Sunday, September 13, 2026

Down on the Farm: 9/12/2026

 AAA:  Las Vegas Aviators edged out the Sacramento River Cats 3-2.

Darren Baker CF- 2 for 4, 2 2 SB(4).  BA= .333.
Diego Velasquez 2B- 1 for 3, 2B.  BA= .292.
Duncan Davitt RHP- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, 4/0 GO/AO.  ERA= 0.00.

Davitt was claimed off waivers from the Braves on Sept 9 so he is on the 40-man roster.  He has 80 K's in 76 IP across 4 minor league stops this season but also 31 walks.  He was only in the Braves organization for a short time.  Prior to that he was in the Rays organization.  Wouldn't be shocked to see him up for an audition with the Giants before the end of the season.

AA:  Chesapeake vs Richmond Cancelled. 

A+:  Eugene Emeralds season is over.  They came up short in the NWL Championship Series.

A:  San Jose Giants were idle. They start the California League Championship Series this evening in Lake Elsinore. I plan to attend.  This is a best of 3 series with just the one game in SoCal.

Game Wrap 9/12/2026: Padres 7 Giants 6

 A late Giants rally withered in the face of hundo-throwing Padres relievers and came up short.  Key Lines:

Drew Gilbert CF- 2 for 4, HR(9), 2 R, 2 RBI.  BA= .235.  Gilbert singled to lead of the Giants half of the first inning and scored ahead of Devers HR.  He then hit a 2-run HR of his own in that bounced on the sidewalk outside the stadium and bounced into McCovey Cove in the 8'th inning.  That was when Padres Manager Craig Stammen summoned Adrian Morejon LHP and the hundos started humming past Giants hitters.  

Rafael Devers DH- 1 for 4, HR(37), R, 2 RBI.  Devers is rapidly closing in on 40 HR.  

Shay Whitcomb 3B- 1 for 3, HR(4), R, RBI, E(3).  BA= .163.  Whitcomb has some size and has a nice looking swing.  He is plagued by inconsistency.  Hard to get a read on how much growth potential he has.  

Drew Cavanaugh C- 1 for 3, HR(1), R, RBI.  BA= .244.  Cavanaugh had some power in the minors but this was his first MLB HR out of 31 hits.  He also has 3 doubles, 2 of which came in one game, but he's mostly been a singles hitter.  Maybe we'll start seeing him drive the ball more as he gets more comfortable at this level.  

Cesar Perdomo LHP- 4.2 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.68.  Perdomo was a gamer, kept battling and limiting the damage inning-by-inning but he also could not get a shut down inning and the runs added up.  A case of a pitcher who relies on command not quite having it.  

Logan Webb RHP tries to stave off a sweep today facing Nick Pivetta RHP who comes in with a 3.43 ERA.  The game is at 4:20 PM PDT and is on Peacock TV.  Ugh!

Saturday, September 12, 2026

Down on the Farm: 9/11/2026

 AAA:  Las Vegas Aviators outscored the Sacramento River Cats 9-6.

Will Brennan DH- 1 for 4, HR(11).  BA= .307.
Parks Harber 3B- 1 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .255.
Zach Morgan C- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .231.
Alex Carrillo RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 6.39.

Brennan has 4 HR's in 4 games(3 on Sept 8) and 5 for the month of September.  

AA:  Richmond Flying Squirrels shut out the Chesapeake Baysox 1-0.

Trevor Cohen CF- 2 for 4.  BA= .306.
Gavin Kilen SS- 1 for 4, HR(2).  BA= .306.
Jacob Bresnahan LHP- 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 5.06.
Tyler Vogel RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, Save(16).  ERA= 3.25.

Nice bounceback for Bresnahan after a disaster start on Sept 5.  Kilen homers in his first game off the IL.

A+:  Vancouver Canadians outlasted the Eugene Emeralds 9-8(12 innings).

Isaiah Barkett 3B- 3 for 5, 2B, BB.
Jhonny Level SS- 2 for 6, 2B.  
Nate Nabholz RHP- 3 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K's. 

Ems put up a fight but ended up losing the 5-game championship series 3 games to 0.  They had a tremendous regular season, though, winning both halves by wide margins.  

A:  San Jose Giants were idle. They start the California League Championship Series in Lake Elsinore on Sunday Sept. 13.  It's a 3-game series with just one game in LE so I will try to attend it. 

Game Wrap 9/11/2026: Padres 7 Giants 5

A grand slam home run by Rafael Devers was not enough to overcome a rough start by Anthony Molina.  Key Lines:

Jonah Cox CF- 2 for 4, BB, SB(10), 2 R.  BA= .286.  Cox played the role of the classic leadoff hitter creating a run in the first inning.  He singled to RF, stole 2B.  After Devers popped out, Bryce Eldridge singled with Cox scoring from 2B.  As the rest of the inning unfolded, Cox would not have scored without the SB.

Rafael Devers DH- 1 for 4, HR(36), BB, R, 4 RBI.  BA= .258.  Devers keeps his drive for 40 HR's alive.  This one got the Giants back into the game and came off a LHP.  

Bryce Eldridge 1B- 2 for 5, 2B, RBI.  BA= .270.  7 game hit streak, 19 game on-base streak.  

Anthony Molina RHP- 3 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 5.24.  First inning looked good, at least on Gameday(I don't get Apple TV).  Molina had a 97 MPH FB mixing in a slider, curve and changeup.  He gave up a couple of runs in the second inning then the roof caved in in the 3'rd.  Tipping pitches?  

Yunior Marte RHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K's, 7/3 GO/AO.  ERA= 2.45.  Marte and Molina are the type of pitchers the Giants need to rebuild their pitching staff around whether in starting or relieving roles.  This is the second 5-inning relief appearance in a row for Marte.  

Cesar Perdomo LHP will try to build on his early MLB success today facing Michael King RHP who comes in with an ERA of 3.00.

Friday, September 11, 2026

Down on the Farm: 9/10/2026

AAA:  Las Vegas Aviators defeated the Sacramento River Cats 6-2.

Charlie Szykowny 1B- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .342.
Wilkin Ramos RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.24.

Bo Davidson did not play.

AA:   Chesapeake Baysox beat the Richmond Flying Squirrels 8-2.

Trevor Cohen CF- 2 for 5.  BA= .302.
Sabin Ceballos 3B- 2 for 3, 2B, HR(18), BB.  BA= .225.
Jack Choate LHP- 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.38.

A+:  Eugene Emeralds idle.  Game 3 of best of 5 NWL championship series tonight.

A:  San Jose Giants eliminated the Stockton Ports 3-1(2-0 in best of 3 California League Divisional Series).

Josuar Gonzalez SS- 1 for 4, 2B, R. 
Junior Barajas C- 2 for 4, 2B. 
Drew Smith DH- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(2), R, 3 RBI.
Jackson Flora RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  
Ricardo Estrada LHP- 4 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.
Samir Chires RHP- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's, Save(1).

I forgot to tune into the free game of the day on Bally Sports but my friend who did said the Ports hitters looked overmatched against Jackson Flora.

Thursday, September 10, 2026

Down on the Farm: 9/9/2026

 AAA:  Las Vegas Aviators blanked the Sacramento River Cats 1-0.

Seth Lonsway LHP- 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K's, 8/0 GO/AO.  ERA= 5.49.
Braxton Roxby RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.97.

AA:  Chesapeake Baysox outscored the Richmond Flying Squirrels 8-7.

Trevor Cohen CF- 2 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .300.
Dayson Croes DH- 4 for 5, 3 2B.  BA= .277.
Dakota Jordan RF- 2 for 5.  BA= .268.
Shane Rademacher RHP- 3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.84.
Dale Stanovich LHP- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 5.45.
Mitch White RHP- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 5.85.

A+:  Vancouver Canadians outlasted the Eugene Emeralds 5-4(10 innings).

Cam Maldonado RF- 1 for 5, HR. 
Jordan Gottesman LHP- 4.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 2 K's.
Alix Hernandez RHP- 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.
Ryan Slater RHP- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K.  

The Ems are now down 0-2 in the best of 5 NWL Championship Series. The series now moves to Eugene where they will have to win 3 in a row to win the championship.

A: The San Jose Giants were idle as the best of 3 California League Northern Division Series moves to San Jose with the Giants leading 1-0.

Game Wrap 9/9/2026: Giants 7 Cardinals 6

This was a typical snoozer of a day game 3 of a series until the Giants erupted for a 2-out, 6-run rally in the 8'th inning to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.  Key Lines:

Bryce Eldridge 1B- 2 for 4, R, 3 RBI.  BA= .268.  Eldridge drove in the Giants first run of the game in the first inning with an oppo-field single.  He then drove in 2 big runs in 8'th inning rally.  Jeff Kent must have pulled Bryce aside and told him about how the money lies in the RBI's because he is on an RBI tear:  7 in his lat 7 games, 18 in his last 15 and 24 in his last 30.  Many of those came on non-HR hits.  Maybe it's sequencing luck and will eventually normalize but he seems to have a knack for hitting with RISP and he doesn't try to do too much.  

Jung Hoo Lee RF- 2 for 4, 2B, R, 2 RBI.  BA= .281.  Jung Hoo has been in a prolonged slump but his clutch double in the 8'th drove in the runs that tied the game.  He came around to score the winning run on Shay Whitcomb's double off the CF wall.  

Christian Koss SS- 2 for 3, SB(3).  BA= .227.  Koss did not figure into the scoring but continued to impress in his new starting SS role, as temporary as it may be.

Blade Tidwell RHP- 4 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.82.  It was a struggle as Tidwell continued a pattern of alternating bad with good starts.  Early on he looked great blowing 98 MPH gas past hitters but it went south with a 3-run HR by Leo Bernal C in the 3'rd inning.

Shawn Abner LHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 5.51.  This was Abner's first appearance as a Giant after being picked off the waiver wire from the D'Backs.  His ERA over his last 7 appearances is 2.53.

Matt Wilkinson LHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 5.40.  After Wilkinson's last disaster start it was mentioned that he struggles against RH batters and his arm angle and stuff may be better utilized as a situational lefty reliever.  He came up big in this relief appearance and only faced 3 LH batters out of 7.  He may need to prove he can consistently get RH batters out before he gets another chance to start.

Trent Harris RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, Save(1).  ERA= 2.81.  This may prove to not be Harris' last Save.

If both these teams were in postseason contention as they were often in the past, this would be considered a classic barnburner of a series.  As it is, you can feel a sense of excitement building over the way the kids are responding to opportunities to play.

The Giants get a day off at home before starting a weekend series against the Padres with Anthony Molina RHP facing old friend Robbie Ray LHP who comes in with an ERA of 3.39.  Checking in on his record after the trade, Ray is 1-2 with a 4.71 ERA in a Padres uniform.