Down on the Farm: 6/30/2021

AA:

 Luis Amaya LHP- 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.82.

Amaya has 30 K's in 18.2 IP.  He needs to bring down his nearly 1 walk/IP(14).  

High A:

Will Wilson SS- 2 for 5, HR(10).  BA= .258.

Armani Smith LF- 2 for 4, 2 HR(3).  BA= .340.

Seth Corry LHP- 5 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 6 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 4.79.

Jasier Herrera RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 4.74.

After his BA hit a nadir of .244 on June 27, Will Wilson is 5 for 10.  The HR today completes a 2-game cycle.  I think we can say Armani Smith has serious helium as a prospect.

Low A:

Marco Luciano SS- 1 for 2, HR(13), 2 BB.  BA= .281.

Brett Auerbach C- 3 for 4.  BA= .342.

Kyle Harrison LHP- 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.24.

Randy Rodriguez RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.88.

Marco Luciano is 5 for 10 over his last 3 games.  All 5 have been XBH's with 4 HR's.  Randy Rodriguez has 37 K's against 13 BB's in 25 IP.

For some reason, milb.com posts Complex League boxscores in an separate location from the Organizational scores.  I'm thinking the DSL scores are in yet another location if we get them at all.  Grrr!!!  I'll do the best I can to keep up with them and post important highlights here.  Complex leagues were idle today.

Game Wrap 6/29/2021: Dodgers 3 Giants 1

 Same song second verse.....The Dodgers once again jumped out to an early lead and the Giants just weren't able to catch up.  Game Notes:

It's quite warm and unusually humid for SoCal which may have factored into this game as Kevin Gausman RHP struggled with his control and kept wiping his hand as if to try and dry it off.  He ended up with 5 IP but gave up an uncharacteristic 5 BB's with only 4 K's.  That was not going to get it done against an opponent like Walker Buehler RHP who also allowed 3 hits but over 6 IP with only 1 BB and 7 K's.  

Not much else to say about this game except The Churn keeps on churning and the injuries just keep coming.  Mike Yastrzemski OF sat this one out with a leg contusion from the foul ball yesterday.  That gave Mike Tauchman OF the start in RF.  He made another highlight reel catch on a Cody Bellinger OF drive but wouldn't you know, he was slow getting up after the catch and left the game 2 innings later.

Mauricio Dubon OF/IF was optioned to AAA Sacramento.  He was replaced by Thairo Estrada IF who appeared as a PH for Gausman in the 6'th inning and flied out to RF.

Aaannnnd....Gregory Santos RHP was suspended for 80 games for using a substance.

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So, this was a rough two game series for the Giants who may have reached their lowest point since the 3 game destruction at the hands of the Dodgers in their first series of the year in Oracle Park back in May.  This was the Giants third loss in a row, something they have mostly avoided this season. The good news is they are still lead the Dodgers in the NL West by 1.5 games and still own the best record in MLB.

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The Giants now get a much needed day off for the short travel trip to Phoenix, AZ before starting a weekend series against the D'Backs.  Johnny Cueto RHP tries to build on his last excellent Start and tries to be the Stopper for the Giants in game one on Friday night against TBD.

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Down on the Farm:

AAA:

Braden Bishop RF- 2 for 4, HR(3), BB.  BA= .339.

Jaylin Davis CF- 3 for 5, HR(7).  BA= .316.

Arismendy Alcantara SS- 3 for 5, HR(6).  BA= .299.

High A:

Will Wilson SS- 3 for 5, 2B, 3B.  BA= .254.

Armani Smith LF- 2 for 5, 2B, SB(2).  BA= .326.

Logan Wyatt 1B- 2 for 3, BB. BA= .237.

Tyler Fitzgerald 2B- 1 for 2, 2 BB, SB(6).  BA= .266.

Tyler Fitzgerald is hitting .318 for the month of June after hitting just .205 in May.

Low A:

Carter Williams RF- 1 for 4, HR(1), BB.  BA= .323.

Marco Luciano SS- 3 for 5, 2B, 2 HR(12).  BA= .278.

Wil Jensen RHP- 4.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 2.91.

Ivan Armstrong RHP- 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 1.63.

Austin Reich RHP- 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 1.73.

Huge game for Marco Luciano who also hits his 3'rd HR in 2 games.

Game Wrap 6/28/2021: Dodgers 3 Giants 2

 The Giants outhit the Dodgers 11-5 but were outhomered 3-2, which is pretty much the game right there.  Game Notes:

Giants fans frustrations with this game are not assuaged by an increasingly familiar pattern of the Dodgers jumping on their SP for B2B HR's to lead off their half of the first inning.  The Giants have come back from some of those awful starts, but you have to think that is probably not going to happen when your opponent is Trevor Bauer RHP and the Dodgers.  

3 of Anthony DeSclafani RHP's 4 worst starts of the season have come against the Dodgers.  He made a nice recovery from the two HR's to lead off the Dodgers first inning but the damage was done.  Those two early pitches cost him the game.

Lamonte Wade Jr 1B was not intimidated by Trevor Bauer and his antics.  Wade led off the game with a hard single and took Bauer deep for the Gaints first run in the 3'rd inning.  He was later awarded first base when a replay showed the pitch grazed his jersey as it went by.

Brandon Crawford SS hit a looong HR for his 17'th of the season and the Giants other run of the night.

Wilmer Flores 3B went 4 for 4 but did not figure in the scoring.  It was that kind of a night.  Flores' leg is clearly not right.  We can pretty much forget about him taking the extra base.

Mike Yastrzemski RF left the game early after fouling one off his shin.  That is painful just to think about and YtY appeared to be in as much pain as we can imagine.  X-rays were reported as negative for a fracture.

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The Loss cut the Giants lead over the Dodgers to 2.5 games in the NL West. 

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Kevin Gausman RHP tries for a series split tonight vs Walker Buehler RHP.

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Down on the Farm:

AAA:

Thairo Estrada LF- 3 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .385.

Jason Vosler 2B- 4 for 5, 2B, HR(5).  BA= .247.

Matt Frisbee RHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 6.57.

Game Wrap 6/27/2021: A's 6 Giants 2

The Giants gave a languid performance in their series finale agains the A's in a game that was not as close as the final score might make you think.  Game Notes:

There is really very little to say about this game.  Historically the Giants tend to struggle against pitchers they have not previously faced and against soft tossers.  Cole Irvin LHP had both factors going for him and became only the third SP to complete 7 innings against the Giants this season and the second to complete 8.   

Giants SP, Sammy Long LHP, did not pitch badly while overcoming a rocky first inning to get the game into the 6'th.  As weak as the Giants bats were against Irvin, it would have been tough to win this game no matter how well he pitched.

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The Dodgers and Padres both won so the Loss cut the Giants lead in the NL West to 3.5 games over the Dodgers and 4.5 over the Padres.  The Giants maintain the best record in MLB.

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The Giants travel south for a two game series against the division rival Dodgers tomorrow evening with Anthony DeSclafani RHP facing the hated Trevor Bauer RHP.

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Logan Webb RHP threw a 20 pitch simulated game and is expected to start a rehab assignment from shoulder soreness soon.  No new news on Brandon Belt 1B but he is not expected to have a short stay on the IL.

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Down on the Farm: 

AAA:

Jaylin Davis RF- 2 for 3, HR(6), BB.   BA= .292.

Jason Krizan 3B- 4 for 6, 2 HR(5).  BA= .339.

Chadwick Tromp C- 2 for 5, 2 HR(5).  BA= .266.

Tyler Beede RHP- 4 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 6.89.

Baby steps for Tyler Beede.  

AA:

David Villar 3B- 1 for 4, HR(10).  BA= .245.

Sandro Fabian RF- 1 for 4, HR(5).  BA= .273.

Caleb Kilian RHP- 5.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 2.62.

High A:

Tyler Fitzgerald 2B- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(7).  BA= .263.

Ricardo Genoves- 1 for 2, 3 BB.  BA= .500.

Sean Roby DH- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(5).  BA= .198.

Kai-Wei Teng RHP- 4.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.86.

Ricardo Genoves gets the promo from Low A SJ.

Low A:

Luis Matos CF- 2 for 4, SB(14).  BA= .299.

Marco Luciano SS- 1 for 3, HR(10), BB.  BA= .269.

Jairo Pomares RF- 1 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .317.

Game Wrap 6/26/2021: Giants 6 A's 5(10 innings)

 Steven Duggar CF raced to home plate from first base on Curt Casali C's walk-off double in the 10'th inning to give the Giants their second win in a row over their cross-bay rivals.  Game Notes:

Lamonte Wade Jr 1B had a tremendous game at the top of the lineup reaching base 3 times in 5 PA's.  He homered in the 5'th inning with Steven Duggar on base to give the Giants their first lead of the game, 2-1.  His walk in the 7'th set up a 2-out rally that cut the A's lead to 4-3.  

Donovan Solano 2B tied the game with a HR in the 8'th inning and added another hit.

Steven Duggar was the other offensive hero as much with his speed as with the bat.  After scoring the Giants first run ahead of Wade Jr's HR, Duggar drove in designated runner Brandon Crawford SS from 2B in the 9'th before scoring the winning run himself.  Oh, and Duggar added a SB(6) for good measure.  And see if this sounds familiar:  Curt Casali struck out 4 times before hitting his game-winning double.

Alex Wood LHP seemed to be back in form with a line of 5.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K's.  

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The Win maintained the Giants lead in the NL West at 4.5 games over the Dodgers with the Padres slipping to 5.5 games off the pace.  The Giants have won 5 games in a row and 10 of 11.

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Sammy Long LHP tries for the series sweeeep today facing Cole Irvin LHP.

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Sounds like Brandon Belt 1B has a medical opinion in hand that he needs surgery on his right knee as he is making the rounds for a second and third opinion.  I did not know this before, but MLB is reporting a prior microfracture surgery and all that does not sound good.  

Tommy La Stella IF has a fracture in his jammed thumb and will need at least 2 weeks before he resumes baseball activities.

Buster Posey C missed his 2'nd game in a row with back tightness.  Word is he may be ready today.  Hey!  The Giants are playing with house money right now. Why not hold him out one more day and make sure he is ready for the Dodgers?

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Down on the Farm:

AAA:

Braden Bishop RF- 2 for 4, HR(2), BB.  BA= .347.

Joey Bart C- 1 for 3, BB, HBP.  BA= .342.

Jason Krizan 1B- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .327.

AA:

Simon Whiteman SS- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .244.

David Villar 3B- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(9).  BA= .245.

Frankie Tostado 1B- 2 for 4, HR(5).  BA= .282.

Michael Plassmeyer LHP- 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 5.17.

RJ Dabovich RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.86.

David Villar raised his BA from a nadir of .190 on June 15.  He is 16 for 38(.421) with 4 HR's since.  Frankie Tostado is 6 for 9 with 3 HR's in his last 2 games.

High A:

Conner Nurse RHP- 6.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 4.91.

Low A:

Carter Williams RF- 2 for 5.  BA= .333.

Alexander Canario CF- 2 for 4, 2B, SB(12).  BA= .243.

Fabian Pena C- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(1).  BA= .250.

Carson Ragsdale RHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 4.17.

Game Wrap 6/25/2021: Giants 2 A's 0

Buster Posey C was a late scratch from the lineup due to back tightness so Curt Casali C waggled his Magic Fingers for Johnny Cueto RHP and two relievers to lead the Giants to their league leading 11'th shutout of the season(credit Pavs who says that's 3 more than the second team in the category).  Game Notes:

Cueto and Sean Manaea LHP hooked up in classic pitching duel with Manaea himself becoming the first baserunner of the game in the 3'rd inning with a double to RF.  The Giants got on the board first with the only run they needed in the 4'th inning on a double by Wilmer Flores 3B followed by a single by Brandon Crawford SS to drive in his 50'th RBI in the 75'th game of the season.

Casali gave Cueto an insurance run with a HR in the  7'th inning.  Tyler Rogers RHP and Jake McGee LHP pitched scoreless 8'th and 9'th innings with McGee earning his 15'th Save.

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The Win maintained the Giants lead in the NL West at 4.5 games over both the Dodgers and Padres.

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As expected, Brandon Belt 1B hit the IL with his knee injury which could keep him out a lot longer than the minimum 10 days.  LaMonte Wade Jr OF/1B was called back from AAA Sacramento to replace him.  Wade Jr may get to stay awhile because Tommy La Stella IF suffered a setback in his rehab assignment due to a jammed right thumb.  

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Alex Wood LHP tries to get his season back on track tonight facing Frankie Montas RHP.

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Down on the Farm:

AAA:

Braden Bishop CF- 2 for 5, 2B, SB(2).  BA= .340.

Thairo Estrada SS- 2 for 5.  BA= .378.

Joey Bart C- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .342.

Jason Krizan 3B- 4 for 5, 2B.  BA= .318.

Jaylin Davis LF- 2 for 4, HR(5), BB.  BA= .267.

Aaron Sanchez RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 9.82.

Gerson Garabito RHP- 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.09.

Trevor Hildenberger RHP- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.38.

AA:

Simon Whiteman SS- 3 for 5, SB(6).  BA= .220.

Sandro Fabian RF- 2 for 5.  BA= .267.

Frankie Tostado 1B- 4 for 5, 2B, 2 HR(4).  BA= .276.

Low A:

Brett Auerbach C- 3 for 4, SB(10).  BA= .333.

Ricardo Genoves 1B- 2 for 2, 2 2B, 3 BB.  BA= .338.

Casey Schmitt 3B- 2 for 4, 2B, SB(1).  BA= .225.

Marco Luciano SS- 1 for 5, 2B.  BA= .273.

Prelander Berroa RHP- 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 3.34.

Down on the Farm: 6/24/2021

AAA:

LaMonte Wade Jr.  LF/1B- 1 for 2, HR(3), BB.  BA= .244.

Thairo Estrada SS- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .378.

Drew Robinson PH- 1 for 1, HR(3).  BA= .154.

Scott Kazmir LHP- 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 1.10.

Jay Jackson RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Is LaMonte Wade Jr the callup if Brandon Belt hits the IL with his knee injury as expected?  Rehabbing Tommy La Stella IF DNP in this one.  He's not expected to be ready before the first week in July.  Scott Kazmir has pitched 10 scoreless innings over 2 starts since accepting outright assignment to Sacramento.  Kazmir has 9 K's and 3 BB's in that span.

AA:

Heliot Ramos CF- 0 for 4.  BA= .242.

Vince Fernandez LF- 1 for 4, HR(7).  BA= .185.

Sandro Fabian RF- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(4).  BA= .270.

Trent Toplikar RHP- 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 4.15.

Heliot Ramos may be hitting the EL Wall.  He's just 1 for 16 over his last 4 games with a drop of 20 pts on his BA.  His BA had been eroding from a peak of .314 on May 30.

High A:

Tyler Fitzgerald 2B- 3 for 5, HR(6).  BA= .257.

Brandon Martorano C- 4 for 4, 2 2B, SB(4).  BA= .338.

Seth Corry LHP- 4.2 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 4.95.

Fitzgerald is 6 for 13 with 2 HR's over his last 3 games.

Low A:

Carter Williams RF- 3 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .318.

Brett Auerbach 3B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .317.

Jairo Pomares DH- 2 for 4, HR)3).  BA= .324.

Kyle Harrison LHP- 4.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 2.70.

Randy Rodriguez RHP- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.95.

Carter Williams was a UDFA last June.

Game Wrap 6/23/2021: Giants 9 Angels 3

The Giants offense erupted for 7 runs in the top of the 13'th inning to break open a deadlocked game and gain a sweep of the two-game series.  Game Notes:

Symmetry has always fascinated me and this game was an extremely symmetrical one, at least in the regulation 9 innings.  Both teams scored 1 run in the middle inning on HR's by the respective leadoff batters in the lineups.  Those matching runs were flanked by 4 shutout innings on either side.  Both SP's struck out 9 batters, although Giants ace Kevin Gausman RHP was better by 2 hits 1 walk and 1 IP.   

The Giants lone run in regulation came on Mike Yastrzemski RF's only hit, a HR(10) to RF.  YtY has 3 HR's in his last 4 games.

Alex Dickerson DH went 3 for 5 with a double but did no figure in the scoring.  

Steven Duggar CF had another big day with 3 hits in 6 AB to raise his BA to .325.  His double in the 12'th inning gave the Giants a temporary lead and his single in the 13'th busted the game open. He also stole his 5'th base of the season.

Mike Tauchman LF struck out 5 times before hitting a 3-run HR to cap the scoring in the 13'th and put the game into runaway territory.

Kevin Gausman was once again sensational with a line of 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 9 K's to lower his ERA to 1.49 on the season.  He, of course did not get the decision.

6 Giants relievers pitched one inning each and did not allow any earned runs.  Of course, you can pitch really well when a runner starts off the inning at 2B and still allow unearned runs.

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The Win put the Giants temporarily up on the Dodgers by 3.5 games and the Padres by 5 games with the Padres leading the Dodgers 3-2 in the 7'th inning of their game. The Giants will, of course, maintain the best record in MLB not matter what happens in the Padres-Dodgers game.

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If you were to ask me to describe this Giants team in one word, that word would be "relentless!"  They don't let losing streaks get started.  They don't give up on games and keep pounding out wins while showing superiority in all 3 phases of the game:  hitting, pitching, fielding.  The only remaining weak link is the bullpen and even it seems a bit steadier of late.

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The Giants get a day off tomorrow before starting a crossbay series against the A's in Oakland Friday night.  The Giants pitchers for the series are scheduled to be Johnny Cueto RHP, Alex Wood LHP and Sammy Long LHP.

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Down on the Farm:

High A:

Ismael Munguia CF- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(4).  BA= .281.

Tyler Fitzgerald SS- 1 for 4, HR(5).  BA= .245.

Low A:

Luis Matos CF- 1 for 3, HR(4), 2 BB.  BA= .306.

Ricardo Genoves 1B- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .336.

Marco Luciano SS- 1 for 4, BB, SB(3).  BA= .282.

Jairo Pomares RF- 4 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .300.

Game Wrap 6/22/2021: Giants 5 Angels 0

 Wilmer Flores 3B' 2-run HR capped a 4-spot in the first inning which allowed Anthony DeSclafani RHP and two relievers to cruise to a shutout.  Game Notes:

Flores got off to a slow start this season hitting just .214 in April. That improved to .263 in May.  He's hitting .314 so far in June with 4 of his 7 HR's.

Mike Yastrzemski RF went just 1 for 5 in the game but his first inning single with one out got the 4-run rally started.

A safety squeeze bunt by Brandon Belt 1B with Darin Ruf LF at 3B ended up as a hit and an RBI when the ball hugged the 3B line all the way to the bag. Wow!  Look up the video, team!  It's a thing of beauty.

Brandon Crawford SS had 3 hits and a walk but did not figure in the scoring.

Mauricio Dubon CF had 2 hits including a HR to add a run in the second inning.  He's hitting a sizzling .462 over his last 7 games(13 AB).

Anthony DeSclafani RHP(No, JT Snow, Disco is NOT a cool nickname!) is making his own case to be an All-Star Selection.  His line for the night was 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K's.  He is 4-0 with a 1.00 ERA in Juneafter getting roughed up in his last two starts in the month of May.  Overall his record stands at 8-2 with a 2.77 ERA.  

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The Win gave the Giants another game of daylight between them and the second place Dodgers who fell to 3 games back with another loss to the Padres who are 4.5 games back in 3'rd place in the NL West.  Giants maintain the best record in MLB by a 2 game margin over the Astros in the AL.

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The Giants try for a 2-game series sweep tomorrow afternoon in a battle of aces with Kevin Gausman RHP facing Shohei Ohtani RHP.

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Down on the Farm:

AAA:

Thairo Estrada SS- 3 for 5.  BA= .374.

Jason Vosler 3B- 1 for 3, HR(4), BB.  BA= .228.

Arismendy Alcantara 2B- 1 for 4, HR(5).  BA= .283.

Justin Bour 1B- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .213.

The big news here is Tommy La Stella IF began his rehab assignment and went 0 for 3. 2'nd HR in as many games for Alcantara.

AA:

David Villar 3B- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(8).  BA= .236.

Bruce Maxwell C- 3 for 4, 2B, SF.  BA= .233.

Caleb Kilian RHP- 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 2.17.

High A:

Will Wilson SS- 1 for 5, HR(9).  BA= .253.

Armani Smith LF- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .348.

Logan Wyatt 1B- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .228.

Kai-Wei Teng RHP- 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 3.82.

Gotta assume Teng is not using Spider Tack or a related substance since his suspension.  Doesn't seem to make a difference in his results.

Low A:

Luis Matos CF- 3 for 5.  BA= .306.

Marco Luciano SS- 2 for 4, HR(9), BB.  BA= .283.

Alexander Canario LF- 2 for 3, 2 HR(6), 2 BB.  BA= .241.

Down on the Farm: 6/21/2021

Only one game on tap in Giants organizational minor leagues:

Thairo Estrada SS- 1 for 4, HR(7), BB.  BA= .366.

Joey Bart C- 2 for 5.  BA= .352.

Joe McCarthy 1B- 1 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .307.

Arismendy Alcantara 3B- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(4).  BA= 286.

Tyler Beede RHP- 3 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K.  ERA= 7.24.  

Joey Bart gets basehits when he is not hitting HR's.  Is that a good thing?  More of the same from Tyler Beede.  I guess 4 of the runs he allowed were unearned, but 5 hits and 3 BB's is still not a great line.  He also recorded an HBP.

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Churn Update:

The Giants determined that Alex Dickerson OF and Darin Ruf OF/1B had enough rehab to be ready for MLB competition.  Jason Vosler IF and Lamonte Wade Jr OF/1B got bumped down to AAA.   A lot of Wade Jr fans are disappointed, including me, but he has an extreme platoon split and the Giants will be facing several LHP's over the next few games.  Expect Wade Jr to be back at some point and probably Vosler too.

Game Wrap 6/20/2021: Giants 11 Phillies 2

 One thing the Giants have been very good at this year is bouncing back from losses.  Today was no exception as they turned the tables and blew out the Phils in an offensive explosion that dwarfed Sammy Long LHP's Quality Start.  Game Notes:

Mike Yastrzemski RF hit his second HR in as many games and third in his last 7.  He's hitting .321 in that span.

Wilmer Flores 3B went 4 for 4 with 2 HR's(6). He has a 9-game hit streak but this is the first multi-hit game in that sequence.

Brandon Crawford SS continues his season-long tear with a double and his 16'th HR.  I am sure Fernando Tatis Jr will be the starting SS for the NL in the All-Star Game but Crawford should definitely be on the team.

Steven Duggar CF had two more hits including a double.  He has been remarkably consistent this year hitting .322 in May and .319 so far in June.

Curt Casali C's hand must be feeling better as he gets another hit and draws a walk.  

Can we please forget about Openers?  Sammy Long started this game and shut down the Phillies except for JT Realmuto's 2 run HR in the third inning.  

John Brebbia RHP made his Giants debut successful with a scoreless 9'th inning in mop-up time.

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The Win keeps the Giants 1.5 games ahead of the Dodgers and 5 games ahead of the Padres in the NL West.  Giants also maintain their best record in MLB.

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Giants get a day off tomorrow before a 2-game set with the Angels in Anaheim.  SP for that game TBD.

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Churn Update:

The Giants activated John Brebbia RHP from the 60-day IL.  They optioned Conner Menez LHP back to AAA Sacramento to make room on the 26-man Active Roster and placed Aaron Sanchez RHP on the 60 day IL to make room on the 40 man roster.

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Down on the Farm:

AAA:

Alex Dickerson DH- 1 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .400.

Darin Ruf 1B/LF- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .250.

Joey Bart C- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .350.

Jaylin Davis RF/LF- 1 for 2, HR(4), 2 BB.  BA= .286.

Jason Krizan LF/1B- 3 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .306.

Trevor Gott RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.86.

Anthony Banda LHP- 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 5.94.

FZ has some big decisions coming up as soon as Dickerson and Ruf are ready to return to MLB action.

AA:

Heliot Ramos CF- 0 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .258.

Michael Plassmeyer LHP- 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 7.45.

High A:

Will Wilson SS- 1 for 4, HR(8).  BA= .255.

Logan Wyatt 1B- 0 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .218.

Armani Smith DH- 2 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .316.

Franklin Labour CF- 1 for 2, HR(6), 2 BB.  BA= .245.

Brandon Martorano C- 1 for 2, HR(2), 2 BB.  BA= .297.

Franklin Labour has a 5 game hit streak with 3 HR's in his last 4 games.  IDK if he's ever played CF before. I don't recall when.

Low A:

Randy Rodriguez RHP- 3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.15.

Game Wrap 6/19/2021: Phillies 13 Giants 6

The Giants and Phillies slugged it out to a 6-6 tie after 3 innings but the Phillies bullpen shut down the Giants the rest of the way while the Giants bullpen just kept pouring gasoline on the fire.  Game Notes:

Alex Wood LHP continues to struggle.  He had a 1.93 ERA on May 21 after 7 Starts, but has been torched for a 7.88 ERA in 5 Starts since.  The problem seems to be with commanding his slider which requires a strong grip which........OK, you get the idea.  His slider usage is way down and his changeup usage is way up.  Short of a trade, the Giants probably don't have any great options other than to keep putting him out here and hoping he gets is figured out. 

Lamonte Wade Jr LF had another nice game with 2 hits including a double in 5 AB'S.  He is hitting .296 over his last 7 games and has his season BA back up to .278.  Kap talked about Alex Dickerson OF and Darin Ruf OF/1B starting rehab assignments.  He didn't sound all that anxious to get them back:  "We'll see how many at-bats they need to feel good."  

Mike Yastrzemski RF hit a 2-run HR in the bottom of the first inning to give the Giants a short-lived lead.  He's also hitting .296 over his last 7 games with 2 HR'S. 

Brandon Belt 1B homered again and he is definitely hot hitting .423 over his last 7 games with 3 HR's.  He also drew a walk and stole his 3'rd base of the season in today's game.

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The Giants will remain in first place in the NL West after the Loss, but will likely lose ground to their pursuers, the Dodgers and Padres, who are both leading in their night games....er, the Padres won their game over the Reds to cut their deficit to 5 games.

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Sammy Long LHP will get the start tomorrow apparently without an Opener.  He will be trying for a series Win facing Zach Eflin RHP.  

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Down on the Farm:

AAA:

Alex Dickerson LF- 1 for 3, HR(1).  BA= .333.

Caleb Baragar LHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.50.

AA:

Heliot Ramos CF- 1 for 4, BB, SB(6).  BA= .262.

David Villar 3B- 2 for 3, HR(7), 2 BB.  BA= .222.

Jacob Heyward LF- 1 for 4, HR(5).  BA= .225.

Akeel Morris RHP- 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 3.60.

RJ Dabovich RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 9.00.

Akeel Morris was recently signed out of indy ball.  This was RJ Dabovich's second appearance after a promotion from High A Eugene.

High A:

Ismael Munguia CF- 2 for 5, HR(3).  BA= .274.

Will Wilson SS- 2 for 3, HR(7), BB.  BA= .255.

Armani Smith LF- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .267.

Franklin Labour RF- 1 for 1, HR(5), 2 BB, SF.  BA= .240.

Ryan Walker RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.18.

Low A:

Ricardo Genoves C- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .328.

Marco Luciano SS- 2 for 4, SF.  BA= .277.

Harrison Freed LF- 3 for 4, HR(3), HBP.  BA= .220.

Jairo Pomares RF- 1 for 5, HR(2).  BA= .235.

Alexander Canario CF- 1 for 5, 2 SB(11).  BA= .231.

Game Wrap 6/18/2021: Giants 5 Phillies 3

The Giants kept the pedal to the metal with a Quality Start from Johnny Cueto RHP, timely hitting and Stellar D.  Game Notes:

How many first inning, leadoff HR's have Giants pitchers allowed this season?  Maybe it's just me, but it seems like a lot.  This time it was Odubel Herrera CF off Cueto before most of the fans had taken their seats.  With the way Cueto has been pitching, that did not seem to bode well for the rest of the night, but Cueto recovered to pitch well enough for the W.  He allowed a 2-run HR to Cutch in the 4'th allowed just 6 hits, 0 Walks and 5 K's in 6 IP for the QS.  

The Giants offense came storming back in the 2'nd inning with a 3-spot to give Cueto a bit of breathing room.  Brandon Crawford SS led off the inning with a double.  He scored on Jason Vosler 3B's single.  The other big hit of the inning was a double by Lamonte Wade Jr smashed past 1B and down the RF line to drive in Steven Duggar CF who had walked.  Vosler then scored the 3'rd run of the inning on a WP.

Wade drove in another run in the 4'th after Cutch tied it with his blast.  In a comedic turn, Cueto was on 1B after drawing a walk.  Wade drove the ball past Herrera in R-CF for a triple.  Cueto, who can show off his speed when he wants to, tossed aside his helmet between first and second and just kept running around the bases to score easily.  Make no mistake, Wade put a serious charge in that ball, but Herrera got to it with room to spare.  He whiffed on the catch allowing the ball to get to the wall.

Wade had another big moment in the 6'th inning when he played a carom perfectly off the LF wall and gunned down Bryce Harper RF at 2B trying for a double.  Do we need Alex Dickerson OF back?

Brandon Belt 1B capped off the Giants scoring with a solo HR(10) into the RF arcade in the 5'th inning.  The Belter is hitting .400 with 2 HR's over his last 7 games.

Dominic Leone RHP, Tyler Rogers RHP and Jake McGee LHP shut it down over the last 3 frames with McGee recording his 14'th Save.

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The Win was the Giants 5'th in a row and it enabled them to stay 2.5 games ahead of the Dodgers in the NL West and 6 games up on the Padres.  They also continue to sport the top record in MLB.

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Alex Wood LHP tries to keep it rolling tomorrow afternoon against Aaron Nola RHP.  Another Boo! for peacock.com and streaming.

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Down on the Farm:

AAA:

Joey Bart C- 2 for 4, HR(7).  BA= .343.

Jaylin Davis RF- 1 for 4, HR(3).  BA= .269.

Scott Kazmir LHP- 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 1.74.

Davis' HR was a grand slam.

High A:

Diego Rincones LF- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(5).  BA= .308.

Rincones drove in 7 of the Emeralds 10 runs on the night.

Low A:

Jairo Pomares RF- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(1).  BA- .250.

Kyle Harrison LHP- 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 2.48.  

Kyle Harrison continues to look like the prize of the 2020 draft, dominating Low A in his first full season out of HS.  A Jairo Pomares sighting!

Game Wrap 4/17/2021: Giants 10 D'Backs 3

The Giants tore into the D'Backs for the fourth game in a row, scoring in all but 2 innings while ace Kevin Gausman RHP shut down the snakes offense for a runaway win.  Game Notes:

Curt "Magic Fingers" Casali C was the batting hero of the game with 3 hits including the first triple of his career and a 2-run HR.   Casali has been a pitcher-whisperer behind the plate but an automatic out in the lineup all season.  Now off the IL from giving his surgically repaired wrist a chance to mend, he is 6 for 9 with a walk over his last 3 games.  Wow!  Just when you think the Giants can't get any better, think of what they might do if Casali's wrist is healthy and hit to his career average.  .224 may not seem like much but it beats .100 which is where he was 5 days ago and that comes with 38 HR's in 910 career AB's.  

Steven Duggar CF added a 3 for 3 with a 2B, 3B and walk.  So the Giants had two triples and two hitters who had 3 components of a cycle each.

Mike Yastrzemski RF stayed hot with 2 singles.  He's hitting .304 over his last 7 games.

Kevin Gausman allowed just 1 hit and 2 baserunners through 6 innings before letting up a bit in the 7'th.  He ended up allowing just 2 runs over 8 IP to extend his W-L's to 8-1.  With Jake DeGrom RHP walking off the mound complaining of shoulder pain yesterday, Gausman may be lined up to start the All-Star Game.

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The Dodgers were idle to the Win extended the Giants lead in the NL West to 2.5 games. They remain 6 games in front of the Padres.  They also regained their Best Record in MLB status over the Rays and White Sox.

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The Giants start a weekend series against the Phillies tomorrow evening with Johnny Cueto RHP facing Vince Velasquez RHP.  DrB is not happy all 3 weekend games are only available on some streaming service called Peacock. Yeah, I know it's free, but you know what's coming down the pike.  Boo!

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Down on the Farm:

AAA:

Joe McCarthy- 2 for 5, 2B, HR(8).  BA= .322.

Bryce Johnson RF- 2 for 4, SB(11).  BA= .288.

Aaron Sanchez RHP- 1.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 11.81.

Aaron Sanchez may need just a bit more time to rehab.  Reports say the trainer was looking at his hand.  Sanchez has a history of blisters.

AA:

David Villar 3B- 1 for 4, HR(6).  BA= .209.

Jacob Heyward DH- 1 for 3, HR(4), BB.  BA= .224.

Sean Hjelle RHP- 0.1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 3.48.

Hjelle appeared to hurt his leg as he delivered a pitch and had to be helped off the field.

High A:

Ismael Munguia- 2 for 5, HR.  BA= .281.

Tyler Fitzgerald- 1 for 2, 2B, 2 BB, SB(5).  BA= .248.

Franklin Labour- 2 for 4, 2B, SB(6).   .232.

Heath Quinn- 1 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .333.

Hey look!  A Heath Quinn sighting!  

Low A:

Brett Auerbach C- 2 for 4, 3B, SB(9).  BA= .326.

Luis Toribio 3B- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .234.

Ricardo Genoves DH- 3 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .325.

Wil Jensen RHP- 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.45.

Ivan Armstrong RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R,  1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.17.

Luis Toribio has raised his average from a nadir of .177 on June 2.  He's hitting .321 over his last 8 games.

Game Wrap 6/16/2021: Giants 13 D'Backs 7

 Buster Posey's 3-run first inning HR was the first of 5 for the Giants in an offensive explosion that overwhelmed the D'Backs.  Game Notes:

Buster Posey C added 2 singles and a walk to raise his BA to .337.  The HR was his 12'th of the season.

Steven Duggar CF and Lamonte Wade Jr LF added solo HR's in the 4'th inning.   Both were to LF off former Giants pitching prospect, Keury Mella RHP.  The HR's were Duggar's 6'th and Wade Jr.'s 4'th of the season.  

Wilmer Flores PH added a 2-run shot in the 5'th inning(4) and Brandon Belt 1B bookended Posey's 3-run blast also in the 5'th inning(9).  Belt had tripled  in the 3'rd inning, his second in consecutive games for the first time in his career, but was left stranded.

This was the first time the Giants have hit 5 HR's in a game since 2008.

Anthony DeSclafani RHP was not as sharp as his previous start and fell behind 2-0 in the first inning with one of the runs being unearned.  He finished with a line of 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K's.  He threw 87 pitches and probably could have gone another inning but Giants large lead likely helped Manager Gabe Kapler give him an early exit while still picking up the W.  

Conner Menez LHP had a rough 6'th inning which made the game seem closer than it really was.  4 of the 5 runs he gave up were unearned but he committed the error that extended the inning.

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The Win enabled the Giants to extend their lead over the Dodgers in the NL West to 2 games and over the Padres to 6 games. The Giants are tied with the White Sox for the best record in MLB.

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The Giants send ace Kevin Gausman RHP to try for the swweeep tomorrow afternoon against Zac Gallen RHP.

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Down on the Farm:

AA:  

David Villar 3B- 3 for 4.  BA= .208.

Frankie Tostado 1B- 2 for 4.   BA= .275.

Andy Sugilio RF- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .286.

Heliot Ramos CF- 1 for 4, BB, SB(4), Assist(2B).  BA= .272.

Caleb Kilian RHP- 7 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 2.74.

Heliot Ramos shows off his tools.

High A:

Diego Rincones LF- 1 for 2, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .286.

Tyler Fitzgerald 2B- 2 for 4.  BA= .244.

Franklin Labour RF- 1 for 2, HR(4), 2 BB.  BA= .221.

Kai-Wei Teng RHP- 5 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 10 K's.  ERA= 4.74.

Teng  is off the suspended list.  He presumably did not use any sticky stuff tonight and still somehow managed to strike out 10 in 5 IP without killing anyone.

Low A:

Abdiel Layer 1B- 0 for 2, 3 BB, SB(1).  BA= .241.

Marco Luciano SS- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .274.

Game Wrap 6/15/2021: Giants 9 D'Backs 8

Mike Yastrzemski RF hit a monster grand slam HR in the bottom of the 8'th inning to cap a game-long Giants comeback from a 7-0 deficit.  Tyler Rogers RHP shut down a shell-shocked D'Backs team in the 9'th to seal the Win.  Game Notes:

The Opener did not work out so well in this game as Zach Littell RHP failed to record an out while giving up  4 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks.

Bulk Innings pitcher Sammy Long LHP quickly restored order in the first inning with a K and GIDP but then ran into trouble of his own in the second inning giving up 3 more runs.  Long settled down after that and only gave up one more run over the next 3 innings. That would prove to be critical to the final outcome.

I wasn't home for the first half of the game but had a feeling when I saw the score was 7-3 in the 4'th inning so I tuned in.  Things weren't looking so good when it got to 8-3 in the 5'th, but the feeling came back when the Giants chipped away with 2 runs in the 6'th.  When YtY came to the plate in the 8'th with the bases loaded and 2 outs, I really had the feeling and wow!  Did that work out or what?  

The blast was YtY's first HR since May 17.  He is hitting .333 in June so far with a 4-game hit streak.

Steven "Grave" Duggar had a splash hit HR of his own with a 2-run blast in the 2'nd inning to cut the D'Backs lead to 7-3.  The HR came off a lefty, Alex Young.  Duggar is still hitting .294 on the season but only .176 over his last 7 games.

Brandon Belt 1B fell a HR short of the cycle with  3 hits and a walk.  He now has 5 hits in his last two games after an 0 for 23 skid.

Donovan Solano 2B is back to being Donnie Barrels with 2 more hits.  He is hitting .292 over his last 7 games and .300 over his last 15.

Conner Menez LHP, Jarlin Garcia LHP, Jimmie Sherfy RHP and Tyler Rogers RHP shut the D'Backs down over the final 4 frames with Sherfy getting credit for the W and Rogers recording his 9'th Save.

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With the Win, the Giants maintain their 1 game lead over the Dodgers in the NL West. The Padres lost to fall 5 games off the pace.

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Anthony DeSclafani RHP tries to keep the winning going tonight facing Merrill Kelly RHP.

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The Churn was idle yesterday.

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Down on the Farm:

AAA:

Braden "Not Hunter" Bishop LF- 5 for 6.   BA= .380.

Thairo Estrada 2B- 3 for 5, 2 2B, HBP.  BA= .395.

Joey Bart C- 2 for 6.  BA= .352.

Chadwick Tromp C- 3 for 6, 2B, HR(3).  BA= .246.

Jason Krizan 3B- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(3), SF.  BA= .307.

Tyler Beede RHP- 4.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 7.77.

All 5 of Bishop's hits were singles.  More of the same from Tyler Beede who has yet to find traction in his comeback from TJ surgery.

AA:

Vince Fernandez LF- 1 for 3, HR(6), BB.  BA= .197.

Michael Plassmeyer LHP- 4.2 IP, 10 H, 7 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 13.50.

Tough Giants organizational debut for Plassmeyer who was recently acquired in a trade with the Rays for Matt Wisler RHP.

High A:

Will Wilson SS- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .268.

Sean Roby 3B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .205.

Logan Wyatt 1B- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .216.

Conner Nurse RHP- 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 5.23.

Jasier Herrera RHP- 3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.00.

Low A:

Brett Auerbach 2B- 2 for 4, 2 2B, SF.  BA= .317.

Luis Matos CF- 2 for 4, BB, SB(11).  BA= .304.

Ricardo Genoves C- 1 for 4, HR(6), BB.  BA= .312.

Marco Luciano SS- 1 for 4, HR(8), BB.  BA= .265.

Alexander Canario LF- 1 for 3, BB, SB(8).  BA= .237.

Carson Ragsdale RHP- 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 3.27.

Austin Reich RHP- 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's, Save(1).  BA= 1.86.

Game Wrap 6/14/2021: Giants 5 D'Backs 2

Brandon Crawford SS drove in 3 of the Giants 5 runs to back a Quality Start by Alex Wood LHP with the bullpen shutting it down over the final 3 innings.  Game Notes:

Crawford's 2-run bomb in the 4'th inning gave the Giants a 3-1 lead they would not relinquish.  He added a SF in the Giants 2 run rally in the 8'th inning that put the game away. Like many Giants hitters, Crawford was in a slump going 1 for his last 16 so his performance here was reassuring on several levels.  

Donovan Solano 2B had 2 doubles in 5 AB's and scored 2 runs.  He hit just .200 in May following an IL stint, but is hitting .286 in June so far.

Brandon Belt 1B had 2 hits and a walk.  He's hitting just .208 over both his last 7 games and his last 15.  Hopefully this game was a slump-breaker for him.

He did not figure in the scoring but Curt Casali C had 3 hits in the game. By all accounts and measures, Casali is having a great season behind the plate, but has struggled offensively hitting just .129 on April and .083 in May.  He's played just 2 games in June since coming off the IL.  Hopefully resting his sore wrist is enough for sustained improvement in the bat.

Alex Wood seemed to be back on track with a 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 K's line.  Dominic Leone RHP, Tyler Rogers RHP and Jake McGee LHP shut it down over the final 3 frames with McGee getting the Save Op and converting it, although one of his outs was a long fly that went to the deepest corner of L-CF where Steven Duggar CF tracked it down.

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The Win kept the Giants in sole possession of first place in the NL West by a game over the Dodgers and 4 games over the Padres.

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Zach Littell RHP opens tonight's game presumably before Sammy Long LHP gets the bulk innings.  The D'Back's SP is TBD.

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The Churn was quiet yesterday.

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Down on the Farm:

AAA:

Joey Bart C- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .353.

Thairo Estrada SS/2B- 2 for 4, 3B.  BA= .385.

FZ has done some very good things as GM of the Giants.  His track record for finding undervalued talent at the MLB level is now long enough to be almost certainly due to more than good luck.  His manager and coaching staff are getting tremendous results from a data-driven approach to both managing and coaching.

There may be other areas, though, that spell future trouble for FZ management regime.  The long term health of an organization is generally tied to how well they draft and draft success is generally tied closely to performance of first round draft picks.  The early returns on FZ's first two drafts is starting to look a bit alarming.

2019 first round pick, Hunter Bishop OF, put up an odd line of .229/.438/.429 in 146 PA's at two levels after the draft.  He as assigned to high A Eugene this season after missing 2020 due to the COVID lockdown.  He reportedly had symptomatic COVID at one point.  He's spent most of the season on the IL and has played in just 3 games.

2020 first round pick, Patrick Bailey C, got off to a hot start this spring, but his bat went cold and he's now hitting .187/.296/.301.  

It's too early to label Bishop and Bailey as draft busts, but prospect watchers should reasonably start to be concerned about them and by extension, concerned about FZ's scouting and drafting process.

Game Wrap 6/13/2021: Nationals 5 Giants 0

 I don't have the numbers but my impression is that the Giants record in getaway games is terrible.  Today was no exception as Johnny Cueto RHP gave up 4 runs on two HR balls to Kyle Schwarber LF in the first two innings and the Giants offense simply didn't show up.  Game Notes:

Those Ross Boys, Tyson and Joe strike again.  They aren't so hot agains the rest of the league but eat the Giants lunch every time they face them.  Tyson has a career ERA of 4.04 but is 2.81 in 14 games against the Giants.  Joe, who shut them down today has a career ERA coming into today of 4.37 but 3.60 in 2 games against the Giants.  Both of those numbers are significantly lower after today's game!

Of course all that does not explain why the Giants aren't hitting against anybody right now.  They scored just 3 runs in the 4 games series over a total of 33 innings.  We and they need to hope a nights sleep in their own beds tonight and playing at home in Oracle Park will revive their moribund bats.

It's become standard practice against almost all lefthanded batters for the 2B to set up in short RF.  I have lost count of how many line drive outs that positioning produces.  Hey! The Giants do it too and it's a big reason for their pitching success but wow!  What an offensive killer THAT is!  

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The loss ends the 4 games series with a 2-2 split, which we are fortunate for.  It could easily have been a sweep for the Nationals.  They also end up with a 3-3 split of the road trip, which is generally the goal on road trips.  

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Alex Wood LHP gets the first start of a 4-gamer agains the D'Backs tomorrow night against Brad Peacock RHP.

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Churn Update:

Caleb Baragar LHP got sent down to get the roster from 27 for the doubleheader yesterday to the standard 26.  Seems like he'll probably be back, possibly multiple times over the remainder of the season.

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Down on the Farm:

AA:  

Heliot Ramos CF- 1 for 3, 2B, BB, HBP.  BA= .281.

Frankie Tostado 1B- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .279.

Trent Toplikar RHP- 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.18.

Luis Amaya LHP- 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.77.

Patrick Ruotolo RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.48.

Heliot Ramos has another 1 hit/1 walk game with an HBP added for good measure.  15 of his 36 hits have gone for XB's.  Don't know much about Trent Toplikar but he's been putting up nice numbers since he was drafted out of UC Riverside in 2018.

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Low A:

Luis Toribio DH- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(2), BB.  BA= .230.

Luis Matos CF- 2 for 4, SB(10).  BA= .298.

Marco Luciano SS- 1 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .266.

Alexander Canario LF- 1 for 5, HR(4).  BA= .235.

Abdiel Layer 1B- 1 for 2, 3B, 2 BB.  BA= .247.

Brett Auerbach C- 2 for 2.  BA= .308.

Ty Weber RHP- 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.04.

Brett Auerbach has appeared in 10 games at C, 8 games at 2B, 2 games at 3B, 3 games in LF.  A utility player who can catch or a catcher who can play multiple other positions is an extremely valuable commodity.  Not sure why we don't see more of them.

Game Wrap 6/12/2021: Nationals 2 Giants 0; Giants 2 Nationals 1(8 innings)

 The Giants broke a string of 19 consecutive scoreless innings with a 2-run rally aided by extra-inning rules then held on in the bottom of the 8'th inning aided by a bone-headed baserunning play to gain a split in the doubleheader.  Game Notes:

Not much to say about Game 1 except Kevin Gausman RHP was not quite at his best, which is still pretty good, but the offense never threatened against SP Erick Fedde RHP and 2 relievers.  You expect a better showing from the offense when the opposing SP is Erick Fedde.  

Conner Menez LHP led off a bullpen game for the Giants in game 2 facing Jefry Rodriguez RHP who was called up from the minors to start the game for the Nationals.  The teams matched zeros for 7 innings.  

With Curt Casali C the designated runner at 2B, LaMonte Wade Jr led off the 8'th inning with a long, hard single to R-CF that almost carried to Juan Soto RF's glove.  Casali read it as a hit all the way and scored easily to give the Giants their first lead between the two games.  Wade Jr was safe at 3'rd and a fielder choice to put runners at the corners.  Brandon Belt walked to load the bases and Wilmer Flores 3B tomahawked a soft liner to LF to drive in Wade Jr.  With the bases loaded and still no outs, the Giants failed to get another run home and took a 2-0 lead to the bottom of the inning.

Tyler Rogers RHP and Jake McGee LHP had pitched scoreless ball over the last two regulation innings so Caleb Baragar LHP took the mound to Save the 2-run lead.  He promptly gave up a run-scoring double to Starlin Castro 3B that was darn near a HR.  He the hit Victor Robles CF with a pitch to put runners at first and second with no outs.  Josh Bell PH then hit a long drive to CF that was caught advancing Castro to 3'rd with just 1 out, except Robles inexplicably tried to take 2B on the play, missed the bag trying to evade the tag and was tagged out between 2'nd and 3'rd with Castro glued to 3B.  Trea Turner SS then popped out to end the game.  Whew! 

The Giants are now 2-1 in a series in which they have scored just 3 runs in 23 innings.  That's how good the pitching has been!   

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The doubleheader split gave put the Giants 1.5 games ahead of the Dodgers for first place in the NL West pending the outcome of the Dodgers game against the Rangers who have an early 4-0 lead.  The Padres lost again to the Mets and are 4 games back.  The Giants trail the Rays by 0.5 games for the best record in MLB.  

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Johnny Cueto RHP goes for the Series win and a winning road trip tomorrow while the Giants offense will try to find some life against Joe Ross RHP.  The 

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Churn Update:  As expected, Mike Yastrzemski OF came off the IL to fill the 27'th roster spot for the doubleheader.  Curt Casali C also came off the IL and Chadwick Tromp C was optioned back to AAA Sacramento.  There will be another send-out tomorrow as the roster goes back to 26.

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Down on the Farm:

AAA:

Joey Bart C- 1 for 4, HR(6).  BA= .333.

Arismendy Alcantara SS- 1 for 4, HR(3).  BA= .343.

Aaron Sanchez RHP- 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 6.75.

Bart hit his 3'rd HR in 5 games.

AA:

Heliot Ramos CF- 1 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .280.

Sandro Fabian RF- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .289.

Frankie Tostado 1B- 2 for 3, HR(2), BB.  BA= .264.

Jose Marte RHP- 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 5.68.

Heliot Ramos has had at least 1 hit and at least 1 BB in 12 of his 33 games this season.  His overall OBP is .366.

Low A:

Brett Auerbach 2B- 2 for 4, 3B, HR(2), SF.  BA= .289.

Armani Smith RF- 4 for 5, 2B, HR(4).  BA= .339.

Ricardo Genoves C- 1 for 5, HR(5).  BA= .314.

Alexander Canario CF- 3 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .236.

Casey Schmitt DH- 4 for 5, 2 HR(8).  BA= .214.

Kyle Harrison LHP- 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 10 K.  ERA= 3.04.

Austin Reich RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.16.

Ivan Armstrong RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K's Save(2).  ERA= 1.29.

Nice game for padding the stat line as the SJ Giants score 12 runs.  Brett Auerbach was an UDFA from 2020, probably playing at too low a level for his age.  Armani Smith was drafted in 2019 in round 7 out of UCSB and ideally should also probably be playing in high A ball.  Casey Schmitt is red hot, hitting .409 in June after hitting just .121 in May.  He has a 6 game hit streak with multiple hits and a total of 4 HR's in his last 3. Austin Reich was an UDFA in 2019.  Ivan Armstrong is a big-body who started out in the DSL.  He's just 20 yo.

Game Wrap 6/11/2021: Giants 1 Nationals 0

Anthony DeSclafani RHP with help from at least three standout defensive plays shut down the Nationals for a full 9 innings to make Buster Posey C's solo HR in the 4'th inning all the offense he needed.  Game Notes:

DeSclafani(I refuse to call him Disco) gave up just one hard hit ball on an night he could not afford to give up any.  Well, Mike Tauchman LF to the rescue!  For the second time in two weeks, Tauchman went above and behind the LF wall to pull back a HR.  This one was hit by Juan Soto RF to the opposite field.  The catch required a perfectly timed and perfectly positioned leap.  I think he had just a hair more time to track this one but both catches were sensational. As someone commented on one of the other blogs, Tauchman may have an fWAR of 0.1(I'm actually surprised it's not a negative number), but between his Grand Slam HR and these two catches, that's 3 games the Giants arguably would not have won without him.  That does not count the dramatic change in momentum in the Dodgers series which may well have contributed to two more wins.

In addition to Tauchman's great catch, Lamonte Wade Jr RF added a diving catch and Donovan Solano 2B made a nice stop up the middle with a going-away, over-the-shoulder throw to take away another basehit.

More on DeSclafani:  He was unflappable, pounding the zone, mixing pitches, getting strikeouts and DP's when he needed them, economizing pitches to allow him to complete the game.  His final line was 9 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K's, GO/AO= 7/2, 103 Pitches.  Masterful.  He now leads the NL in shutouts and is tied for the MLB lead with Sean Manaea LHP with 2.

DeSclafani also put a scare in everybody when he was obviously in discomfort after a swing in the 8'th inning.  He obviously did not want to swing at another pitch and bunted a ball foul for strike 3.  After consulting with the trainers in the dugout he came out to pitch the bottom of the 8'th and 9'th and did not seem to be affected in any way.  The injury is reportedly pain in the left wrist and this is not the first time it has bothered him.  IDK where the pain is coming from, but he may want to consider moving his left hand up off the knob to make sure he does not fracture his hamate(BTW, could he still pitch with a fractured left hamate bone?).  

Nationals SP Max Scherzer RHP left the game with a 3-2 count on the second batter he faced with an apparent strain of his right leg or groin area.  The Nationals bullpen certainly pitched very well.  I remains to be seen if the added stress on their bullpen while the Giants were able to rest theirs and extra day will make a difference in tomorrow's doubleheader.

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The Win left the Giants leading the NL West by 2 games over the Dodgers pending the outcome of their game agains the Rangers(hint:  The Dodger are crushing the Rangers!).  The Padres lost so fall to 3.5 games behind in 3'rd place.  The Giants once again have the best record in MLB by percentage points over the Rays.

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The Giants pitchers for tomorrow's doubleheader(7 innings each game) are Kevin Gausman RHP and TBD.  The Nationals counter with Erick Fedde RHP and Joe Ross RHP.

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Churn Update:  Lots of action in the sluice box. 

Remember the Giants DFA'd Matt Wisler RHP  a couple of days ago?  Well, the Rays took the bait and sent a decent pitching prospect, Michael Plassmeyer LHP, for him.  The Giants send along some cash with Wisler presumably to help pay his $1.15 salary and to get a better prospect in return.  Plassmeyer is 24 yo and pitching at AA level this year. He's a control-oriented lefty whose K rate has ticked up to 10.01 this season.  Another nice flip for FZ. 

They weren't so lucky with Nick Tropeano RHP who was claimed off waivers by the Mets who will pick up what remains of his $1.1 M contract.

Scott Kazmir LHP cleared waivers and was outrighted to AAA Sacramento.  He could declare himself a free agent rather than report or he could retire.

Caleb Baragar LHP came of the IL and Thairo Estrada IF was optioned to AAA Sacramento in the corresponding move.  

The Giants also signed Akeel Morris RHP to a minor league contract out of indy ball and assigned him to AA Richmond.  Morris is 28 yo, from the Virgin Islands and has pitched briefly in MLB for the Mets, Braves and Angels. He has showed solid K rates in the minors but also too many walks.

Mike Yastrzemski OF is reportedly coming off the DL tomorrow.  The Giants have an extra roster spot for 1 day due to the doubleheader.

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Down on the Farm:

AAA:

Jaylin Davis RF- 1 for 4, HR(2).  BA= .444.

Joe McCarthy 1B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .324.

Matt Frisbee RHP- 5 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 8.10.

John Brebbia RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.00.

Camilo Doval RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 5.68.

Matt Frisbee's first stumble of the season across two levels.  Second consecutive game with a HR for Jaylin Davis. 

AA:

Heliot Ramos CF- 1 for 4, HR(5), BB.  BA= .281.  

Sean Hjelle RHP- 5 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 6.75.

Second HR in as many days for Ramos.

High A:

Sean Roby 3B- 1 for 4, HR(4), BB.  BA= .200.

Seth Corry LHP- 4.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K.  ERA= 2.83.

Chris Wright LHP- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

RJ Dabovich RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 1.42.

Low A:

Armani Smith RF- 1 for 4, HR(3), SB(2).  BA= .296.

Marco Luciano SS- 1 for 3, 3B, BB.  BA= .273.

Alexander Canario LF- 1 for 3, SF, SB(7).  BA= .217.

Casey Schmitt 3B- 2 for 4, HR(6).  BA= .183.

Wil Jensen RHP- 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 2.64.

Wilkelma Castillo RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.57.

Brooks Crawford RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Casey Schmitt is hitting .333 in June after hitting just .121 in May.