With the Giants coming off a 2-4 road trip into an early showdown series, they needed to win this game. They did and showed some heart in the process. Game Notes:
Uh oh! Austin Slater CF is resurrecting "Moustache May" from something he saw in the minor leagues. We may be stuck with that as Slater had a day from the leadoff spot in the lineup. Not only was his oppo-field HR the game winning hit, but he also drew 2 walks, stole a base and scored 3 runs.
Buster Posey C stayed blazing hot with an oppo-field 2-run HR of his own and also drew 2 walks. He's hitting .397. We may need to go all the way back to his MVP season of 2012 to find an equivalent hot stretch.
Anthony DeSclafani RHP allowed just 3 baserunners through 5 innings(one on an error by Wilmer Flores 2B) but ran into trouble in the 6'th. Trent Grisham CF hit a 2-run HR with no outs and Manny Machado 3B doubled. Kap brought in Sam Selman LHP to face Eric Hosmer 1B and Hos homered to CF to erase the Giants 4-0 lead. Zach Littell RHP got the final out of the inning.
Camilo Doval RHP, Tyler Rogers RHP and Jake McGee LHP shut down the Padres the rest of the way to make Slater's HR in the 7'th the game-winning hit.
Gotta say, I honestly would not have had the confidence in Jake McGee to put him out there in that situation and you had to have that "here we go again" feeling when he walked the first batter he faced and went to 3-2 on the the second. He got the K on that second batter and seemed to gain confidence as the inning progressed while striking out the side for his 8'th Save. The Giants probably need Jake McGee to be an effective Closer to have a chance to stay in this race.
Wilmer Flores 2B left the game early with what was described as lower back tightness. That came after an error in the second inning that cost DeSclafani a lot of extra pitches, something ADS(I refuse to call him Disco) was visibly unhappy about.
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The Win lengthened the Giants lead over the Padres to 1.5 games while the Dodgers lost their series opener to their freeway rivals, the Angels to fall 2.5 games behind the Giants. BTW, the Dodgers have lost 7 of 8 and 14 of 18 since their 13-2 start to to the season.
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Kevin Gausman RHP comes off a 3-day stay on the COVID IL after what sounds like a mild reaction to the vaccine. He'll face Joe Musgrove RHP while trying to nail down a series win for the Giants.
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Here's a fun fact about Willie Mays: In 1971, Willie's age 40 season, he hit 18 HR's and stole 23 bases. Age! 40! Season! Oh, and he also had an OBP of .425 that season.
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Down on the Farm:
Thairo Estrada SS AAA- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .667.
Bryce Johnson CF AAA- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(1). BA= .500.
Tyler Fitzgerald SS High A- 2 for 4, 2B, BB, SF. BA= .286.
Will Wilson DH High A- 2 for 4, HR(1), 2 BB. BA= .313.
Logan Wyatt 1B High A- 2 for 4, 2 BB. BA= .538.
Luis Matos CF Low A- 3 for 4, BB, SB(1). BA= .235.
Ricardo Genoves C Low A- 2 for 4, 2B, BB. BA= .333.
Armani Smith LF Low A- 2 for 4, 3B, SF. BA= .333.
Harrison Freed RF Low A- 3 for 4, BB. BA= .571.
Nick Swiney LHP Low A- 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 0.00.
Marco Luciano SS Low A- 0 for 5. BA- .143.
AA Richmond was rained out. Giants are thin at SS. Estrada may be positioning himself for a future promotion is a need arises. Can Logan Wyatt sustain his OBP goodness without adding significant power?
Giants have avoided losing streaks over 2, helped by the strength of the rotation which has been among the best in baseball.
ReplyDeleteDodgers' current "streak" of 4-14 is extreme as well as unlikely, benefiting SF thus far. But they still have 19 games head-to-head beginning in 12 days when they meet 7 times in 10 days to the end of May.
That could carry a message: The Baseball Gods are Vengeful.
If the Giants are for real and could make the 2021 World Series, it is the 100th Anniversary of the 1st Giants-Yankees Fall Classic. The Giants won in 1921, 5 games to 3 in the last of the 9-game Series.
It could happen...