Madison Bumgarner has a long history of strong comebacks from bad starts. Last night was not exception as he came out looking like he was PO'd at himself for the debacle in LA. Still, the biggest difference between this game and Drew Pomeranz' Monday night was the offense which scored 4 runs instead of zero. Key Lines:
Alex Dickerson LF- 2 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .297. It didn't take long for Dickerson to move into the cleanup spot in the lineup. He started the 2-run rally in the 4'th with a leadoff single.
Brandon Crawford SS- 1 for 3, BB. BA= .215. Crawford made the first run possible with some nice baserunning. First, he was running on the pitch to Donovan Solano who hit it right through the hole the SS vacated to cover 2B creating a first and 3'rd with no out situation. Bumgarner then hit a sharp grounder to Nolan Arenado which hung Crawford out to dry, but Brandon made some very smart moves in a rundown to allow the other runners to advance to 2'nd and 3'rd, setting up a SF by Brandon Belt. Crawford also drew a walk during the 2-run rally in the 4'th inning and scored on Madison Bumgarner's hard single.
Donovan Solano 2B- 2 for 4. BA= .296. Solano is 3 for 7 his last 2 games facing RH SP's. He is hitting .375 over his last 7 games and .394 over his last 15. History would suggest it's not sustainable, but if he hits this well against RHP's, there is no reason he should not be playing somewhere every game because he should definitely replace either Crawford or Panik against LHP's.
Tyler Austin PH- 1 for 1, HR(7). BA= .204. With the arrival of Alex Dickerson, Austin has not gotten much playing time but he is toonder off the bench. How is this for three true outcomes? 67 of his 115 PA's have been either K's, walks or HR's. Oh, and the HR rate projects out to about 38 per 600 PA's which about where he is for his career with 31 in 519 PA's. I could foresee an eventual strike L-R platoon of Dickerson and Austin in LF for the Giants.
Madison Bumgarner LHP- 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 11 K's. ERA= 4.21. Bummy had one of his best strikeout games in recent memory which hopefully buffed up his trade resume. Not that I want to see him traded, but that's what needs to happen and the Giants need to get good player(s) in return.
Bullpen- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's. Dyson, Watson and Will Smith all pitched perfect innings with Smith recording his 21'st Save. All 3 have significant trade value with the trade deadline looming. Is Dyson's contract controlled for one more season? Not sure.
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Jeff Samardzija tries for a series win this afternoon facing flame throwing German Marquez.
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It would be nice to get Brandon Crawford more rest through the season. He gets a lot of value out of hustle and defense. And even his power seems to be better when he's rested - but then that has always come in streaks, and has been down that last couple seasons. Maybe the same could be said for Panik. But especially as Craw ages, I think the Giants need a decent back-up/utility guy to spell him there. So I like the Solano platoon idea.
ReplyDeleteA great game for all the potential trade chips on the pitching side. Any scout watching Bum pitch last night should be impressed (just that 1 HR) and Watson and SMith and Dyson have been so good for so long this year that I wish they could or would trade them now before they hit a rough spot or an injury..But, that might not be under Farhan's control...Too bad this bullpen (including Moronta and Gott) is being wasted on a team/lineup with so many holes and few answers...
ReplyDeleteWOnder if Farhan can also trade any of Belt, Pillar, Pank or the Panda?.Maybe only Belt would fetch much, but still
SteveVA
If the Giants don't get what they want for Bumgarner in July, they'll at least get a 30's pick in the draft.
ReplyDeleteDyson is Arb 4 whatever that is -- mostly it's Arb 3 and then FA, isn't it.
Top 100 Prospect for Bumgarner or no dice. As for Smith I annoys me to n o end to hear Twins or Yankees fans say, oh they are "just rentals" and their teams do not need to offer legit prospects - Smith and Bum can help a team win a World Championship - how much is that worth???? Look at what the Cubs gave up for Chapman to win a WS.
DeleteSolano's weakish throw to first prevented a double play and we saw some MadBum madness as a result. Granted, the batter tore down the line impressively but that's a play a second baseman should make on a hard hit ball to Crawford. Not sure why I'm focusing on this one play - just thought it was interesting.
ReplyDeleteFinally some innovation on the lineup!
ReplyDeleteAlthough Belt's leading off didn't have the a positive top of the game effect (thanks to the sun and no bad pitches), he did deliver with a runner on third later. A+ for Belt
Yaz is not a contact guy but Solano and Panik are and they should be #2. D grade on Yaz @ 2
Posey is not a #3 anymore -- he has to tell Bochy that because,on his own, BB will never pencil him in 6 or lower. F
Dickerson, Pillar, Longoria, and Crawford at 4-7: B+
Solano @ 8: swap with Yaz and it's an A.
Lowering Buster isn't going to happen this year. St Louis couldn't move Musial out of #3 when he was no longer a top of the lineup guy (@ 42 yo): he retired and the Cardinals won a WS the next year (1964).
Wed game just started - so happy to see Panik and Crawford at 7 and 8 slots in the order - yes move Posey down. As for Solano weak throw - nice insight - the radio crew did not go that far I am sure they were being polite.
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