Matt Cain did everything you could ask to be the stopper in this game, but the offense failed to do their share and Jeremy Affeldt gave up a walkoff hit to Nolan Arenado in the bottom of the 9'th inning. Key Lines:
Andres Torres- 3 for 4, SB(3), PO/CS. BA= .270. Andres Torres does some things really well, but too often negates them with mental mistakes. In his defense here, perhaps the order to go on first movement came from the bench?
Marco Scutaro- 1 for 3, Sac. BA= .319. Scutaro talked his way into the lineup, but that left hand does not look comfortable and Scooter did not look like he felt good. Not sure why you would sacrifice bunt with a runner at 2B in the first inning. He may have been nominally trying to bunt for a basehit, but if he was, it was a pretty poor effort.
Buster Posey- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .324. Not going to blame Buster for striking out with a runner on 3B and 1 out in the first inning. The Giants are not going to win many games if the only times they have a chance to score is when Buster bats.
Matt Cain- 8 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K's, GO/AO= 12/4. ERA= 4.29. Cain did not allow a baserunner after the 2'nd inning. He threw 30 pitches in the first inning, 65 over the next 7. Cainer has been gradually transforming himself into more of a groundball pitcher. Classic Caining today.
Jeremy Affeldt- 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 0 K. ERA= 3.29. Affeldt quickly got the first two outs in the inning and the Rockies had already used their closer. Unfortunately he walked Todd Helton. The pinch-runner, Rutledge easily stole 2B and Arenado hit the game winner up the middle. I understand roles and the importance of maintaining them and having faith in your veterans who have been reliable, but with the way Affeldt has been pitching lately and the importance of breaking up this losing streak, I believe a RHP should have faced Arenado once Helton drew the walk.
With the Loss, the Giants remain in 4'th place in the NL West 4 games behind the leading D'Backs. The Rockies climbed over the Padres into 2'nd place, 2 games out. The Pesky Padres lost to the Marlins 7-1 to remain in 3'rd place, 2.5 games behind. The Last Place Dodgers(not sure how much longer I am going to be able to write that) are playing the Phillies tonight and sit 5.5 games out pending the outcome.
Madison Bumgarner will try to be the stopper tomorrow facing Drew Pomeranz.
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Judging from what the Beats hinted at some stuff got broke in the clubhouse tonight. About time. This is one of the most maddening streaks in recent memory, every single game winnable.
ReplyDeleteSomething will break for the Gints soon.
Hey, want a laugh? Jeff Francoeur got DFA'd by the Royals this evening. You KNOW who will be all over that one, seeking that RH bat for LF. Oh, the saber bloggers will have to come out in force for that one. Dave Cameron might just lay down a nice juicy beatdown of the braintrust. MCC will blow up. It will be classic. Make it so, Sabean!
Also, I am dead sick of Pablo now. You gonna be a Fat Ichiro singles guy when you have to go station to station? You're useless. When you have 7 pitches for 4 ABs, and you make 4 outs, you're useless. The Giants need to dust off those World Series videos and do their best to make teams dream of the reclamation.
On a positive note: MATT CAIN! He's awesome again.
Here's another one: Xavier Nady was also released by KC, but get this: He was hitting .310 with 10 dingers for Omaha in the PCL. Sign him for league minimum with lots if incentive clauses to get him up to $1 M if he meets all of them!
DeleteNevermind on Nady. The Rockies snapped him up.
DeleteThe most frustrating part of this losing streak is the offense. They have scored 18 runs the last 9 games. They can't seem to score early in games either. The pitching has allowed 33 runs in that stretch which isn't bad. No excuses for Affeldt.. A familiar pattern of a walk followed by a big hit.. Casilla can't come back too soon.
ReplyDeleteCain deserved to win that game today.. The best thing I read today in Baggs column is that Bochy hinted that he might be in favor of slotting Kickam in a LH long relief when Gaudin and Casilla come back. This sounds like a good way to break the kid to MLB.
LG
That would make for some interesting decisions in the bullpen. Do the Giants carry 4 LHP's in the Pen? Would that make Mijares the odd man out? He's actually pitched better than Affeldt! I'm sure a lot depends on how he pitches in Cincinnati, but my inclination would be to send Kickham back for more seasoning in Fresno, put Gaudin back in the rotation and sent Kontos out to make room for Casilla. That would make your bullpen consist of Romo at closer, Casilla, Rosario and Dunning RHP's, with Affeldt, Lopez and Mijares LHP's.
DeleteIf Kickham goes back down to the minors, he'll pitch every 5th day in the rotation which is good. If he pitches out of the MLB bullpen, he would probably pitch in non pressure situations and spot start. Like you said it may depend if he pitches well enough in his next start showing that he belongs in MLB. Tough assignment against the Reds. I'm ok with whatever they decide. Zack Wheeler struggled his last 2 starts giving up 5 runs today against the Nats. Its just nice to see a promising young LHP like Kickham on the roster. It'll be interesting to see how management chooses to develop him down the road.
ReplyDeleteLG