The Giants used the same right-handed heavy lineup they used to abuse LHP Logan Allen in game 1 of the series and.....they abused LHP Matt Strahm in game 2 to back the best start of Tyler Beede's MLB career so far. Key Lines:
Donovan Solano SS- 3 for 6, HR(1). BA= .311. Expect Solano to be in every Giants lineup that faces a LHP for the foreseeable future. He led off the Giants half of he first inning with a HR and added 2 singles later. He's hitting .391 over his last 15 games.
Brandon Belt 1B- 3 for 6. BA= .234. Maybe Belt was BABIP lucky or maybe as Kruk said, he's found an uncanny ability to hit the ball over a deeply stationed 2B but in front of the RF. At any rate that was his sweet spot in this game. The top 2 batters in the Giants lineup went 6 for 12.
Evan Longoria 3B- 4 for 5, 2B, 2 HR(10). BA= .237. Now THAT's how you get even after an HBP you think was on purpose! Longoria's second dinger was a mammoth shot that bounced off the painted Western Metal Supply Co sign above the 5'th floor(or whatever the top floor of the building is) and yes, he did give a small bat flip after he hit it. Longo has 7 hits in 13 AB's over his last 3 games.
Kevin Pillar CF- 4 for 5, 2 2B. BA= .248. Pillar is on fire! This was his second 4-hit game out of 3. He is hitting .345 over his last 7 games, .350 over his last 15 and .308 over his last 30.
Austin Slater RF- 2 for 3, 2 2B, BB. BA= .500. Slater does look like he's retooled his swing. My theory is he's joined the launch angle generation and is getting the ball in the air more. Of course, that theory is not true by Fangraphs and milb.com data which show his GB/FB and GO/AO in Sacramento the same as in 2018. The swing does look a lot more drivey and a lot less slappy than when we last saw him. We'll see if that continues.
Tyler Beede RHP- 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 5.64. Beede looked very sharp with solid command of a mid-high 90's FB, a sharp curve and a diving changeup that kept Padres batters off balance all evening.
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The Win leave the Giants just 6.5 games behind in the Wild Card race despite having the second worst record in the NL. The thing is, most of the teams ahead of them look catchable. Count me among the few who is not convinced they are going to be strictly selling at the trade deadline. I think it deepend on how the next couple of weeks go.
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Shaun Anderson tries for a series sweeeeep tonight facing RHP Cal Quantrill.
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Am I the only person whom, when I see Tyler Austin, am reminded of a similar slugger the Giants had named Brandon Hicks? A lot of strikeouts and homeruns and not much else. I think he's very expendable.
ReplyDeleteif you read some boards (or talk to a few of my buddies), you would think not just the veterans but the prospects will be traded for prospects. some movement is inevitable but the brass may see a minor league system that can contribute bona fide major league players. i should think moving a few players is wise but not sure we'll see the wild fire sale that some are hoping for. then again, i really have no clue!
ReplyDelete9 games below .500, next to last in the NL, 8 potentially departing FAs of varying value, 1 month of winning baseball, a rotation you can squint at to believe, and California Dreaming lives!
ReplyDeleteFunny what a revived offense (against LHP!) and a shutdown bull pen will do.
Tracking a sports tea is a lot like tracking a stock. Most of the time you are looking forward and not in the rear view mirror. Stock trading is all about the Trend and Momentum. The Giants are trending UP with huge momentum. New bats in the line-up (Dickerson, Slater, Solano) and older bats showing signs of life (Posey, Longo, Pillar). Two rookie pitchers (Baby Thor and Beede) throwing well and going deep into games.
DeleteWho is driving the tank?
I can see this team ending the season at .500 if the FO did not blow the team up. T0o make the playoffs however, with 77 games remaining, even if they played .600 ball they would only have 84 wins. To get to
say 88 wins they would have to go 50 and 27 the rest of the way - that is .649 ball and I think that is a stretch. And if the team did stayed intact and they fell short of the playoffs they would lose Smith and Bum without a return - so the FO will probably blow the team up. As long as the the trades bring genuine talent and the right prospects are called up to Oracle the rest of the season will hold fan interest.
Huh, maybe Longo should be hit by a pitch every 4 or 5 games.
ReplyDelete