Ryan Vogelsong was Vogelstrong for 7 shutout innings, and Brandon Hicks hit a walk-off 3 run HR in the bottom of the 9'th for the win. Key Lines:
Buster Posey- 2 for 4. BA= .238. Between the HR yesterday and 2 hits today, it looks like Buster may be coming out of his slump. The 2 hits today did not figure into the scoring.
Pablo Sandoval- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .180. Maybe Pablo has something to build on. His 2 out double led to the first run of the game, which looked like it might stand up until Casilla gave up a HR to Yan Gomes in the 8'th.
Brandon Crawford- 1 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .268. Crawford followed Pablo's double with one of his own that he pulled down the 1B line into the corner.
Brandon Hicks- 1 for 4, HR(3). BA= .224. The nice thing about Hicks is he runs into one every once in awhile. So far, they have tended to come at opportune times. He also started a nifty DP to help get Vogey out of one inning early in the game.
Ryan Vogelsong- 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 5.40. Vogey allowed 2 of the first 3 batters to reach base, but pitched his way out of the first inning. He was behind on most of the hitters early on, but made some big pitches, especially with the curveball, which from Miller's and Fleming's description was quite nasty at times(I listened to the game on satellite radio on the drive from Vegas). It also sounded like Vogey got one of his standing O's just like old times as he came off the field after the top of the 7'th inning.
Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 2.45. Romo got the W instead of the Save. It was a big appearance in another way. Romo faced 3 LH batters in the top of the 9'th and was able to attack them effectively with his changeup, the pitch he worked on so hard in spring training. That work is now paying off big time with innings like this. Again, from Miller's and Fleming's call, I think he only threw the slider once the whole game, after he got Santana thinking too much about the changeup.
The Win improved the NL West leading Giants record to 15-10. The Rockies defeated the Dodgers 6-1 to drop the Hated Ones into a second place tie with the Rockies, 1.5 games behind the Giants. The Padres topped the Nationals 4-2 to remain 3.5 games back in 4'th place. The D'Backs lost their second straight to the Phils 2-0 and are now 8-20, 8.5 games off the pace in last place.
The Giants now begin a home 3 game series against the Padres with Madison Bumgarner facing Tyson Ross who dominated the Giants the last time he faced them.
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Hicks: his BA is only .224, but it's worth noting that he has an OPS over 840 for an OPS+ of about 140. These are small sample numbers, the OPS as well as the BA, but they suggest that he has value at the plate beyond what might appear at first glance.
ReplyDeleteSweep baby!!! To celebrate the NYG 4 game sweep of Feller, Dobey, Rosen, et al in the 54 Series. Nice article by John Shea on the Say Hey Kid looking back (apologies if someone has already posted):
ReplyDeletehttp://blog.sfgate.com/johnshea/2014/04/26/willie-mays-babe-ruth-and-greatness/?cmpid=hp-hc-sports
And the Bad Guys lose as well!
The Brandons DP was nifty indeed! Hicks & Vogey the MVPs of this game IMHO.
NWGiantsFan
DtF!!!
Pretty concerned with Brandon Belt, they've found a new weakness, makes you wonder how come this guy is in the majors with all these weaknesses. Aren't they supposed to be fixed while in minors? Or even college
ReplyDeleteHitters as tall as Brandon Belt often have a lot of trouble controlling the strike zone because it's bigger than other hitters' zones, so not too surprising, IMO. I'm also guessing his swing has lengthened as he has hit more dingers and become more confident at the plate. Time to shorten it up a bit and start going the other way more to beat the shift.
DeleteBacci, Don't confuse an excuse with an explanation. DrB was saying that as a tall guy Belt has more moving parts that can easily get out of whack. Does that justify his whiffs? No. But, explains why he tends to have a period every season where he has a major slump combined with tons of strikeouts.
DeleteBelt is good, but I don't think he's ever going to be top 5 in-his-position good like Posey or Panda (in his great years). I think he'll get out of his current slump but there is probably a mechanical adjustment that will help that.
Yeah, well, that's just like...uhh...your opinion, man.
DeleteSeriously though Bacci - I don't see Dr. B making excuses, I see the above as a rather frank assessment of Belt's mechanics and struggles. Belt destroyed the minors and was brought up too early, but in his third season had a higher OBP than Sandoval, Pence or Posey. He's not average, but I do agree that this is merely a slump.
PS - Belt happens to still be second in the NL in home runs.
Sorry, but I removed Bacci's comment as being non-contributory before I saw the response which I think are very good. I'll try to summarize Bacci's take here as saying that He's sick of reading excuses for Belt's slumps and strikeouts and that height is just another one.
DeleteBacci has never liked Belt for some reason. I think he saw Belt as competition for one of his other favorite prospects or something like that. Bacci, if you have a constructive take on Belt, feel free. As I have said many times, if you are just coming on here to rant on an agenda, I will hit the button on you.
I have been a follower of this blog for quite sometime now and I saw Bacci's response to my comment. Are you sure DrB this was the right Bacci? Usually thats not the way he writes, I know he doesn't like Belt that much but im not sure if this was a troller trying to be Bacci
DeleteKrukow suggested during the most recent game that Belt was dropping his rear shoulder more, adding uppercut to his swing and thereby lessening his likelihood of making solid contact. This makes sense if he is beginning to have rosy visions of himself as a power hitter, what with his recent home runs and his elevation to third in the batting order, and it tallies w DrB's guess that his swing is lengthening, with the same dreams of Mighty Casey.
DeleteAs for beating the shift, Belt could have won the game for the Giants if he had successfully dragged a bunt toward short when Pagan was on third. The Indians' 3B was on the bag to hold Pagan close, and their SS was behind second base. Practically *any* version of shortening up and going the other way had a good chance of being a walk-off hit, especially since he was being pitched outside which would make going the other way easier.
I am quite sure it was Bacci. I like Bacci. He is a dedicated Giants fans who loves prospects, especially ones who are scrappers and aren't given much chance of succeeding. He does sometimes go way over-the-top with some of his comments.
DeleteIt's quite obvious that Belt is all kinds of discombobulated at the plate right now. I hope the coaching staff can help him pull it back together quickly. But it seems that Belt may just be the kind of 'streaky' hitter who's awesome when he has it together, and struggles with his mechanics when he slumps. We'll see what his numbers look like at the end of the year, but I'm willing to have faith through both hot and cold.
DeleteMark DeRosa commented on MLB network that he knows Panda well and thinks his contract situation is weighing on his mind.Somebody needs to tell him to relax and play baseball. I'm sure he'll get it together and have a decent season, but am not optimistic that he will have a big contract year like we all hope for after hearing DeRosa s comments.
ReplyDeleteLG
That is pretty interesting. DeRosa should join a front office, skip the whole coaching part. He is a smart and intuitive man. I hope the Giants take a shot at him.
DeleteGood to see a great game from Vogelsong after that last 'embarrassing' one.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, good to see Vogie pitch well. He's been a good Giant and a player I pull for.
DeleteLG