Game Wrap 4/19/2019: Pirates 4 Giants 1

Giants Manager Bruce Bochy has been criticized for leaving ace starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner in games too long.  Last night he might have started him too soon as Bummy gave up a 4-spot in the first inning.  The Giants never came close to overcoming that lead.  Key Lines:

Steven Duggar RF/CF- 1 for 3, BB.  BA= .241.   Duggar has an OBP of .353 over his last 7 games.  The first 3 batters in the lineup reached base 4 times out of 12 PA's for a .333 OBP, not great but better than any other combination on the team would have done.

Joe Panik 2B- 0 for 4, 3 K.  BA= .193.  Wow! What has happened to Joe Panik?  This has become consistent futility at the plate dating back to most of last season.  .194 over his past 7 games, .183 over his last 15 and .193 overall.  He's in his final season before free agency.  At what point do the Giants just move on and start looking for their next 2B?

Madison Bumgarner LHP- 6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 7 K's, GO/AO= 6/1.  ERA= 3.66.  The secondary stats still look good but one awful stretch starting with a 2-out walk to Jung-Ho Kang in the first inning, followed by 4 consecutive hits doomed this game almost before it started.

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The Giants started this road trip with a bit of a spring in their step and looked great in the first game in Washington.  It's turned into a typical East Coast baseball equivalent of a death march which we have see over and over the past 2-3 seasons. This Loss drops the Giants into last place in the NL West, 5.5 games behind the Dodgers and 4 games off the Wild Card pace.

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Derek Holland tries to pull out of the power dive today facing fireballing RHP Jameson Taillon.