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?
*********************************************************************************
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.
********************************************************************************
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.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Duggar had all of 164 ABs last year and only 1216 ABs for his entire MiLB career. I think for someone who had to revamp his swing in AA, he's hitting quite well for a guy who is a top-tier defender and excellent base-runner. And he still has developmental potential as he's only 24 and, while he'll never be a thumper, that swing change allowed him to harness his modest power and he looks like he could end up 10-12 HR guy with solid gap power and the wheels to turn some of them into triples.
ReplyDeleteMelancon: Two saves in two days and, I think, his 3rd of the year. That's a major fall in save production from one of just 14 closers (in MLB history) to log 50 saves in a single season. Still, it was an encouraging baby-step.
Corbin: He's been tough on the Giants this year. Hopefully we'll get to him.
LOL, the pitchers who haven't been tough on the Giants this year are few and far between!
DeleteMost everyone is Koufax and Gibson.
Well, there is that... :)
DeleteLooks like it will be a revamped Stratton, Madbum, and D Rod starting die the Dbacks series. Would be a nice time for a sweep, but one game at a time. Let's win it for Buster!
ReplyDeleteHolland: It all depends on the price tag, and the other options on the market. We're going to be shopping for some pitching, but I'm not clear what kind of budget priority will make it. Dutch isn't an Ace, but he's a pretty solid mid rotation option. And he seemed to handle being moved to the pen well when that happened. He won't be the bargain he was this year, but if the price is reasonable I'd be OK with bringing him back. If someone else offers him the big bucks, I'm fine with saying "thanks and good luck" as he leaves.
ReplyDelete