Home runs by Tyler Fitzgerald and Jorge Soler supported an electric pitching performance by Hayden Birdsong to salvage a win in the series. Key Lines:
Jorge Soler DH- 1 for 4, HR(11). BA= .225. Soler led off the game with a HR to get Birdsong an early lead which is critically important, especially for a young SP. It was the longest HR for distance in MLB this season.
Tyler Fitzgerald SS- 1 for 2, HR(4), BB. BA= .298. Fitz has now homered in his last 3 games dating back to 7/9 against Toronto. He's the hot hand so needs to play.
Hayden Birdsong RHP- 6 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 12 K's. ERA= 3.55. Oh my! Did we just see the birth of a star? Birdsong is the first Giants rookie since someone named Tim Lincecum to strike out 12 batters in a game. His ERA since his first start is 3.05.
Ryan Walker RHP, Tyler Rogers RHP and Camilo Doval RHP got the job done this time with 3 scoreless frames to close it out with Doval earning his 18'th Save.
The Win got the Giants back to a 3 game deficit in the Wild Card playoff race.
Blake Snell LHP opens a 4-game series against the Dodgers in LA facing TBD.
Webb-Snell-Harrison-Birdsong-Ray with Hicks moved to the bullpen should be a staff good enough to win a wildcard, shouldn't they?
ReplyDeleteCobb is ready, too.
DeleteThat rotation should also spare the pen.
DeleteGotta move Soler out of lead-off. Terrible strategy to give him the extra ABs
Although Soler isn't quinessential lead-off material, he is just one of a half dozen offensive players who is underperforming what is expected of him. Chapman may have a 110 OPS+ but is that what is expected of a guy pulling $20,000,000?
DeleteNothing is better than a win
ReplyDeleteAnd now the real test will begin
Is it enough to win 2 or more
Or must the Giants win all four?
Right now according to Fangraphs, the Giants have a 19.2% chance of making the playoffs. The DBacks have a 42.8% chance and the Padres have a 44% chance of making the playoffs. I am optimistic that the pitching will be consistent with the Ray and Cobb coming back and the emergence of Birdsong. But I don't think it will matter unless the hitting gets better. For crying out loud, they only scored 3 runs in each of the games at Coors Field. I am not sure what the answer is as they appear to have a bunch of hitters that are "B" grade or worse. Some of the hitters are streaky, but it will take several of them to heat. up at the same time for them to make a run.
ReplyDeleteHurrah for the Giants – took 3 tries but they finally figured out how to win with 3 runs!
ReplyDeleteBirdsong- if I heard correctly 27 swinging strikes in that game got my attention and I bet a lot of peoples attension around the league. Giants better not trade him. Can't believe they got him in the 6th round. Hope to see him start the rest of the year, but there's gonna come a point where they gotta watch his innings. 2023-he pitched 100 innings in the minors. 2024 so far 57 Minor league innings +25 major league innings. It'll be interesting to see what they do with this kid. Enjoyed listening to his interview last night with Bill Laskey on knbr podcasts.
ReplyDeleteHope this gives Snell motivation especially if he is considering opting out next year.
ReplyDelete