Alex Cobb did not have his best command but still pitched 7 scoreless innings to lead the Giants to their 4'th consecutive win. Key Lines:
Thairo Estrada SS- 1 for 4, HR(5). BA= .336. Lamonte Wade Jr 1B singled with 1 out in the third inning. Estrada followed by jumping on a hanging sider and putting it several rows up in the LF bleachers. Thairo is on pace for a 20/30 season and talk of an all-star berth is starting to heat up.
Joey Bart C- 1 for 3, 2B. BA= .280. Michael Conforto RF drew a 2-out walk in the 2'nd inning and Bart followed with a hard grounder that just grazed the plane of the outside corner of 3B for a double. The ball caromed around just enough for Gary Hallberg to wave Conforto all the way home for the Giants first run.
Brett Wisely 2B- 1 for 3, HR(1). BA= .100. After watching Wisely make several slick plays at 2B I texted a friend and asked if he will hit. He came up in the bottom of the inning and drove one over the CF wall to extend the Giants lead to 4-0. I sent another text: "Well, yes he can!" 2 of his 3 hits have come in his last two games.
Alex Cobb RHP- 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K's, GO/AO= 12/2. ERA= 2.01. Saw a note on Twitter that Cobb was still experiencing lingering effects of the GI virus that went through the Giants clubhouse. A lot of his pitches were sailing up and away which can be a sign of fatigue and/or overthrowing. He as able to make is pitches when he needed to and gutted out 106 pitches over 7 scoreless innings. Doing that without your best command is a sign of a true ace.
Taylor Rogers LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 5.91. The lefty Rogers Bro has really settled down and now has a 0.00 ERA in 6.2 IP over his last 7 appearances which is really, really good news for the Giants moving forward.
John Brebbia RHP- 0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K. ERA= 5.93. Kap was hoping to spare Camilo Doval RHP in a non-save situation but Brebbia appeared to be gassed and walked the first two batters he faced then allowed a 1-out single which created a Save situation. Doval came in and got the final 2 outs for his 7'th Save of the season.
Ross Stripling RHP goes for the sweep tomorrow afternoon facing Adrian Houser RHP who is making his first start of the season after a rehab assignment.
How long is the leash on Michael Conforto?
ReplyDeleteWill he continue to play and slash .183/.309/.323/.632 with a negative dWAR and 30%+ Ks?
Or does it come down to Who Else? Slater against RHP is better than Conforto.
How do the Giants win with 4 players "on the Interstate" – one even below .100?
Obvious answer is pitching – team is:
12-4 giving up 4 or fewer runs
1-1 giving up 5 runs
1-13 giving up 6 or more runs
Another factor is Crawford: Giants are 7-13 in his starts. His defense (dWAR -0.5) no longer makes up for little or no offense. Conforto and Crawford in the lineup gives up too much offense AND defense. But, can Kapler sit them? No.
They can't and won't give up on Conforto. He won't hit .183 on the season.
DeleteAgreed that they can't give up.
DeleteLet's hope you're right, but he hasn't shown any improvement. Yet.
First 14 games: .233/.377/.512/.889
Next 14 games: .140/.246/.160/.406
After 28 games: .183/.309/.323/.632
Estrada's major step-up as a hitter is a welcome surprise and I'd love to see Estrada in the All-Star game. I think he's earned it, and he's clearly the best positional player on the Giants right now. But I also understand that his BABIP is .396, which is 106 points higher than his best year. So while I can see his swing change to elevate the ball more has made a significant difference, how much of that 106 point increase is true and how much is lucky remains to be seen.
ReplyDeleteOTOH, Cobb's pitching is no surprise. Except for Manea's rough start, the starting pitching has been, pretty much, excellent all year though has suffered somewhat due to poor defensive play. The Giants starters are 4th in 'WAA' by position.
Unfortunately, even with the recent success of Taylor Rodgers, the bullpen remains one of the worst in baseball at 28th. The offense, despite the HRs, remains slightly below average. Other UNIT (not individual) positions WAA ranked:
C - 18th
1B - 5th
2B - 17th
3B - 9th
SS - 25th
LF - 6th
CF - 27th
RF - 24th
DH - 13th