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.
At the risk of being a one-note band, if Kapler is really interested in having the best matchups, he must go beyond RHB v LHP and vice versa. He should consider individual records. Last night Slater (OBP .289) was the leadoff batter to get righty-lefty advantage although Duggar hits LHP (.412/.524/.647/1.171) far better than Slater. Then when the A's brought in RH reliever Guerra in the 7th with 1 on and 1 out, Kapler countered with Duggar who promptly hit into a DP. Giants commentators mentioned at the pitching change that Guerra is so effective against LHB that he effectively is like having another lefty reliever and they can get by with only one in their BP. Note: LHB are hitting .048 against Guerra - 2 singles and no walks in 42 PAs. He got 5 outs facing 4 batters, 3 of them LHB.
ReplyDeleteOTOH, it's not the manager, it's the players that make his lineup work.
In Kaps and FZ's defense, they have shown time and again they can win now while playing the long game. I am sure at some point they will cut bait on Slater if he doesn't come around but if they think he can turn it around, the only way to do that is to keep putting him out there.
DeleteI think Dr B has solved the problem: Slater’s splits are such that he’s unlikely to get back on track against RH pitching, so when Kap/FZ have the opportunity to play him against LH they do so. Of course they know perfectly well everything Theseus knows about Duggar’s splits, but they also know that his record as an effective hitter is too brief for them to rely upon him perhaps prematurely. As to Guerra, my recollection is that Duggar was brought in to PH against the previous RH pitcher, and that the A’s countered with Guerra, not that the Giants simplemindedly brought Duggar in to face Guerra for the match-up.
DeleteWhat happened with Belts knee? I saw that they pulled him the other night but haven seen more than that.
ReplyDeleteNo diagnosis on Belt yet but Kap is talking like he is prepared for a long IL stint.
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