Blake Snell followed up his electrifying 15 K performance in his last start with a complete game no-hitter which came on the heels of Logan Webb's complete game 1-0 shutout in the Giants last game. Wowza! Key Lines:
Tyler Fitzgerald SS- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(10). BA= .313. After finishing a pretty special July with a couple of 0'fers against the A's, Fitz got August off to a hot start with a huge game at the top of the order. At this point it would seem that Giants SS of the future is his job to lose.
Mark Canha 1B- 2 for 3, BB. BA= .235. Canha moves into the role of RH 1B platoon and proved to be be a tough out in the 2-hole. Good to have him being a tough out for other teams as it sure seems like he's worn out the Giants for years.
Casey Schmitt 2B- 1 for 4, HR(4). BA= .231. Schmitt will probably never have a high BA but when he runs into one it goes a long way. If he does that often enough with good enough defense, he'll be have a MLB career.
Blake Snell LHP- 9 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 11 K. ERA= 4.29. You had a feeling Snell had some special stuff when he struck out the side in the first inning on just 11 pitches. There were 3 walks but the Reds never really came close to a hit in the game. Despite being a two-time Cy Young Award winner, this was Snell's first career no-hitter. It was also the first time he's ever pitched into the 9'th inning in 9 years of pitching in the major leagues.
Snell's effort featured a 97-98 MPH fastball which he busted in on the hands of righthanded batters and a gorgeous unhittable curveball the both threw for strike and for swing and misses out of the zone.. He pitch count sat at 87 after 6 innings which made it seem unlikely he would be able to finish out a no-no but he only needed 27 pitches over the final 3 innings to end up with just 114.
Since returning from the IL on July 9, Snell has allowed just 2 runs in 33 IP over 5 starts for an ERA of 0.55. He has 41 K's against 10 walks in that span.
And let's talk about the back-to-back starts by Logan Webb RHP and Blake Snell. 18 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 17 K's. Add in recent double-digit strikeout games from Kyle Harrison LHP and Hayden Birdsong RHP and we are witnessing one of the more remarkable pitching stretches in Giants history and that is saying something!
The Win leaves the Giants 4 games behind in the Wild Card playoff race.
Kyle Harrison tries to keep the great pitching going tomorrow evening facing Hunter Greene RHP.
Churn Watch:
Recently acquired Mark Canha placed on the active roster after waiting to join the team in Cincinnati after being traded from Detroit due to long distance travel challenges. The Giants also selected the contract of Jerar Encarnacion OF from AAA Sacramento and activated Sean Hjelle RHP from the bereavement list. Corresponding moves included options for David Villar IF and Blake Sabol C/OF. Derek Hill OF was DFA'd. Got all that? Churn on!
It was fun to follow that historic game and performance by Blake Snell.. Thank you FZ for not trading him. What a run Blake Snell is on tight now!
ReplyDeleteWowza is right! As mentioned, the Reds never came close to a hit and there were only a few hard hit balls by the Reds' hitters. Normally, you see a special defensive play, like the Blanco catch in Matt Cain's perfecto, but Snell was in such control that no such plays in the field were necessary. Just enough offense to make it a comfortable watch in the late innings. The Reds hitters helped Blake complete the no-hitter by being aggressive in the last three innings, and Blake said that after the 5th he refocused and stopped trying to be too cute - he just threw the ball over the plate and dared the Reds to get a hit. Fun to watch. You gotta wonder how many General Managers are kicking themselves for not offering the Giants more at the trade deadline and you have to credit Farhan for rejecting whatever offers were made. Hopefully, Jerar Encarnacion shows what he can do during this call-up as he was tearing up AAA pitching. APGiantsfan
ReplyDeleteMaybe one special defensive play: YtY was determined to catch the final out but he must have heard the Freight Train coming...
DeleteI read that the Giants VP said he still has 100% confidence we can make the playoffs, and also read that he asked for a top 100 prospect for Snell (assuming he did not also ask for a big bat, in addition to that - which contending team needing Snell is going to do that?) in trade discussions.
DeleteNow, it's either
1. 100% confidence we can make the playoffs with Snell traded, his potential contribution possibly replaced by a top 100 prospect.
or
2. 100% confidence we can make the playoffs, but we need to keep Snell.
It can't be 2, because if we needed to keep Snell, and yet he was still trying to trade him, that would mean he was trying to reducing that 100% confidence. Our own VP trying to undermine the team? No way. So, it can't be 2 above. We are not talking 65%, 45%, 30% or whatever level confidence here.
Still, it's hard to take 1 - that he has 100% confidence we make the playoffs without Snell, but with a top 100 prospect rookie (again, assuming he was asking that, and not also demanding additionally a big bat that's currently having a good season). After Snell's last 2 starts, who is going to say that we don't need him to have 100% confidence we can make the playoffs?
Lastly, there is a 3rd possibility - the confidence was less than 100% and remains at the same level with Snell staying put.
I came this close to hitting the button on this last reply but will respond instead. I have said this was a head-scratching trade deadline for FZ on many levels. Specifically in regards to Snell, I don't think FZ particularly wanted to trade him but would if he was blown away by an offer which was not forthcoming. I still don't get trading away Soler who had a pretty good June and July, but perhaps FZ calculated that the Giants are making or not making the playoffs with the starting pitching and nothing else really matters? I don't completely agree with that notion but it's not completely without merit either.
Delete“Schmitt will probably never have a high BA but when he runs into one it goes a long way. If he does that often enough with good enough defense, he'll be have a MLB career.”
ReplyDeleteSound like anyone else on the roster?
Conforto was 0-4 , 2 Ks yesterday, 13-70 in July, 10-70 in June, defense is rated negatively — why does Melvin play him over YtY who beats him in every metric?
ReplyDeleteWith every run critical for the Giants, they should be playing their best players.
Conforto was coming off that injury when the Giants signed him to the 2-year deal. It was a risk.
DeleteBut, wow, what a bland, forgettable tenure in SF. It's not even that he's been that bad. Just a zero-excitement player.
Maybe next year he can get in a better hitting environment and resurrect his career a bit.
Of course, Conforto kept Reds/Greene from returning the favor: a no hitter!
DeleteAt least through 6 innings
My last comment on the trade deadline which I found head scratching at 1st until remembering that FZ said on knbr that if the team didn't start playing better, he would want to take a look at more young players. I'm excited that Luciano and Birdsong have a chance to show what they can do. I'm glad they didn't do a complete teardown and are still competing. Interested to see how Luciano does the remainder of the season.
ReplyDelete