Down on the Farm: 5/7/2025

AAA:  Tacoma Rainiers shut out the Sacramento River Cats 3-0.

Carson Whisenhunt LHP- 7 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 K's, 10/2 GO/AO.  ERA= 4.14.

6 different River Cats had one hit each.  Marco Luciano LF and Grant McCray CF doubled.

AA:  Harrisburg Senators obliterated the Richmond Flying Squirrels 9-0.

Diego Velasquez 2B- 3 for 5.  BA= .314.

Sabin Ceballos 3B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .211.

Jack Choate LHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 4 K's, 5/1 GO/AO.  ERA= 2.96.

Squirrels lose their last two games by a combined score of 25-0 despite the addition of minor league free agents trying to jump start the lineup.  Seems the hitting is like this for the Giants AA Eastern League teams as far back as I can remember.  Their hitting prospects just hit a wall there.  Makes what Diego Velasquez is doing there all the more impressive.  This year the pitchers are struggling too.  

A+:  Hillsboro Hops defeated the Eugene Emeralds 7-4.

Bo Davidson CF- 2 for 5, SB(1).  BA= .337.

Onil Perez C- 2 for 3.  BA= .245.

Shane Rademacher RHP- 6 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 4 K's, 7/2 GO/AO.  ERA= 1.50.

A:  San Jose Giants beat the Lake Elsinore Storm 8-3.

Carlos Gutierrez RF- 2 for 4, BB, SB(11).  BA= .310.

Dakota Jordan CF- 1 for 4, 2B, BB, SB(12).  BA= .296.

Zander Darby DH- 1 for 2, 2 BB, SB(5).  BA= .320.

Robert Hipwell 1B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .167.

Charlie McDaniel LHP- 4.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.75.

Rookie ACL:  Giants did not play today.

Game Wrap 5/7/2025: Giants 3 Cubs 1

On a day when a cold wind blew in from the left at Wrigley Field, Robbie Ray and the bullpen was nails and the lineup scratched out three runs for the win.  Key Lines:

Willy Adames SS- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .230.  Adames had a good game but did not figure in the scoring although his single in the first inning advanced YtY into scoring position which paid off when Wilmer Flores drove him in with a single.  His BA is creeping closer to his career average although the power numbers still lag.

Wilmer Flores DH- 3 for 4, R, RBI.  BA= .256.  Wilmer's RBI single in the first inning drove in the Giants first run.  He later singled and scored on Christian Koss's 2-out single for the Giants third run in the 4'th inning.  Wilmer is batting .321 over his last 7 games and .333 over his last 15.

Lamonte Wade Jr 1B- 2 for 4, 2B.  Some of those scorchers LMWJ seems to hit a lot of are starting to find holes in the right side.  His double in the 4'th inning was the key hit that drove in Matt Chapman with the eventual winning run and would have driven in a faster trailing runner but Wilmer stopped at third.  

Christian Koss 2B- 1 for 3, BB.  BA= .200.  Koss actually hit 3 balls hard but his 2-out single in the 4'th inning with runners at 2'nd and 3'rd initially drove in 2 runs but LMWJ was called out at home on a replay.

Robbie Ray LHP- 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K's, 8/3 GO/AO.  ERA= 2.84.  The outfielders for both teams spent much of the afternoon chasing flyballs that blew yards off course in the wind.  The only run scored off Ray was a such a play where Heliot Ramos had to chase a ball that looked like a routine fly out off the bat but blew all they way to very shallow LF and he missed a diving catch. This was Ray's third straight Quality Start a much-maligned stat that I think should be used more as measure of SP effectiveness in the "5 and dive" age.  

Ryan Walker RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, Save(7).  ERA= 6.08.  Walker gave up a leadoff single and appeared to have zero command of his slider.  Fortunately the sinker-fastball was pinpoint and he got a GIDP and ground out for the Save.  He's going to need that slider though. Hopefully he and the pitching coaches can get it figured out.

Camilo Doval RHP and Tyler Rogers RHP pitched scoreless 7'th and 8'th innings respectively.

The Giants take another road series against a really good team.  Their overall record is 24-14.  

The Giants now travel to Minneapolis where they get a day off tomorrow before starting a weekend series against the Twins on Friday with Jordan Hicks RHP facing Bailey Ober RHP in an Apple TV+ game.

Down on the Farm: 5/6/2025

 AAA:  Sacramento River Cats defeated the Tacoma Rainiers 4-2.

Carson Ragsdale RHP- 3.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 6.64.

Juan Mercedes RHP- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 9.00.

Tristan Beck RHP- 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.14.

7 River Cats batters had one hit each, 5 went for XBH's.  

AA:  Harrisburg Senators crushed the Richmond Flying Squirrels 19-0.

Manuel Mercedes RHP-  2.1 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 3 BB, 0 K, 7/1 GO/AO, 2 HR.  ERA= 10.50.  I post Mercedes line only to make the point that groundball outs are good but the days of pitchers being able to have sustained success just pounding the zone with sinkers is probably long gone.  If batters know it's coming they can adjust their swing path to elevate and punish.  I haven't seen Mercedes pitch nor do I have a complete scouting report but from his pitching lines, but it sure looks like he is a one-pitch, sinker guy.  Gotta develop those secondary pitches and probably a good idea to mix in a few 4-seamers to change the vertical sight lines.

The Squirrels managed just 4 singles and 5 walks.  Braxton Roxby RHP pitched 1.1 scoreless innings in mop up time but 4 other pitchers all got rocked.  

A+:  Eugene Emeralds outscored the Hillsboro Hops 9-7.

Scott Bandura DH- 3 for 5, HR(2).  BA= .348.

Zane Zielinski SS- 3 for 4, SB(9).  BA= .297.

Nicolas Herold RHP- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's, Save(2).  ERA= 0.00.

Is Zane Zielinski a sleeper in the system?  Nicolas Herold is starting to generate some buzz in the Closer track.

A:  Lake Elsinore Storm edged out the San Jose Giants 4-3.

Carlos Gutierrez RF- 2 for 4, 2B, SB(10).  BA= .302.

Dakota Jordan CF- 2 for 4, SB(11).  BA= .298.

Carlos Gutierrez is a good looking ballplayer and he's putting up good looking numbers.  

Rookie ACL:  D'Backs struck the Giants 10-6.

Jhonny Level SS(18 yo)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .385.

Rayner Arias LF(19 yo)- 2 for 3, 3B, 2 BB.  BA= .455.

Angel Guzman 1B(19 yo)- 1 for 2, HR(1), 3 BB.  BA= .200.

Dario Reynoso 2B- 1 for 3, HBP, SB(1).  BA= .400.

Game Wrap 5/6/2025: Giants 14 Cubs 5(11 innings)

 When you see the final score and the number of innings, you immediately know something unusual happened.  The Giants blew a 2-run lead in the 9'th inning only to come back in the 11'th and set an all-time franchise record for runs in an extra-inning game.  Key Lines:

Jung Hoo Lee CF- 3 for 6, HR(4), 2 R, 3 RBI.  BA= .312.  Jung Hoo got the Giants on the scoreboard first with a 2-run HR into the RF bleachers with Willy Adames SS on base.  He also had hit, run and RBI in the 11'th.

Matt Chapman 3B- 3 for 5, 2B, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI.  BA= .225.  Chapman is 5 for 8 in the first two games of the series.  D was much better in this game.

Heliot Ramos LF- 4 for 5, 2 2B, HBP, 2 R, 2 RBI.  BA= .257.  The two doubles game in the mayhem of the 11'th inning.  He also beat out a couple of infield hits which is becoming a thing for him.

Patrick Bailey C- 2 for 4, 2 SF, Run, 3 RBI.  BA= .194.  Don't look now, but Bailey has a 4-game hit streak and is 6 for 14 in that stretch, plus the 2 sac flies today.  He's all of a sudden making solid contact again.

Brett Wisely 2B- 0 for 3, 2 Sac, Run, 2 RBI.  BA= .000.  Nice squeeze bunt by Wisely in the wild 11'th.  

Justin Verlander RHP- 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.50.  I thought Verlander looked as sharp as he has all season in the first two innings but then once again, the third inning jumped up and bit him.  He gave up another run in the 5'th and left with a 5-3 lead which stood up until the 9'th inning.

Ryan Walker RHP- 0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 6.57.  When you are the Closer and have a 2-run lead the last thing you want to do is walk 2 of the first 3 batters which is what Walker did.  Justin Turner(yes him) singled in a run.  Walker struck out the switch-hitting Ian Happ but Bob Melvin wanted Erik Miller LHP to face the lefty-hitting Kyle Tucker.  Tucker singled in the tying run which was charged to Walker(although he was credited with a Hold and Miller was charged with the Blown Save).  We may or may not have a full-blown Closer controversy as Dave Fleming commented that Walker did not look happy about being taken out and the McCovey Chronicles BlueSky feed commented that while they did not disagree with the move, if it didn't work out it created drama.  So, did it work out or not?  The Save was blown but the Giants ended up winning the game.  I'm not sure they win the game if Walker pitches to Tucker and I think Melvin made the right move.  One more observation:  I know Walker likes to work fast but it looked to me like he was rushing to make the next pitch and might have helped himself to take a couple of deep breaths and slow down just a bit. Also, I can't really put my finger on it but there is just something about him that just doesn't look well.  

Kyle Harrison LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.  Final half-inning.  Electric stuff!  96 MPH out of bed and was blowing 97 right past hitters.  FB looked faster than 96-97 due to arm action.  Throwing darts!

Randy Rodriguez RHP pitched a scoreless 6'th inning with 2 K's and Camilo Doval RHP pitched an easy 1, 2, 3 7'th.  I know continuity is the theme this year but Melvin's gotta be thinking about putting Doval back as the primary Closer.

The Win washed away the stench from last night, albeit with a lot of drama in the process.  It also evened the series and improved the Giants overall record to 23-14.  

Robbie Ray LHP goes for the series win tomorrow in a 11:20 AM PDT start facing Ben Brown RHP who has run hot and cold this season.

Down on the Farm: 5/5/2025

Rookie ACL:  Rockies buried the Giants 12-3.

Jhonny Level SS(18 yo)- 0 for 3, BB, SB(1).  BA= .375.

Rayner Arias LF(19 yo)- 2 for 4.  BA= .375.

Santiago Camacho C(18 yo)- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .250.

Luis De La Torre LHP(21 yo)- 3.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 2.45.

 Full season leagues had their standard Monday off day.

Game Wrap 5/5/2025: Cubs 9 Giants 2

Not that a loss was totally unexpected tonight but the Giants broke down in every phase of the game in a blowout loss which, OK, maybe they just needed to get that out of their system.  Key Lines:

Matt Chapman 3B- 2 for 3, SB(5, 2 E.  BA= .210.   I saw the first error charged to Chapman and I would call it highly questionable.  It was a little squibber with a long of english on it and out in no-man's land more in front of shortstop.  It did not look like he could have gotten off a throw in time to get the runner even if handled cleanly.  I didn't see the second error but by that time the game was out of control.

Luis Matos RF- 1 for 4, HR(3) R, 2 RBI.  BA= .200.  Matos is 4 for 9 with a double and 2 HR's over his last 3 games.

Landen Roupp RHP- 5 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K's, 6/2 GO/AO.  ERA= 4.89.  There was nothing flukey about the double and HR Roupp gave up in the third inning but even though I don't think Chapman should have been charged with an error on his play, it was still a flukey inning for Roupp who struck out the first two batters then gave up the "error"/squibber followed by a humpback liner that barely got over Christian Koss's glove at 2B.  A stolen base and a line drive single by Swanson scored two.  The Giants trailed 4-2 and never recovered. Credit to Roupp for getting out of the inning and hanging in there for a scoreless 5'th.

Hayden Birdsong RHP- 0.1 IP, 2 H, 5 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 1.47.  Birdsong gave up a leadoff HR to Carson Kelly C who has been quite the revelation for the Cubs.  Pete Crow-Armstrong CF followed with a groundball single then all hell broke loose with consecutive errors by Adames and Chapman which started a whole cascade of events to blow the game wide open.

Spencer Bivens RHP- 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 4/0 GO/AO.  ERA= 3.12.  Bivens allowed a couple of inherited runners to score but then settled down and finished the game while letting the rest of the bullpen live to fight another day.

The Loss drops the Giants record to 22-14.  

Justin Verlander RHP tries to even the series tomorrow facing Colin Rea RHP.

Down on the Farm: 5/4/2025

 AAA:  Sacramento River Cats outlasted the Reno Aces 3-2(10 innings):

Sergio Alcantara SS- 2 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .258.

Marco Luciano LF- 1 for 3, HR(6), SF.  BA= .227.

Mason Black RHP- 7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 4.13.

Sean Hjelle RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.93.

It will be interesting to see who takes Kyle Harrison's place in the River Cats starting rotation.

AA:  Somerset Patriots edged out the Richmond Flying Squirrels 5-4:

Carter Howell CF- 3 for 4, HR(3), BB.  BA= .250.

Bryce Eldridge DH- 2 for 5.  BA= .316.

John Michael Bertrand LHP- 4.2 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.85.

Carter Howell has a 6-game hit streak in which he is 11 for 26 with 2 doubles and 3 HR's.  Major sleeper in the system.

A+:  Everett Aquasox outscored the Eugene Emeralds 10-8:

Bo Davidson CF- 3 for 5.  BA= .354.

James Tibbs III- 1 for 4, HR(3), BB.  BA= .227.

Quinn McDaniel 2B- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(3), BB.  BA= .242.

Scott Bandura RF- 3 for 4, 2 2B, BB.  BA= .333.

Zane Zielinski SS- 2 for 5.  BA= .271.

A:  Modesto Nuts topped the San Jose Giants 5-4:

Carlos Gutierrez RF- 1 for 3, BB, 2 SB(9).  BA= .293.

Jean Carlos Sio SS- 3 for 4.  BA= .277.

Tyler Switalski RHP- 4.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.66.