Game Wrap 8/31/2018: Giants 7 Mets 0

Andrew Suarez matched goose eggs with Zack Wheeler for 6 innings before 2 rookies making their MLB debuts broke the game open late.  Key Lines:

Brandon Belt 1B- 2 for 4, 2B, 3B.  BA= .264.  Belt has been in a brutal slump but there was nothing BABIPy about either of these hits which were both scalded.  The first was a leadoff double hooked down the RF line in the 7'th inning.  He took 3B on a groundout on a gutsy baserunning decision.  He then scored the first run of the game on a SF by Chris Shaw who had previously seen just 6 pitches in 2 AB's, all strikes.  Belt's second hit was crushed off the bricks in Triples Alley for, well, a standup triple!.  That drove in 2 runs in the 7-run 8'th inning.

The purpose of the rest of this season may be to audition rookies for next season and beyond, but Belt has a chance to show some veteran leadership and take some of the heat off the rooks with a strong finish to the season.

Austin Slater RF- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .277.  Slater hit the ball hard twice for hits and advanced Belt to 3B in the 7'th with a groundout to SS.  He kicked the ball around a bit on a double by Brandon Nimmo in the 8'th but managed to corral it in time to keep Nimmo from advancing to 3B.  He also made a nice running catch of a ball that looked like it could be headed for Triples Alley.

Austin Slater has a golden opportunity to show the Giants they don't need to acquire a veteran RF this offseason and got off to a nice start in that quest tonight.

Aramis Garcia C- 2 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .500.  What a night for Aramis Garcia.  Not only did he put the fingers down for a shutout, he got off the mat after a couple of strikeouts to break the game open with a leadoff HR in the 8'th inning and drove in he final run of the inning and the game with a soft flyball single to CF.

All this went down with Aramis' parents, grandparents and fiancé sitting together in the stands and celebrating like crazy.  Amy G interviewed mom just prior to the dinger.  Mom sounded like a serious baseball fan!

Andrew Suarez LHP- 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.19.  Suarez was masterful mixing a hard fastball up in the zone and on the corners with a beautiful curveball and an occasional changeup.  Zack Wheeler may have been more dominant through 6 innings but Suarez was even more effective.  His first real challenge was in the 7'th inning when Jeff McNeil was awarded 1B on a pitch that may or may not have hit him, followed by a bloop to RF by Austin Jackson(Yes, THAT Austin Jackson!).  A flyout by Wilmer Flores advanced McNeil to 3B with Jay Bruce coming up, but Suarez calmly got the GIDP for 7 beautiful shutout innings.

After a run of 6 less than quality starts out of 7 and hitting a wall in the 3'rd inning of the game in Cincinnati on 8/19, Andy Suarez has bounced back with two 7-inning scoreless starts which also gives him 3 scoreless starts of at least 6 IP out of his last 4.  No reason to not pencil Andrew Suarez into next year's Starting Rotation.

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Not that we're counting anymore, but the Win brought the Giants back to .500 for what, the 24'th time this season?  They trail the NL West leading D'Backs by 6.5 games.

For those of you worried about draft position, there are 14 teams with worse records in MLB.

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Derek Holland is pitching for a contract this offseason and gets another chance to impress this afternoon against fellow lefty Steven Matz.