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.