Down on the Farm: 8/30/2018

AAA  Albuquerque Isotopes outscored the Sacramento River Cats 10-8:

Peter Bourjos CF- 3 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .302.
Kelby Tomlinson SS- 4 for 5.  BA= .305.
Chris Shaw LF- 1 for 5, 2B.  BA= .259.
Miguel Gomez 2B- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .273.
Ryder Jones PH/3B- 1 for 3, 3B.  BA= .273.
Shaun Anderson RHP- 5 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.18.
Ray Black RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.16.

Who replaces Cutch on the 25 man active roster?

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels vs Reading Fightin' Phils suspended after 3 innings due to rain with the Phils leading 1-0.

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A+  Stockton Ports beat the San Jose Giants 11-5:

Jacob Heyward LF- 2 for 5, HR(12).  BA= .259.
Heath Quinn DH- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .299.
Gio Brusa 1B- 1 for 2, 2B, BB, SF, HBP.  BA= .238.
Sandro Fabian RF- 1 for 3, HR(10), BB.  BA= .203.

Double digit dingers is an accomplishment for Sandro Fabian. He should probably repeat San Jose before taking on the big bad EL.  Jacob Heyward may be ready for the EL after a strong August.

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Low A  Lexington Legend blanked the Augusta Greenjackets 7-0:

Ryan Kirby 1B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .234.
Tyler Schimpf RHP- 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 5.45.

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Short Season   Salem-Keizer Volcanoes buried the Eugene Emeralds 15-5:

Kyle McPherson 2B- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .308.
Diego Rincones LF- 4 for 5, 2B.  BA= .317.
Joey Bart C- 1 for 4, HR(12), BB.  BA= .304.
David Villar 3B- 3 for 5, HR(12).  BA= .277.
Wander Franco 1B- 2 for 4, 3B.  BA= .299.
Aaron Bond CF- 1 for 3, HR(11), BB, SB(8).  BA= .271
Nick Hill RF- 1 for 5, 3B.  BA= .243.
Ricardo Genoves DH- 2 for 5.  BA= .235.
Nico Giarratano SS- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .274.

Can't wait to see Joey Bart and David Villar in San Jose next season.  Diego Rincones should be headed to Augusta.  Ricardo Genoves is hitting .317 in August.

Giants Trade Cutch

The Giants finally threw in the towel on the season after failing to sweep the D'Backs and losing Steven Duggar for the rest of the season.  The Yankees needed an OF for the stretch run and postseason and had been rumored to be interested in Cutch.  That trigger got pulled tonight and Cutch is headed to the Big Apple and the Postseason.  With no realistic chance of making the postseason and McCutchen a pending free agent, the Giants really needed to get what they could for him and also ensure they could get under the CBT threshold.

The returns are still coming in.  One prospect the Giants receive is Abiatal Avelino, a 23 year old AA/AAA SS who reportedly can stick a the position and can hit a little is one.  The name of the other prospect is not yet known.  One potential problem with Avelino is he will be a minor league FA so the Giants may need to add him to the 40 man roster to keep him.

Down on the Farm: 8/29/2018

AAA  Sacramento River Cats edged out the Albuquerque Isotopes 2-1:

Chris Shaw LF- 1 for 3, HR(24).  BA= .260.
Tyler Herb RHP- 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 5.65.
Tyer Rogers RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(3).  ERA= 2.18.

Tyler Herb's last Start was a disaster against the Fresno Grizzlies, so this was a nice bouncback.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels subdued the Reading Fightin' Phils 3-2:

CJ Hinojosa 3B- 1 for 4, HR(3).  BA= .255.
Conner Menez LHP- 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 4.38.
Dan Slania RHP- 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.51.

Conner Menez seems to have the strikeout stuff but needs to cut down on the BB's to take full advantage.  Jacob Heyward is hitting .412 over his last 10 games.

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A+  Stockton Ports defeated the San Jose Giants 9-3:

Jacob Heyward DH- 3 for 4, 2 HR(11).  BA= .257.
Wander Franco 3B- 2 for 4.  BA= .278.
Carlos Sano RHP- 5 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 0 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 4.09.
John Russell RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Carlos Sano has 83 K's in 81.1 IP, but also has 36 BB's.

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Low A  Augusta Greenjackets stung the Lexington Legends 5-1:

Heliot Ramos CF- 2 for 4.  BA= .249.
Jacob Gonzalez DH- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .226.
Norwith Gudino RHP- 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 3.55.
Keenan Bartlett RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.14.

2 QS in a row for Norwith Gudino with 15 K's and 1 BB in 13.2 IP.  Heliot Ramos is flirting with the .250 threshold like the Giants are flirting with .500.

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Short Season  Eugene Emeralds topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 6-5:

Diego Rincones LF- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .307.
Joey Bart C- 1 for 3, HR(11), BB.  BA= .305.
Dalton Combs RF- 2 for 4.  BA= .310.
Gregory Santos RHP- 2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 4.43.

Nice to see Gregory Santos back on the mound after a very scary encounter with a batted ball.

Game Wrap 8/29/2018: D'Backs 3 Giants 1

The Giants may have been a bit stunned by the news that yet another another young player on the edge of establishing himself with the team had gone on the DL, but they played a lackluster game to drop the series finale against the NL West leading D'Back against whom they realistically needed a sweep to get back into contention for the division title.  Key Lines:

Dereck Rodriguez RHP- 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.47.  DRod's string of QS's was broken as he reached 92 pitches by the end of the 5'th inning.  The bullpen pitched perfect ball the rest of the game and 3 runs allowed in 9 innings should be enough to win, but the Giants mustered just 3 hits, a walk and 3 HBP's on the night.

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The Loss dropped the Giants 7 games off the pace set by the D'Backs in the NL West.

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The Giants get a day off at home before starting a weekend 3-game home series against the Mets on Friday with Andrew Suarez facing Zack Wheeler.

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it was disappointing but not unexpected to read that Steven Duggar was placed on the 10 day DL with a left shoulder dislocation with surgery not yet ruled out.  Even without surgery, he is likely done for the season.   Is it just me or have the Giants had a string of unusually back luck with injuries at critical points in young player's careers?  Matt Duffy, Austin Slater, Mac Williamson.  Heck, you can even go back to Buster Posey's ankle injury, and Joe Panik and Brandon Belt had to overcome multiple injuries.  Yeah, that trend can stop anytime.

Down on the Farm: 8/28/2019

AAA   Sacramento River Cats cooled off the Albuquerque Isotopes 2-1:

Kelby Tomlinson SS- 2 for 4, SB(7).  BA= .292.
Gregor Blanco LF- 1 for 4, HR(4).  BA= .247.
Orlando Calixte 3B- 1 for 3, HR(11).  BA= .264.
Jordan Johnson RHP- 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.91.
Pierce Johnson RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.48.
Ray Black RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.28.

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AA  Reading Fightin' Phils downed the Richmond Flying Squirrels 5-4:

Jeff Arnold C/1B- 1 for 4, HR(3).  BA= .177.
Logan Webb RHP- 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 2.77.

This was Logan Webb's longest Start of the season in IP.  He threw 84 pitches.  In his last 3 Starts, Webb has 19 K's against 3 BB's in 16 IP.  He appears to be poised for a big breakout next season and could be ready to help the Giants by midseason.

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A+  Stockton Ports defeated the San Jose Giants 6-4:

Jacob Heyward LF- 1 for 3, 2B, 2 BB.   ERA= 2.52.
Kelvin Beltre 3B- 3 for 4.  BA= .243.
Domenic Mazza LHP- 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.94.

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Low A  Augusta Greenjackets topped the Lexington Legends 5-4:

Camilo Doval RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(10).  ERA= 3.12.

After a disastrous first 3 appearances in the season, Camilo Doval has been quite impressive in a late inning relief role.  He gave up 8 of his 18 ER in the 1.1 IP in his first 3 appearances.  For the rest of the season, Doval sports a 1.77 ERA.

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes were idle.

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The AZL and DSL have completed their regular seasons with Giants affiliates shut out of the playoffs.

Game Wrap 8/28/2018: Giants 1 D'Backs 0

Gorkys Hernandez lined a PH single to LF to drive in Steven Duggar from 2B for the walkoff and the Giants 2'nd consecutive shutout Win over the NL West leading D'Backs.  Key Lines:

Steven Duggar CF- 0 for 3, BB.  BA= .255.  Duggar was the hero for the second game in a row, this time for drawing a 1-out walk in the 9'th.  Nick Hundley followed with a line-drive single to deep LF.  Duggar took a very wide turn at 2B, in fact, Kuip thought he was going for it.  Instead, he slammed on the breaks, got it turned around and barely beat the relay to 2B jamming his left shoulder in the process.   Duggar stayed down, in obvious pain while the trainers scrambled out to check on him.  He ultimately stayed in the game and appeared to have full range of motion in the shoulder.

With runners at 2'nd and 3'rd and 1 out, Bochy announced Alen Hanson as the PH for Will Smith.  Hanson is a much better hitter from the left side than R so the D'backs countered with lefty Jake Diekman replacing RHP Brad Ziegler.  Boch countered with Gorkys Hernandez who was first pitch hunting and jumped on a pitch over the plate lining into into LF with Duggar easily scoring from 2B.

After the game, Duggar said he could feel the shoulder pop out of its socket but then go right back in.  With shoulder separations, you always worry about a torn rotator cuff.  The clue to a torn rotator cuff is an inability to raise your arm, which Duggar was clearly doing, so it would seem the rotator cuff is at least not fully torn.  I thought I saw something sticking up under Duggar's shirt at the top of the shoulder which could be an acromioclavicular separation.  We'll see.  No final diagnosis until he he re-examined later today.  At least it was not his throwing shoulder.

Madison Bumgarner LHP- 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.68.  Not quite as sharp as his last start in which he allowed 1 ER in 8 IP, but with 0 BB and 8 K's.  His best pitching might have been in the 7'th inning after another flat drop by Austin Slater allowed Jon Jay to reach 3B with just 1 out.  After a walk to AJ Pollack, Bummy calmly got Goldy to pop out and Eduard Escobar to ground out to 2B Joe Panik.  BTW, Austin Slater might seriously think about investing in a new OF glove.

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The Rockies and Dodgers both won, so the Giants Win dropped the D'Backs into a tie with the Rockies for the NL West lead and cut the 4'th place Giants deficit to 6 games.  The Dodgers trail by 1 game in 3'rd place.

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Young Dereck Rodriguez tries to keep his magical season going and for a swwweeeeep tonight facing Zack Godley.

Down on the Farm: 8/27/2018

AAA  Las Vegas 51's outlasted the Sacramento River Cats 4-3(10 Innings):

Gregor Blanco CF- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .247.
Ryder Jones 3B- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .274.
Ronnie Freeman C- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .256.
Casey Kelly RHP- 6 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 4.76.
Tyler Beede RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 6.90.
Manny Parra LHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.44.

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AA  Reading Fightin' Phils downed the Richmond Flying Squirrels 7-0:

NTSH.

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A+  San Jose Giants edged out the Modesto Nuts 3-2(10 Innings):

Johneshwy Fargas CF- 2 for 5, 2 SB(45).  BA= .288.
Wander Franco 3B- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .278.
Jacob Heyward DH- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .251.
John Gavin LHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 4.56.
Sam Coonrod RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 10.80.
Joey Marciano LHP- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 9.43.

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Low A  Lexington Legends destroyed the Augusta Greenjackets 18-3:

Logan Baldwin RF- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .251.
Heliot Ramos CF- 2 for 4.  BA= .249.
Shane Matheny 2B- 2 for 4.  BA= .203.

Heliot keep his shot at .250 alive.

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Spokane Indians 3-2:

Joey Bart DH- 0 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .305.
Wander Franco 1B- 2 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .296.
Dalton Combs RF- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .304.
Sean Hjelle RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 5.59.
Keaton Winn RHP- 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.62.
Jesus Tona C- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(12).  ERA= 0.92.

The Giants are obviously keeping a tight rein on their pitching draftees.  For all we know there may be certain pitches they are not allowing them to throw until next year.  At least that's what I will tell myself until next season.

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Rookie AZL  Giants Black defeated the Cubs 2 3-2:

Randy Norris CF- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .262.
Abdiel Layer DH- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .289.
Israel Cruz RHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.97.

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Rookie AZL  Giants Orange blanked the D'Backs 4-0:

Yorlis Rodriguez 3B- 2 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .323.
Fabian Pena C- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(5).  BA= .309.
Jacob Lopez LHP- 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 1.42.
Andy Rohloff RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.00.
Travis Perry RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 3.50.

In his final 2 Starts, Jacob Lopez pitches a total of 9 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 16 K's.  He's a SoCal Juco pitcher who was scouted by Baseball Census before the draft, so there's a rooting interest there.

AZL regular season ends tonight.  Neither Giants squad makes the playoffs.

Game Wrap 8/27/2018: Giants 2 D'Backs 0

Chris Stratton pitched like an ace and Steven Duggar supplied the offense with a 2-run dinger in the 2'nd inning to lead the Giants to a Win in the series opener against the NL West Leading D'Backs.  Key Lines:

Steven Duggar CF- 1 for 3, HR(2).  BA= .261.   Duggar made Patrick Corbin and the D'Backs pay for not respecting him as the dinger came with 2 outs and a weak hitting pitcher on deck.  After that, Corbin took him more seriously and made him look bad on K's in his next 2 AB's.

Chris Stratton RHP- 8 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K's, GO/AO= 10/1.  ERA= 4.99.  Stratton showed some maturity in the first inning when he got BABIP'd by the first 2 batters and had to face a couple of red-hot batters in David Peralta and Paul Goldschmidt.  First, the BABIP gods smiled on Stratton as 1B Austin Slater fielded a hot smash then made a bad throw to 2B but at least got the force-out there.  Then he sawed off Goldy's bat for a soft liner to 2B Chase d'Arnaud and got out of the inning on a soft bouncer to 2B by Daniel Descalso.

Another interesting development was Stratton using a devastating changeup to attack the LH batters with.  If he can get some consistency with that pitch to go with his FB and high spin curveball, well, you've got yourself a very nice SP!

With Will Smith and Mark Melancon needing a night off, Bochy played matchups in the 9'th with Tony Watson and Hunter Strickland.  That almost blew up in his face as they each walked a batter and Strick went 3-2 on Nick Ahmed, but in the end, Ahmed hit a harmless flyball to Cutch to end it.

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The Win cut the Giants deficit in the NL West to 7 games.  The Rockies sit 0.5 games behind pending the outcome of their game with the Angels.  The Dodgers were idle and sit 2 games back in 3'rd place.

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Madison Bumgarner tries to keep hopes for a Giants sweep alive tomorrow evening facing Clay Buchholz.

Down on the Farm: 8/26/2018

AAA  Sacramento River Cats aced out the Las Vegas 51's 5-1:

Peter Bourjos CF- 2 for 4, 3B.  BA= .294.
Kelby Tomlinson 2B- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .288.
Josh Osich LHP- 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 5.40.
Roberto Gomez RHP- 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.68.
Tyler Rogers RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 2.22.

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AA  Altoona Curve blanked the Richmond Flying Squirrels 3-0:

Dylan Davis LF- 1 for 1, 2B.  BA= .236.
Caleb Gindl LF/RF- 0 for 1, 3 BB. BA= .304.
Chase Johnson RHP- 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 K, GO/AO= 10/2.  ERA= 4.04.
Ian Gardeck RHP- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Dylan Davis did not start but had 1 of 2 Squirrels hits.

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A+  Modesto Nuts defeated the San Jose Giants 7-5:

Wander Franco 3B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .275.
Gio Brusa 1B- 1 for 4, HR(19).  BA= .242.
DJ Myers RHP- 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.86.

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Low A  Kannapolis Intimidators edged out the Augusta Greenjackets 3-2:

Manuel Geraldo SS- 3 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .298.
Ismael Munguia LF- 2 for 4.  BA= .234.
Aaron Phillips RHP- 6.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 3.91.
Camilo Doval RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.24.

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Short Season  Spokane Indians topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 6-3:

Wander Franco 3B- 2 for 4.  BA= .290.
Aaron Bond LF- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(10).  BA= .277.
JJ Santa Cruz LHP- 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.88.
Matt Frisbee RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.20.

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Rookie AZL  Giants Black beat the Giants Orange 6-2:

Black:

Randy Norris LF- 2 for 5.  BA= .248.
Alexander Canario CF- 1 for 4, HR(6), BB.  BA= .250.
Franklin Labour RF- 1 for 4, 2B.  BA= .278.
Abdiel Layer SS- 1 for 4, 2B.  BA= .277.
Conner Nurse RHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.23.
Luis Amaya LHP- 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 5.40.

The Giants have a whole bunch of lottery ticket type pitching prospects:  Guys who could break out any time but haven't quite gotten there yet.  Conner Nurse is one of those.

Orange:

Yorlis Rodriguez 3B- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .316.
Marco Gonzalez LHP- 5 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 6.28.
Chris Roberts RHP- 3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.45.

If you look past Marco Gonzalez' ERA, he has 55 K's against just 14 BB's in 57.1 IP and a GO/AO= 1.21 this season at age 20.

Game Wrap 8/26/2018: Giants 3 Rangers 1

Steven Duggar tripled in 2 runs in the 4'th inning to give Derek Holland and the bullpen all the cushion they needed to secure a series win.  Key Lines:

Evan Longoria 3B- 1 for 4, 3B.  BA= .247.  Longo hit a 2-out triple in the first inning and scored on a PB which deprived Brandon Belt, who followed with a single, of an RBI.  Longo has not had a great season, but again, the Giants combined fWAR for 3B in 2017 was -1.6, so Longo is already a 2.1 fWAR improvement on last season despite missing 6 weeks with a hand fracture.  So he has made good on what the Giants acquired him for.   I'm not thrilled that he has 4 years left on his contract, but I do think he may have 1 or 2 good seasons left in him now that he has had a chance to adjust to a new league and new home ballpark.

Steven Duggar CF- 1 for 3, 3B.  BA= .259.  Duggar tripled in 2 runs in the 4'th as the Giants staged a 2-out rally to take a 3-1 lead.  The pitching made that hold up.  Duggar has not been spectacular which may be a good thing.  It's good enough, IMO, to earn him a starting CF job for next season and it keeps expectations under control which can become a burden to a young player.

Derek Holland LHP- 6.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.65.  Holland continues his excellent starting pitching which, wow!  Think about where this team would be without him this season.  For this game he had to shake off the distraction of an exercise in poor off-field judgement. He is a FA at the end of this season and has had an up-and-down career.  There are quite a few good SP's in the FA class which may depress his value.  If the Giants can sign him for a good price, should they do it, or figure they got a bargain for 1 season and move on?

Mark Melancon RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(3).  ERA= 2.83.  2 Saves in 2 games for Melancon.  Is he back in the Closer role or did Will Smith just need a day off?

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The D'Backs and Dodgers won while the Rockies lost, so the Snakes lead the NL West by 1 game over the Rockies, 2.5 games over the Dodgers and 8 games over the Giants.

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The Giants go right into a series with the first place D'Backs tomorrow evening with Chris Stratton trying to maintain his recent momentum facing lefty Patrick Corbin.

Down on the Farm: 8/25/2018

AAA. Las Vegas 51's shut out the Sacramento River Cats 6-0:

Ryder Jones 3B- 2 for 4.  BA= .272.
Steven Okert LHP- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.85.
Ray Black RHP- 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.42.
Pierce Johnson RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.86.

This was Steven Okert's 6'th consecutive scoreless appearance.

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AA  Altoona Curve wiped out the Richmond Flying Squirrels 9-2(Game 1 of DH, 7 Innings):

Matt Winn C- 1 for 2, BB.  BA= .289.
Matt Lipka CF- 2 for 3, 2B.  BA= .236.

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AA  Altoona Curve blanked the Richmond Flying Squirrels 3-0:

Ryan Halstead RHP- 3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.98.

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A+  Modesto Nuts smothered the San Jose Giants 5-1:

Heath Quinn LF- 2 for 4, HR(14).  BA= .311.
Wander Franco 1B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .273.
Kelvin Beltre 3B- 2 for 4.  BA= .229.
Mac Marshall LHP- 6 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 4.85.

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Low A  Kannapolis Intimidators outscored the Augusta Greenjackets 10-8:

Manuel Geraldo SS= 2 for 6, SB(24).  BA= .294.
Ryan Kirby 1B- 1 for 3, 2B, 3 BB.  BA= .234.
Shane Matheny 3B- 2 for 6.  BA= .199.
Orlando Garcia 2B- 0 for 2, 4 BB.  BA= .246.

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Short Season  Spokane Indians outscored the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 8-5:

Diego Rincones LF- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .310.
Joey Bart C- 2 for 3, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .312.
Wander Franco 1B- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .285.
Jake Wong RHP- 3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.59.
Ryan Walker RHP- 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.06.

With Buster Posey's future behind the plate suddenly looking uncertain, I wonder if the Giants could have pushed Joey Bart up to SJ for the final month of the season?

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Rookie AZL  Giants Black defeated the Angels 3-1:

Jordan Scott RHP- 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.50.
Dylan Dusek LHP- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.03.

Jordan Scott is 6'3", 190 lbs.  Signed as an undrafted FA out of Southeastern Florida.  He had a 2.25 ERA over his last 4 appearances totaling 16 IP with 17 Ks and 5 BB's.

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Rookie AZL  Indians 2 edged out the Giants Orange 3-2:

Beicker Mendoza 1B- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .302.
Ben Madison RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Melvin Adon RHP- 3 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 7.71.
Alex Bostic LHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.86.
Yoel Veras RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.12.

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DSL  Giants outscored the Royals2 6-5:

Ghordy Santos DH- 4 for 5, 3B, SB(18).  BA= .219.
Luis Toribio 3B- 1 for 3, BB.  BA= .261.
Samuel Jorge 1B- 1 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .274.
Jose Peralta 2B- 2 for 3, SB(4).  BA= .211.

This season has been a replay of 2017 for Ghordy Santos with a torrid August barely getting his BA over the Mendoza Line.  Will that be enough for a plane ticket to Arizona next year?

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DSL  Giants pounded the Royals2 8-2:

Luis Toribio 3B- 3 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .270.
Omar Medina 2B- 3 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .235.
Sonny Vargas LHP- 5 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.12.

Sonny Vargas had a 1.85 ERA over his last 10 appearances.  Luis Toribio started the season on fire, cooled off, but finishes strong.   Giants finish their DSL season with a 36-35 record.

Game Wrap 8/25/2018: Giants 5 Rangers 3

For the second game in a row, the Giants dropped a 4-spot on the Rangers in the first inning.  Today they hung on for the W.  Key Lines:

Brandon Crawford SS- 1 for 4, HR(12).  BA= .263.  Crawford capped the 4-run first with a 3-run jack to CF.  He is hitting just .189 over his last 30 games.

Austin Slater LF- 1 for 4, SB(5).  BA= .276.  Slater hit a liner that looked like it was headed for Triples Alley but was caught by Nomar Mazara.  He also flat dropped a flyball after a long run for an error which opened the door to Rougned Odor's 3-run HR and echoes of game 1.  Slater spent the rest of the inning fidgeting with his glove.  He stayed in the game, but it would be no surprise if Gorkys Hernandez started on LF tomorrow, not that I would agree with that decision.

Steven Duggar CF- 2 for 4.  BA= .258.  Duggar just keeps his steady pace going out of the 8-hole.  He's hitting .261 in August after hitting .254 in July.

Hunter Pence PH- 1 for 1, HR(2).  BA= .224.  Pence was way off balance and reaching, but somehow managed to send it several rows deep in the LF bleachers.

Andrew Suarez LHP- 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K's, GO/AO= 12/0.  ERA= 4.42.  Suarez hit a wall in the 3'rd inning of his last start and got blown out.  We've seen young pitchers never recover from starts like that, but Suarez turned in a gem today which I am sure gained him some serious respect in the clubhouse.  Brian Sabean said the rest of this season is an auction for roster spots for 2019.  Andy Suarez took a big step toward securing one with this start today.

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The Giants temporarily gained a half game on the division and sit 8.5 games back in 4'th place going into the evening with the D'Backs, Rockies and Dodgers all playing tonight.

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Derek Holland tries for a series win tomorrow afternoon facing Yovani Gallardo.

Down on the Farm: 8/24/2018

AAA  Sacramento River Cats blanked the Las Vegas 51's 4-0:

Shaun Anderson RHP- 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 3.61.
Derek Law RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.31.

Since allowing 6 runs in his second AAA Start, Shaun Anderson has 4 QS out of 5 with a 2.69 ERA, 23 K's and 5 BB's in 31.1 IP.  Shaun Anderson is a horse! He could be ready to help the Giants by mid-season next year if not earlier.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels downed the Altoona Curve 3-1:

Ryan Howard 2B- 2 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .276.
Dillon Dobson 1B- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(6).  BA= .186.
Conner Menez LHP- 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.41.
Dusten Knight RHP- 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.53.
Sam Wolff RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, Save(5).  ERA= 6.17.

Conner Menez' short stint despite not allowing a run was due to pitch count issues.  He threw 97 in 4 IP.  Ryan Howard is hitting .324 over his last 10 games.

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A+ Modesto Nuts outscored the San Jose Giants 13-7:

Jalen Miller 2B- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .281.
Gio Brusa 1B- 3 for 5, SB(8).  BA= .242.
Jacob Heyward DH- 2 for 3, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .251.

Jalen Miller is hitting .341 over his last 10 games

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Low A  Augusta Greenjackets crushed the Kannapolis Intimidators 11-2:

Manuel Geraldo SS- 2 for 5.  BA= .294.
Heliot Ramos CF- 3 for 5.  BA= .250.
Malique Ziegler LF- 2 for 2, 3B, BB.  BA= .247.
Norwith Gudino RHP- 6.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 4.42.
Keenan Bartlett RHP- 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.86.

Heliot Ramos hits the .250 BA mark!  Can he hold onto that through the end of the season?  Heliot is hitting .320 in 19 games in August and .325 over his last 10.

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Short Season  Spokane Indians buried the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 10-2:

Kyle McPherson 2B- 1 for 4, HR(7), BB.  BA= .315.
Diego Rincones DH- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .306.
Will Albertson C- 2 for 4.  BA= .265.
Seth Corry LHP- 1.1 IP, 2 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 6 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.94.
Trent Toplikar RHP- 3.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 1.10.
Jesus Tona RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.95.

Up to this game we had not seen the extreme wildness that plagued Seth Corry last season.

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Rookie AZL  Athletics defeated the Giants Orange 5-1:

Jasier Herrera RHP- 3 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.88.
Clay Helvey RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R,  0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 9.43.
Matt Brown RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.95.
Logan Harasta RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.10.
Travis Perry RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.94.

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Rookie AZL  D'Backs edged out the Giants Black 3-2:

Luis Moreno RHP- 4.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.91.

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DSL  Giants were idle.

Game Wrap 8/24/2018: Rangers 7 Giants 6(10 Innings)

Young Dereck Rodriguez had a successful return from the DL and the Giants built up a 6-0 lead, but let is slip away as the bullpen could not stop the bleeding over the final 6 frames.  Key Lines:

Andrew McCutchen RF- 2 for 4, HR(15), 2 BB, 2 SB(13).  BA= .255.  Say what you will about Cutch, but he leads the team in Runs, HR, RBI and SB's.  He led off this game with a HR to jump-start the Giants offense.

Joe Panik 2B- 2 for 5, BB.  BA= .250.  Average Joe has a .355 BA over his last 7 games and a .308 over his last 15.  His 2-out error in the 9'th led to 2 unearned runs and a Blown Save by Will Smith.

Buster Posey C- 1 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .284.  Not sure why Buster is still playing when he's announced he will undergo surgery on his hip on Monday in 3 days.  Does he really care that much about Player's Weekend?

Brandon Belt 1B- 1 for 4, BB.  BA= .267.  After hitting .316 in April and .314 in May, Belt has hit .226 in June, .232 in July and .171 in August.  11 of his 14 HR's came in the first 2 months.

Steven Duggar CF- 2 for 5.  BA= .250.  Despite the 2-hit night, Duggar is hitting just .190 over his last 7 games.

Dereck Rodriguez RHP- 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.30.  D-Rod came off the DL and picked up where he left off with his 9'th QS in a row.  He continued to show good command of a 4-5 pitch mix with an ability to reach back for an extra MPH or 2 when he needed it.  This one might have been a scoreless start as the 2 runs were driven in on a flyball to LF on which Alen Hanson appeared to 1.  Be playing way too deep.  2.  Got a late jump.  3.  Took an odd route.  Interestingly, Hanson was lifted for PH Gorkys Hernandez the next inning when he came up.  BTW, Austin Slater replaced Gorkys on a double switch later in the game.  I'm not sure why Slater wasn't starting in LF, but that's just me.

Bullpen- 4 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K's.  Moronta, Melancon, Smith and Dyson all gave up runs.  Smith's 2 unearned runs came after Panik's error in the 9'th.

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The D'Backs and Rockies both lost so the Giants remain 9 games off the NL West lead in 4'th place.  The Dodgers won to pull 3.5 games back in 3'rd place.

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Andrew Suarez tries to get his ship righted today facing lefty Martin Perez.

Down on the Farm: 8/23/2108

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies mauled the Sacramento River Cats 15-1:

Tyler Herb RHP- 4 IP, 12 H, 9 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 6.17.
Manny Parra LHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.53.
Tyler Beede RHP- 1.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 7.10.
Ray Black RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 2.78.

It was a rough day for Tylers.  Guess it's a good thing Tyler Rogers didn't pitch.  Tyler Beede seems to take baby steps forward and big steps back.

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AA  Bowie Baysox downed the Richmond Flying Squirrels 3-1:

Dylan Davis LF- 1 for 4, HR(13).  BA= .236.
Logan Webb RHP- 4.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.25.
Dan Slania RHP- 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.66.
Ian Gardeck RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Ian Gardeck could be a Rule 5 Draft target this offseason.

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A+  Visalia Rawhide whipped the San Jose Giants 3-1:

Jacob Heyward DH- 2 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .246.
Kelvin Beltre SS- 1 for 3, HR(5), BB.  BA= .222.
Dominic Mazza LHP- 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 10 K's.  ERA= 3.99.

Domenic Mazza has 24 K's against 4 BB's in 17.2 IP over his last 3 Starts.

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Low A  Augusta Greenjackets edged out the Kannapolis Intimidators 3-2(Game 1 of DH, 7 Innings):

Heliot Ramos CF- 1 for 3, SB(8).  BA= .243.
Ryan Kirby DH- 1 for 2, HR(14).  BA= .232.
Caleb Baragar LHP- 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.19.

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Low A Augusta Greenjackets defeated the Kannapolis Intimidators 5-4(Game 2 of DH, 7 Innings):

Logan Baldwin RF- 2 for 3, 2B.  BA= .251.
Manuel Geraldo SS- 2 for 3.  BA= .293.
Heliot Ramos CF- 2 for 3, 2 3B(8).  BA= .246.
Orlando Garcia 2B- 1 for 2, SF, SB(9).  BA= .247.
Camilo Doval RHP- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's, Save(9).  ERA= 3.31.

Go Heliot, go!  Ramos is hitting .300 in August.

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Short Season  Spokane Indians crushed the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 18-4:

Kyle McPherson 2B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .316.
Dalton Combs RF- 2 for 3, 2B, HR(4), BB. BA= .297.
Ricardo Genoves C- 2 for 4.  BA= .229.

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DSL  Pirates2 beat the Giants 7-4:

Luis Toribio 3B- 2 for 4, BB, SB(3).  BA= .260.
Jesus Gomez LHP- 3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 2.68.

Jesus Gomez has 60 K's in 43.2 IP.

Game Wrap 8/23/2018: Giants 3 Mets 1

Over the course of he illustrious career, Madison Bumgarner has had a handful of disaster starts.  As near as I can remember, he's bounced back with a strong start after every one.  His last start against Cincinnati, while maybe not quite a disaster start, at least came close.  As we have come to expect, he bounced back in this game with a vintage MadBum performance while out dueling Jake DeGrom who is widely considered a Cy Young Award candidate this season.  Key Lines:

Steven Duggar CF- 0 for 2, BB, SB(5).  BA= .244.  Duggar used his speed to score the Giants first run with a walk and SB.  He then took 3B on a groundout and came home on a PB.

Austin Slater LF- 1 for 4.  BA= .280.  Slater scored the Giants second run when he singled in the 4'th inning, went to 2B on a walk to Nick Hundley and scored on a double by Madison Bumgarner.

Madison Bumgarner LHP-  8 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 2.88.  Again, a vintage MadBum performance with the RBI double thrown in for good measure.

Will Smith LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, Save(11).  ERA= 1.91.  Will Smith's comeback from TJ surgery and emergence as a reliable Closer is one of the nice stories of the season, at least for me.

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The D'Back and Rockies both won, so the the 4'th place Giants remain 9 games out of first place in the NL West.  The Dodgers lost again to the Cardinals and slip to 4.5 games off the pace in 3'rd place.  Am I a bad person for being really happy about that?

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The Giants return to AT&T Park where Young Dereck Rodriguez comes of the the DL to face Drew Hutchison.

Down on the Farm: 8/22/2018

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies outslugged the Sacramento River Cats 10-8:

Kelby Tomlinson SS- 2 for 5.  BA= .281.
Ryder Jones 3B- 1 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .274.
Miguel Gomez DH- 1 for 3, HR(2), SF.  BA= .289.
Chris Shaw 1 for 4, HR(23).  BA= .263.
Brock Stassi 1B- 2 for 3, 2 2B, BB.  BA= 467.
Gregor Blanco RF- 1 for 3, HR(3), BB.  BA= .244.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels defeated the Bowie Baysox 3-1;

Luigi Rodriguez RF- 2 for 4.  BA= .271.
Caleb Gindl DH- 2 for 4.  BA= .302.
Jeff Samardzijja RHP- 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, GO/AO= 7/2.  ERA= 0.00.
Carlos Diaz LHP- 2.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.31.
Dillon McNamara RHP- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.30.
Sam Wolff RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(4).  ERA= 6.45.

Luigi Rodriguez is hitting just .143 over his last 10 games even after this 2-hit game.  Shark has a successful start to his rehab assignment.

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A+  San Jose Giants crushed the Visalia Rawhide 13-3:

Jacob Heyward LF- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .245.
Heath Quinn DH- 2 for 4, HR(13), SF.  BA= .309.
Johneshwy Fargas RF- 3 for 5, 2B, SB(41), CS(15).  BA= .288.
John Gavin LHP- 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 4.82.
Sam Coonrod RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Heath Quinn is finishing the season with an exclamation point.  His dinger was a Grand Slam and he ended the evening with 6 RBI's.  He is hitting .395 over his last 10 games and .328 for the month of August.  AA Richmond awaits next season.
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Low A  Augusta Greenjackets were idle.

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Boise Hawks 5-3:

Kyle McPherson 2B- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .314.
David Villar 3B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .282.
Wander Franco DH- 2 for 4, HR(4).  BA= .282.
Robinson Medrano 1B- 2 for 4, HR(9).  BA= 241.
Blake Rivera RHP- 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 5.06.
Solomon Bates RHP- 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 5.06.
Jesus Tona RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(11).  ERA= 0.99.

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Rookie AZL  Giants Orange beat the Cubs 1 4-1:

George Bell RF- 1 for 3, SF, SB(9).  BA= .301.
Fabian Pena DH- 1 for 2, HR(4), 2 BB.  BA= .326.
Austin Edgette 1B- 1 for 3, BB. BA= .322.
Francis Pena RHP- 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 7/1.  ERA= 3.17.
Julio Rodriguez RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.20.

Francis Pena has allowed just 4 ER in 32.2 IP over his last 7 appearances.

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Rookie AZL  D'Backs bit the Giants Black 4-1:

Abdiel Layer 3B- 1 for 3, 3B, BB.  BA= .287.
Kwan Adkins LF- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .202.
Johan Herrera RHP- 5 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 4.25.

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DSL  Giants doubled up the Pirates2  10-5:

Ghordy Santos DH- 2 for 4, 2 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .209.
Samuel Jorge 1B- 2 for 4, BB, SB(1).  BA= .271.
Martin Doria RF/2B/3B- 1 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .241.
Cesar Gonzalez C- 1 for 2, 3B, 3 BB.  BA= .286.
Jose Hernandez LF- 1 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .204.

Giants drew 13 BB's in the game.  They have drawn the 4'th most walks in the league out of 46 teams.

Game Wrap 8/22/2018: Mets 5 Giants 3

An error by Brandon Crawford leading to 2 unearned runs in the 2'nd inning was the difference in this game.  Key Lines:

Joe Panik 2B- 2 for 4.  BA= .247.  New York Joe is hitting .346 over his last 7 games but with a .333 OBP and a .346 SLG%.  Panik has 1 more season of team control.  Giants have a big decision to make with him, but does he have any trade value right now?  Probably not much.

Austin Slater LF- 2 for 4, HR(1).  bA= .281.  So now I am not sure if I should rag on the Bruce Bochy for making Slater come off the bench for 4 games after his 0 for 11 skid, or to praise him to giving him a breather to regroup and come back stronger.  Anyway, Slater appears to be the big beneficiary if Cutch gets traded, although Slater should be well ahead of Gorkys on the OF depth chart.

Casey Kelly RHP- 6 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.16.  Somehow it seems like Kelly has not pitched all that well in any of his 3 Appearances, but here he is sporting a shiny ERA.  Will he get another Start before Shark makes his return?

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With the Loss, the Giants are sitting 9 games out of first place in the NL West pending the outcome of the D'Backs vs Angels.  Dodgers and Rockies are still playing too.  Once they reach a 10 game or more deficit, they are officially out of the race in my book.  Unofficially, they are already.

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Madison Bumgarner tries to bounce back from a rough start in Cincinnati on a Getaway Day tomorrow facing Cy Young candidate Jake DeGrom.

Down on the Farm: 8/21/2018

AAA Fresno Grizzlies mauled the Sacramento River Cats 9-2:

Peter Bourjos CF- 2 for 5, HR(2).  BA= .300.
Tyler Beede RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 6.85.

Back to baby steps for Tyler Beede, but striking out the side is headed in the right direction.

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AA  Bowie Baysox shut out the Richmond Flying Squirrels 5-0:

Ryan Howard 2B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .278.

Ryan Howard is picking up the pace as the season nears an end.  He has an 8-game hit streak in which he is 12 for 27 with 4 doubles, a triple and a HR.

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A+  San Jose Giants blanked the Visalia Rawhide 1-0:

Bryce Johnson CF- 2 for 4, 2B, SB(27).  BA= .258.
Tanner Murphy C- 2 for 3.  BA= .178.
DJ Myers RHP= 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.89.
Peter Lannoo RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.13.
Frank Rubio RHP= 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, Save(9).  ERA= 5.92.

Bryce Johnson is hitting .298 for August and .325 over his last 10 games. He has just 4 CS against his  27 SB's. DJ Myers has allowed 5 ER in 23 IP(1.96 ERA) over his last 4 Starts with 19 K and 1 BB.

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Low A  Asheville Tourists outslugged the Augusta Greenjackets 10-9:

Heliot Ramos PH- 1 for 1, 2B.  BA= .242.
Logan Baldwin RF- 4 for 6, 2 2B, 3B.  BA= .247.
Manuel Geraldo SS- 2 for 5.  BA= .290.
Orlando Garcia 2B- 2 for 3, 2 2B, BB.  BA= .245.
Shane Matheny 3B- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .198.
Jeffry Parra C- 2 for 4.  BA= .196.

Fitting that the Asheville Tourists are a Rockies affiliate and play in an extreme hitter's park.

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Boise Hawks 9-6:

Kyle McPherson 2B- 3 for 4, 2 2B, BB.  BA= .306.
Diego Rincones LF- 1 for 2, 2B, 2 BB, HBP.  BA= .311.
Joey Bart C- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .315.
David Villar 3B- 1 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .277.
Wander Franco 1B- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .277.
Nico Giarratano SS- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .281.
Matt Frisbee RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.47.

Who is the starting 2B for the San Jose Giants next year, Orlando Garcia or Kyle McPherson?  Joey Bart was charged with a PB and 2 throwing errors.  Maybe that is why he is still in S-K?

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Rookie AZL  Cubs 1 edged out the Giants Black 5-4:

Sean Roby 3B- 1 for 4, HR(5), SF.  BA= .291.
Franklin Labour RF- 2 for 3, HR(1), BB.  BA= .289.
Israel Cruz RHP- 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.33.

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Rookie AZL  Giants Orange outscored the Athletics 7-4:

George Bell CF- 1 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .301.
Austin Edgette RF- 1 for 3, 2 BB, SB(4).  BA= .321.
Jacob Lopez LHP- 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 1.77.
Chris Roberts RHP- 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.37.

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DSL  Mariners crushed the Giants 13-2:

Andrew Caraballo 2B- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .235.
Jose Hernandez CF- 3 for 4.  BA= .200.

Game Wrap 8/21/2018: Mets 6 Giants 3

There were at least 2 or 3 bright spots in another otherwise dismal loss.  Key Lines:

Evan Longoria 3B- 2 for 4, HR(13.  BA= .249.  Giants are stuck with Longoria's contract for a few years, so we might as well hope games like this are a sign he still has some gas left in the tank.

Austin Slater 1B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .273.  Austin Slater was going good as recently as Augusta 11 when he went 1 for 3 and his BA was .308.  He then went 0 for 11 over his next 3 games.  This was his first start in the field since.  I think some of the criticism we are seeing and hearing of Bochy and Giants management a bit shrill and unfair, but I have no idea what they are doing with Austin Slater.  Maybe an 0 for 11 deserves a day off to recoup, but otherwise he needs to be out there everyday building up AB's and experience.

Chris Stratton RHP- 6.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 5.37.  Stratton credits Ryan Vogelsong with helping him make a mechanical adjustment which led to 2 strong starts for Sacramento and today's QS.  Stratton took a shutout into the 7'th inning before faltering, but a strong finish by him would expand Giants pitching options for next season.

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The D'Backs, Rockies and Dodgers are all still playing as of this writing with the Giants sitting 8 games behind the D'Backs for the NL West lead.

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Casey Kelly gets the start tomorrow evening against Thor who has not been unhittable in the month of August, which means he will be against the Giants.

Down on the Farm: 8/20/2018

AAA  Sacramento River Cats were idle.

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AA  Bowie Baysox downed the Richmond Flying Squirrels 6-2:

Ryan Howard SS- 2 for 2, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .275.

Ryan Howard has 30 doubles in 421 PA which projects to 43 over 600 PA's.

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A+  San Jose Giants were idle.

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Lo A  Augusta Greenjackets edged out the Asheville Tourists 2-1:

Logan Baldwin RF- 1 for 3, HR(6), Sac, HBP.  BA= .241.
Manuel Geraldo SS- 2 for 4, SB(22).  BA= .289.
Aaron Phillips RHP- 5.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 3.90.
Jorge Labrador RHP- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Camilo Doval RHP- 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.40.

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Short Season  Boise Hawks topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 8-4:

Kyle McPherson 2B- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(6).  BA= .299.
Aaron Bond CF- 2 for 5, HR(9).  BA= .281.
Wander Alexander Franco 3B- 2 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .273.
Dalton Combs DH- 1 for 2, BB, 2 SF.  BA= .286.
Nick Hill RF- 1 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .400.
Trent Toplikar RHP- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 1.24.
Jesus Tona RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.03.

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Rookie AZL  Giants Black squeaked past the White Sox 3-2:

Alexander Canario CF- 2 for 4.  BA= .255.
Abdiel Layer 3B- 2 for 4.  BA= .287.
Conner Nurse RHP- 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.38.
Aneudy Acosta RHP- 3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 5.20.
Cooper Casad RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, Save(4).  ERA= 3.21.

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Rookie AZL  Royals beat the Giants Orange 7-3:

Austin Edgette 1B- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .321.
Fabian Pena C- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .329.
Patrick Hilson CF- 2 for 3, HR(4), BB.  BA= .199.

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DSL  Mariners outscored the Giants 9-7:

Ghordy Santos DH- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .207.
Ismael Alcantara LF- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .259.
Keyberth Mejias C- 2 for 3, 2 HR(4), BB.  BA= .259.
Robinson Batista RF- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .273.

Game Wrap 8/20/2018: Giants 2 Mets 1(13 Innings)

The Giants got 8 shutout innings from their bullpen and finally got a runner home from scoring position in the 13'th inning with a lot of help from the Mets defense.  Key Lines:

Derek Holland LHP- 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.75.  For awhile it looks like Holland might be a 1-0 loser, but the Giants pushed across a run in the 7'th on a series of gifts from the BABIP gods.

Bullpen- 8 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K's.  Mark Melancon went 2 innings with 1 hit and 3 K's.  That might be his strongest appearance of the season!  The Giants desperately need to get something from their investment on Melancon over the next 2 seasons.  Maybe he is finally getting healthy?  Derek Law overcame 2 walks in the 12'th inning to give the Giants a chance to take the lead in the 13'th.  He then shut down the Mets for a save, eve though he does not get credit for a Save.

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The Win allowed the Giants to gain a game on the idle D'Backs, so they are 8 games out of first place in the NL West in 4'th place.

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Chris Stratton gets another chance to get his season and career back on track tomorrow evening facing lefty Steven Matz. Stratton credits Ryan Vogelsong with helping him with a mechanical adjustment that enabled him to pitch well in his last 2 AAA Starts.

Down on the Farm: 8/19/2018

AAA  Albuquerque Isotopes blew up the Sacramento River Cats 7-1:

Miguel Gomez 2B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .289.

Nothing else to see here.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels edged out the Hartford Yard Goats 4-3:

Caleb Gindl CF/LF- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .306
Ryan Howard 2B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .272.
Conner Menez LHP- 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 11 K's.  ERA= 4.68.
Dusten Knight RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.78.

It seems to me that Ryan Howard is pretty good insurance against the Giants having to sign Joe Panik to a big long contract extension.  Conner Menez has 79 K's in 65.1 IP in AA.

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A+ San Jose Giants downed the Lancaster Jethawks 4-1:

Jacob Heyward DH- 1 for 3, BB, SB(13).  BA= .243.
Jalen Miller 2B- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .283.
Mac Marshall LHP- 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.89.
Sam Coonrod RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.
Nolan Riggs RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's, Save(6).  ERA= 3.71.

This was Mac Marshall's longest and possibly best appearance of the season.

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Low A  Asheville Tourists beat the Augusta Greenjackets 6-3:

Manuel Geraldo SS- 2 for 5, 2B.   BA= .287.
Heliot Ramos DH- 2 for 5, 3B.  BA= .243.
Ryan Kirby 1B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .229.
Jacob Gonzalez 3B- 2 for 4.  BA= .232.
Jose Marte RHP- 5.2 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 4.23.
Olbis Parra RHP- 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.23.

Heliot Ramos is hitting .288 in August and .316 over his last 10 games.

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Short Season  Hillsboro Hops topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 9-8:

Nick Hill CF- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .417.
Joey Bart DH- 1 for 3, 2 HBP.  BA= .312.
Wander Alexander Franco 1B- 2 for 4, HR(3).  BA= .269.
Dalton Combs RF- 1 for 4, HR(3).  BA= .281.
Robinson Medrano LF- 2 for 4, 2 HR(8).  BA= .241.
Jake Wong RHP- 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.53.

If the Giants were DH'ing Joey Bart to lower his risk of injury, well, maybe they didn't consider HBP's?  If they aren't going to give him a preview of the Cal League in the final 2 weeks of the season, maybe they should just shut him down?

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Rookie AZL  Giants Orange defeated the Giants Black 5-4:

Black

Abdiel Layer SS- 2 for 4, HR(3).  BA= .280.
Braden Frankfort C- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .268.
Jordan Scott RHP- 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.91.

Orange

Anyesber Sivira 2B- 2 for 3, HR(1), BB, HBP.  BA= .301.
Yorlis Rodriguez 3B- 3 for 4, 3B, BB.  BA= .315.
Patrick Hilson DH- 1 for 2, 3B, BB, HBP, SB(5).  BA= .189.
Ben Madison RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.86.
Tyler Beede RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Anyesber Sivira is hitting .342 over his last 10 games.  Tyler Beede apparently on a rehab assignment.  Hopefully whatever was wrong is now fixed.

*********************************************************************************

DSL  Giants were idle.

Game Wrap 8/19/2018: Reds 11 Giants 4

Well, rock bottom got a little deeper in this game that was not nearly as close as the score might lead you to believe.  A truly wretched performance to cap off a sweep at the hands of one of the worst teams in MLB.  Key Lines:

Steven Duggar CF- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .265.  Duggar was as doubles machine in Sacramento before his call up.  He hasn't slowed down in the majors with 11 in 122 PA which projects to about 55 over 600 PA's.  His actual combined number is 38 in 438 PA between AAA and MLB.  This might have been the lone bright spot from today's game.

Andrew Suarez LHP- 2.2 IP, 7 H, 7 R. 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.68.  Most young pitchers who find early success at the MLB level eventually hit a wall, whether from fatigue or from advance scouts "getting a book" on them.  Suarez definitely hit some sort of wall in the 3'rd inning after pitching 2 scoreless frames.  It wasn't much of a game after that as the score reached 9-1 before the Giants scored 3 more in garbage time.

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The Loss drops the Giants 8 games off the pace set by NL West co-leaders, D'Backs and Rockies.

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The Giants road trip moves on to New York for a 4 gamer against another bad team with Derek Holland facing former Giants first round draft pick and prospect, Zack Wheeler.

Down on the Farm: 8/18/2018

AAA  Albuquerque Isotopes burned the Sacramento River Cats 6-2:

Peter Bourjos CF- 3 for 5, 3B.  BA= .305.
Tyler Herb RHP- 6 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 11/1.  ERA= 5.13.

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AA  Hartford Yard Goats blanked the Richmond Flying Squirrels 1-0:

Matt Winn C- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .333.

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A+  San Jose Giants downed the Lancaster Jethawks 6-2:

Jalen Miller 2B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .280.
Gio Brusa 1B- 2 for 4, 3B.  BA= .241.
Bryce Johnson CF- 2 for 3, BB, SB(26).
Carlos Sano RHP- 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 3.39.
Sandro Cabrera LHP- 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.47.

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Low A Asheville Tourists crushed the Augusta Greenjackets 14-3:

Heliot Ramos CF- 3 for 5, HR(10).  BA= .241.
Ryan Kirby 1B- 1 for 3, HR(13), BB.  BA= .226.
Orlando Garcia 2B- 2 for 4.  BA= .245.

It's getting down to the end of the season and Heliot Ramos is still kicking it in an environment that has broken a few pretty good prospects.

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Short Season

David Villar 3B- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .284.
Dalton Combs RF- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .283.
Seth Corry LHP- 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 8/2.  ERA= 0.61.

Seth Corry had a 2.61 ERA in 38 IP with 42 K and 17 BB for the AZL Giants Black.  He has allowed just 1 ER in 14.2 IP with 13 K's and 7 BB's in 3 Starts since his promotion to S-K.  The major difference seems to be a GO/AO= 1.09 for Giants Black and 1.82 for S-K.  Has he added a sinker to his repertoire or is it a sample size aberration? At any rate, he's had a fine season and seems to have left the bouts of extreme wildness behind.  Can't wait to see what he does in Augusta next season.

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Rookie AZL  Giants Orange and Giants Black were both idle.

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DSL Tigers2 defeated the Giants 6-2:

Rodolfo Bone C- 1 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .345.
Jesus Gomez LHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 2.43.

Game Wrap 8/18/2018: Reds 7 Giants 1

The Giants have had a few low points this season, but this one just might be the lowest.  After a decent series against the Dodgers in the stinky place, they traveled east thinking they could continue gaining ground against a couple of bad teams.  Well, as they have done a few times, they did a faceplant.  Today, not only the offense stayed cold, but their ace pitcher got lit up.  Key Lines:

Lineup:  7 for 34, 2 BB.  BA= .206.  No XBH's.  No hits until the 6'th inning.  Just another dismal day at the plate.  I wonder how Bochy expressing his frustration with the offense impacts their performance, if at all?  I mean, I'm pretty sure the hitters aren't coming to the park saying to themselves, "I'm going to try to go 0 for 4 today."  You read about hitter's "pressing".  Wouldn't having your manager vent his frustration to the press make that worse, or does it help concentrate their minds and create tougher outs?  I honestly don't know so I'm asking.

Madison Bumgarner LHP- 6 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 6 BB.  ERA= 3.05.  Kind of a rough night for Bummy.  Not much else to say.  He's always bounced back from these.

*********************************************************************************

With the Loss, the Giants remain 7 games behind the D'Backs in the NL West as the Snakes lost to the Padres 7-6.  The Rockies topped the Braves and sit 0.5 games behind in 2'nd place.  The Dodgers sit 1.5 games behind pending the outcome of their game with the Mariners who lead 4-1 in the 6'th inning.

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Andrew Suarez tries to salvage a game out the series tomorrow facing former Giants farmhand Luis Castillo.

Down on the Farm: 8/17/2018

AAA  Albuquerque Isotopes held off the Sacramento River Cats 8-7:

Miguel Gomez 2B- 3 for 5.  BA= .279.
Aramis Garcia C- 2 for BB.  BA= .261.
Shaun Anderson RHP- 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.33.

The River Cats scored 4 runs in the 7'th and 2 in the 8'th, but the Isotopes countered with 5 in the 7'th.  After getting roughed up in his second AAA start, Shaun Anderson has a 3.33 ERA over his last 4 Starts.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels blanked the Hartford Yard Goats 3-0:

Logan Webb RHP- 5.1 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 2.35.
Garrett Williams LHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 5.92.

That line by Logan Webb should send a pulse of excitement through your body.

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A+ Lancaster Jethawks outscored the San Jose Giants 9-6(10 innings):

Jalen Miller 2B- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .279.
Heath Quinn LF- 4 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .311.
Jacob Heyward DH- 1 for 4, HR(9).  BA= .242.
Domenic Mazza LHP- 5.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 4.11.
Rodolfo Martinez RHP- 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 5.90.

Domenic Mazza had a pretty good game going until he couldn't get out of the 6'th inning.  He left the game with a run in and the bases loaded.  Rodolfo Martinez allowed 2 of his inherited runners to score.

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Low A  Kannapolis Intimidators beat the Augusta Greejackets 6-3:

Malique Ziegler LF- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .261.
Manuel Geraldo SS- 3 for 3, 2 BB, SB(21).  BA= .286.
Jeffry Parra C- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(7).  BA= 189.
Camilo Doval RHP- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.35.

Jeffry Parra has had his moments this year.  Just not enough of them. His OPS of .634, while not great, is much better than you would think from his BA.

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Short Season Hillsboro Hops topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 6-4:

Kyle McPherson 2B- 2 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .296.
Joey Bart C- 1 for 4, HR(10).  BA= .321.
David Villar 3B- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .279.
Jett Manning SS- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .320.
JJ Santa Cruz LHP- 3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 0.96.
Matt Frisbee RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.80.

Joey Bart's 10'th HR was his first since he hit 2 on July 27.

*********************************************************************************

Rookie AZL  Giants Black outlasted the Angels 5-5(11 Innings):

Marcos Campos 2B/SS- 2 for 4, 3B, BB, SB(3).  BA= .171.
Luis Moreno RHP- 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K's, GO/AO= 10/0.  ERA= 2.98.
Victor Concepcion RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Second consecutive Start for Luis Moreno without allowing an ER.  13 IP, 2 BB, 13 K's.

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Rookie AZL  Giants Orange edged out the D'Backs 4-3(10 Innings):

Bryan Hernandez LF- 1 for 1, 2B.  BA= .171.
Andrew Angulo DH- 3 for 4.  BA= .360.
Tyler Flores LF/1B- 2 for 4.  BA= .298.
Jasier Herrera RHP- 6 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.76.
Andy Rohloff RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.00.

Jasier is the tall Herrera at 6'5".  He's allowed just 2 ER in 12 IP over his last 2 Starts with 1 BB, 12 K's.
*********************************************************************************

DSL  Tigers2 defeated the Giants 4-2:

Robinson Batista RF- 3 for 4.  BA= .269.
Samuel Quintana LHP- 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.05.

Sleeper alert on Samuel Quintana:  17 yo, 6'5", 215 lbs.  2 ER, 1 BB, 12 K, 10.1 IP, over his last 4 appearances.

Game Wrap 8/17/2018: Reds 2 Giants 1(11 Innings)

The Giants cobbled together a strong combined pitching effort in place of the injured Dereck Rodriguez but wasted it in the end as their offense remained mired in a team wide slump.  Key Lines:

Andrew McCutchen RF- 3 for 5.  BA= .257.  Cutch drove in the Giants only run after a Steven Duggar double in the 3'rd inning.  He reached base 2 other times but for naught as the Giants could not sustain another rally.

Casey Kelly RHP- 4.1 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.69.  Kelly was pitching in front of his dad who is the Reds Bench Coach.  He gave up a lot of hits and had to work his way out of trouble in every inning.  but kept the Giants in the game long enough to give the bullpen a fighting chance.  He seems to be skilled at holding runners and delivering the ball quickly out of the stretch.  His pickoff of Billy Hamilton in the first inning and Buster Posey's throwout of Jose Peraza trying to steal 2B in the 5'th were key moments in the game.

Reyes Moronta RHP- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.10.  A dominant appearance by Moronta who has become a major force in the bullpen and whose contract is controlled by the Giants for years into the future.

Ray Black RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.91.  Black struck out the side in the 10'th inning, but fell behind Phillip Ervin leading off the 11'th.  I don't know if Ervin was guessing that Black would try to steal a strike with a curveball in the zone or if Black tipped his pitch, but that's what Ervin got and he was ready for it as it came in with just a bit of hang time.  Walkoff dinger.

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The D'Backs and Dodgers are still playing at this post time, but they are both leading their respective games while the Rockies already topped the Braves 11-5, so the Giants will likely end the night 7 games behind the NL West leading D'Backs.

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Madison Bumgarner tries to even the series tomorrow evening with Matt Harvey taking the mound for the Reds.

Down on the Farm: 8/16/2018

AAA  Sacramento River Cats cooled off the Albuquerque Isotopes 4-2:

Miguel Gomez 2B-3 for 5.  BA= .269.
Jordan Johnson RHP- 7 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 5.36.
Steven Okert LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(1).  ERA= 5.27.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels defeated the Bowie Baysox 6-3:

Luigi Rodriguez RF- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .281.
Caleb Gindl DH- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .294.
Matt Lipka CF- 1 for 2, HR(4).  BA= .233.
Ali Castillo 3B- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .264.
Chase Johnson RHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 5 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.69.
Ryan Halstead RHP- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K.  ERA= 2.96.
Dusten Knight RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, Save(3).  ERA= 1.85.

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A+ San Jose Giants were idle.

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Low A Kannapolis Intimidators routed the Augusta Greenjackets 10-1:

Really, NTSH.

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Boise Hawks 7-4:

Kyle McPherson 2B- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .294.
Nick Hill RF- 1 for 4, HR(1), BB.  BA= .250.
Ricardo Genoves C- 2 for 3, 2B.  BA= .234.
Aaron Bond CF- 1 for 4, 3B, BB.  BA= .286.
Robinson Medrano 1B- 1 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .241.
Blake Rivera RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.   ERA= 5.54.
Solomon Bates RHP- 4 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 5.32.
Ryan Walker RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 2.25.

Solomon Bates has 34 K's in 21.2 IP.

*********************************************************************************

Rookie AZL  Giants Black beat the Athletics 5-3:

Frankie Tostado DH- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .288.
Sean Roby 3B- 2 for 4, HR(4).  BA= .293.
Johan Herrera RHP- 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 4.10.
Oliver Pinto RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 5.79.
Cooper Casad RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.46.

*********************************************************************************

Rookie AZL  Giants Orange crushed the Angels 8-2:

Yorlis Rodriguez DH- 1 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .314.
Beicker Mendoza 1B- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .313.
Fabian Pena C- 2 for 4, HR(3).  BA= .320.
Tyler Flores LF- 2 for 4.  BA= .292.
Hector Santiago 3B- 2 for 4.  BA= .246.
Francis Pena RHP- 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 3.49.
Julio Rodriguez RHP- 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= .235.

Francis Pena has allowed just 3 ER in 27.2 IP over his last 6 Starts since 7/11, although he has also allowed 7 unearned runs over the same span.  His WHIP over the same span, which may be a better measure of effectiveness in a situation where there are a lot of unearned runs, is a very respectable 1.26.

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DSL  Giants pounded Colorado 12-5:

Luis Toribio 3B- 2 for 6, HR(10).  BA= .265.
Jean Pena DH- 2 for 5, BB. BA= .239.
Ismael Alcantara LF- 5 for 5, BB.  BA= .253.
Richgelon Juliana CF- 2 for 6.  BA= .270.
Samuel Jorge 1B- 2 for 5, 2B, HR(2).  BA= .272.
Omar Medina C- 3 for 4, BB.  BA= .220.
Robinson Batista RF- 1 for 4, 3B, BB.  BA= .257.

Izzy Alcantara is hitting .360 for the month of August.  I can't remember the last time a DSL Giant had double digit HR's.

Down on the Farm: 8/15/2018

AAA  Sacramento River Cats outlasted the Reno Aces 8-5(11 innings):

Ryder Jones 3B- 2 for 6, 2B.  BA= .282.
Miguel Gomez 2B- 2 for 6.  BA= .259.
Aramis Garcia C- 3 for 4, 2B, SF.  BA= .188.
Myles Schroder LF/2B- 2 for 4, 2B, HBP.  BA= .263.
Hunter Strickland RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.
Derek Law RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.10.

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AA  Bowie Baysox pounded the Richmond Flying Squirrels 10-4:

Matt Winn C- 3 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .300.

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A+ Inland Empire 66'ers defeated the San Jose Giants 5-3:

Sandro Fabian RF- 2 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .213.
Johneshwy Fargas LF- 1 for 2, BB, Sac, SB(39).  BA= .285.
John Gavin LHP- 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 5.93.
Ian Gardeck RHP- 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 2.25.

Sandro Fabian's bat is showing signs of life late in the season.  Ian Gardeck is on the comeback trail after 2 TJ surgeries.

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Low A  Kannapolis Intimidators outscored the Augusta Greenjackets 7-6(10 Innings):

Rob Calabrese C- 1 for 2, 2 BB, SB(2).  BA= .221.
Aaron Phillips RHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 4.15.
John Timmins RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.43.

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Short Season  Salem-Keizer Volcanoes topped the Boise Hawks 6-3:

Kyle McPherson 2B- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .291.
Joey Bart C- 2 for 4.  BA= .323.
Aaron Bond CF- 2 for 4, 3B.  BA= .287.
Dalton Combs 2 for 4, 3B.  BA= .273.
Sean Hjelle RHP- 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 5.28.
Jesus Tona RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(10).  ERA= 1.07.

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Rookie AZL  Angels edged out the Giants Orange 4-3:

Patrick Hilson CF- 2 for 4, 2B, 3B.  BA= .187.
George Bell RF- 2 for 2.  BA- .313.
Jacob Lopez LHP- 4 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.20.
Logan Harasta RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 0.63.

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Rookie AZL  Athletics tripped up the Giants Black 3-2(10 Innings):

Alexander Canario CF- 1 for 4, HR(5).  BA= .270.
Abdiel Layer SS- 2 for 4.  BA= .276.
Angel Guzman C- 2 for 3.  BA= .289.
Israel Cruz RHP- 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K's. ERA= 4.69.
Ben Strahm RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.50.

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DSL Colorado beat the Giants 3-2:

Ghordy Santos DH- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .217.
Juan Sanchez LHP- 4 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.39.
Josdeiker Marcano RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 1.57.
Wilkelma Castillo RHP- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 5.87.

Game Wrap 8/15/2018: Dodgers 4 Giants 3(12 Innings)

The Giants seemed poised for another late-inning win after Andrew McCutchen erased a 3-0 Dodgers lead with a 3-run blast in the 8'th.   This time, though, it was the Giants bullpen that finally ran out of gas in extra innings.  Key Lines:

Andrew McCutchen RF- 1 for 4, BB, HR(14).  BA= .253.  Cutch was just 3 for 32 since going 5 for 5 on August 4 before connecting for the almost heroic dinger in the 8'th inning to tie the game.

Hunter Pence LF- 3 for 5.  BA= .226.  Hunter's last starting role was on 8/3.  He was just 1 for 10 in August in mostly a bench role prior to this 3-hit game.

Derek Holland LHP- 4.2 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 3.83.  Holland was dominant for 4 innings, the ran into a peck of trouble in the 5'th and was saved by an assist at home plate by Gorkys Hernandez on a call that was overturned on review.  He left the game with the bases loaded and 2 outs.  Reyes Moronta got Cody Bellinger to pop out to end the inning.  Moronta later gave up the Dodgers first run in the 6'th inning.

Ty Blach LHP- 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.38.  Ty Blach and mult-inning relief seem like they were made for each other.  He can have a long MLB career in that role which is the latest hot commodity of the Saber crowd, probably with good reason.

Casey Kelly RHP- 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 1.42.  Kelly got through the 11'th inning unscathed despite 2 walks but finally gave up his first MLB run in the 12'th for the walk-off loss.  Who will be the Giants 5'th starter the next time they need one?

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The Loss dropped the 4'th place Giants 5.5 games behind the idle NL West leading D'Backs.  The Rockies lost to the Astros 12-1 to slide into a 2'nd place tie with the Dodgers, 1.5 games behind the D'Backs.

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The Giants have a travel day today which enables them to skip the 5'th Starter, because lets's face it, they don't have one.  Young Dereck Rodriguez picks up his quest for ROY to open a series in Cincinnati with Anthony DeSclafini on the mound for the Reds.

Down on the Farm: 8/14/2018

AAA  Sacramento River Cats trumped the Reno Aces 9-1:

Kelby Tomlinson 2B- 2 for 5.  BA= .303.
Ryder Jones 3B- 2 for 4, 2 2B, BB.  BA= .281.
Ronnie Freeman C- 3 for 5, 3B.  BA= .244.
Orlando Calixte SS- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .267.
Chris Stratton RHP- 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K's, GO/AO= 7/3.  ERA= 3.00.
Hunter Strickland RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.
Josh Osich LHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 5.35.

Stratton has allowed just 3 ER in 19 IP over his last 3 AAA Starts.  He has 1 bad MLB start mixed in, though.  We'll see when he gets his next MLB shot.  Strick seems ready as soon as he is eligible to come off the 60 day DL.  Let's hope he comes back feeling like he has something to prove, especially in the maturity department.

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AA  Bowie Baysox flattened the Richmond Flying Squirrels 10-2(Game 1 of DH, 7 Innings):

Ryan Howard SS- 2 for 3, 2B, 3B.  BA= .271.
Jonah Arenado DH- 2 for 3.  BA= .215.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels outlasted the Bowie Baysox 8-5(Game 2 of DH, 8 Innings of scheduled 7 Inning game):

CJ Hinojosa SS- 3 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .278.
Caleb Gindl DH- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .288.
Ali Castillo 3B- 2 for 3, BB, SB(6).  BA= .260.
Sam Wolff RHP- 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 7.23.
Dillon McNamara RHP- 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.41.

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A+ San Jose Giants crushed the Inland Empire 66'ers 8-1:

Bryce Johnson CF- 0 for 2, 3 BB.  BA= .256.
Gio Brusa 1B- 2 for 5, HR(18).  BA= .240.
Sandro Fabian RF- 1 for 2, HR(9), SF, HBP.  BA= .209.
DJ Myers RHP- 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 5.26.
Franklin Van Gurp RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 6.95.

Double digit HR's is a nice goal for Sandro Fabian to finish the season with.

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Low A  Augusta Greenjackets were idle.

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Short Season  Boise Hawks topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 9-5:

Kyle McPherson 2B- 2 for 4, 3B, BB.  BA= .288.
David Villar 3B- 1 for 4, HR(11).  BA= .281.
Dalton Combs RF- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .262.

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Rookie AZL  Giants Black smashed the Padres 2 10-1:

Abdiel Layer SS- 2 for 5, HR(2).  BA= .269.
Sean Roby 3B- 3 for 5.  BA= .288.
Zander Clarke 1B- 1 for 2, 3 BB.  BA= .304.
Franklin Labour RF- 2 for 5.  BA= .300.
Kwan Adkins LF- 2 for 5.  BA= .203.
Conner Nurse RHP- 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 3.68.
Joan Gregorio RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

The Conner Nurse Project seems to be coming along nicely.  A Joan Gregorio sighting!

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Rookie AZL  White Sox outscored the Giants Orange 6-5(Game 1 of DH, 7 Innings):

Yorlis Rodriguez 3B- 3 for 4, HR(2).  BA= .313.
Austin Edgette RF- 2 for 2, BB.  BA= .318.
Fabian Pena DH- 2 for 4, HR(2).  BA= .314.

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Rookie AZL  Giants Orange defeated the White Sox 6-3(Game 2 of DH, 7 Innings):

Anyesber Sivira SS- 3 for 4, 2B, SB(2).  BA= .303.
George Bell RF- 1 for 2, 3B, SF.  BA= .305.
Beicker Mendoza 1B- 2 for 3.  BA= .317.
Jose Patino LF- 2 for 3.  BA= .213.
Jorge Labrador RHP- 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's, GO/AO= 6/2.  ERA= 4.33.

Anyesber Sivira seems like a dynamic player.

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DSL  Giants Blanked the Royals2 2-0(7 Innings, completed early due to rain):

Ghordy Santos SS- 2 for 3.  BA= .204.
Sonny Vargas LHP- 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.02.

Sonny Vargas is making a late run to the the ace of the DSL Giants staff with his 4'th consecutive scoreless Start, 22 IP, 2 BB, 20 K's.

Game Wrap 8/14/2018: Giants 2 Dodgers 1

Stop me if you've heard this one before:  The Giants took a 1-0 lead into the 8'th inning only to lose it, except this time they retook the lead in the top of the 9'th inning and held off the Dodgers in the bottom of the frame for the Win.  Key Lines:

Evan Longoria 3B- 1 for 2, BB, HBP.  BA= .254.  Longo started both run-scoring rallies.  HBP in the 2'nd inning, eventually scoring on Alen Hanson's single.  Single to start off the 9'th.  Erased on a Fielder's Choice force out at 3B, but his replacement at 2B, Brandon Belt, scored on another hit by Hanson.

Brandon Belt 1B- 1 for 1.  BA= .280.  Belt was back from the DL but started the game on the bench with the lefty Alex Wood pitching.  He came in when starting 1B Buster Posey had to move behind the plate when Nick Hundley got into a shoving match with Yasiel Puig.  Belt then singled in his first AB and eventually scored the winning run.

Alen Hanson SS- 2 for 4.  BA= .284.  Alen Hanson filled in at SS to give Brandon Crawford a day to recover from his collision with Gorkys Hernandez in game 1 of the series.   Hanson drove in both runs with a pair of singles out of the 8-hole.  Hanson is hitting .381 over his last 7 games, .317 over his last 15.  He recently topped MLBTR's list of position player minor league FA signings for this season to go with Dereck Rodriguez and Derek Holland who were #'s 1 and 3 on the pitching list.

Andrew Suarez LHP- 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 8/3.  ERA= 4.40.  Suarez escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first inning but then allowed just 2 hits and 1 BB over the next 5 IP to complete a scoreless start, his first QS since July 9.  Per sfgiants.com, Suarez attributed his regained success to a mechanical adjustment.

Will Smith LHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(10).  ERA= 2.01.  Smith was trying to close out his 3'rd consecutive game, so I was a little worried when Cody Bellinger reached on an IF single and promptly stole 2B.  Not to worry, as Smith struck out the next 2 batters to end it with aplomb.  Who does Bruce Bochy turn to if he needs another Save today?

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The Giants Win kept them 5 games behind the NL West leading D'Backs who beat the Rangers 6-4.  The Rockies also won, topping the Astros 5-1 to remain 1 game behind in 2'nd place.   The Dodgers dropped 2 games back in 3'rd place.

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Derek Holland tries for the swwweeeeeep tonight facing Hyun-Jin Ryu in his first Start since May 2.

Down on the Farm: 8/13/2018

AAA  Reno Aces blanked the Sacramento River Cats 5-0:

Brandon Belt 1B- 1 for 3, 2B.  BA= .200.
Kelby Tomlinson SS- 2 for 2, BB.  BA= .298.
Tyler Herb RHP- 6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 5.03.

4'th QS in a row for Tyler Herb, this one with a dominant K/BB.  Since giving up 6 ER in 5 IP in his AAA debut, Herb has a 3.38 ERA in 24 IP with 21 K and 6 BB.

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AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels were idle.

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A+  Inland Empire pounded the San Jose Giants 8-3:

Heath Quinn DH- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .306.
Sandro Fabian RF- 1 for 3, 2B, HBP.  BA= .208.
Johneshwy Fargas CF- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .283.
Mac Marshall LHP- 0.2 IP, 1 H, 5 R, 4 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 5.27.
Sandro Cabrera LHP- 3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.48.
Peter Lannoo RHP- 3.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.32.
Frank Rubio RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 5.23.

Rough Start for Mac Marshall who couldn't get out of the first inning.

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Low A  Augusta Greenjackets smothered the Greenville Drive 3-0:

Malique Ziegler CF- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .264.
Heliot Ramos DH- 1 for 3, 3B, BB.  BA= .243.
Logan Baldwin RF- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .243.
Shane Matheny 2B- 2 for 3, 2B.  BA= .204.
Jose Marte RHP- 5.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.03.
Camilo Doval RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(7).  ERA= 3.48.

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Short Season  Vancouver Canadians topped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 3-1(10 Innings):

Wander Alexander Franco 3B- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .277.
Christopher Burks LF- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .216.
Jake Wong RHP- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.45.
Alex Dubord RHP- 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 8.62.
Trent Toplikar RHP- 2.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.44.

Jake Wong seems to be settling into his pro career nicely.  He now has 12 consecutive shutout IP over 4 appearances. This game was scoreless after 9 innings. Trent Toplikar had pitched 2 scoreless innings before giving up 3 in the 10'th when he had to start the inning with a runner on 2B.

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Rookie AZL  Giants Orange and Giants Black were both idle.

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DSL  Royals2 outscored the Giants 10-9:

Ghordy Santos DH- 0 for 3, 3 BB.  BA= .194.
Ismael Alcantara LF- 2 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .224.
Andrew Caraballo 2B- 2 for 4.  BA= .234.
Cesar Gonzalez C- 3 for 4, 2B, 2 HR(2), BB.  BA= .300.

Huge game for Cesar Gonzalez, a 17 yo C, who has gotten just 30 AB in 13 games.