After both SP's left after 5 innings and the score tied at 2, this game turned into an epic Battle of the Bullpens which did not end until Brandon Belt scored in the 18'th inning when Rockies C Chris Iannetta pulled his foot on a fielder's choice play at the plate. Key Lines:
Steven Duggar RF- 2 for 6, BB. BA= .220. After an 0 for 13 skid over 3 games, Duggar has reached base 4 of 11 times over the last two.
Brandon Belt 1B- 2 for 6, 2B, 3B, BB. BA= .231. You may remember an epic 18 inning game Belt ended in 2012 with a HR. This one took a little more work as he doubled to lead off the 18'th. After an intentional walk to Crawford, Belt advanced to 3B on a flyball out by Kevin Pillar. The Rockies then intentionally walked Gerardo Parra to create the force at every base. Eric Kratz then bounced one into a hole in the 5-man infield. Ian Desmond's throw home was in time but Iannetta's foot came off the plate and Belt slid home with the winning run.
Drew Pomeranz LHP- 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.86. Pomeranz battled the Rockies and the Umpires for 5 innings and exited after throwing 84 pitches. That is a footnote in this game, but as I've said before, if the Giants get 5 innings and 2 runs allowed from Pomeranz every game, they will consider it a great investment. Oh, the umpires! The home plate umpire had on inconsistent strike zone at best, but seemed to be consistently squeezing Pomeranz. On top of that, the Rockies 2'nd run scored on a balk call which honestly could have gone either way, but which Kruk vehemently disagreed with.
Bullpen- 13 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 19 K's. I mean, what an epic performance by the best bullpen in baseball! The Giants got 2 innings each from Mark Melancon, Trevor Gott and Travis Bergen and 3 from Nick Vincent. OK, THAT is why they are carrying 8 RP's! And the K's! 3 for Melancon, 3 for Gott and 5, 5, from Travis Bergen who recorded his second career W.
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The Win kept the Giants 4 games behind the NL West leading Padres who topped the D'Backs 2-1, but they are just 2 games out of second place as the Dodgers dropped their 5'th game in a row, this time to the BrewCrew in LA. The Giants are also 3 games out in the Wild Card race. They are 3.5 games ahead of last place Rockies.
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The pressure is on both SP's today to get deep into the game as Madison Bumgarner faces fellow lefty Kyle Freeland. The big question is who is available in the bullpen? I'm pretty sure Reyes Moronta is the only reliever with an option and he's relatively rested. Dereck Rodriguez might be available as he is mid-rotation and the Giants have a travel day Monday, or he could be a candidate to be optioned to bring up a fresh reliever. I guess there is always Pabs!
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Thoughts on Extra Inning Games: Games like this are fun to talk about later, but are dreadful to watch. I gave it up after 10 innings. They can't be good for the players who have to go out and play again in a few hours after finishing a full doubleheader when measured in innings. I don't have the numbers and am not sure where to find them, but it sure seems like these extended games are becoming more common in the era of dominant bullpens. I am personally in favor of MLB finding some way to end them more quickly whether that by starting innings with a designated runner at 2B or allowing tie games during the regular season or some other way we haven't thought of.
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Let's go 2.0. Sandoval Mr. Deigo Rincones and Frankie tostado sleeper guy in the system. Ramos being more selected and walking more.
ReplyDeleteHa! Was the 18 inning postseason game in 2014? Just shows all those championship runs are already starting to morph into one on my mind.
ReplyDeleteWho is hurt by a tie?
ReplyDeleteWhat hurts player batting stats is a prolonged game because the pitchers are fresher than the players.
I have no stats for this but I suspect a tired player is more likely to get hurt.
Other than a baseball game is "not supposed to end in a tie" it has happened.
https://mashable.com/2016/09/30/mlb-tie-game-cubs/#iVJ22YTPDPqY
NFL has the right idea, and ties screw up the standings in pro football, give it a chance, say 3 innings, then it's a tie.
This would allow more position players which, IMO, makes for a better game.
I hate the runner on 2nd, it unfairly aids the team that's in the right position in the lineup, and probably favors the home team even more than extra innings favor the home team.
Ties may also make season ending ties less probable, although pair of ties are a wash.
Since half-games in the standings are a common part of regular season "positioning" (half-game leads, X-and-a-half games behind) until the end, rather than putting ties in the standings, put .5 wins and loses in the record.
Or, count wins as 2 and ties as 1 each.
After 12 innings -- give the players a chance to resolve the game but if you can't win in 12 innings, at that point winning becomes a fluke -- like last night, the win was a pure fluke!
a good win for BOSH - who looked obviously leased after the game - he will never forget that game
ReplyDeleteand the way he looked at Belt and congratulated him afterwards told me he is fond of Belt
Perhaps Bochy thought that when Colorado scored off Bumgarner in the 6th and the 7th, they certainly couldn't do it again!
ReplyDeleteWith only 95 pitches thrown, he's just warming up...
Yeah, sure.