Game Wrap 9/26/2020: Padres 6 Giants 2

 The Giants scored two runs in the 8'th inning to cut the Padres lead to 3-2, but the Padres answered with a 3-spot in the 9'th to put the game away.  Key Lines:

Mike Yastrzemski RF- 2 for 4.  BA= .289.  YtY won the Willie Mac Award earlier in the evening and did his part with 2 hits at the top of the lineup. 

Brandon Belt 1B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .315.  Belt continued his hot hitting and had the Giants only XBH on the evening.

Mauricio Dubon CF- 1 for 4.  BA= .275.  Remember when we all thought Dubon had a high baseball IQ?  So much for that!  Although he has improved as a player in many ways, Dubon continues to make mental mistakes like trying to steal 3B on his own with 1 out and YtY at the plate and Alex Dickerson on deck.  Tragic!

Johnny Cueto RHP- 6.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 5.40.  Overall, Cueto was much more effective than in his last start with better velocity(I saw one pitch the TV gun called 94 MPH and there were multiple 93's).  Cueto has given up more than his share of crooked numbers this season.  It wasn't Fernando Tatis Jr's solo HR to lead off the inning that hurt so much, it was the 3 singles and sac fly that followed that seemed like an ace pitcher should not have given up.  Is it just me or has Cueto seemed to lose his composure out there a bit too often this season?  Oh, and maybe the Giants will get a player like Fernando Tatis Jr someday?

Tony Watson LHP- 0.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 2.50.  Watson seems to be gassed giving up 3 rockets to the 3 batters he faced in the 9'th inning which put this one out of reach.

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This one wasn't as winnable as Game 2 of Friday's doubleheader, but it was a tough loss.  The Giants are back to 1 game under .500 at 29-30 with 1 to play.  They are tied with the Brewers for 8'th place in the NL but the Brewers hold the tiebreaker advantage so if they remain tied, the Giants are out.

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Drew Smyly gets the ball for the finale today in a must-win game.  The Giants also need the Cardinals to beat the Brewers for the Giants to get the final playoff spot.  If the Giants win and the Cardinals lose, the Cardinals would have to play a makeup doubleheader agains the Tigers and would have to lose both games for the Giants to sneak in. Got all that?

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I didn't quite see the Giants DFA'ing Jeff Samardzija one day before the season ended.  He was the 29'th man for the doubleheader and would not have been available out of the bullpen after starting on Friday.  The move opens a spot on the 40-man roster but not on the 28 man active roster.  Kinda sad that we all feel a sense of relief to have his contract coming off the books this winter.  He had his moments but overall his Giants tenure was a disappointment highlighted by injuries and way too many gofer balls.

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Hunter Pence announced his retirement from baseball.  Pence is not a hall-of-famer by any stretch, but was a very good player for a long time.  He did things his way with an extremely awkward looking, unorthodox batting stance and swing, but made up for it with size and extreme athleticism.  He was also a good natured but emotional leader in the clubhouse whose exhortations almost certainly helped the Giants win 2 more championships than they maybe should have on talent alone.  Hunter Pence will be missed as a player and personality on the field and in the dugout and clubhouse.

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One day after blowing a 2-run 9'th inning lead, Sam Coonrod RHP hit the IL with a right shoulder strain.  Still not Camilo Doval RHP as Rico Garcia RHP got the call to replace Coonrod.

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I will be away from my computer for most of next week so my next post may well come after the Giants season has ended.  

Game Wrap 9/25/2020: Giants 5 Padres 4; Padres 6 Giants 5

The Giants split one of those 7-inning apiece doubleheaders against the Padres in Oracle Park with one game officially a home game and the other a roadie due to prior postponements and the crazy schedule.  

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Game 1:  The Giants got a Quality Start from Tyler Anderson and home runs from Brandon Crawford, Wilmer Flores and Mike Yastrzemski to build a 5-1 lead then held off a late rally by the Padres to take Game 1 5-4.  Key Lines:

Mike Yastrzemski RF- 2 for 3, 2B, HR(10). BA= .290.  First start after a long DTD injury, YtY didn't miss a beat.  His 2-run splash hit HR was the blow that chased Padres starter Chris Paddack.  

Wilmer Flores DH- 2 for 3, HR(10).  BA= .267.  Flores is kryptonite for LHP's but he's not helpless against RHP's.  He'd homered off Chris Paddack in San Diego earlier in the season and as Kruk and Kuip like to say, "ownage is ownage."  Flores took Paddack deep again to lead off the 4'th inning to put the Giants ahead and start the winning 4-run rally.

Brandon Crawford SS- 1 for 3, HR(7).  BA= .267.  Crawford's bat has gone quiet of late, but he got the Giants their first run with a HR to dead CF.

Tyler Anderson LHP- 1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.37.  Anderson worked in and out of trouble all evening but kept the Padres at bay into the 7'th when he came out after a leadoff ground-rule double to Jurickson Profar.  Reminder: Giants control Anderson's contract through arbitration for 1 more season. 

Tony Watson LHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K. ERA= 1.00.  The Giants bullpen is gassed and it was do or die with Watson.  He held on, barely.  A throwing error by Watson on a tapper by Manny Machado did not help, but again, all's well that ends well.

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Game 2:  The Giants looked like they were headed for a doubleheader sweep after Wilmer Flores crushed a 3-run HR off Drew Pomeranz in the 6'th inning to take a 5-3 lead but Trent Grisham matched that effort with a 3-run dinger in the 7'th, a walk-off because the Padres were officially the home team in game 2.  Key Lines:

Wilmer Flores DH- 1 for 3, HR(11).  BA= .268.  The Giants were trailing 3-2 going to the 6'th inning.  Drew Pomeranz got two quick outs before losing control of the strike zone and putting 2 runners on base.  That brought up Flores who was born for this situation.  First, Pomeranz is a lefty and as Kruk mentioned on the TV broadcast, Flores likes to ambush first-pitch fastballs and Pomeranz throws mostly fastballs.  The first pitch was very high, an easy take, but Flores was ready for the second pitch fastball that came right down the pipe.  He timed his swing perfectly and sent it waaay back into the bleachers down the LF line.  It was dramatic and were it not for the crushing ending, this HR would rank right up there with the Brian Johnsons as a pivotal moment in Giants history.

Jeff Samardzija RHP- 3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 9.72.  Shark made his comeback from the IL and got through the first two innings, but fell apart in the 3'rd with Fernandon Tatis Jr's 2-run HR the big blow.  This may well have been Shark's last start as a Giant.  It's been a mixed bag but overall they probably could have made better use of the $90 M they've paid him over the last 5 seasons.  I am sure FZ is very relieved to see that contract come off the books.  

Sam Coonrod RHP- 0.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 9.82.  Coonrod has dominant stuff but gets a wild hair up his nose.  He was flying open on the fastball sending sailing up and away to the arm side.  He never got it under control so had to rely on his 90 MPH changeup as his only pitch.  He got one in the middle of the strike zone to Grisham for the walk-off.  Crushing!

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The doubleheader split left the Giants at .500, 29-29 and in sole possession of 8'th place in the NL which is a playoff spot if they can hang on over the last two games of the season.

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Gabe Kapler has not announced the SP for tonight's game.  TBD will face Zach Davies RHP in the penultimate game of this shortened, crazy season.

Game Wrap 9/24/2020: Rockies 5 Giants 4(11 innings)

The Giants have played surprisingly well this season, but the ironic part of that is they really should have a much better record than they do were it not for missed opportunities.  This was one of those games that will be remembered painfully not so much because they lost but because they could have and should have won.  Key Lines:

Brandon Belt 1B- 1 for 4, HR(9), BB.  BA= .312.  Belt continued to rake with a game-tying HR in the 8'th inning that ultimately went for naught. 

Steven Duggar RF- 2 for 3.  BA= .176.  Duggar was the only Giants hitter with more than one hit.  He was lifted for PH Mike Yastrzemski later in the game.

Kevin Gausman RHP- 6 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 3.68.  Gausman had another strong start which could have been his last a Giant.  With just 3 days to go, he won't get another start in the regular season and the Giants are teetering on the edge of not making the postseason.  Gausman says the reason he signed with the Giants was to play with Buster Posey and he wants to come back next season and do just that.  On the other hand, these things always come down to money and Gausman is going to get paid this offseason.  Get it done, Farhan!  Speaking of..... FZ should consider a QO for Gausman as a 1 year contract in that range would be a pretty good deal for the Giants.

Sam Coonrod RHP- 0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 8.16.  In the wake of Trevor Gott's ill-fated run as the Closer, Gabe Kapler has used a system of rotating Closers.  Of the guys in the Closer rotation, Coonrod seems like the obvious choice  in the long run, but has to figure out how a guy who throws 100 MPH cheese can be so inconsistent.  Would he maybe do better in a defined Closer role? Coonrod reminds me a little of an early Brian Wilson and have to think Bruce Bochy, who had an eye for Closers, would be putting him in that role more consistently than Kap.

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The Loss set the Giants record back to .500 at 28-28 and alone in 8'th place in the NL which is the last playoff spot.

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The Giants now open a very tough season-ending 4-game series against the Padres with a dreaded doubleheader in which they will once again be the visiting team in their own ballpark for one of those games.  They will face Dinelson Lamet RHP and Chris Paddack RHP.   The Giants have not announced their SP's for any of the weekend games.

Game Wrap 9/23/2020: Giants 7 Rockies 2

 Gabe Kapler continued to pull the right strings as Caleb Baragar's Opener assignment seemed to take pressure off Logan Webb.  They combined to hold the Rockies to 2 runs into the 7'th inning while the offense did the rest.  Key Lines:

Alex Dickerson LF- 3 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .307.  Leadoff Hitter, Austin Slater went 0 for 5 after getting on base 5 times in game 2 of the series, but Dickerson picked him up out of the 2-hole with 3 hits in game 3.  Dickerson's all-out assault on Rockies' pitching continues with a .483 BA against them.   He is 7 for 10 with 3 doubles and 2 HR's in this series so far.

Brandon Belt 1B- 3 for 3, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .313.  It was Belt's turn to get on base 5 times. He is OBP'ing .429 with an OPS of 1.018 after this game.

Evan Longoria 3B- 1 for 2, HR(7), 2 BB.  BA= .263.  Longo got the Giants their first run in the 4'th inning with a solo bomb over the CF wall while his family cheered him on from a Zoom cam in their home which showed on the TV broadcast.  Even the family mutt was celebrating with a lot of licked faces.

Mauricio Dubon CF- 1 for 3, HR(3), BB.  BA= .286.  One of the more exciting developments of this season, no matter how it turns out in the standings, is watching Dubon grow and become more confident as a player.  He looks like a huge breakout candidate for next season.

Joey Bart C- 1 for 4, 3B.  BA= .244.  Speaking of growing.....Bart has 3 doubles in his last 2 games and appears to be controlling his AB's a lot better since a day off to clear his head.

Steven Duggar RF- 1 for 3, BB, SB(1).  BA= .129. Duggar gets the callup as Luis Basabe hits the IL.

Caleb Baragar LHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.35.  Kapler hasn't used an Opener for awhile but called on Baragar in this game, apparently to take some SP pressure off Logan Webb and allowing him to face the second half of the Rockies order in his first inning of work.  That strategy seemed to backfire when the lefty hitting Charlie Blackmon doubled off Baragar to lead off the second inning forcing Webb into the game with a runner already on 2B.  Webb calmly got out of it with 3 GB outs while working around a fielding error by Brandon Crawford.

Logan Webb RHP- 5.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K, GO/AO= 13/0.  ERA= 5.50.  Webb had the Rockies killing worms at Oracle Park and took the game into the 7'th inning earning the W.  Q: Do "Bulk Innings" pitchers have a better chance for W's following an Opener or as SP's?

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The Win got the Giants back above .500 at 27-28 and into a tie with the Reds and BrewCrew for the 6'th best record in the NL, but the Marlins are in 2'nd place in the NL East at .500 so if the season ended now, the Giants would still be left out due to tiebreaker rules.

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Kevin Gausman RHP tries to maintain traction today facing Chi Chi Gonzalez RHP in an afternoon game.

Game Wrap 9/22/2020: Giants 5 Rockies 2

 Austin Slater led the offense and Drew Smyly had a near-quality start as the Giants evened their record once again in a win over the Rockies in Oracle Park.  Key Lines:

Austin Slater DH- 2 for 2, HR(5), 3 BB, SB(8).  BA= .324.  Slater's OPS stands at 1.033 on the season in a very SSS.  He's 27 yo and it's taken awhile, mainly due to injuries but he seems like he's on the verge of a huge breakout next season....if he stays healthy.  If the DH stays, it gives him an additional path to playing time.

Brandon Belt PH/1B- 1 for 2, 2B.  BA= .298.  Belt delivered a PH 2-run double in the pivotal 7'th inning that was smoked off the L-CF wall.  Belt is locked in as the out was also hit hard to the warning track in CF.

Daniel Robertson SS/LF- 1 for 1, BB.  BA= .368.  Robertson was pressed into service in LF after Basabe pulled a hammy running to 1B and responded with a nice OF assist at 2B.  Looks like The Churn turned up another keeper in Robertson.  

Alex Dickerson PH/LF- 1 for 1, HR(10), BB.  BA= .295.  Gabe Kapler pulled the right strings when he sent Dick up to PH for Robertson when lefty starter Kyle Freeland was pulled for Jairo Diaz RHP.  Dick crushed one over the CF fence to give the Giants their final lead which they added onto later in inning.

Joey Bart C- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .244.  Bart has been struggling but gave a glimpse of what he is capable of with two smoked doubles.  The second despite an unbalanced, leaning swing.  I think the kid is going to be alright once he makes the adjustment every rook eventually has to make after pitchers get a book on them.

Drew Smyly LHP- 5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.38.  Smyly has been terrrific. Hopefully FZ finds a way to keep him around for next season.

Sam Coonrod RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 7.24.  Wow!  Coonrod looked like a real Closer out there confidently blowing 100 MPH FB's past batters to slam the door.

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The Win once again evened the Giants record at 27-27 and put them in tie for 7'th place in the NL, but they come up short to both the Reds and Brewers in tiebreakers so they would be out of the playoffs if the season ended last night.

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The Giants SP for today is still listed as TBA facing Ryan Castellani RHP.

Game Wrap 9/21/2020: Rockies 7 Giants 2

 The Giants hopes for a playoff spot took a large hit as the Padres built up a big lead against SP Johnny Cueto and cruised to a lopsided win.  Key Lines:

Alex Dickerson LF- 3 for 4, 2B, HR(9).  BA= .290.  The new dad came back from paternity leave raking at the top of the lineup.  The top three batters had a combined 6 hits and an additional walk, but the rest of the lineup managed just 3 walks in 25 PA's.  

Johnny Cueto RHP- 4.1 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 3 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 5.33.  In a game earlier in the season, Cueto and Joey Bart were clearly not on the same page and Chadwick Tromp became Cueto's personal catcher.  When Cueto's start got pushed back and Tromp caught Tyler Anderson on Sunday, the beat writers said the plan was for Tromp to also catch Cueto in this game.  Instead it was Bart. Whether it was discomfort with his catcher or just not having his best stuff, Cueto got hit early and never settled down.  On the final pitch, he and Bart ran through the signs several times and Cueto was obviously struggling to keep his composure on the mound.  On the other hand, when Cueto has been at this best this season, his FB has hit 93 MPH.  The fastest pitch I saw on the TV gun was 90 MPH.  Not sure what the issues are between Cueto and Bart but I would expect a veteran ace to stay in control and overcome rookie mistakes from his batterymate.

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The loss dropped the Giants record to 26-27 and into a tie for 9'th place in the NL with the top 8 teams making the playoffs.

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Drew Smyly LHP tries to get the Giants back to .500 tonight facing Kyle Freeland LHP.

Game Wrap 9/20/2020: Giants 14 A's 2

 Tyler Anderson fell one out short of a Quality Start and the Giants rode the three true outcomes to a lopsided win to salvage 1 game out of the 6 games they played against the cross-bay rivals this season.  Key Lines:

Austin Slater DH- 2 for 5, BB.  BA= .304.  Slater was 0 for 6 in his previous 2 games but filled the leadoff role well as the DH.

Brandon Belt 1B- 1 for 3, 3 BB.  BA= .296.  So 3 true outcomes:  The Giants lineup struck out 14 times but drew 8 walks and hit 3 HR's.  Belt did not homer but walked 3 times and scored 2 runs.  BTW, of those 8 walks, 3 scored ahead of HR's, another scored ahead of a hit and one came with the bases loaded to drive in a run.

Darin Ruf LF- 2 for 4, HR(5), 2 BB.  BA= .303.  Darin Ruf continues to rake.

Brandon Crawford SS- 2 for 5, 2B, HR(6).  BA= .283.  The Crawford renaissance rolls on.  Hitting .391 over his last 7 games and .330 over his last 30.  His BA stood at .171 on August 9.

Luis Alexander Basabe RF- 1 for 4, BB, SB(2).  BA= .200.  Basabe scored the first run when he walked, stole 2B which seemed to distract Mike Minor enough to give up a 2-run dinger to the next batter, Chadwick Tromp.  He also made several very nice running catches in RF including a very tough one up against the wall in foul territory.

Chadwick Tromp C- 3 for 5, HR(4).  BA= .213.  Tromp has definitely had his moments and he had a particularly good game today.  Johnny Cueto's start was pushed back but Tromp started at C anyway because Joey Bart needed a day to clear his head.  Does Tromp catch tomorrow night too?

Tyler Anderson LHP- 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 8/1.  ERA= 4.53.  After giving up 4 runs in the second inning and getting ejected from his last start, Anderson came back strong in this one by keeping the ball on the ground.  He gave way to Shaun Anderson after loading the bases with 2 outs in the 6'th falling one out short of a QS.  Shaun Anderson did not allow any of his inherited runners as he got the first batter he faced on a ground force out.

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The Win evened the Giants record again at 26-26. They are tied with the Reds and BrewCrew for 8'th place in the NL but the Reds hold the tiebreaker.  Not clear what the tiebreakers situation is with the BrewCrew.

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The Giants come home to Oracle Park for their final 8 games, 4 against the Rockies and 4 next weekend against the Padres.  Johnny Cueto RHP starts game 1 of the Rockies series facing German Marquez RHP, who has pitched very well for the Rockies this season.

Game Wrap 9/19/2020: A's 6 Giants 0

The Giants took a slightly different route but ended up at the same place as they matched 6-0 losses to the A's in consecutive games.  This time they got 6 innings of stellar starting pitching from Kevin Gausman and the bullpen got blown out.....and of course they didn't hit a lick.  Key Lines:

Kevin Gausman RHP- 6 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.76.   The Giants are paying Gausman $9 M this season.  He has pitched to a value well above that, but in a very short season.  Had he done this over a full season, he would likely be a slam-dunk for QO.  Giants may want to consider it anyway.  Gausman on a 1 year contract for the QO would actually be quite a bargain.

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The loss dropped the Giants back below .500 at 25-26 and into a tie for 9'th place in the NL with the BrewCrew.  Not sure who holds the tiebreaker there.  Top 8 teams make the playoffs.

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Tyler Anderson LHP tries to avoid the sweep today....and he wasn't very good his last start.  Mike Minor LHP goes for the A's.

Game Wrap 9/18/2020: A's 6 Giants 0

The Oakland A's dominated the Giants in all phases of the game and the final score made the game appear closer than it was.  Key Lines:

Logan Webb RHP- 3.1 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 1 K, 90 Pitches.  ERA= 5.73.  Webb had no command, poor defensive play behind him and a power hitting team in front of him.  That's a prescription for what happened which was 90 pitches and 6 runs allowed in just 3.1 IP.  Webb's had some good starts and seems to have the basic talent to succeed at this level.  Consistent command is what is eluding him.  Hopefully this is a learning experience and he comes back next year as an ace.  Sometimes it's hard to apply things you learn on the fly and an offseason helps crystallize it.

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The Loss dropped the Giants back to .500 at 25-25.  The Reds and Cardinals also have .500 records which is 7'th best in the NL, but they both hold tiebreakers so the Giants are actually sitting in 9'th place which would be out of the playoffs if the season ended today.

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Kevin Gausman RHP will test his right elbow in an afternoon start against Jesus Luzardo LHP.

Game Wrap 9/17/2020: Giants 6 Mariners 4

 The Giants overcame a Mariners 4-spot in the second inning for another come-from-behind win as the visiting team in Oracle Park.  Key Lines:

Mike Yastrzemski RF- 0 for 1.  BA= .285.  YtY tweaked his calf on a swing in a first-inning AB.  He later felt tightness in the dugout after a long run for a foul pop-up. He's schedule for an MRI.  Keep fingers crossed!

Luis Alexander Basabe RF- 1 for 2, 2 BB, SB(1).  BA= .333.  Basabe replaced YtY, got on base 3 times and recorded his first MLB SB.  While his BA's tended to run in the .250's in the minor leagues, he also maintained OBP's about .100 higher.

Wilmer Flores 1B- 2 for 4, 3B, BB.  BA= .288.  Flores was brought in to destroy LHP's, which he has done, but he's also hit RHP's very well.  His 2-run triple came off Kendall Graveman RHP.  

Darin Ruf LF- 1 for 2, HR(4).  BA= .297.  Another guy who was brought in to destroy LHP's.  He's also done that, but has done even better against RHP's.  This HR came of lefty Nick Margevicius.  

Mauricio Dubon CF- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .292.  Dubon is hitting .318 since an 0 for 10 to start the season.

Tyler Anderson LHP- 2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 5.06.  Anderson came out for the 3'rd inning despite giving up a 4-spot in the 2'nd.  He threw one pitch and barked at the ump and got tossed.

Wandy Peralta LHP- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.91.  Longest stint of the season for Peralta who has an ERA of 0.96 over 9.1 IP over his last 7 appearances.

Sam Selman LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, Save(1).  ERA= 2.70.  Selman converts his first Save Op of the season as Kap continues to rotate his Closers.

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With the Win, the Giants moved back over .500 at 25-24 good for 6'th place in the NL with 8 teams making the playoffs.

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The Giants start another interleague set against cross-bay rivals, the A's, with Logan Webb RHP facing Chris Bassitt RHP in the opener tonight.

Game Wrap 9/16/2020: Giants 9 Mariners 3

 The Giants offense unleashed a withering attack through the first 4 innings allowing them to cruise to an easy victory in a road game played at Oracle Park.  Key Lines:

Alex Dickerson LF- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .279.  Dick is hitting .333 over his last 7 games and .388 over his last 15.

Brandon Belt 1B- 2 for 5, HR(8).  BA= .305.  Belt had been in a mini-slump and is hitting just .167 over his last 7 games.

Evan Longoria 3B- 2 for 5, HR(6).  BA= .282.  Longo had also been slumping(the whole team did in San Diego) and is hitting .217 over his last 7 games.

Brandon Crawford SS- 3 for 5, 2 2B, HR(5).  BA= .281.  Crawford's resurgence continues.  He was hitting just .171 on August 9.  He's hitting .344 since and showing no signs of cooling off.  He's put up an fWAR of 0.6 in 144 PA which projects to about 2.5 over a full season.  That would be his best season since 2016.  

Drew Smyly LHP- 3.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 3.94.  Smyly dominated for 3 innings before running into trouble in the 4'th.  He left the game with 2-outs, a run in and runners on 2'nd and 3'rd.  Then Caleb Baragar uncharacteristically walked 3 consecutive batters to drive in the 2 inherited runners before Trevor Cahill got out of the inning.

Trevor Cahill RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.68.  After three rough starts, Cahill pitched 2 effective innings in relief.  Maybe he and Smyly make a pair of tandem starters?

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The Win got the Giants record back to .500 at 24-24.  That is good for a tie for 6'th place in the NL with the Phillies with the top 8 teams making the playoffs.

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Tyler Anderson LHP tries to build on his last excellent start for a sweep of the 2 game road series at home in an afternoon game facing Nick Margevicius LHP.

Game Wrap 9/15/2020: Postponed

 In another sign that 2020 is just not a very good year, today's game between the Mariners and Giants in Seattle was postponed due to poor air quality from the fires burning up the west coast.  The 2-game series will move to Oracle Park tomorrow and Thursday with the Mariners designated as the home team.

Game Wrap 9/13/2020: Padres 6 Giants 0; Padres 3 Giants 1

I am not going to bother posting a standard Game Wrap for this disaster.  Well, maybe Logan Webb's pitching line is a bit encouraging?  4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.96. 

Over the past several seasons, the Giants have not been a team that handled any disruption of their routine well.  This was most definitely a disruption and a stressful one at that.  I am sure there was tremendous angst among everybody in the organization over the false positive test then the 7-inning doubleheaders just compounded being out of their comfort zone.  That this all occurred on the road was even more stressful, I am sure.  

So far in two 7-inning/game doubleheaders, the Giants have scored just 1 run on 11 hits.  That is 2.75 hits per game on average.  I guess it's a small sample size, but as Kruk and Kuip like to say, "ownage is ownage" and the the Giants have been owned by 7-inning make-up doubleheaders so far.

Game Wrap 9/11/2020: COVID Postponement

 Yesterday's game between the Giants and Padres was postponed as was today's game due to a positive COVID test for a Giants player.  

This is just a reminder the SARS 2 Coronavirus is still very much active in our communities.  The fundamentals of the Pandemic remain exactly the same as from the beginning.  The SARS 2 Coronavirus is a new or novel virus for which humans have not developed immunity.  It is spread through respiratory droplets.  It is approximately twice as contagious as seasonal influenza.  It is approximately 100 times as deadly as seasonal influenza.  It has an approximately 6 day incubation period.  Infected individuals can transmit the disease while not exhibiting symptoms.  On average, the time from onset of symptoms to peak death rate is approximately 10 days.  Given these facts, no subsequent development in the pandemic is even slightly surprising or unpredictable.

Here are just a few more facts regarding the SARS 2 Coronavirus:

To date, there have been almost 6.5 million confirmed cases in the U.S.

To date, there have been over 193, 000 deaths in the U.S.

The Case Fatality Ratio from known cases in the U.S is approximately 3%(There may be as many as 10 times as many cases in the U.S. as are known, but also likely at least 1.5-2.0 times as many deaths).

There were approximately 1200 deaths yesterday in the U.S.

So far, there have been over 250, 000 cases attributable to a single mass gathering which occurred approximately 2 weeks ago.

There has been approximately a 125% rise in the number of new cases in the state that hosted this event.

If you test positive for the novel coronavirus, you are twice as likely to have eaten in a restaurant within the past 14 days.

The most common cause of outbreaks in San Bernardino County(CA) is family gatherings.

I know the readership of this site understands numbers and how to interpret data.  I will let readers absorb the above facts and draw their own conclusions.

Stay smart and stay safe!

Game Wrap 9/10/2020: Padres 6 Giants 1

 Trevor Cahill got knocked around early and the Giants offense never found traction in a not-close loss.  Key Lines:  

Donovan Solano 2B- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .352.  Probably too late to get back to .400 on the season but Donnie Barrels is hitting .458 over his last 7 games.  Really an amazing run after signing on with the Giants last year.

Wilmer Flores DH- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(9).  BA= .296.  Flores was brought in to kill lefties, which he has done, but he's not been bad against RHP's either.  Both of his XBH's in this game came against righties.

Trevor Cahill RHP- 3 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 4.05.  I missed the first 3 innings but Kruk and Kuip said Cahill couldn't get the ball down.  That's pretty much the story of his last 2 starts also, which makes me think his hip is still not right.

Drew Smyly LHP- 4 IP, 2 H, 2 R 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 2.92.  Smyly picked right up where he left off before hitting the IL.  96 MPH.  Some of the nastiest curveballs you'll ever see.  A cutter that exploded in on Fernando Tatis Jr, causing him to break down his swing.  Just incredible stuff.  Need to replace Cahill in the rotation and probably should have for this game.

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The Loss dropped the Giants record to 23-22 and left them in 7'th place in the NL with the top 8 teams making the playoffs.

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Johnny Cueto RHP tries to get the Giants back on the winning track tonight facing Garrett Richards RHP.

Game Wrap 9/9/2020: Giants 10 Mariners 1

The Giants dominated the Mariners on both sides of the plate in a runaway win.  Key Lines:

Mike Yastrzemski RF- 2 for 5, HR(9).  BA= .297.  YtY got the Giants scoring started with a 3-run bomb in the 3'rd inning.  He's fallen behind Fernando Tatis Jr in the WAR race with 2.4 fWAR to Tatis Jr's 3.0. 

Wilmer Flores DH- 2 for 3, 2 2B, BB.  BA= .291.  Flores has an OPS of 1.049 vs LHP's vs .772 against RHP's. 

Joey Bart C- 2 for 4.  BA= .283.  Bart is hitting .414 for September with just one hitless game, an 0 for 1 on 9/6.  

Tyler Anderson LHP- 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.50.  After giving up 11 ER in 8.2 IP over his last two starts, Anderson dominated for 6 innings in this one.  He's under team control for 1 more season of arbitration eligiblity.  My guess is the Giants will try to re-sign him but won't tender a contract if unsuccessful.

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The Win improved the Giants record to 2 games above .500 at 23-21 and into 6'th place in the NL with the top 8 teams making the playoffs.

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The Giants start their final road trip of the season with a 4-gamer in San Diego with Trevor Cahill RHP facing Chris Paddack RHP tonight.

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Well, well!  Look what The Churn turned up!  Remember when some Giants fans who tend to post on another blog thought they should have drafted Justin Smoak instead of Buster Posey in 2008?  Well, Smoak is now a Giants having signed a minor league deal and being assigned to remote camp.

Game Wrap 9/8/2020: Giants 6 Mariners 5

Giants hitters and the bullpen picked up a shaky Logan Webb for their 11'th come-from-behind win out of 43 games played this season.  Key Lines:

Alex Dickerson LF- 1 for 3, HR(8)).  BA= .266.  One day after fouling one off his knee and leaving a game, Dick sent one over the RF wall that looked like it was headed for a splash hit, but bounced off the metal railing separating the walkway from McCovey Cove.  No ball for you, kayakers!  Dick is 14 for 32(.438) with 4 2B and 5 HR starting 8/29/2020.   His overall OPS is .892.

Darin Ruf PH- 1 for 1, HR(3).  BA= .304.  Ruf has hit well all season but without the expected power.  Now he has 2 HR and 2 2B in his last 6 AB's.  He is hitting .545 over his last 7 games(6 for 11) and .345 over his last 15.  Kapler sent him up to PH for Dickerson against the LHP in the 7'th inning and his HR broke the 5-5 tie.  

Luis Alexander Basabe LF- 0 for 0.  BA= .000.  Basabe was called up prior to the game as a defensive OF.  After Ruf's HR gave the Giants the lead, Kap did just that and put Basabe in LF. So what did he do out there?  He chased down a ball in the gap that neither Dickerson nor Ruf would have come close to.  

Donovan Solano 2B- 3 for 4, 2B, 3B.  BA= .353.  .400 is out of reach, but Donnie Barrels is back and en fuego with 3/4 of a cycle in this game.  He's hitting .462 over his last 7 games.

Brandon Belt 1B- 2 for 4.  BA= .337.  Belt's season was delayed by an injury and he got off to a painfully slow start.  His BA hit a nadir of .121 on 8/11 and dipped again to .128 on 8/15.  Since then he has gone 29 for 62(.452).  I attribute much that success to a changed batting stance where he moved off the plate by about 3 inches which helps prevent him from getting jammed on the inner half of the plate and kudos to the coaching staff for getting him to do that!

Mauricio Dubon CF- 1 for 4, HR(2).  BA= .282.  One AB after Kruk talked about Doobie's ability to bring his long arms in and get around on pitches on the inner half, he did just that with a near-pop fly over the cars in the LF wall.  His launch angle was 47 degrees making it the 3'rd highest launch angle to go over the fence in MLB this season(I read that somewhere).  

Logan Webb RHP- 5 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 5.23.  Webb battled command issues(he seemed to be pulling his pitches to the glove side), although the 5'th run was not his fault as YtY whiffed on a drive into Triples Alley that went for.....a triple and and eventual run scored.  Take that run away and Webb would have finished with 3 scoreless frames in innings 3,4 and 5.  

Bullpen- 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  It was Tony Watson's turn in the Closer Rotation and he converted it for his second Save of the season.  Rotating Closer's gives several pitchers that distinction, helps make the 9'th inning feel like any other, keeps opposing managers guessing on the order of pitchers they will face in the late innings and gives Kap matchup flexibility.

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The Win put the Giants above .500 for the first time this season at 22-21.  They are in 8'th place in the NL West with the top 8 teams making the playoffs.

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Tyler Anderson LHP gets the call to keep the winning ways going tonight facing Nick Margevicius LHP.

Game Wrap 9/7/2020: Giants 4 D'Backs 2

The Giants scored all of their runs by keeping the line moving with 4 singles and 2 walks in a 4-run sixth inning to break open a tight pitching duel between Kevin Gausman and Zac Gallen.  Key Lines:

Mike Yastrzemski RF- 2 for 4.  BA= .301.   YtY drove in the Giants first run with a bases-loaded single.  He's hitting .370 over his last 7 games.

Darin Ruf PH/LF- 2 for 2, 2B.  BA= .291.  Ruf came in as a PH for Alex Dickerson after Dick fouled a ball off his right knee.  Ruf finished the AB and struck out, which was credited in Dickerson's stat line.  Ruf later delivered the key blow of the 6'th inning with a 2-run single and later had the only Giants XBH of the game with a loud double up Triples Alley.  Ruf is hitting .385 over his last 7 games and .310 over his last 15.

Kevin Gausman RHP- 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 4.05.  Dominant 6 innings for Gausman who got the Win when the Giants took the lead in time.  Gausman is probably the Giant top SP right now.

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The Win evened the Giants record at 21-21 which is the first time they have been at .500 since August 1 at 5-5.  The Giants are now tied with the Marlins for 7'th place in the NL West with the top 8 teams making the playoffs.

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The Giants continue their homestand with an interleague series against the Mariners with TBD facing rookie Ljay Newsome RHP.

RIP Lou Brock

 Lou Brock has died.  He was another of my childhood baseball heroes, albeit one I envied from another team than I rooted for.  Again, I am not going to bore you with a recitation of his stat lines, but will offer some recollections.  

Brock was a key player for a couple of powerhouse Cardinals teams who won the World Series in 1967 and came a game short in 1968.  He was at his best in those two World Series with BA's over .400 and running wild on the bases.  He was the embodiment of the "National League Style" of play:  Free swinging, free running, using speed to disrupt the concentration of opposing pitchers and create runs with speed.  That style has since been largely discredited by advanced statistics, but man, it was sure fun to watch and it was successful for a couple of decades as the NL ran circles around the plodding AL.

I remember a SI article where Brock went into some detail about his base stealing.  The two things I recall from that article, and my memory might not be perfect here, is....

1.  He didn't like to steal 3B because he did not believe being on 3B gave him a significantly better chance of scoring.

2.  He did not like to steal off a given pitcher until he had seen their move to 1B.  He specifically mentioned that Giants RHP Jim Barr never threw to 1B so he(Brock) did not try to steal off him.

RIP Lou Brock.

Game Wrap 9/6/2020: Giants 4 D'Backs 2

The Giants shook off a shaky first inning by Johnny Cueto scoring all of their runs by way of HR and shutting down the D'Backs offense the rest of the game.  Key Lines:

Donovan Solano 2B- 3 for 3, 2B, HR(3), BB.  BA= .344.   Solano's HR with Austin Slater on base in the 6'th inning gave the Giants their first lead at 3-2.

Chadwick Tromp C- 1 for 2, HR(3).  BA= .189.  Tromp has struggled at the plate but put the Giants on the board for the first time in the game in the third inning with a solo HR to left-center.  He also put a major league tag on a runner on a bang-bang play at the plate in the 5'th inning to keep the Giants deficit at 1.

Brandon Belt PH/1B- 1 for 1, HR(7).  BA= .340.  Belt PH for Tromp against the RHP Yoan Lopez and homered into the RF arcade.  Stay hot, BB!  Running out of other things to say about Belt's awesome season.

Johnny Cueto RHP- 5.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 4.56.  As we said in the lead, Cueto got off to a shaky start giving up a leadoff HR to Locastro and another run, but then settled down.  He got a defensive bailout in the 5'th from the unlikely combo of Wilmer Flores and Chadwick Tromp on a throw and tag at the plate respectively.  Gabe Kapler then played the matchup right after Cueto loaded the bases with 2 outs in the 6'th bringing in Caleb Baragar to get the lefthanded Jon Jay on a flyout.

Bullpen- 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K's.  Kapler seems to be intentionally playing musical chairs with the bullpen as Tony Watson set up in this game with Tyler Rogers converting the Save Op which is a reversal of the roles from the previous game.  I have to confess I haven't paid enough attention to see if there is a matchup pattern or if he is just trying to avoid depending on one pitcher to shoulder the whole 9'th inning load.  Interesting to see how it progresses going forward.

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The Win improved the Giants record to 20-21 and put them into 8'th place in the NL which is the final playoff spot.

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Kevin Gausman RHP goes for a series win and a .500 record tomorrow facing Zac Gallen RHP in a 5:00 PM game.

Game Wrap 9/5/2020: Giants 4 D/Backs 3

 The Giants got B2B HR's from Evan Longoria and Darin Ruf as well as B2B triples from Joey Bart and Mauricio Dubon and scored just enough to win Madison Bumgarner's debut as an opposing pitcher in Oracle Park.  Key Lines:

Evan Longoria 3B- 1 for 4, HR(5).  BA= .297.  Longo hitting .325 over his last 7 games and .355 over his last 15.  His HR in the 2'nd inning off Madison Bumgarner started off the Giants scoring.

Darin Ruf LF- 1 for 1, HR(2), BB.  BA= .255.  Ruf followed Longo's blast with one of his own to give the Giants a 2-1 lead which they never gave up.

Joey Bart C- 2 for 4, 3B.  BA= .271.  With 2 outs and a runner on 2B, Bart leaned and reached for a low-outside breaking ball and managed to line it over the head of LF David Peralta off the wall in left-CF.  The ball bounced away from Peralta and CF Dalton Varsho and Bart showed some speed thundering around to 3B for an RBI triple. Bart is now 8 for 17 over his last 4 games.

Mauricio Dubon CF- 2 for 4, 3B. BA= .295.  Dubon shook off the baserunning gaffe from game 1 and turned in another strong game here.  He followed Bart's 3-bagger with a drive off the bricks in RF that again, bounced away from Kole Calhoun giving Dubon time to motor to 3B. Now I can't find the reference but this was something like the 7'th time since 1924 that a team got B2B HR and triples in one game...or something like that.

Madison Bumgarner LHP(D'Backs)- 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 HR.  ERA= 8.44.  Bum was coming off the IL.  This was better than his starts before going on the IL, but FB topped out at about 89 MPH.  Giant have to be happy they are not on the hook for that contract.

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The Win improved the Giants record to 19-21 and put them in 9'th place in the NL with the top 8 teams making the playoffs.  They trail the Rockies for 8'th place by 0.5 games.

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Johnny Cueto RHP tries to get the Giants a step closer today facing Alex Young  LHP during an unusual hot spell in NoCal(and SoCal for that matter!).

Game Wrap 9/4/2020: D'Backs 6 Giants 5

A baserunning gaffe by Mauricio Dubon snuffed out a budding rally in the 8'th inning as the Giants failed to overcome subpar pitching in a close loss.  Key Lines:

Alex Dickerson LF- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .277.  5 consecutive multi-hit games for Dick with 4 doubles and 4 HR's out of 13 hits in that span. 

Brandon Belt 1B- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(6), BB.  BA= .341.  I used to be frustrated with Belt because I couldn't figure out why a tall, long armed guy like him would stand on top of home plate with his hands crossing the middle of the strike zone on swings.  Now I'm frustrated over what took him so long to make the adjustment.  If this is the work of the FZ/Kapler coaching staff, gotta be impressed!

Joey Bart C- 2 for 4.  BA= .250.  Bart is 6 for 13 over his last 3 games, all singles.  He showed some speed scoring from 2B on a single in the 7'th inning.

Mauricio Dubon CF- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .286.  Great game by Doobie who also made a couple of very nice catches in CF.....except for that baserunning gaffe.  Giants had the bases loaded with 0 outs in the 8'th and looked like they had a great chance to take the lead.  YtY hit a flyball that was caught by Kole Calhoun in shallow RF.  Calhoun has one of the best RF arms in the game and was moving forward when he made the catch so Ron Wotus wisely held up the runner at 3B. For some reason, Dubon broke for 3B, the throw was cut off and he was out going back to 2B by a mile.  Kruk and Kuip went nuts.  Doobie looks like he's turning into a nice little player but that can't happen!

Tyler Anderson LHP- 4 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 3 K.  ERA= 5.18.  Tyler Anderson's comeback seems to have stalled out.  He's arbitration eligible for next season but is turning himself into a non-tender candidate.

Sam Selman LHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.93.  Selman has extensive starting experience in the minors.  Giants might want to try stretching him out and flipping his role with Anderson's.

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The Loss dropped the Giants record to 18-21 and into 10'th place in the NL with the top 8 teams making the playoffs.

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Big game today with Trevor Cahill RHP facing Madison Bumgarner LHP.  Shame there is not a live crowd to greet Bum.

Who Is Daniel Robertson?

 It's hard to keep up with The Churn but FZ and crew made a move that could be worth remembering when they traded for Daniel Robertson SS after he was DFA'd by the Rays.  Robertson has some prospect pedigree.  He was the 34'th overall draft pick by the A's in 2012 out of Upland(CA) HS.  He was assigned to Rookie camp in Arizona and slashed .297/.405/.554 in 127 PA.  A midseason promotion to short season ball did not go so well as he struggled to a .181 BA.  

A low A ball assignment for 2013 produced a respectable slash of .277/.353/.401 with 9 HR.  He had somewhat of a breakout in 2014 with A+ Stockton, .310/.402/.471 with 15 HR.  That, combined with a K/BB of 14.6/11.2 got him noticed by prospect rankers and he started showing up on top 100 prospect lists.  He was thought to be one of the reasons why the A's were willing to include Addison Russell in the trade for Jeff Samardzija, but in January 2015, the A's traded Robertson along with John Jaso and Boog Powell to the Rays for Yunel Escobar and Ben Zobrist.  He continued to have terrific walk rates and OBP's in the Rays system, but the power dried up.  He's shuttled between MLB and AAA over the last 3 seasons settling into a fringe/utility role.  His 2018 MLB line actually looked promising:  .262/.382/.415 with 9 HR in 340 PA.  But he regressed to a .213 BA in 2019 and did not appear in any MLB games for the Ray in 2020.  His D is rated as average to slightly above average by UZR metrics.

The Giants coaches liked the way he swung the bat in remote camp after the trade so called him up when Joey Rickard hit the 60 day IL.  So far he is 3 for 5 in 2 games for the Giants.

I feel like Robertson has a bit of a post-hype sleeper vibe.  He's just 26 years old so young enough for his breakout to be ahead of him and the peripheral numbers are already there.  If the Giants coaching staff can help him re-unlock the power, I could see him turning into an FZ special along the lines of YtY.

RIP Tom Seaver

Tom Seaver, one of the great pitchers of all time died yesterday at the age of 75 from complications of Lewy Body Dementia and COVID 19.  I'm not going to bore you by delving into his vast statistical greatness, but instead share a few memories, mostly from the magical Amazin' Mets season of 1969.  Seaver was in just his third MLB season and was already one of the top pitchers in the game.   In 1969, he went 25-7 with a 2.21 ERA.  

My first memory is of him taking a perfect game into the 9'th inning against the division leading Cubs in the heat of the pennant race.  He lost the perfecto in the 9'th on a soft single to CF by Jim Qualls who collected a grand total of 31 hits in his career.  Seaver went on to pitch 5 1-hitters for the Mets but did not get his first and only no-hitter until after he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds.

My second memory is an article in Sports Illustrated describing how you could tell if Seaver's mechanics were right on any given night.  His drop and drive delivery dropped so far down that his right knee would touch the dirt and turn brown.  

My third memory is from a book I read about the Amazin's which revealed that he had a dog named Slider.  

The 1969 Mets remain one of the great baseball stories of all time and Seaver was as responsible for it as anyone, probably more than anyone.  That remains my most vivid memory from a 20 year HOF career.  RIP.

Game Wrap 9/2/2020: Rockies 9 Giants 6

The Giants offense built a 6-1 lead only to see the Rockies blow past it with a 5-spot in the 7'th inning.  Not exactly unheard of in Coors Field.  Key Lines: 

Mike Yastrzemski RF- 3 for 5, HR(8).  BA= .298.  YtY now trails Fernando Tatis Jr in the face for NL MVP with 2.3 fWAR to Tatis Jr's 2.6, but YtY seems to be heating up for another run at the top. 

Alex Dickerson LF- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .268.  Fourth multi-hit game in a row, 11 for 20 with 3 doubles and 4 HR's.  

Joey Bart C- 1 for 4.  BA= .225.  4 for 9, all singles, in September.  

Daniel Robertson SS- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .600.  Recent add through The Churn, Robertson is a long time fave of the analytics gurus.  Intriguing combination of IF defense, plate discipline and power.  Has some control left on his contract, so could be a keeper.

Logan Webb RHP- 5.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.71.  Webb held the Rockies to 2 runs over 5 IP before faltering.  The Bullpen did not pick him up.

Bullpen- 2.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  Team effort here.  Jarlin Garcia allowed inherited runners to score.  Sam Coonrod did not record an out while giving up 3 runs. Tyler Rogers gave up 2.  The only shutout inning was the 8'th by Caleb Baragar, too little, too late.  Can't blame Kap for this.  Just poor execution and a little of the Coors Field effect.

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The Loss dropped the Giants record to 18-20 and dropped them into 9'th place in the NL 0.5 games behind the Rockies.

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The Giants get another day off today before starting a homestand over the weekend.  TBD gets the start Friday night facing Taylor Clarke RHP.

Game Wrap 9/1/2020: Giants 23 Rockies 5

Alex Dickerson's historic performance led a devastating Giants offensive attack that buried the Rockies in Coors Field.  Key Lines:

Mike Yastrzemski RF- 2 for 4, 3B, BB.  BA= .287.  Kyle Tucker lead the majors in triples with 7 but YtY is second with 4.   

Alex Dickerson LF- 5 for 6, 2 2B, 3 HR(7), BB.  BA= .261.  On a night when Dickerson and the Giants set or tied several franchise and MLB records, Dickerson tied Willie Mays franchise record for Total Bases in one game, 16(Mays hit 4 HR's in one game).  His first HR in the first inning traveled 480 ft, the longest HR by a Giants player in Coors Field(Brandon Crawford said he could tell as soon as it was hit that it went 5 ft farther than Brandon Belt's previous record 475 ft and claims he told Belt that).  This was Dickerson's third multi-hit game in a row after a long slump.

Brandon Belt 1B- 3 for 3, 2 2B, BB.  BA= .337.  Belt stays hot with 2 XBH's. 

Donovan Solano 2B- 4 for 6, 2 2B.  Donnie Barrels starts September by breaking out of a prolonged slump.

Brandon Crawford SS- 3 for 6, 2B, HR(4), SB(1).  BA= .280.  Crawford is hitting .379 over his last 7 games and .358 over his last 15.

Joey Bart C- 3 for 5, HBP.  BA= .222.  Bart had been struggling at the plate but these hits(all singles) were scalded.  

Kevin Gausman RHP- 5 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.43.  Coors Field is the type of park Gausman might struggle in, but he kept runners off base so the 2 solo HR's were harmless.

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The Win put the Giants record at one game under .500, 18-19, and in 8'th place in the NL with 8 teams making the playoffs.

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The Giants try for a sweep of the 2 game series today with Logan Webb RHP facing Kyle Freeland LHP.