Down on the Farm: 4/30/2022

 AAA:  Sacramento River Cats outscored the Albuquerque Isotopes 14-11.

Lamonte Wade Jr RF/1B- 1 for 3, 2B, 3 BB.  BA= .357.

David Villar 1B/3B- 2 for 5, HR(7).  BA= .288.

Bryce Johnson LF/RF- 3 for 4, 2B, 3B, SF.  BA= .355.

Albuquerque is a well known PCL hitter's paradise and pitcher's nightmare.  Lamonte Wade Jr seems more than ready to come off the IL.  Maybe they'll try to get through tomorrow then have him join the team in LA on Tuesday?

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AA:  Richmond Flying Squirrels defeated the Bowie Baysox 3-1.

Will Wilson SS- 3 for 3, HR(5), BB, SB(1).  BA= .246.

Frankie Tostado LF/1B- 2 for 4.  BA= .338.

Matt Frisbee RHP- 3.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 3 K.  ERA= 3.00.

Blake Rivera RHP- 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K.  ERA= 4.76.

Chris Wright LHP- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(3).  ERA= 1.13.

Will Wilson has an OPS of .880.  Can he find enough traction to be considered a frontline prospect again?

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A+:  Eugene Emeralds at Tri-City Dust Devils postponed.

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A:  Modesto Nuts smothered the San Jose Giants 3-0:

Eric Silva RHP- 3.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 5.73.

Evan Gates RHP- 2.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 1.35.

Manuel Mercedes RHP- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K.  ERA= 5.06.

Based on Twitter posts, Silva was dominant through 3 perfect innings before faltering in the 4'th.  The SJ lineup is extremely young and is struggling to score runs.

Game Wrap 4/30/2022: Giants 9 Nationals 3

Logan Webb RHP battled a small strike zone and the BABIP gods but hung tough and finished with a Quality Start giving the Giants offense a chance to break it open in the later innings. 

Speaking of BABIP gods, Darin Ruf 1B/LF might lead the league in triple digit hits caught by defenders.  That luck changed today as he went 3 for 5 and even added a SB and made a diving catch in LF to end the game.

Thairo Estrada 2B drove in 3 more runs with a two run double in the third inning to drive in the Giants first two runs and beat out the back end of a potential GIDP to allow a runner on 3B to score.

Jason Vosler 3B/1B hit his second HR in as many games.  This one was the 92'nd Splash Hit in the history of the ballpark.  He added a single to a SF and continued to play solid D in the field.

Webb's line was 6 IP, 11 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 K, GO/AO= 8/1.  ERA= 3.26.  High groundball ratios are generally considered a good thing for pitchers, but it comes with a catch.  A certain percentage will find holes in the defense and go for hits by random chance.  7 of the 11 hits Webb allowed were groundballs.  A couple of GIDP's helped limit the damage.  Also not that Luis Gonzalez RF made a great throw to nail a runner at home plate after replay overturned an initial safe call.  At that point, Webb appeared to be on the ropes.  Had that run scored the game could have had a very different outcome.  Pivotal play!

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As tough as things have been for the Giants, their record stands at 14-7 which is essentially on pace to equal last season's record.

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Prior to the game, the Giants announced a trade with the Mariners for Mike Ford 1B.  Ford is 28 yo and played most of his career so far with the Yankees.  He's a true outcome guy and bats lefthanded.  He will likely get starts at 1B while Brandon Belt 1B is out on COVID IL.  The Giants made room for him on the active roster by optioning Ka'ai Tom OF back to Sacramento.  COVID IL's do not count against the 40-man roster.  Got all that?  Good!

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Alex Cobb RHP is scheduled to come off the IL tomorrow to try to nail down another series win for the Giants facing Josiah Gray RHP.  YtY and Lamonte Wade Jr appear to be close to returning to the field too.

Down on the Farm: 4/29/2022

 AAA:  Sacramento River Cats outscored the Albuquerque Isotopes 12-8:

Lamonte Wade Jr LF- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(1), HBP.  BA= .364.

Heliot Ramos CF- 1 for 4, 2 BB.  BA= .226.

Austin Dean RF- 2 for 5, HR(4).  BA= .226.

Kevin Padlo 2B/3B/LF- 2 for 3, HR(3), BB, HBP.  BA= .203.

Joey Marciano LHP- 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 1.04.

Patrick Ruotolo RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K.  ERA= 1.50.

Lamonte Wade Jr appears to be ready.

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AA:  Richmond Flying Squirrels edged out the Bowie Baysox 2-1:

Sean Roby DH- 1 for 3, HR(8).  BA= .263.

Gray Fenter RHP- 3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.05.

Solomon Bates RHP- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.69.

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

Sean Roby's 2-run HR was one of only two hits in the game by the Squirrels.

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A+:  Tri-City Dust Devils blew away the Eugene Emeralds 9-1:

Ghordy Santos 2B- 2 for 3, HBP.  BA= .320.

Luis Matos CF- 1 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .153.

Jake Wong RHP- 3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K.  ERA= 5.73.

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A:  Modesto Nuts crushed the San Jose Giants 13-1:

Matt Mikulski LHP- 2.2 IP, 2 H, 6 R, 5 BB, 3 K.  ERA= 4.91.

Jose Cruz RHP- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 5.68.

Mikulski obviously had control/command problems in this one.

Game Wrap 4/29/2022: Nationals 14 Giants 4

 Perhaps all those bullpen games finally caught up with the Giants because one game after the offense let them down in a 1-0 loss, the pitching got crushed in a blowout loss to a relatively weak Nationals team.

The big bright spot was Joey Bart C who rapped out 3 hits including his 3'rd HR, a performance he and the Giants desperately needed.

Jason Krizan LF played his first MLB game at age 32 with his family looking on while wiping away tears of joy.

Jason Vosler 3B hit a 2-run HR in the second inning to temporarily make it a close game.

Not much else to say about this stinker of a game.  The broadcast was exclusively on Apple TV+ with their own broadcast team.  With due deference to Hunter Pence, the broadcast was terrible from the camera work to the play-by-play to the commentary.

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The Giants try to even the series tomorrow with Logan Webb RHP facing Joan Adon RHP.

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Brandon Belt 1B tested positive for COVID 19 joining YtY, Zack Littell RHP, Dominic Leone RHP and Steven Duggar(already on the 60-day IL).  In addition a member of the Giants clubhouse personnel reportedly tested positive.  In response, the Giants announced the closing of the clubhouse to media and non-essential to personnel.  

To help cover the deficit, the Giants added Jason Krizan UT, Mauricio Llovera RHP and Ka'ai Tom OF from Sacramento while optioning Jakob Junis RHP and releasing Darien Nunez LHP into The Churn.

The concern in all of this is the probability that the positive COVID tests so far are just the tip of a growing iceberg of exposure that could explode in the next few days.  Stay tuned.

Since all players who have tested positive are vaccinated and boosted and seem to have mild to no symptoms, it might be time for MLB to rethink their COVID protocol for players and treat it more like a seasonal flu outbreak.  It appears the current protocol is not going to prevent unvaccinated players and personnel from exposure anyway.  Just my opinion for what it's worth.

Down on the Farm: 4/28/2022

 AAA:  Albuquerque Isotopes vaporized the Sacramento River Cats 13-2:

Bryce Johnson CF- 2 for 4.  BA= .340.

Arquemedes Gamboa SS- 2 for 4.  BA= .268.

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AA:  Richmond Flying Squirrels topped the Bowie Baysox 5-4:

Will Wilson 2B- 1 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .219.

Frankie Tostado 1B- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .328.

Brandon Martorano C- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .217.

Ryan Walker RHP- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 6.75.

Chris Wright LHP- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.35.

This was Ryan Walker's third straight scoreless appearance.  4 of the 5 runs he's allowed came in his second appearance of the season.  One of several reasons why ERA is a less than ideal measure of pitcher effectiveness, especially for relievers.  It gives too much weight to infrequent disaster appearances.  It is obviously much better with larger sample sizes.

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A+:  Eugene Emeralds defeated the Tri-City Dust Devils 4-1:

Marco Luciano SS- 2 for 4, HR(4).  BA= .321.

Kyle Harrison LHP- 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 11 K's.  ERA= 3.00.

Juan Sanchez LHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.57.

Brooks Crawford RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.93.

Nick Morreale RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(1).  ERA= 0.00.

Marco Luciano continues to show why he's the #1 prospect in the Giants organization.  Nice bounceback start for Kyle Harrison who gets 11 of the 12 outs he recorded by strikeout.

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A: Modesto Nuts smothered the San Jose Giants 5-0:

Vaun Brown LF- 2 for 4, 2B, 2 SB(5).  ERA= .274.

Mason Black RHP- 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 4 K's, GO/AO= 3/0.   ERA= 3.68.

Down on the Farm: 4/27/2022

AAA:  Albuquerque Isotopes burned the Sacramento River Cats 6-3:

David Villar 3B- 2 for 4, HR(6).  BA= .292.

Wyatt Mathisen 1B- 2 for 4, HR(3).   BA= .156.

 

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AA:  Bowie Baysox crushed the Richmond Flying Squirrels 10-0:

Nothing to see here.

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A+:  Eugene Emeralds shut out the Tri-City Dust Devils 2-0:

Marco Luciano SS- 2 for 4.  BA= .308.

Casey Schmitt 3B- 2 for 4.  BA= .318.

Prelander Berroa RHP- 4.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 0.87.

Nick Avila RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(2).  ERA= 1.35.

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A:  San Jose Giants cracked the Modesto Nuts 5-3:

Grant McCray DH- 2 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .194.

Will Bednar RHP- 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 1.62.

Evan Gates RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, Save(1).  ERA= 0.00.

Bednar looked sharp.  Another reminder A ball is an extremely conservative placement for a guy with his pedigree.

Game Wrap 4/27/2022: A's 1 Giants 0

Opener Sam Long LHP gave up a first inning leadoff HR to Chad Pinder LF.  That turned out to be the only run scored the whole game in a Giants loss.  

Jakob Junis RHP was once again a "bulk innings" guy for the Giants turning in 5 scoreless IP with 6 K's.  He now has 10 K's in 10 scoreless IP over 2 appearances.   

The worst part of the evening for the Giants was not the final score but an apparent significant muscle strain to Joc Pederson OF who has pretty much carried the team so far.  

Wilmer Flores DH looked like he was not feeling so well after a close play at 1B late in the game. No word of any injury in his case.....yet.  

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The Dodgers lost to the D'Backs for the second game in a row so the Giants remain in first place in the NL West despite the loss.

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The Giants start a home series vs the Nationals Friday evening after a much needed day off today.

Down on the Farm: 4/26/2022

AAA:  Sacramento River Cats outscored the Albuquerque Isotopes 9-7:

Lamonte Wade Jr LF- 1 for 1, BB, SF.  BA= .333.

Bryce Johnson PH/LF- 2 for 2, 3B.  BA= .348.

Heliot Ramos CF- 0 for 5, 2 K, 2 GIDP.  BA= .240.

Austin Dean RF- 2 for 4, 3B.  BA= .226.

Ka'ai Tom DH- 3 for 4,  2 HR(2).  BA= .354.

Patrick Ruotolo RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Rough day for Heliot.  Lamonte Wade Jr seems to be about ready to return to the Giants.  Who's on the roster bubble?

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AA Richmond Flying Squirrels crushed the Bowie Baysox 8-0:

Will Wilson SS- 1 for 3, HR(4), BB.  BA= .220.

Sean Roby 3B- 1 for 4, HR(7).  BA= .277.

Brandon Martorano C- 1 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .154.

Jake Dahlberg LHP- 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K.  ERA= 2.21.

Solomon Bates RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K.  ERA= 2.35.

RJ Dabovich RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.  ERA= 3.50.

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A+:  Tri-City Dust Devils blanked the Eugene Emeralds 1-0:

Wil Jensen RHP- 3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K's, GO/AO= 4/0.  ERA= 0.96.

Ty Weber RHP- 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's, ERA= 3.60.

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A:  Modesto Nuts topped the San Jose Giants 6-4:

Aeverson Arteaga SS- 2 for 4.  BA= .286.

Vaun Brown LF- 3 for 4, SB(3).  BA= .273.

Victor Bericoto RF- 1 for 3, HR(2), BB.  BA= .188.

Abdiel Layer 2B- 1 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .220.

Nick Sinacola RHP- 3.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K.  ERA= 2.84.

Game Wrap 4/26/2022: Giants 8 A's 2

A great manager named Earl Weaver once said the winning baseball consisted of great pitching and 3-run home runs.  It was as far as I know the first articulation of Moneyball.  Wilmer Flores DH and Austin Slater PH/CF/RF each hit a 3-run HR and Carlos Rodon LHP set a new Giants record for most strikeouts in his first 4 starts as a Giant as the Giants won this one going away.

Wilmer Flores DH- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(2).  BA= .283.  Wilmer is slashing .370/.414/.556 over his last 7 games.  He finished this game with 4 RBI's giving him a team leading 12 on the year.

Austin Slater PH/CF/RF- 1 for 2, HR(2).  BA= .233. For all his heroics, Kap will not let Joc Pederson RF face a LHP.  As soon as he comes up facing a lefty, Slater pinch-hits and replaces him in the OF, which of course means Slater may face a RHP later in the game.  That's what happened here as he just poked one down the RF line that clanked off the green tin roof in front of the arcade.  You could clearly hear the metallic impact on the TV feed.

Carlos Rodon LHP- 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 1.17.  Rodon was not quite as dominant as we've seen him but was still darn dominating.  As mentioned, he set a record for most K's in their first 4 starts of a season.  

Yunior Marte RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.50.  Yunior is making a strong case to not get sent down when rosters shrink.

Kervin Castro RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.  Castro got called up to replace Zack Littell RHP who tested positive for COVID.  That's 2 on the COVID IL in 3 days.  Gotta think more to come.  Both YTY and Littell reportedly vaccinated + boosted so hopefully no serious illness.

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The Dodgers lost(yay!) so the Giants take the lead by 0.5 games in the NL West.  First place, baby!  

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Sam Long LHP makes his 3'rd start in 5 games tomorrow evening in what is almost certainly a bullpen game, although Jakob Junis RHP should be rested enough to do another bulk innings stint.  Paul Blackburn RHP goes for the A's.

Game Wrap: 4/15/2022: Giants 4 Brewers 2

 Reigning Cy Young Award winner, Corbin Burnes RHP, dominated the Giants for 6.2 IP, but a parade of relievers pitching a bullpen game kept it close until Joc Pederson OF and Luis Gonzalez OF hit dramatic 2-run HR's in the 8'th and 9'th innings respectively to win the finale of one of the longest road trips I can recall.

It's not like he needs the help but Burnes appeared to benefit significantly from very generous width to the strike zone on both sides of the plate from the ump.  It also did not appear the Giants pitchers were getting that same zone.  Particularly damaging were strike calls on one-strike pitches clearly outside the zone which enabled Burnes to throw to the same location with two-strikes and the Giants hitters were then forced to swing to protect the plate.

Both the Giants rallies started with 2 outs.  

I thought the Giants might have a chance when I saw Trevor Gott RHP was in the game for the Brewers.  I remembered him leaving the Giants in a hailstorm of home run balls a couple of years ago.  

Curt Casali C started the 8'th inning rally with a double down the LF Line.  That brought Joc Pederson to the plate.  At one point, he stepped out of the batters box and stared down a fan that was screaming something at him.  The next pitch left the playing field.  Joc turned and stared at the fan again before starting his home run trot, then had some words after crossing home plate.  It was a dramatic, satisfying turnabout.  

Jake McGee LHP pitched the 8'th inning and appeared to be hittable from the first batter.  He threw a fastball in Willy Adames wheelhouse to send the game to the 9'th inning tied at 2-2.

Wilmer Flores DH drew a 2-out walk in the 9'th inning.  Luis Gonzalez CF/RF/LF came up and worked the count. He got a pitch middle-in and yanked it down the RF line.  It curved around the foul pole way back into the bowels of the stadium for his first MLB HR and the game-winner on top of that.  It should also be noted that Gonzalez' 2-out single in the 7'th inning was what got Corbin Burnes out of the game and brought in Gott.  

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It's really hard to adequately put into words what the Giants accomplished on this road trip.  It was brutally long with an unschedule rainout and doubleheader in New York and this odd 1 gamer today.  Several players hit the IL in the process.  Despite all those challenges, they went 8-3 on the trip.  They are now 12-5 overall topped only by the Mets at 13-5 and the Dodgers at 12-4.  I am in awe of what this team has accomplished last year and continues to accomplish this year.

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The Giants now return home to face the A's for two games before finally getting a day off on Thursday.  Carlos Rodon LHP faces Daulton Jefferies RHP tomorrow evening.

Down on the Farm: What We Learned From Week 3

1.  Luis Gonzalez OF and Jakob Junis RHP get the call.  Gonzalez call up wasn't really a surprise as he had a great spring training and continued his hot hitting into the AAA season with Sacramento.  Junis has a substantial major league resume and was signed to a minor league contract for depth, but was terrible in 3 AAA appearances. So what does he do?  He pitches 5 shutout innings in his Giants debut! 

2.  Jake Dahlberg LHP might be a prospect:  Dalhlberg is 28 yo but only pitched 3 seasons in pro ball prior to this year.  He had a high ERA pitching mostly for high A Eugene last year but had 71 K's and just 9 BB's in 55.1 IP last year.  His overall line with AA Richmond this season is 0-0, 3.14, 14.1 IP, 3 BB, 21 K.  This week he struck out 9 Erie Seawolves with 0 BB's in 6 IP.  File his name away.

3.  Ghordy Santos 2B might be a prospect.  As I've mentioned in a couple of game wraps, I've always been high on Ghordy's ceiling but he ran very hot and cold.  He's running hot right now and although he's listed as 2B, he's also played SS 3B, RF and CF.  Slash line so far in a small sample is .316/.381/.526.  On top of all that versatility, he's a switch-hitter.

4.  Casey Schmitt 3B might be the Giants 3B of the future.  There's never been a question about Schmitt's defense at 3B, especially his arm strength.  The bat was a bit iffy, but he's off to a hot start in Eugene at the plate too.  This week he hit 2 doubles and 2 HR's. His overall season slash line is .324/.375/.649.  Right now Schmitt looks like the leading candidate to be the Giants 3B of the future, although David Villar 3B might have something to say about that.

5.  Aeverson Arteaga SS might be the Giants shortstop of the future.  Arteaga is another prospect who has never had a question about his defense, even at shortstop.  What he's showing is the bat may play too with surprising power for his size and position.  His slash line for the A San Jose Giants is .269/.356/.442.  We've gotten great reports on his glovework and arm from a reader and commenter who caught several games in Visalia this week.

What We Learned In Week 3

 The Giants spent the entire week on the road and more than held their own despite no favors from the weather in New York.  Here's what we learned from the week:

1.  Joc Pederson OF is making Farhan Zaidi look like even more of a genius than he already was.  I'll be the first to admit, I was one of many Giants fans who were disappointed when I realized Peterson was THE bat upgrade of the Hot Stove season.  So far, FZ is having the last laugh on that one as Peterson is off to a blazing start.  He's been one of the league leaders in average exit velocity from Opening Day but now those barreled balls are finding gaps and going over fences.  His 2 HR's today tied him for second in MLB HR's with 5, one behind Ozzie Albies, Byron Buxton and CJ Cron.  He is 6'th in OPS for players with 30 or more AB's and 3'rd for players with more than 40.  Maybe FZ is not the genius here.  Maybe it's Brandon Crawford SS who reportedly reached out to Joc and recruited him to sign with the Giants.  Maybe BCraw is angling for a future GM job?

2.  The Giants really aren't going to follow no unwritten rules.  The funny part of this one is the play that got the Nationals tails in a knot was actually a bad play where Thairo Estrada was running on the pitch from 1B in a bloop hit and got thrown out by several feet at home plate. But this was the second team in two weeks that took exception to the Giants continuing to play to win with a big lead.  There will inevitably be a game where a team runs up the score on the Giants and rub their(and our) faces in it.  I'll just turn off the game and look forward to the next one.

3.  The Giants bullpen is really good!  I'm not counting Jakob Junis RHP who did not start the game he appeared in but as used as a "bulk innings" guy.  Even without those 5 shutout IP, The Giants bullpen had an ERA of 1.35 on the week and is at 2.01 on the season with 5 Saves and just one Blown Save. The guy with the biggest contract in the bullpen is Jake McGee LHP who is making just $2.5 M this season with an option for $4.5 M for next year.

4.  The injuries are piling up.  In just one week the Giants had 2 SP's go on the IL as well as Steven Duggar OF who is going to miss at least 60 days due to on oblique strain.  The good news is it sounds like Alex Cobb RHP's adducter strain is mild and he's starting to throw again.  Also, Lamonte Wade Jr OF started a rehab assignment with the Sacramento River Cats and is expected back by next weekend.

5.  The kids are not alright.  Joey Bart C is struggling a the plate.  He's drawing a few walks and seems to be mostly selecting good pitches to swing at but he's swinging through way too many of those.  Heliot Ramos OF had a big day at the plate in AAA Sacramento yesterday but is otherwise off to a slow start.  He was passed over in favor of Luis Gonzalez OF in the latest round of call ups and LuGone even had to be added to the 40-man roster.

Down on the Farm: 4/24/2022

AAA:  Sacramento River Cats edge out the Oklahoma City Dodgers 2-1:

Bryce Johnson CF- 1 for 4, SB(8).  BA= .318.

Sean Hjelle RHP- 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K, GO/AO= 6/3.  ERA= 1.96.  

Hjelle's prospect status took a huge hit in many rankings due to struggles after a promotion to AAA last year.  He seems to have overcome whatever his challenges were last year.  He is quickly positioning himself as a call up option.  At the rate Giants pitchers are hitting the IL, it may be sooner than later.

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AA:  Erie Seawolves defeated the Richmond Flying Squirrels 4-1:

Matt Frisbee RHP- 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.18.

Gray Fenter RHP- 3.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 5.23.

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A+:  Eugene Emeralds beat the Vancouver Canadians 8-4:

Ghordy Santos RF- 2 for 6, 2B, SB(2).  BA= .316. 

Luis Matos DH- 2 for 4, 2 BB.  BA= .178.

Marco Luciano SS- 1 for 4, HR(3), BB.  BA= .318.

Patrick Bailey C- 2 for 4, HR(2), BB.   BA= .167.

Casey Schmitt 3B- 1 for 5, HR(3).  BA= .324.

Nick Swiney LHP- 4.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 5.40.  

Nick Morreale RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 0.00.

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

Ghordy Santos seems to be on the utility track, which is probably a good thing for him.  For a top prospect who is off to a strong start, we sure aren't hearing much about Marco Luciano.  

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A:  Visalia Rawhide whipped the San Jose Giants 7-3:

Dilan Rosario 2B- 1 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .289.

Eric Silva RHP- 3 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 4/0.  ERA= 5.87.

 

The SJ Giants came up short in their attempt at a 6-game series sweep.  Silva got hit hard in the first inning but settled down after a mound visit and retired 8 of the next 9 batters he faced.

Game Wrap 4/24/2022: Giants 12 Nationals 3

 Joc Pederson OF led an offensive explosion and Logan Webb RHP pitched a Quality Start to complete a sweep on the road against the Nationals.  

Joc Pederson RF- 3 for 3, 2B, 2 HR(5), SF.  BA= .364.  Pederson moved to RF and batted leadoff after YtY was sidelined by a positive COVID test(yep folks, it's still out there).  He led off the game with a long HR and drove in another run with a SF and finished his day with another round-tripper.  Of course, he Kap took him out for Austin Slater PH/RF to PH at the first sign of a lefty pitcher, but it was still quite a day for Joc.

Brandon Belt 1B- 2 for 5, 3B, BB.  BA= .236.  Belt may be hitting just .236 but that comes with a .373 OBP and a SLG% of .509.  Typical Belt stuff.

Wilmer Flores DH- 3 for 5.  BA= .283.  Flores had 3 singles but drove in 3 runs and scored one.  He's hitting .333 over his last 7 games.

Jason Vosler 3B- 2 for 5.  BA= .333.  Vosler seems a bit more confident at the plate than we've seen and he made some fine plays at 3B.

Joey Bart C- 0 for 3, BB, HBP.  BA= .171.  Bart is obviously struggling at the plate but somehow has an OBP of .326.  He reached base twice today without the benefit of a hit.  The worrisome part is he seems to be swinging through a lot of hittable pitches.  I mean, he's not even fouling them off.  With the way the rest of the team is playing, Giants can afford to be patient with him.

Logan Webb RHP- 6.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 6 K's, GO/AO= 11/1.  ERA= 2.96.  Not quite the ace level start we've come to expect from Webb, but a QS with decent peripherals.  He ran into some bad BABIP luck in after two outs in the first inning but a loud double and HR with 2 outs in the third were not flukes.  He then settled in and shut down the Nationals for the next 3.2 IP.  

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The Win ups the Giants season record to 11-5 and 7-3 for the road trip with an odd 1-game series starting tomorrow in Brewtown.  The Giants will start off a bullpen game with Sam Long LHP on the mound on 2 days rest.  I am sure the plan is for no more than 2 IP.  With Jakob Junis RHP likely not available, it may be time for Tyler Beede RHP to step up and show he can hang as rosters will be cut down by 2 players in a few days.  The Giants could call someone up from Sacramento to eat up some innings too.  They will be facing Corbin Burnes RHP.  The silver lining is the BrewCrew has to fly in from Philly for one game then fly back out to Pittsburgh so they are not going to be all that perky for this one either.

Down on the Farm: 4/23/2022

 AAA:  Sacraemento River Cats overwhelmed the Oklahoma City Dodgers 12-1:

Lamonte Wade Jr LF- 0 for 2, BB.  BA= .000.

Bryce Johnson LF- 2 for 2, 2 2B.  BA= .325.

Heliot Ramos DH- 3 for 4, HR(2), BB.  BA= .267.

Luke Williams CF- 3 for 4, 2B, SF, SB(2).  BA= .583.

Austin Dean RF- 3 for 5, 3B, HR(3).  BA= .196.

Luis Ortiz RHP- 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 10.03.

Kervin Castro RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.29.

Mauricio Llovera RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Lots of nice stat lines here.  Biggest news might be Lamonte Wade Jr starting his rehab assignment.  Heliot Ramos has his biggest game of the season so far and first HR since Opening Day.  Seems like a switch-hitting OF with speed who can hit for average(Bryce Johnson) would have a potential role on a roster despite the lack of power.

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AA:  Richmond Flying Squirrels edged out the Erie Seawolves 2-1:

Tristan Beck RHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 7 K, GO/AO= 6/0.  ERA= 2.57.

Ryan Walker RHP- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 9.00.

John Russell RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's, Save(1).  ERA= 0.00.

Q:  Is Tristan Beck a legit prospect again?  I've read some posts on Twitter that his velocity is in the upper 90's.  Control/command still looks like an issue.

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A+:  Eugene Emeralds defeated the Vancouver Canadians 7-3:

Ghordy Santos SS- 1 for 4, HR(2), BB.  BA= .313.

Armani Smith LF- 1 for 5, HR(4).  BA= .344.

Luis Toribio 1B- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .233.

Casey Schmitt 3B- 2 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .344.

Jimmy Glowenke 2B- 2 for 5, 2B, HR(2).  BA= .133.

Randy Rodriguez RHP- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 1.17.

Strong games for several Ems hitters.  I've always thought Ghordy Santos had a high ceiling.  It looks like he's finally adding skills to his tools.  There's never been a question about Casey Schmitt's D.  If the bat continues to play like this, he's the Giants 3B of the future.

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A:  San Jose Giants tanned the Visalia Rawhide 10-2:

Aeverson Arteaga SS- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(2).  BA= .286.

Vaun Brown CF- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(2).  BA= .237.

Abdiel Layer 2B- 2 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .214.

Garrett Frechette 1B- 1 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .303.

Matt Mikulski LHP- 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K.  ERA= 1.50.

Mat Olsen RHP- 2.2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Esmerlin Vinicio LHP- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.  ERA= 7.71.

Saw some video of Mikulski's delivery.  Wow!  He does not extend his arm at all!  It almost looks like he's shot-putting it up there but he gets velocity with that motion and it looks very hard for a batter to pick up.  Like Casey Schmitt, there's never been a question about Arteaga's D but the bat is looking good too.  He has a 5 game hit streak and has hit in 9 of 12 games this season after a breakout season in the Arizona Complex league last summer.

Game Wrap 4/23/2022: Giants 5 Nationals 2

 The Giants played this one pretty much the way FZ and Kap draw it up with timely and... ahem.....situational hitting, 5 solid innings from the SP followed by 4 scoreless frames from the bullpen.  All that guarantees them another series win and a winning road trip which is mercifully nearing it's end.

The Giants got 10 hits spread around to 8 different batters with Joc Pederson LF and Wilmer Flores 3B getting 2 hits each.  Flores had the only XBH with a double.  

YtY CF and Luis Gonzalez RF/LF bunted against the shift for basehits and Brandon Crawford SS directed a groundball down the 3B line in another obviously intentional anti-shift tactic.  

Situational hitting is mostly a myth but those are 3 examples of Giants batters playing it that way today and it helped them win.

Alex Wood LHP- 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K's, GO/AO= 7/3.  ERA= 2.51.  Wood was strong through 4 IP.  He ran into trouble with 2 outs in the 5'th when Riley Adams went down and golfed a good pitch out of the park for a HR followed by a double and single.  He got out of it by striking out no less than Juan Soto for the final out.  I am sure FZ and Kap will be deliriously happy if they get 30 starts just like that out of Wood this season.

Dominic Leone RHP, John Brebbia RHP, Tyler Rogers RHP and Camilo Doval RHP breezed through the final 4 innings.  Rogers 8'th inning was particularly notable for soft-contact GO from Juan Soto and K's of Nelson Cruz and Lucius Fox(yes, THAT Lucius Fox!).

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The Win advanced the Giants overall record to 10-5 and yes, folks, that projects to 108 Wins over 162 games.  They are now 6-3 on the road trip with 2 games to go, the finale in Washington tomorrow and a single game in Brewtown on Monday.  Logan Webb RHP tries to get his game back on track tomorrow.

Down on the Farm: 4/22/2022

AAA:  Oklahoma Dodgers blanked the Sacramento River Cats 1-0:

Michael Plassmeyer LHP- 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 3.26.

Wei-Chi Huang RHP- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 2.45.  

Plassmeyer took the loss despite his best start of the season.  Huang was a minor league FA signing this offseason.  He has 17 K's in 7.1 IP but also 8 BB's.  Remember Reyes Moronta RHP?  He got the Save for the Dodgers.

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AA:  Erie Seawolves outscored the Richmond Flying Squirrels 6-5:

Frankie Tostado 1B- 2 for 4, HR(1), BB.  BA= .286.

Tyler Fitzgerald 2B- 1 for 5, HR(2).  BA= .140.

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A+:  Vancouver Canadians beat the Eugene Emeralds 4-1(Game 1 of Doubleheader, 7 innings):

Armani Smith LF- 1 for 1, HR(3), 2 BB. BA= .375.

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A+:  Vancouver Canadians pounded the Eugene Emeralds 9-6: 

Hunter Bishop DH- 1 for 4, HR(2).  BA= .132.

Marco Luciano SS- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .333.

Casey Schmitt 3B- 1 for 3, HR(2).  BA= .333.

Kyle Harrison LHP- 2 IP, 4 H, 7 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.27.  

Harrison got roughed up after two dominant starts. Tough situation in the NWL due to 

cool weather and rainouts piling up.

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A: San Jose Giants defeated the Visalia Rawhide 5-1:

Mason Black RHP- 4 IP, 3 H 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 3.86.

Landon Roupp RHP- 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Not questioning the Giants methodology here but another reminder most of the dominant pitching we're seeing for the SJ Giants is from college draftees placed very conservatively. 

Game Wrap 4/22/2022: Giants 7 Nationals 1

 When I was a kid, I checked out a book from my school library written by Russ Hodges.  It was a collection of simple baseball stories and it was wonderful.  The one thing I remember about the book was one of the chapters started off with a question:  Did you know baseball is mentioned in the Bible?  Well, yes it is.  Genesis 1:1, in the big inning.  That was a chapter about memorable big innings in the history of baseball.  The Giants had one of those tonight, a 7-run outburst in the second inning against Patrick Corbin LHP.  It was their only scoring in the game and it was way more than enough as Sam Long LHP and Jakob Junis RHP rose to the occasion and shut down a struggling Nationals lineup.

Austin Slater LF/CF- 2 for 5, HR(1).  BA= .167.  Slater, like most Giants hitters, is off to a slow start, but he had the big blow in this one, a 3-run HR to R-CF to bump the score to 4-0.  

Brandon Crawford SS- 3 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .245.  Crawford's first double led off the fateful 2'nd inning and his second capped the scoring by driving in 3 runs.

Mauricio Dubon CF- 0 for 3, Assist(3B).  BA= .158.  Dubon made the first and last outs of the Big Inning but he also gunned down Juan Soto with a cannon shot from CF as Soto was trying to stretch out a triple on a ball that took a big carom off the R-CF wall.  I read the throw clocked in at 93 MPH.

Sam Long LHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.  Long cruised through the first two innings.  As Shawn Estes commented, he's lost his slider and now pairs up a FB that hits 95 MPH with a curveball out of the same tunnel.  He is now unscored on in 4.2 IP over 4 games.  We may need to nickname him Sudden Sam!

Jakob Junis RHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K.  ERA= 0.00.  If Jakob Junis was the guy you wanted the Giants to call up in this situation, raise your hand......OK, then.  Me either.  Junis shut the Nationals down for innings 3-7 and used just 61 pitches to do it. Per Ben Kaspick on Twitter, Junis threw 51% sliders and 34% changeups with the rest of his pitches divided between 2S and 4S FB's and a few curveballs thrown in for good measure.  Something to watch going forward.  I mean, talk about bulk innings! I'm guessing this will buy him a bigger cup of coffee especially with Giants SP's dropping like flies(more on that later). 

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The win bumped the Giants record to 9-5 and upped their record on the road trip to 5-3 which guarantees them at least a split of the 10-game road trip with two games to go.  Alex Wood LHP, who had his start pushed back from today tries to seal a series win and a winning record for the road trip tomorrow morning.

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The Giants placed Anthony DeSclafani RHP on the 10 day IL with right ankle inflammation.  This is worrisome in that it's the same ankle that bothered him late last season.  Steven Duggar OF was placed on the 60-day IL(ouch!) to clear 40-man roster space for Luis Gonzalez OF.  Gonzalez did not start today due to Corbin being a LHP, but with mostly RHP's coming up, the Giants wanted his LH bat over Heliot Ramos' RH bat....and yeah, they really are committed this matchup thing.

Down on the Farm: 4/21/2022

 AAA:  Sacramento Flying Squirrels defeated the Oklahoma City Dodgers 8-3:

Bryce Johnson CF- 2 for 5, SB(7).  BA= .314.

Heliot Ramos RF- 0 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .216.

Luke Williams 2B- 3 for 4, 2B, SB(1).  BA= .750.

Ka'ai Tom LF- 1 for 3, SF, SB(1).  BA= .351.

Jhonny Pereda C- 3 for 4, 2B.  BA= .286.

Raynel Espinal RHP- 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 1.42.

Corey Oswalt RHP- 3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K's, ERA= 5.40.

Joey Marciano LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.50.

Heliot Ramos' OBP is .383.  Is he being too selective or should he keep doing what's he's doing and trust the process?  Espinal has 22 K's in 12.2 IP.  At the rate the Giants are going through pitchers, we may see him in a Giants uniform sooner than later.  Looks like Jakob Junis RHP is in line for the first call up.

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AA:  Erie Seawolves edged out the Richmond Flying Squirrels 3-2(first game of DH, 7 innings):

Brett Auerbach C- 1 for 4, HR(3).  BA= .262.

Jake Dahlberg LHP- 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 3.14.

Dahlberg has 21 K's and just 3 BB's in 14.1 IP.

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AA:  Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Erie Seawolves 8-3:

Will Wilson SS- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(3).  BA= .244.

Jacob Heyward LF- 2 for 3.  BA= .296.

Tyler Fitzgerald 3B- 1 for 2, HR(1), BB.  BA= .132.

Franklin Labour RF- 1 for 3, HR(1).  BA= .182.

Wilson is 3 for 8 with 2 2B and a HR in his last 2 games.

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A+:  Eugene Emeralds vs Vancouver Canadians postponed.

Second postponement in two days and 4'th of the season for the Ems.  Rainouts a problem for full season ball in Pacific Northwest.

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A:  San Jose Giants topped the Visalia Rawhide 5-2:

Abdiel Layer 3B- 2 for 4, 3B, BB, SB(1).  BA= .176.

Dilan Rosario 2B- 1 for 2, 3 BB, SB(2).  BA= .333.

Will Bednar RHP- 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K, GO/AO= 5/0.  ERA= 2.31.

Seth Lonsway LHP- 4 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, GO/AO= 8/0.  ERA= 0.00.

Jose Cruz RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(1).  ERA= 9.00.

SJ pitchers have allowed just 3 hits over the past two game/18 IP with a total of 29 K's.  Remember most of these pitchers are college draftees who the Giants placed conservatively.

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Giants acquired Cory Abbott RHP from the Cubs for cash.  Jaylin Davis OF was removed from the 40-man roster to make room for Abbott who they placed at AAA Sacramento.  

Game Wrap 4/21/2022: Mets 6 Giants 2

The Giants didn't put up much of a fight in a getaway day game.  

Mike Yastrzemski RF- 2 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .231.  This was YtY's second straight 2-hit game so hopefully he's turned a corner.   

Anthony DeSclafani RHP- 5 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 6.08.  DeSclafani has been too hittable so far.  Some of that is bad BABIP luck but he gave up a couple of homers and several line drive hits in this one.  On the plus side, he ate 5 innings on the road in a game the Giants didn't seem to have much chance of winning anyway.  On the other hand, he's not looked like a pitcher you would trust in a must win game, especially against a quality opponent like the Mets.

Steven Duggar CF- 0 for 1.  BA= .194.  Duggar had to come out with an oblique strain and will hit the IL.  Not sure how much the Giants are going to miss him.  This could very well be the last we see of him in a Giants uniform, although I think he does have an option.  Word is Luis Gonzalez OF is the replacement because of his lefty bat.  He will have to be added to the 40-man roster.  

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So this series was a downer.  Not to surprising as the Mets spent a ton of money to bring in some very talented players.  Add in the first game rainout followed by a twinbill on Tuesday and we should probably be glad it wasn't a sweep.  Don't forget YtY came this close to tying up game 2 of the doubleheader.

As bad as this series was, the Giants are still 4-3 for the road trip so far and 8-5 on the season.  That's not a terrible situation for them.

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The Giants still have another stop on the road trip, Washington DC to face the Nationals.  Alex Wood's turn in the rotation got pushed back to Saturday so tomorrow will likely be a bullpen game against Patrick Corbin LHP.

Down on the Farm: 4/20/2022

AAA:  Oklahoma City Dodgers outscored the Sacramento River Cats 9-8:

Luis Gonzalez DH- 2 for 5, SB(4).  BA= .283.

Heliot Ramos CF- 2 for 4.  BA= .235.

David Villar 3B- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .283.

Austin Dean RF- 1 for 5, HR(2).  BA= .162.

Ricardo Genoves C- 1 for 4, HR(2).  BA= .237.

Bryce Johnson LF- 2 for 4, SB(6).  BA= .300.

Patrick Ruotolo RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Patrick Ruotolo makes his first AAA appearance a success.  He has a lot of fans among Giants prospect watchers. 

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AA:  Erie Seawolves defeated the Richmond Flying Squirrels 6-2:

Matt Frisbee RHP- 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.38.

Frisbee got hit with the L in his first start of the season despite allowing just 1 run and the Squirrels scoring 2.

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A+:  Eugene Emeralds at Vancouver Canadians Postponed.

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A:  San Jose Giants blanked the Visalia Rawhide 1-0:

Victor Bericoto 1B- 2 for 3, BB, SB(1).  BA= .242.

Nick Sinacola RHP- 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 3.00.

Keaton Winn RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 7.20.

Trevor McDonald RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Per Twitter reports and video Sinacola featured a wipeout slider on most of those K's.  Keaton Winn reportedly hit 100 MPH with the FB.  McDonald now has 13 K's and 2 BB's in 7.2 IP over 4 appearances.

Game Wrap 4/20/2022: Giants 5 Mets 2

 The Giants ran up a 5-0 lead behind 5 innings of shutout pitching from Carlos Rodon LHP and coasted the rest of the way to get back on the winning side of the W-L ledger.  

Mike Yastrzemski RF- 2 for 5.  BA= .200.  Maybe a couple of singles is what YtY needs to get going?  Unfortunately he got thrown out at 2B trying to stretch one into a double.

Brandon Belt DH- 1 for 3, HR(4), BB.  BA= .282.  Belt homers on his birthday.  

Joc Pederson LF- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .333.  Pederson stays hot.  So far, he's been the bargain of the offseason after what seemed like almost a desperation signing by the Giants. 

Joey Bart C- 0 for 4, 3 K's, Throw Out(Starling Marte at 2B).  BA= .207.   The K's are really starting to pile up for Bart.  He still made a big contribution to this win by gunnnning down Marte, who is no slouch at stealing bases, like he was playing catch with 2B.

Carlos Rodon LHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 1.06.  95 is a lot of pitches for 5 innings but if Rodon pitches 150 innings over 30 starts with a 1.06 ERA, the Giants will consider his contract a bargain.

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Giants try for a series split in an early game tomorrow with Anthony DeSclafani RHP facing Carlos Carrasco RHP.

Down on the Farm: 4/19/2022

AAA: Oklahoma City Dodgers pounded the Sacramento River Cats 10-4:

Luis Gonzalez CF- 1 for 5, HR(3).  BA= .268.

Heliot Ramos DH- 0 for 2, 2 BB, HBP.  BA= .200.

Jaylin Davis RF- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(2), BB.  BA= .295.

Arquimedes Gamboa SS- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .290.

Sean Hjelle RHP- 3.2 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 2.19.

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AA:  Richmond Flying Squirrels vs Erie Seawolves postponed.

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A+:  Eugene Emeralds edged the Vancouver Canadian 6-5:

Marco Luciano SS- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(2).  BA= .345.  

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

Luis Toribio 1B- 2 for 4, 3B, HR(2).  BA= .250.

Seth Corry LHP- 0.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 3.86.

Nick Avila RHP- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's, Save(1).  ERA= 1.92.

Marco Luciano, rated the Giants top prospect by most analysts is quietly off to a great start in A+ at age 20.  Nick Avila had a couple of impressive appearances in spring training and turns in an impressive Save here.

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A:  San Jose Giants scored 5 runs in the 10'th inning to double up the Visalia Rawhide 10-5:

Victor Bericoto RF/1B- 3 for 5, 2B, BB.  BA= .200.

Dilan Rosario SS- 1 for 4, 2 BB.  BA= .333.

Eric Silva RHP- 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 1.93.

Esmerlin Vinicio LHP- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 10.80.

Evan Gates RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Julio Rodriguez RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K.  ERA= 2.25.

Game Wrap 4/19/2022: Mets 5 Giants 4(10 innings); Mets 3 Giants 1

 The Giants dropped both ends of a twinbill in New York after a weather postponement yesterday.  Given all that, the outcome probably should not be a surprise.  I'll try to keep it short as the details are too painful to write up.

Bad News:  Alex Cobb RHP was cruising through 4 IP in game 1 then gave up a single, force out and consecutive doubles to start the 5'th inning then came out of the game with an adductor strain.  He was placed on the 10 day IL between games.

Joc Pederson LF hit his 3'rd HR, a solo shot in Game 1.

Logan Webb RHP didn't have command of his sinker in game 2 and had a rough start that ended after allowing 3 runs in 3.2 IP.  That's not going to get it done when you are facing Max Scherzer RHP.

Bright spot in this one was Yunior Marte RHP, added to the roster between games.  He pitched the 9'th inning throwing 98 MPH and striking out the side.

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Carlos Rodon LHP tries to get the Giants back on track tomorrow evening facing Chris Bassitt RHP.

Down on the Farm: What We Learned From Week 2

1.  David Villar 3B and Sean Roby 3B/1B hit home runs.  Villar quietly had a great season last year for AA Richmond and hit 20 HR's.  He already has 5 for the AAA Sacramento River Cats.  Roby just a quietly hit 19 HR's for A+ Eugene last year and tops Villar with 6 already for Richmond.  Despite all that, neither of them are frontrunners to be the Giants 3B of the future.  That would be Casey Schmitt 3B who is at at Eugene to start the season. 

2.  Brett Auerbach can play many positions.  Auerbach's primary position is catcher but he also played all 3 OF positions last year over 2 levels.  This season he's already played C, 2B, 3B, LF and CF for AA Richmond Flying Squirrels.  Even better he's slashing .294/.400/.471 in a tough hitting environment.  This week, Kap used Joey Bart as a DH on a day Curt Casali was the catcher.  The risk in that is if Casali has to come out for some reason they lose the DH for the rest of the game.  A utility player who can be more than an emergency catcher would largely eliminate that risk.

3.  Marco Luciano SS is off to a hot start in A+ Eugene.  Luciano is slashing .320/.357/.520 after 7 games.  It's still early but on the negative side Patrick Bailey C and Hunter Bishop OF are still struggling hitting .190 and .148 respectively.

4.  Kyle Harrison LHP's second A+ start was even better than his first.  Harrison's line for his first start was 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K's.  He bettered that for his second start, 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K's.  

5. Will Bednar RHP's second start went better than his first.  First a reminder that Will Bednar was the Giants first round draft pick last year.  His first full season start was marred by 2 walks and 5 HBP's in 3.2 innings of work.  More worrisome, his FB reportedly topped out at 92 MPH.  His second start went better was his FB was reported to be 93-95 MPH and he walked just 1 batter and struck out 5 in 4 IP.

Bonus:  Pace of Play rules work.  I haven't been able to verify this one but I saw a Twitter report that under new pace of play rules which were enforced over this weekend, average length of games was shortened by 30 min.  That's significant and would definitely make the game more enjoyable to watch.  The first game it was enforced at AA level, Giants pitching prospect Kai-Wei Teng RHP who is known to be a "deliberate" worker, was reportedly dinged with a ball call for taking too long between pitches.  It does work both ways as Pirates Prospect Nick Gonzalez 2B is said to have gotten hit with a strike call for taking too long.  That's all good.  Looking forward to some meaningful measures to shorten games at the MLB level.

What We Learned in Week Two

 It's really the end of the first full week but since we did early takes on the first weekend, we'll call this week two.

1.  The pitching looks better than good.  Giants pitching had a good first weekend but it got even better this week.  We are approaching two trips through the starting rotation and the Giants have the lowest team ERA, FIP and fWAR in MLB.  So far, Logan Webb and Carlos Rodon have lived up to their co-ace status and the rest of the rotation has been solid.  Coming into the second weekend series the Guardians had the best offense in MLB by a large margin. The Giants pitching shut them down holding them to a total of 4 runs in 3 games.  If you break it down into component parts and secondary stats, it all looks sustainable and deep enough to withstand an injury or two down the road if necessary.

2.  The bullpen is still unsettled but coming into focus.  The bullpen had a rough opening day and a shaky first weekend but is showing signs of settling in.  Rather than rely on a single Closer, it appears Kap is either going with matchups or some sort of rotation system or maybe some of both.  Doval, Leone and McGee have gotten Save Opps.   It looks like those three will mix, match and rotate until/unless one of them emerges as more dominant than the others.  Doval is the guy who appears to have the tools to do just that, but is still working on trusting his stuff.

3.  The kids are still alright....sort of.  Joey Bart had a big night on Friday and Thairo Estrada leads the team in RBI's, but Heliot Ramos got sent back down, though not his fault, and Mauricio Dubon has all but disappeared.  Bart will continue to get every opportunity to establish himself as a start.  I expect we'll see Ramos back to stay before the season is out.  Estrada has positioned himself as the #1 infielder off the bench after rosters are reduced which may come at Dubon's expense.

4.  Brandon Belt is in the peak of his career.  Since the beginning of 2020, Belt has hit 41 HR's in 594 PA's.  That's pretty much one full season of PA's.  He is not just hitting for power.  Those HR's come with a cumulative BA of .288 and an OBP of .396.  The Captain just needs to stay healthy for a full season and we will see something special.

5.  If it looks to you like the Giants are hitting in bad luck, they are.  While the Giants are 13'th in BA but rank #3 in Average Exit Velocity and #4 in Barrel%.  BTW, guess who has the highest Average Exit Velocity in MLB:  That would be Joc Pederson at 102 MPH.  In short, the Giants hitting is better than it looks and should get better when regressions set in.

Down on the Farm: 4/17/2022

AAA:  Reno Aces blanked the Sacramento River Cats 1-0:

Mauricio Llovera RHP- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Unusual score for a ballpark that is usually a launching pad.  This was Llovera's 4'th appearance on the season.  He has 11 K's and just 1 BB in 7.2 IP. 

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AA:  Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Altoona Curve 6-2(10 innings):

Will Wilson SS- 1 for 5, HR(2).  BA= .242.

Tristan Beck RHP- 5 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 4.00.

RJ Dabovich RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 6.75.  

Wilson's HR was a walk-off grand slam in the 10'th inning.

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A+:  Spokane Indians pounded the Eugene Emeralds 8-1:

Hunter Bishop RF- 1 for 5, HR(1).  BA= .148.

This game started out on a hopeful note as Hunter Bishop hit his first HR of the season leading off the Ems half of the first inning.  Not much else good happened here.

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A:  Fresno Grizzlies edged the San Jose Giants 2-1:

Aeverson Arteaga SS- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .267.

Matt Mikulski LHP- 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.13.

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

Trevor McDonald RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Giants took a 1-0 lead into the 9'th inning but the Grizzlies scored 2 unearned runs for the win.

Game Wrap 4/17/2022: Giants 8 Guardians 1

 Instead of a ballgame, the Giants took a c-c-colllld Easter afternoon stroll around the ballpark with opportunistic hitting a suffocating pitching to swweeeep the Guardians in their home crib.  

Brandon Belt 1B- 1 for 5, HR(3).  BA= .345.  Good things come to those who keep hitting the ball hard.  The Belter was patient and finally connected with a two-run blast for add-on runs in the 7'th inning.  For those of you keeping track of such things, that's a 60 HR pace for The Captain.

Joc Pederson LF- 2 for 4, SB(1), Assist(2B).  BA= .364.  Joc was all bundled up in the OF and the extra layers seemed to do him good as he had a nice little game with 2 knocks, a SB and an assist at 2B throwing out Jose Ramirez on an ill-advised try to stretch a single that kind of set the tone of the game in the first inning. 

Thairo Estrada 2B- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(2).  BA= .242.  Estrada was in the middle of most of the Giants scoring, starting with his 2-out, 2-run HR in the second inning.  He then came up in the 4'th inning with the bases loaded on one out.  He hit what looked like an inning ending GIDP but beat the relay throw at 1B to drive in one run.  The throw skipped past the first baseman allowing another run to score.  Estrada then doubled to left in the 6'th inning to drive in Joc Pederson and later scored on Steven Duggar's single.  Estrada is playing 2B every day with Tommy La Stella still rehabing.  He's not setting the league on fire yet but 4 of his 8 hits have been XBH's and his speed and defense are contributing.  He leads the Giants in RBI's for those of you who still keep track of that much maligned stat.

Alex Wood LHP- 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 1.93.  Wood looked sharp in his second start.  He went just 5 IP, but I'm pretty sure the Giants prefer 5 shutout innings out of a SP than 7 innings giving up 3 runs, which is a QS while the 5 shutout IP is not.

Zack Littell RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 0.00.  Littell came in with 2-on, no-outs and quickly put out the fire.  

Tyler Beede RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 2.25.  Beede walked the first batter he faced but then settled down and threw 21 of 35 pitches for strikes.  Still a work in progress but maybe some hope he'll find the handle enough to stay on the 26 man roster come May or make another team want him in trade.

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The Giants complete the sweep as the visiting team and extend their record to 7-2.  They have yet to face a top team but the Marlins, Padres and Guardians are not bottom-dwellers either.  

Giants road trip now moves on to New York for a 4-gamer against the Mighty Mets with Alex Cobb RHP getting the first start tomorrow evening facing Tylor Megill RHP who has a 0.00 ERA in two starts.

Down on the Farm: 4/16/2022

AAA:  Sacramento River Cats pounded the Reno Aces 18-8:

Luis Gonzalez DH- 2 for 6, 2 HR(2), BB.  BA= .278. 

Heliot Ramos CF- 2 for 7.  BA= .250.

Jaylin Davis RF- 3 for 6, 2B, SB(2). BA= .278.

David Villar 3B- 4 for 6, 2 HR(5).  BA= .303.

Ricardo Genoves C- 4 for 6, 2B.  BA= .258.

Obviously a game to pad the old stat line.  Every member of the starting lineup got at least 2 hits except Jason Krizan 1B and he reached base 4 times.   

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AA:  Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Altoona Curve 8-4:

Brett Auerbach CF- 2 for 3, HR(2), 2 BB.  BA= .333.

Sean Roby 1B- 3 for 3, 2 HR(6), BB.  BA= .400.

Blake Rivera RHP- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, GO/AO= 6/0.  ERA= 4.50.

Chris Wright LHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K, Save(1).  ERA= 0.00.

Sean Roby stays red hot with his 5'th HR in his last 3 games.  He hit 19 HR's for Eugene last year.  Brett Auerbach continues to prep for a future super-utility role including the ability to play catcher which is way valuable.

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A+:  Eugene Emeralds defeated the Spokane Indians 3-1 in Game 1 of a doubleheader:

Marco Luciano SS- 1 for 2, BB.  BA= .333.

Armani Smith RF- 1 for 3, HR(2).  BA= .333.

Randy Rodriguez RHP- 2.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 1.93.

Wil Jensen RHP- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

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A+:  Eugene Emeralds swept the Spokane Indians with a 4-2 Win in Game 2 of a doubleheader:

Luis Toribio 1B- 1 for 3, HR(1).  BA= .083.

Jake Wong RHP- 2.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 9.64.

Brooks Crawford RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.15.

Cole Waites RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's, Save(1).  ERA= 15.00.

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A:  San Jose Giants outscored the Fresno Grizzlies 8-7:

Vaun Brown CF- 4 for 4.  BA= .273.

Dilan Rosario 2B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .350.

Jose Cruz RHP- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 12.00.

Landon Roupp RHP- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Game Wrap 4/16/2022: Giants 4 Guardians 2

 The Giants scored the go-ahead run on blown double play by the Guardians then added an insurance run on a wild pitch in the 8'th inning.  The bullpen was not torture free, but held on for 6 more outs for the win.

Brandon Belt 1B- 2 for 5.  BA= .375.  Belt drove in the Giants first two runs with a hard groundball single up the middle in the 5'th inning.  He also led off the 8'th inning with an infield single on a squibber to 3B and came around to score on the force out/blown DP ball for the go-ahead run in the 8'th inning.  

Austin Slater PH/LF- 1 for 1, BB.  BA= .133.  After his walkoff double on Opening Day, Slater was 0 for 11 before his single and eventual score today.  He has contributed on defense with some nice catches.

Anthony DeSclafani RHP- 4.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.32.  Similar results to his first start but went an additional IP.  Not a problem for the bullpen due to both Webb and Rodon going deep into the last two games plus a day off in between.  Ideally I am sure the Giants want their SP's to go at least 5 IP, but if DeSclafani does this every start, I am also sure the Giants would be happy with that. 

Leone, Rogers and McGee pitched scoreless frames in innings 7, 8, 9.   McGee got the Save, but not before coming out wild and putting two runners on base.

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The Win extends the Giants record to 6-2.  They've given up just 3 runs in 2 games to the hottest hitting team in MLB coming in.  Alex Wood LHP goes for the sweeeeep tomorrow against Aaron Civale RHP in a 10:40 AM PDT start.

Down on the Farm: 4/15/2022

AAA:  Sacramento River Cats topped the Reno Aces 4-3:

Wyatt Mathisen 3B- 1 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .143.

Austin Dean RF- 1 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .179.

Raynel Espinal RHP- 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Taylor Williams RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K.  ERA= 9.64.

Mathisen and Dean are reclamation projects who have struggled in opening week.  Espinal has 13 K's in 7.1 IP in two starts.  I think he will help the Giants as some point.  Williams recovers from a disaster appearance on 4/10. 

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AA:  Altoona Curve downed the Richmond Flying Squirrels 6-1:

Will Wilson 3B- 1 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .304.  

Kai-Wei Teng RHP- 4.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 1.86.  

Frank Rubio RHP- 2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 1.69.

Wilson's HR came in the 9'th inning of a game that was out of reach.  Reports on Twitter that Teng had some trouble with pitch clock rules, but so did Curve batter Nick Gonzalez.  

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A+:  Eugene Emeralds blanked the Spokane Indians 1-0:

Ghordy Santos CF/3B- 1 for 3, HR(1), BB.  BA= .400.

Kyle Harrison LHP- 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Santos HR was a walk-off in the 9'th inning.  It was just the 3'rd hit of the game for the Ems.  Kyle Harrison is on fire!  Second straight scoreless start with 16 K's in 9 IP with just 1 BB.  

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A:  Fresno Grizzlies shut down the San Jose Giants 3-0:

Will Bednar RHP- 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.35.

Seth Lonsway LHP- 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Twitter reports Bednar looked much better in his second start.  FB 93-95 with excellent slider and much better command of his pitches.

Game Wrap 4/15/2022: Giants 4 Guardians 1

 The Giants played this one just like FZ and Kap drew it up as Carlos Rodon LHP shut down the hottest hitting team in MLB while the lineup popped three HR's in a game that was not as close as the score.

Joc Pederson LF- 2 for 3, HR(2).  BA= .375.  Pederson hit his second HR of the season for the Giants second run of the game, but it was his first HR against a real pitcher this one coming off Zach Plesac RHP in the 6'th inning.

Brandon Crawford SS- 1 for 5, HR(1).  BA= .190.  This was a no-doubter pulled to RF, landing way back in the bleachers to drive in the Giants first run to lead off the second inning.  

Joey Bart C- 2 for 4, HR(2).  BA= .333.  Bart is still striking out a lot, 10 K's in 22 PA, but when he makes contact, he's barreling up the ball.  His 2-run blast in the 8'th inning reportedly went out at 109 MPH. It hit off railing above the LF wall, the replay upheld the call.  The pitch looked like a hanging breaking ball, but hey!  If he can just barrel up mistake pitches like that, he'll probably have a better than decent season.

Carlos Rodon LHP- 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 9 K's.  ERA- 1.50.  Rodon came in facing the #1 offense in MLB and by a pretty fair margin.  The Guardians stood #1 in BA, OBP and SLG%.  Rodon shut them down and required just 90 pitches to do it over 7 IP.  Rodon now leads MLB in K's with 21.  Casual reminder he was one of my Bold Predictions to win the NL Cy Young Award.  

Tyler Rogers RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, GO/AO= 2/0.  Rogers returns from paternity leave and gets the job done in the 8'th inning, made easier by Bart's add-on 2-run blast in the top of the inning. 

Camilo Doval RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(2).  ERA= 5.06.  Good for Doval to get a Save Opp with a 3 run lead.  That should help calm his nerves a bit although from Gameday it looked like he was still throwing mostly cutters and sliders.  

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The Win puts the Giants record at 5-2 tied for first place in the NL West with the Dodgers and Rockies.  Anthony DeSclafani RHP makes his second start of the season tomorrow evening facing Cal Quantrill RHP.  

Down on the Farm: 4/14/2022

 AAA:  Reno Aces downed the Sacramento River Cats 6-2:

Emmanuel DeJesus LHP- 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 7.11.

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

Castro has 6 K's and 3 BB in 3 IP early in the season.

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AA:  Richmond Flying Squirrels edged the Altoona Curve 5-4:

Sean Roby 1B- 1 for 2, HR(4), 2 BB.  BA= .318.

Frankie Tostado LF- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .333.

Brandon Martorano C- 1 for 4, HR(2).  BA= .294.

Patrick Ruotolo RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's, Save(1).  ERA= 0.00.

Ruotolo has 7 K's in 3 IP with 0 BB's over 2 appearances on the season so far.

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A+:  Eugene Emeralds beat the Spokane Indians 7-3:

Marco Luciano SS- 2 for 3, 2 2B, SF.  BA= .375.

Armani Smith LF- 2 for 3, BB, SB(1).  BA= .357.

Casey Schmitt 3B- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .462.

Prelander Berroa RHP- 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Abel Adames RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Marco Luciano is having the best start to the season out of the "big 3" international guys.

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A:  Fresno Grizzlies mauled the San Jose Giants 9-5:

Aeverson Arteaga SS- 3 for 5.  BA= .278.

Garrett Frechette 1B- 3 for 4.  BA= .350.

Keaton Winn RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 12.00.

Down on the Farm: 4/13/2022

AAA:  Sacramento River Cats pounded the Reno Aces 9-3:

Bryce Johnson CF- 3 for 6, 3 SB(5).  BA= .294.

Jaylin Davis RF- 2 for 4, HR(1), BB, SB(1).  BA= .231.

Ka'ai Tom DH- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .450.

Sean Hjelle RHP- 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K, GO/AO= 12/2.  ERA= 1.04.

Mauricio Llovera RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA = 0.00.

8 K's and 1 BB(IBB) in 6 IP over 3 appearances so far for Llovera.  

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AA:  Richmond Flying Squirrels outscored the Altoona Curve 10-6:

Sean Roby 3B- 3 for 5, 2 HR(3).  BA= .300.

Jacob Heyward CF- 1 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .333. 

Brandon Martorano DH- 1 for 5, HR(1).  BA= .308.

Shane Matheny 2B- 3 for 3, HR(1), BB.  BA= .500.

Gray Fenter RHP- 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 4.50.

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A+:  Spokane Indians beat the Eugene Emeralds 5-2:

Jimmy Glowenke 2B- 1 for 3, HR(1).  BA= .100.

Seth Corry LHP- 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.86.

 

Game was played in rainy conditions.

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A:  San Jose Giants defeated the Fresno Grizzlies 7-3:

Vaun Brown RF- 2 for 4, HR(1), BB.  BA= .150.

Adrian Sugasty C- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(1), BB.  BA= .333.

Dilan Rosario SS- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .357.

Alexander Suarez DH- 1 for 3, HR(1), BB.  BA= .091.

Eric Silva RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Trevor McDonald RHP- 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 B, 4 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Jose Cruz RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 21.60.

Silva, McDonald and Cruz are all at age appropriate level.  SJ Giants have won 4 in a row after dropping opener.  McDonald now has 7 K's and 2 BB's in 3.2 IP over 2 appearances.