OK, where to start? It was the end of a long week and a longer day. I was so tired I was feeling physically ill and trying to stay awake to watch the game was downright painful. Jeff Samardzija was cruising into the bottom of the 6'th inning with a 4-1 lead. I decided to pack it in and get some sleep. When I woke up a few hours later and checked the final score.....holy Toledo! 5.5 innings, 8 HR's and 14 runs later, the Giants escaped with a 10-9 win in 11 innings. Oh, and Mike Yastrzemski tied his HOF granddad for 3-homer games in their careers. Key Lines:
Mike Yastrzemski RF/LF- 3 for 6, 3 HR(16). BA= .272. Again, where to start? What are we witnessing here? What a story! There is the legacy name. The years of kicking around the Orioles farm system. YtY just did something his HOF grandad only did once in his very long career. First 3- homer game since Jarrett Parker.....hmm.....maybe we shouldn't be mentioning that part as we all know what became of Jarrett Parker. Gotta say, this just has a different look and a different feel to it than when Jarrett Parker went off on the A's at the Colisseum. This just feels more sustainable. Not the 3 HR game of course, but the being a very good player for years to come, that part feels sustainable. We'll see.
Kevin Pillar CF- 2 for 4, 2 HR(17), BB. BA= .255. Pillar just passed his previous career high in HR's. Scoff at the WAR numbers. Pillar is hitting HR's and catching balls in CF which is what the Giants got him for. This season started turning around when Farhan traded for Kevin Pillar and I can see why the fans in Toronto loved the guy.
Brandon Belt 1B- 2 for 4, HR(13), BB. BA= .229. Belt has been driving balls a bit better the last few games and one finally went out of the park for him to get the Giants scoring started in the 3'rd inning. This would be a great time for Belt to go on a hot streak.
Donovan Solano SS- 2 for 3, 2B. BA= .338. Solano took over at SS on a double switch after Brandon Crawford went 0 for 2. The Giants may be facing some tough decisions on Crawford. At the very least, it seems like he should be in a strict L-R platoon with Solano, at least until Solano cools off. On top of that, it's not hard to see Abiatal Avelino or Mauricio Dubon as more appealing options next year.
Jeff Samardzija RHP- 5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 3.54. Shark gave up his obligatory first inning HR, a leadoff HR by Ketel Marte, actually, then settled down and cruised into the 6'th. HOF Manager Bruce Bochy had a quick hook after a double and walk. Fernando Abad and Reyes Moronta allowed one inherited runner to score but the timing of Samardzija's departure likely had no impact on the final outcome of the game as Tony Watson would have likely pitched the 8'th inning anyway. And who knows what Shark would have done had he stayed in the game in the 6'th? It was probably the right call by Boch to take him out.
Tony Watson LHP- 0.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 4.50. Watson has hit a rough patch giving up 9 ER in 1 IP over his last 3 appearances. This was his first appearance since 8/11 so it's not from overwork. Maybe underwork? He's probably not the best choice for the 8'th inning for the time being, but Bochy has a long history of stubbornness about bullpen roles once he settles on them and he is a HOF Manager after all.
Will Smith LHP- 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 2.80. This is the second appearance in three that Smith has gone more than 1 inning and he seems to be starting to leak oil too. The damage came in the 10'th inning on 2 HR's, what else? But Boch brought in Trevor Gott to get the last out in 11'th and it was Gott who got credit for the Save. Probably a one-off for now, but a situation to keep an eye on. Look for the bullpen to be more matchup driven the rest of the way.
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The Giants now trail the Cubs and Phillies by 2.5 games in the race for the second Wild Card playoff spot. In the process, they passed the D'Backs by a game and trail the BrewCrew by 1.5 games and the Mets by 0.5.
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Logan Webb makes his MLB debut today against fellow rookie RHP Taylor Clarke. Giants probably had to rush Webb a bit more than they wanted, but the pitching line for his last game for Sacramento was stellar.
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Two notes - Blue Jays released Alen Hanson a couple weeks ago, which makes the Toronto end of the Pillar deal look even worse.
ReplyDeleteGiants are on pace to hit more home runs than any other Giants team since 2004.
53 HR's by players acquired by Z
Delete42 by players who originally signed with Giants and stayed (includes Mac and Joe P)
15 by Longoria who came by trade before Z
14 by Sandoval who kinda fits all 3 categories
Does anyone believe the Giants would be over .500 now if Zaidi had not come?
I was at the game Wednesday when Yaz hit a 3 run bomb in the 8th and the first word out of my mouth while watching the ball soar was “Legend”! Not a bad nickname for this kid if I do say so myself. After Legend hit that bomb my 8 year old was insistent on getting a Jersey from the dugout store and of course he wanted to get a custom one and out of all the names on the back he wanted Yastrzemski! I wasn’t sure if that was the best choice not knowing how long he will enjoy this success and if he is going to be a Giant for long enough but I think my kid made a smart choice!
ReplyDeleteIt is starting to look like no matter what trades Farhan did at the deadline this bullpen was going to have issues either way. Every arm he traded has looked bad on their respective new teams and the ones he didnt are all struggling like Joe Namath in a sideline interview after too many vodka tonics.
ReplyDeleteBullpens are fussy and this one is no different. They can go sideways on a moments notice and can’t really be trusted no matter how strong they may look for half a season. Of course with Bochy pushing the buttons he can make just about anybody look better than they really are but eventually true colors come through.
As for the rest of the team I do think we are watching something special with Yaz and Dick and Solano and even Pillar is becoming a great Giant. That game last night had the makings of a disappointment and they never gave up. Belt came to life a little which was way overdue but really this is a team that is producing for the most part with little to no help from the old core. Posey doesn’t even run out ground balls or seem to hustle at all and Craw and Belt most days don’t seem like they even want to be there. Where would we be without all the additions that Farhan has made?