Game Wrap 7/31/2019: Giants 5 Phillies 1

The Giants did not let a flurry of Trade Deadline activity distract them.  They put together a 5-run outburst in the 6'th inning to make a winner of SP Jeff Samardzija who tossed 6 scoreless frames.  Key Lines:

Buster Posey C- 1 for 5, HR(6).  BA= .259.  YtY led off the 6'th inning with a walk and Buster drove him in with a 2-run blast of SP Vince Velasquez to give the Giants the lead.

Pablo Sandoval 3B- 1 for 3, HR(14), BB.  BA= .265.  Sandoval followed Buster's HR with one of his own off reliever Adam Morgan.

Kevin Pillar CF- 1 for 4, HR(13).  BA= .239.  Brandon Crawford followed Pablo Sandoval's HR with a single and Kevin Pillar capped the Giants scoring with a 2-run bomb of his own.

Jeff Samardzija RHP- 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.75.   Shark's ERA is 2.89 over his last 7 Starts.  He's got 1 year left on his contract and is probably worth keeping around to the end of it.

Bullpen- 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.   The Bullpen is thinner now and it has been huge part of the Giants July success.  We'll see if Bochy can work his magic and pull what's left together for a stretch run.

*********************************************************************************

The Win left the Giants just 2 games behind the Nationals and Cardinals or Cubs for a Wild Card playoff spot. Currently they are equally behind in both WC spots.

*********************************************************************************

Dereck Rodruguez tries for a series win tomorrow facing RHP Jake Arrieta who hasn't been very good and whose arm seems to be hanging by a thread.  That means he'll probably no-hit the Giants.

*********************************************************************************

It was a wild and crazy trade deadline day for the Giants.  Everything was quiet up until about 2 hours before the deadline, then Farhan unleashed the hounds.  The first in a whole series of trades was LHP Drew Pomeranz and RHP Ray Black to the BrewCrew for 2B prospect Mauricio Dubon.  Pomeranz was an offseason signing who was a big disappointment as a SP but had recently found some traction in the bullpen which is probably why he was tradeable to the Crew which makes him a nice sell-high for Farhan.  Black captured a lot of imaginations with his triple digit radar gun readings, but could never stay health long enough to find traction on a MLB career.

So who is Mauricio Dubon?  MLB Pipeline had him ranked as the #3 Brewers prospect.  He's smallish, but athletic at 6'0", 160 lbs.  B-R, T-R.  He has some tools and stole 38 bases in 2017, but only 9 so far this season.  He has had a power surge with 16 HR's so far, but it's in the PCL.  His peripheral stats are very Panikesque with a 4.2 BB% and 13.8 K%.  Dubon was initially assigned to AAA Sacramento but could get a call up anytime and immediately becomes the odds on favorite to be the Giants starting 2B next season.

The next move was surprising as Farhan acquired 2B Scooter Gennett from the Red for cash considerations.  The B-L, T-R 2B is coming off 2 excellent seasons with the Reds but has missed most of this season with a groin strain and has hit just .217 over 72 AB's.  If he's fully healthy and has his timing down, he's a clear upgrade on Joe Panik, who might be out of a job tomorrow when Gennett reports.  Panik has been so bad for so long, Farhan undoubtedly feels he has nothing to lose in seeing if Gennett can regain the form of the last 2 seasons in short order.

The next move might have been Farhan's best of the day.  He somehow got the Braves to agree to pay all of the remaining $18 M on Mark Melancon's contract and still got a couple of interesting pitchers in return.  Tristan Beck was a highly regarded RHP prospect at Stanford whose stock dropped due to an extended back injury.  The Braves drafted him in the 4'th round last year after his senior season.  He has been roughed up in A+ ball this season but his peripherals are solid with 39 K's and 14 BB's in 36.2 IP.  Dan Winkler has MLB experience with a career line of 8-2, 3.68, 100.1 IP, 39 BB, 115 K.

Farhan also made a rare swap of minor leaguers sending LHP Jacob Lopez to the Rays for OF Joe McCarthy.  McCarthy is a highly regarded prospect who was caught in the Rays 40 man roster crunch while Lopez has put up nice numbers at Salem-Keizer but does not have high ceiling stuff by any stretch.  McCarthy has he classic Moneyball combo of patience and power. He can play either corner OF or 1B.

Farhan capped off his day by sending Sam Dyson to the Twins for 3 prospects I haven't heard of, so I have to look them up.  Prelander Berroa is a smallish 19 yo RHP who has pitched with mixed results in the advanced rookie Appalachian League.  Jaylin Davis is a 25 yo corner OF who is another patience and power guy who has put up video game numbers for AA and AAA in the Twins system.  Kai-Wei Teng is a jumbo RHP from Taiwan, 20 yo, 6'4", 260 lbs.  He has pitched well this season in the low A Midwest League.  So 3 lottery tickets for Sam Dyson with Jaylin Davis having a chance to make an impact as early as next season or maybe even this season as the Giants desperately need a RH masher in the OF.

This was clearly a sell day for Farhan Zaidi who managed to maintain a sense of competitiveness for this season.  The big question for this season is whether the bullpen can recover from the loss of 3 pretty significant pieces.   On the other hand, clearing out Melancon's contract might be Farhan's single biggest achievement of the day and went way beyond expectations.  It probably more than makes up for not being able to trade Bumgarner and Smith for prospects.