5-1:
Christian Arroyo(2B)- 1 for 4, 3B.
Brandon Bednar(3B)- 2 for 3.
Chase Johnson(RHP)- 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.
Interesting. Arroyo played 2B, Bednar 3B and Ryder Jones SS in this one. I wonder if that is the planned configuration for the season?
Around the League:
Boston Red Sox LHP prospect, Henry Owens, threw a 6 inning no-hitter for the AA Portland Sea Dogs in their opener.
Andrew Susac(C)- 2 for 4.
Adam Duvall(3B)- 1 for 4, HR(1).
Mike Kickham(LHP)- 5 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K's.
Not a bad start for Kickham. Vegas is a tough place to pitch. Kontos gave up 5 runs in 1.2 IP.
AA New Britain Rock Cats mauled the Richmond Flying Squirrels 10-2:
Jarrett Parker(RF)- 2 for 4, 2B.
Mario Lisson(LF-3B)- 1 for 3, HR(1), BB.
Ty Blach(LHP)- 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K's.
Again, we see the players who have seen this level before doing well and the newbies struggling.
High A: San Jose Giants topped the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 7-1:
Jesus Galindo(CF)- 3 for 5, 2B, SB(1).
Mitch Delfino(3B)- 3 for 5, 2B.
Rando Moreno(2B)- 2 for 4, SB(1), Sac.
Ben Turner(Catcher)- 2 for 4, 2B.
Chuckie Jones(RF)- 1 for 3, HR(1), BB, HBP.
Chris Stratton(RHP)- 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K, GO/AO= 8/2.
Ryan Bradley(LHP)- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K.
Ian Gardeck, Jeff Soptic- 1 IP, 0 R each.
I think Chuckie Jones is really a guy to keep an eye on this year. Stratton seemed to have the two seamer going good. If anyone was there, maybe they can fill us in on velocities if the ballpark gun was working.
Low A Charleston Sea Dogs defeated the Augusta Greenjackets 5-1:
Christian Arroyo(2B)- 1 for 4, 3B.
Brandon Bednar(3B)- 2 for 3.
Chase Johnson(RHP)- 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.
Interesting. Arroyo played 2B, Bednar 3B and Ryder Jones SS in this one. I wonder if that is the planned configuration for the season?
Around the League:
Boston Red Sox LHP prospect, Henry Owens, threw a 6 inning no-hitter for the AA Portland Sea Dogs in their opener.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Game Wrap 4/3/2013: Giants 8 D'Backs 5
Angel Pagan capped a 5 run rally in the 8'th inning with a 3 run dinger to lead the Giants to a come-from-behind win and a 3-1 series win over the D'Backs. Key Lines:
Angel Pagan- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(1). BA= .421. My goodness! Pagan is on fire! I almost posted a comment yesterday about Pagan being the MVP of the team. Wish I had! Seriously though, if you look at what he has done for this team since Brian Sabean stole him from Sandy Alderson and the Mets and what the Giants haven't done when he has missed time with injury, you could make a case that he is the indispensable player on the team. Right now, he's doing everything!
Brandon Belt- 1 for 5, HR(3). BA= .333. Belt now leads the league in HR's. Too bad he doesn't get to play all of his games in Arizona! I think he's a good bet to hit 25 this season, though. I know I'm glad I drafted him for my fantasy team.
Hector Sanchez- 1 for 3, 2B, SF. BA= .500. Can somebody please find The Hector a place to play everyday? This dude is READY to be a starting C in MLB!
Brandon Hicks- 1 for 1, HR(1). BA= 1.000. Looks like Hicks' cup of coffee just got a bit deeper. At this point, I'm not sure I wouldn't let Arias be the odd man out when and if Scooter comes back.
Michael Morse- 1 for 1. BA= .300. D'Backs intentionally walked Buster Posey to pitch to Morse. He made them pay!
Brandon Crawford- 0 for 2, 2 BB, SB(1). BA= .308. Crawford has looked good so far.
Tim Lincecum- 6 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 6.00. Two 2-run dingers spoiled an otherwise pretty good pitching performance, and he came within 1 out of a QS. Timmy's peripherals have been better than his results for 2 years now, though.
Santiago Casilla- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 0.00. Looks like everybody in the bullpen not named Romo and Lopez are going to be expected to pitch more than 1 inning at times. I say, it's about time! Great effort by Casilla here keeping Romo on the bench to save him for the LA series.
With the Win, the Giants record improves to 3-1, 0.5 games behind the idle 4-1 Dodgers. The Padres were idle at 1-2, 2 games off the pace. The Rockies are 1-3 after losing to Miami again, 2.5 games behind the Dodgers while the D'Backs bring up the rear in the NL West with a 1-5 record, already 3.5 games behind.
The Giants now move on to LA where they play the Dodgers tomorrow afternoon in their home opener, with Ryan Vogelsong facing Hyun-Jin Ryu.
Around the League: Perhaps the most significant development in the first series' of the season is the absolute destruction of the Angels by the Seattle Mariners. Either the Mariners are way better than most analysts gave them credit for, or the Angels are way worse. Maybe a little of both?
Angel Pagan- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(1). BA= .421. My goodness! Pagan is on fire! I almost posted a comment yesterday about Pagan being the MVP of the team. Wish I had! Seriously though, if you look at what he has done for this team since Brian Sabean stole him from Sandy Alderson and the Mets and what the Giants haven't done when he has missed time with injury, you could make a case that he is the indispensable player on the team. Right now, he's doing everything!
Brandon Belt- 1 for 5, HR(3). BA= .333. Belt now leads the league in HR's. Too bad he doesn't get to play all of his games in Arizona! I think he's a good bet to hit 25 this season, though. I know I'm glad I drafted him for my fantasy team.
Hector Sanchez- 1 for 3, 2B, SF. BA= .500. Can somebody please find The Hector a place to play everyday? This dude is READY to be a starting C in MLB!
Brandon Hicks- 1 for 1, HR(1). BA= 1.000. Looks like Hicks' cup of coffee just got a bit deeper. At this point, I'm not sure I wouldn't let Arias be the odd man out when and if Scooter comes back.
Michael Morse- 1 for 1. BA= .300. D'Backs intentionally walked Buster Posey to pitch to Morse. He made them pay!
Brandon Crawford- 0 for 2, 2 BB, SB(1). BA= .308. Crawford has looked good so far.
Tim Lincecum- 6 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 6.00. Two 2-run dingers spoiled an otherwise pretty good pitching performance, and he came within 1 out of a QS. Timmy's peripherals have been better than his results for 2 years now, though.
Santiago Casilla- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 0.00. Looks like everybody in the bullpen not named Romo and Lopez are going to be expected to pitch more than 1 inning at times. I say, it's about time! Great effort by Casilla here keeping Romo on the bench to save him for the LA series.
With the Win, the Giants record improves to 3-1, 0.5 games behind the idle 4-1 Dodgers. The Padres were idle at 1-2, 2 games off the pace. The Rockies are 1-3 after losing to Miami again, 2.5 games behind the Dodgers while the D'Backs bring up the rear in the NL West with a 1-5 record, already 3.5 games behind.
The Giants now move on to LA where they play the Dodgers tomorrow afternoon in their home opener, with Ryan Vogelsong facing Hyun-Jin Ryu.
Around the League: Perhaps the most significant development in the first series' of the season is the absolute destruction of the Angels by the Seattle Mariners. Either the Mariners are way better than most analysts gave them credit for, or the Angels are way worse. Maybe a little of both?
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Game Wrap 4/2/2014: Giants 2 D'Backs 0
Tim Hudson was rock solid in his Giants regular season debut shutting down the D'Backs into the 8'th inning and gaining the W. Key Lines:
Angel Pagan- 2 for 5, SB(1). BA= .357. Pagan led the way in this game driving in the go-ahead run in the 5'th inning and adding 2 terrific catches in CF.
Tim Hudson- 7.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K. ERA= 0.00. Hudson was terrific. He had full command of all his pitches and dominated into the 8'th inning. He probably would have completed 8 were it not for Adrianza letting a soft liner go through his glove for an error to start the inning.
Ehire Adrianza- 0 for 3, BB. BA= .200 If we are going to mention Adrianza's error, it's only fair to point out that he drew a tough walk with 1 out in the 5'th, was sacrificed to second by Huddy and driven in by Angel Pagan to give the Giants their go-ahead run. He also had an 10 or 11 pitch AB later in the game. I ended on a pop fly to CF, but whenever you force an opposing pitcher to throw that many pitches in 1 AB, you've helped your team.
Michael Morse- 1 for 3, 2B. BA= .222 Morse's double drove in the insurance run in the 6'th and he crushed it! Laserbeam liner to dead CF. It never got too far off the ground, but it got on the CF so quickly, he basically did not have time to react and catch it. Definitely one of the hardest hit balls you will see.
If the rest of the evening plays out as expected, the Win puts the Giants in sole possession of second place in the NL West, 1 game behind the Dodgers who are beating the Padres 5-1. The Padres slip into a tie for 3'rd place with the Rockies who beat Miami 6-5 while the D'Backs fell to 1-4, 3 games behind the division leaders.
Tim Lincecum faces Giants nemesis Bronson Arroyo tomorrow afternoon trying to go 3-1 on the series.
Minor League Season starts tomorrow. We'll have Down on the Farm summaries daily.
Around the League: Billy Beane is being reminded by Jim Johnson's 2 Blown Saves why it's not a good idea to spend a lot of money on a closer with a lot of Saves and bad peripheral stats.
Scouting the Draft: HS hitter Joe Dunand, ARod's nephew, hit 8 HR's in 8 AB's recently. The Giants were reportedly one of the teams to send a scout to check him out.
Angel Pagan- 2 for 5, SB(1). BA= .357. Pagan led the way in this game driving in the go-ahead run in the 5'th inning and adding 2 terrific catches in CF.
Tim Hudson- 7.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K. ERA= 0.00. Hudson was terrific. He had full command of all his pitches and dominated into the 8'th inning. He probably would have completed 8 were it not for Adrianza letting a soft liner go through his glove for an error to start the inning.
Ehire Adrianza- 0 for 3, BB. BA= .200 If we are going to mention Adrianza's error, it's only fair to point out that he drew a tough walk with 1 out in the 5'th, was sacrificed to second by Huddy and driven in by Angel Pagan to give the Giants their go-ahead run. He also had an 10 or 11 pitch AB later in the game. I ended on a pop fly to CF, but whenever you force an opposing pitcher to throw that many pitches in 1 AB, you've helped your team.
Michael Morse- 1 for 3, 2B. BA= .222 Morse's double drove in the insurance run in the 6'th and he crushed it! Laserbeam liner to dead CF. It never got too far off the ground, but it got on the CF so quickly, he basically did not have time to react and catch it. Definitely one of the hardest hit balls you will see.
If the rest of the evening plays out as expected, the Win puts the Giants in sole possession of second place in the NL West, 1 game behind the Dodgers who are beating the Padres 5-1. The Padres slip into a tie for 3'rd place with the Rockies who beat Miami 6-5 while the D'Backs fell to 1-4, 3 games behind the division leaders.
Tim Lincecum faces Giants nemesis Bronson Arroyo tomorrow afternoon trying to go 3-1 on the series.
Minor League Season starts tomorrow. We'll have Down on the Farm summaries daily.
Around the League: Billy Beane is being reminded by Jim Johnson's 2 Blown Saves why it's not a good idea to spend a lot of money on a closer with a lot of Saves and bad peripheral stats.
Scouting the Draft: HS hitter Joe Dunand, ARod's nephew, hit 8 HR's in 8 AB's recently. The Giants were reportedly one of the teams to send a scout to check him out.
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Game Wrap 4/1/2014: D'Backs 5 Giants 4
The Giants failed to score after Brandon Belt's 3 run HR in the top of the first inning while the D'Backs chipped away at Matt Cain and JC Gutierrez with the help of some questionable umpiring to pull out the win. Key Lines:
Brandon Belt- 2 for 4, HR(2). BA= .556. Belt is being much more aggressive early in the counts and is getting some good pitches to hit. 2 dingerz in 2 games!
Matt Cain- 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. ERA= 3.60. In a way, Cain's stuff might have been too good as his slider had all kinds of movement on it in two planes. That movement might have made it harder to command and he might have been a little too stubborn in trying to establish it. The result was a huge percentage of his 100 pitches out of the stretch. Still, had it not been for 2 very questionable umpiring calls in the 4'th inning, he might have pulled a Win out of this one. With AJ Pollack at first, Cain appeared to pick him off with the ump starting to pull the trigger on an Out call, but then called him safe. The replay appeared to show Belt taking him on the upper arm before his hand hit the bag, but I have to admit the replays were inconclusive. Having used up their replay appeal, the Giants could not ask for one then 2 plays later, Pollack scored on a passed ball by Buster Posey, but on replays appeared to hit Matt Cain's glove on top of the plate with his foot before he touched home plate. The ump called him safe.
JC Gutierrez- 2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K. Cain left the game after 5 due to the pitch count. Gutierrez promptly coughed it up. He had a very good FB, but kept hanging breaking balls and the D'backs kept hammering them. Kruk did a great job explaining that if you want to pitch backward, you better make sure you get the breaking ball over for a strike, otherwise you are sitting 2-0 after 2 breaking balls and everybody in the ballpark knows you have to throw a FB for a strike on the next pitch, maybe the next two pitches!
The loss evens the Giants record at 1-1 and they fall 1 game behind the Dodgers who topped the Padres 3-2 to run their record to 3-1. The Padres stayed even with the Giants, tied for 2'nd place in the NL West. The D'Backs got their first win and are 2 games off the pace in 4'th place at 1-3, while the Rockies lost to the Marlins for the second straight game to fall to 0-2, in last place by percentage points.
Tim Hudson makes his Giants regular season debut tomorrow evening facing Trevor Cahill.
Around the League:
Brian Wilson goes on the DL with nerve irritation in his elbow. THAT is not good after 2 TJ's. He definitely did not look right on Sunday night in San Diego.
The Dodgers also announced that Clayton Kershaw would begin a "submaximal throwing program expected to last 2-3 weeks which likely puts his return to the Dodgers' rotation into May.
Catcher Wilson Ramos of the Nationals, who has missed a ton of time to injury in the last 2 seasons now is believed to have a hamate injury in his wrist and may need surgery.
Bobby Parnell, Mets closer, has a partial tear of the "medial collateral ligament" of his right elbow. I'm no orthopedist nor anatomist, but the ulna is on the medial aspect of the elbow, so I'm taking this to be another name for a UCL tear.
Jose Reyes, the glass man who plays on concrete, hit the 15 day DL after just one AB due to a hammy.
Brandon Belt- 2 for 4, HR(2). BA= .556. Belt is being much more aggressive early in the counts and is getting some good pitches to hit. 2 dingerz in 2 games!
Matt Cain- 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. ERA= 3.60. In a way, Cain's stuff might have been too good as his slider had all kinds of movement on it in two planes. That movement might have made it harder to command and he might have been a little too stubborn in trying to establish it. The result was a huge percentage of his 100 pitches out of the stretch. Still, had it not been for 2 very questionable umpiring calls in the 4'th inning, he might have pulled a Win out of this one. With AJ Pollack at first, Cain appeared to pick him off with the ump starting to pull the trigger on an Out call, but then called him safe. The replay appeared to show Belt taking him on the upper arm before his hand hit the bag, but I have to admit the replays were inconclusive. Having used up their replay appeal, the Giants could not ask for one then 2 plays later, Pollack scored on a passed ball by Buster Posey, but on replays appeared to hit Matt Cain's glove on top of the plate with his foot before he touched home plate. The ump called him safe.
JC Gutierrez- 2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K. Cain left the game after 5 due to the pitch count. Gutierrez promptly coughed it up. He had a very good FB, but kept hanging breaking balls and the D'backs kept hammering them. Kruk did a great job explaining that if you want to pitch backward, you better make sure you get the breaking ball over for a strike, otherwise you are sitting 2-0 after 2 breaking balls and everybody in the ballpark knows you have to throw a FB for a strike on the next pitch, maybe the next two pitches!
The loss evens the Giants record at 1-1 and they fall 1 game behind the Dodgers who topped the Padres 3-2 to run their record to 3-1. The Padres stayed even with the Giants, tied for 2'nd place in the NL West. The D'Backs got their first win and are 2 games off the pace in 4'th place at 1-3, while the Rockies lost to the Marlins for the second straight game to fall to 0-2, in last place by percentage points.
Tim Hudson makes his Giants regular season debut tomorrow evening facing Trevor Cahill.
Around the League:
Brian Wilson goes on the DL with nerve irritation in his elbow. THAT is not good after 2 TJ's. He definitely did not look right on Sunday night in San Diego.
The Dodgers also announced that Clayton Kershaw would begin a "submaximal throwing program expected to last 2-3 weeks which likely puts his return to the Dodgers' rotation into May.
Catcher Wilson Ramos of the Nationals, who has missed a ton of time to injury in the last 2 seasons now is believed to have a hamate injury in his wrist and may need surgery.
Bobby Parnell, Mets closer, has a partial tear of the "medial collateral ligament" of his right elbow. I'm no orthopedist nor anatomist, but the ulna is on the medial aspect of the elbow, so I'm taking this to be another name for a UCL tear.
Jose Reyes, the glass man who plays on concrete, hit the 15 day DL after just one AB due to a hammy.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Game Wrap 3/31/2014: Giants 9 D'Backs 8
Buster Posey capped a furious Giants comeback from 6-2 and 7-3 deficits with a monstrous 2 run homer in the top of the 9'th inning. Sergio Romo then held off the Dangerous D'Backs in the bottom of the 9'th for the Save. Key Lines:
Angel Pagan- 2 for 5, 2B. Pagan looked bad in his first AB against Brandon McCarthy, striking out, but came back to score a run and drive in 2 in the Giants epic comeback.
Brandon Belt- 3 for 5, HR(1). Belt had a rough day in the field and struck out in his first two AB's, but redeemed himself with with a long HR to RF and 2 other hits scoring a total of 3 runs in the game.
Buster Posey- 2 for 5, HR(1). Buster also did not look so hot in his first couple of AB's, but hit a scorching single to LF and then crushed a ball that hit the facade of the second deck of the LF bleachers for the game winning HR. He also gunned down Cliff Pennington on a strike 'em out/throw 'em out to shut down a potential D'Backs rally.
Brandon Crawford- 2 for 4, 2B. Crawford had a nice game. The double was crushed to dead CF and banged off the wall.
Ehire Adrianza- 1 for 2, 2B. IMO, Adrianza had THE key hit of the entire game! The Giants were down 7-3 in the 7'th. Morse had opened the inning with a single, but Crawford flied out and Arias hit into a force. With 2 outs and the rally looking like it was dead, Adrianza came up as a pinch hitter took some nice looking hacks and eventually turned on a pitch, scorching it down the RF line into the corner for a double that scored Arias from 1B. He then came home on Pagan's double and the rally that tied the game was on. Adrianza took some pretty good looking swings in his second AB too. He definitely looks like he's up there intending to do some damage with that bat. He also seems to have some clutchiness to him. Love this kid!
Madison Bumgarner- 4 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K's. Bumgarner wasn't the sharpest I've seen him by any stretch, but his defense let him down in the 4'th. Belt muffed a groundball to open the inning then Sandoval bobbled a potential DP ball, then pulled Crawford off the bag with a hurried throw. 2 runners on, nobody out on 2 consecutive errors. That is a recipe for disaster in that ballpark and it ate Bumgarner up. He got out of the inning with 4 unearned runs allowed but by then his pitch count was way up there and he was lifted for a PH in the top of the 5'th.
Yusmeiro Petit- 2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. Not a great pitching line for Petit, but it could have been a whole lot worse as he pitched his way out of a bases loaded no out jam in the 5'th after 2 runs had already scored. On a night when the ball was carrying and the infield was playing like the I-5 truck lane, Petit did well to limit the damage.
Jean Machi- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. Machi was the pitching hero of this one as he shut down the D'Backs on a crazy night and preserved the tie long enough for Buster to unleash his power. Machi gets a very well deserved W.
Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K. Romo did not start off well, allowing a solo HR to Montero to start the bottom of the 9'th. He then gave up a bunt hit to Owings that Pablo probably should have fielded. After Owings was sacrificed to 2'nd, up came Eric Chavez, who you might remember as the guy who broke up Petit's perfect game last year. Romo struck him out with a very gutsy changeup. Getting the RH hitting AJ Pollack was then a piece of cake to end the game.
The Win puts the Giants into a tie for first place in the NL West with the San Diego Padres percentage points up on the 2-1 Dodgers. The Padres and Dodgers were idle today. The Colorado Rockies were clobbered 10-1 by the Miami Marlins and are a game back, and of course the D'Backs lost and are 0-3, 2 games off the pace.
Matt Cain takes on Wade Miley tomorrow evening in Arizona.
Angel Pagan- 2 for 5, 2B. Pagan looked bad in his first AB against Brandon McCarthy, striking out, but came back to score a run and drive in 2 in the Giants epic comeback.
Brandon Belt- 3 for 5, HR(1). Belt had a rough day in the field and struck out in his first two AB's, but redeemed himself with with a long HR to RF and 2 other hits scoring a total of 3 runs in the game.
Buster Posey- 2 for 5, HR(1). Buster also did not look so hot in his first couple of AB's, but hit a scorching single to LF and then crushed a ball that hit the facade of the second deck of the LF bleachers for the game winning HR. He also gunned down Cliff Pennington on a strike 'em out/throw 'em out to shut down a potential D'Backs rally.
Brandon Crawford- 2 for 4, 2B. Crawford had a nice game. The double was crushed to dead CF and banged off the wall.
Ehire Adrianza- 1 for 2, 2B. IMO, Adrianza had THE key hit of the entire game! The Giants were down 7-3 in the 7'th. Morse had opened the inning with a single, but Crawford flied out and Arias hit into a force. With 2 outs and the rally looking like it was dead, Adrianza came up as a pinch hitter took some nice looking hacks and eventually turned on a pitch, scorching it down the RF line into the corner for a double that scored Arias from 1B. He then came home on Pagan's double and the rally that tied the game was on. Adrianza took some pretty good looking swings in his second AB too. He definitely looks like he's up there intending to do some damage with that bat. He also seems to have some clutchiness to him. Love this kid!
Madison Bumgarner- 4 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K's. Bumgarner wasn't the sharpest I've seen him by any stretch, but his defense let him down in the 4'th. Belt muffed a groundball to open the inning then Sandoval bobbled a potential DP ball, then pulled Crawford off the bag with a hurried throw. 2 runners on, nobody out on 2 consecutive errors. That is a recipe for disaster in that ballpark and it ate Bumgarner up. He got out of the inning with 4 unearned runs allowed but by then his pitch count was way up there and he was lifted for a PH in the top of the 5'th.
Yusmeiro Petit- 2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. Not a great pitching line for Petit, but it could have been a whole lot worse as he pitched his way out of a bases loaded no out jam in the 5'th after 2 runs had already scored. On a night when the ball was carrying and the infield was playing like the I-5 truck lane, Petit did well to limit the damage.
Jean Machi- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. Machi was the pitching hero of this one as he shut down the D'Backs on a crazy night and preserved the tie long enough for Buster to unleash his power. Machi gets a very well deserved W.
Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K. Romo did not start off well, allowing a solo HR to Montero to start the bottom of the 9'th. He then gave up a bunt hit to Owings that Pablo probably should have fielded. After Owings was sacrificed to 2'nd, up came Eric Chavez, who you might remember as the guy who broke up Petit's perfect game last year. Romo struck him out with a very gutsy changeup. Getting the RH hitting AJ Pollack was then a piece of cake to end the game.
The Win puts the Giants into a tie for first place in the NL West with the San Diego Padres percentage points up on the 2-1 Dodgers. The Padres and Dodgers were idle today. The Colorado Rockies were clobbered 10-1 by the Miami Marlins and are a game back, and of course the D'Backs lost and are 0-3, 2 games off the pace.
Matt Cain takes on Wade Miley tomorrow evening in Arizona.
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