AAA: Sacramento River Cats defeated the Tacoma Rainiers 6-1:
Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Down on the Farm: 4/8/2025
Game Wrap 4/8/2025: Reds 1 Giants 0
The Giants were shutout for the second consecutive game wasting their second consecutive well-pitched game. Brutal! Key Lines:
Casey Schmitt 1B/2B- 2 for 3, 2B. BA= .222. All four of the Giants hits came off the bats of the two least likely hitters in the lineup, Schmitt and Sam Huff. Schmitt also looked more comfortable playing 1B although there was one play where he got lost and barely made it to the bag in time. He made a couple of big league plays freezing a runner at 3B while getting the putout at first base on a grounder to first then throwing out a lead runner at home on a fielder's choice.
Sam Huff C- 2 for 3. BA= .154. Nice job going to the oppo field for his two hits against a pitchers the hitters at the top of the lineup were obviosly struggling with. He also threw out a runner trying to steal 2B.
Landen Roupp RHP- 6 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K's, 8/3 GO/AO. ERA= 3.60. Roupp commanded 3 solid pitches, FB, curve, change up. The changeup in particular is an additional weapon from last year which he gives him a full SP arsenal. If he keeps pitching like this, the Giants will be alright.
Hayden Birdsong RHP- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 0.00. A stroll in the park for Birdsong who looked completely comfortable over 3 shutout innings. Again, if he keeps pitching like that the Giants will be alright.
City Connect Uniforms- OK, I like them. I grew to like the orange/white, white "creamiscle" uniforms too but these ones look really sharp and the color scheme is a little easier on the eyes. Modern and energetic without being garish or excessive. I appreciated the commentary of the Giants Director of Marketing explaining the "connection" to the city- the musical history, particularly the "psychedelic" era of the mid-1960's.
Not sure if it's bad luck or park effects but it looked like the Giants had quite a few hard-hit balls that went right to gloves. We'll see if that regresses positively in the future but for now the lack of runs over the last two games is a concern, especially since both games wasted excellent pitching performances.
The Giants send Justin Verlander RHP to the mound tomorrow afternoon trying to salvage a win in the series facing Nick Martinez RHP.
Monday, April 7, 2025
Game Wrap 4/7/2025: Reds 2 Giants 0
Logan Webb pitched one of the best games of his excellent career as he matched goose eggs with Hunter Greene for 7 inning. But he ran out of pitches before Greene did and Camilo Doval did not get the job done out of the pen in the 8'th inning. Key Lines(I mean that's pretty much the entire game right there but there are a few things we can highlight):
Jung Hoo Lee CF- 1 for 4. BA= .333. Jung Hoo made two sliding catches in CF to help out Logan Webb and he hit the hardest ball of the night with a drive that was caught in the deepest part of Triples Alley. But what I really want to talk about is the Hoo Lee Gans, his own personal boistrous rooting section wearing fire hats and t-shirts with the fan club name on them. Leave it to Giants fans! Hopefully this has a better ending than the Melk Men.
Logan Webb RHP- 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K's, 8/1 GO/AO. ERA= 1.89. Just a scintillating pitching performance by Webb. Too bad he was locked up against one of the most talented young pitchers in the game who was dealing. Oracle Park's notorious lack of carry definitely robbed the Giants of at least a couple of runs and the home plate ump contributed to the lack of scoring with a ridiculously wide strike zone, the opposite of what the Giants saw over the weekend.
Camilo Doval RHP- 0.1 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 1 BB, HBP. ERA= 5.06. Doval couldn't find home plate to save his life forcing Bob Melvin to come get him with the bases loaded and one out. Erik Miller LHP came in and gave up a 2-run double. That was the ballgame. At this point it's hard to see how BoMel can use Doval in close games until he proves he can pitch better. I mean I pretty much knew that was going to happen when he entered the game.
Hunter Greene RHP- 8.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K's, 3/13 GO/AO. ERA= 1.31. Some of those flyballs were roasted. I believe if this game was in Great American Ballpark or a day game in Oracle Park, the Giants woulda won, but as we know, woulda, coulda, shoulda doesn't get you very far. In this particular game the home ballpark hurt the Giants.
The Giants try to even the series tomorrow evening with Landen Roupp RHP facing Nick Lodolo LHP. Lodolo's sinker lowered the worm population in Great American Ballpark opening weekend. Hopefully the Giants hitters have a plan to elevate some of those tomorrow night.
Sunday, April 6, 2025
Down on the Farm: 4/6/2025
AAA: Las Vegas Aviators bombed the Sacramento River Cats 11-4:
Game Wrap 4/6/2025: Giants 5 Mariners 4
Camilo Doval blew the Save but Wilmer Flores singled to drive in the run for a walk-off win. Key Lines:
Down on the Farm: 4/5/2025
AAA: Sacramento River Cats blanked the Las Vegas Aviators 2-0:
Saturday, April 5, 2025
Game Wrap 4/5/2025: Giants 4 Mariners 1
Robbie Ray battled through traffic to a quality start while Jung Hoo Lee and Matt Chapman anchored the the lineup to a much cleaner win than yesterday. Key Lines:
Jung Hoo Lee CF- 3 for 4, 2 2B, SB(3). BA= .321. Lee and Chapman hit back-to-back doubles twice, in the fourth and 6'th innings. While batting third is traditionally a power position, it's been a perfect platform for Lee to set the table for Chapman and Ramos. He is tied for 5'th in MLB for Runs with 9.
Mike Yastrzemski RF= 1 for 1, 3 BB. BA= .333. YtY reached base 4 times in 4 PA's. He drove in a run with the single but was left stranded on the base paths 4 times.
Wilmer Flores DH- 2 for 4. BA= .250. Seems like Wilmer is now firmly entrenched as the every day DH.
Robbie Ray LHP- 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 5 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 3.18. Not the cleanest line you'll ever see but after yesterday's bullpen burner, the Giants needed Ray to get deep into the game. He somehow managed to ge through 6 IP on 88 pitches, 2 short of the 15 pitch/inning target. The walks didn't hurt him as the only run he gave up was a solo HR by Dylan Moore.
Hayden Birdsong RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 0.00. Birdsong got the game to Closer Ryan Walker RHP for the Save(3) allowing Melvin to give the rest of his bullpen a breather. Birdsong has pitched 4 very valuable innings in 2 appearances.
The Giants improved their record to 7-1 and have sole possession of second place in the NL West.