Heliot Ramos wild run around the bases in the 9'th inning, aided by a comedy of errors by the Rangers, gave the Giants their second walk-off 3-2 win in a row. Key Lines:
Heliot Ramos LF- 2 for 3, HBP, SB(3). BA= .246. This is not the first time Ramos' speed impacted a game. He probably had the dribbler beaten out for a hit and that is how it scored, but his speed forced a hurried throw which was way offline and down the RF line. Ramos took second base easily and was going to stop then noticed Matt Williams waving him to third. That play was going to be close but the ball again went way off line and Ramos slid into home with the walk-off run without a play at the plate.
Christian Koss 2B- 1 for 3. BA= .217. Koss gets his first MLB RBI with a line drive single to drive in.....Heliot Ramos!
Jordan Hicks RHP- 5 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 K's, 8/0 GO/AO. ERA= 6.12. It looked like more of the same from Hicks when he gave up two doubles and two singles in the first inning, but he settled down and allowed just 3 hits and no walks over the next 4 innings. With his pitch count at 84, Melvin did not push him into the 6'th inning this time and that decision ultimately paid off.
Hayden Birdsong RHP- 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 1.13. Joc Pederson greeted Birdsong with a leadoff triple in the 6'th inning but The Kid fought back, with a K, ground out, pop out then completing 3 more electric innings of relief. Birdsong has one more appearance(7) than members of the rotation and 1.2 more IP than any other relievers. I have commented that Birdsong is an underutilized talent. The Giants probably want to limit his total innings. This is a good way to keep him sharp while saving more innings for later in the season if needed.
Camilo Doval RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 2.08. Talk about electric! Like Ryan Walker yesterday this was not a Save situation for Doval but a high leverage situation. Doval looked unhittable and even hustled over to cover first base on a grounder to the right side(although barely in time). Nice rehab job on the fly by Bob Melvin and the coaching staff. I think Willy Adames had a hand in it too.
The Giants finish their 17 consecutive game marathon with a 10-7 record. Their overall record stands at 18-10 and they remain in first place in the NL West by 0.5 games.
The Giants now get a much-needed day off before traveling to San Diego for a 2-game series against division rival Padres with Logan Webb RHP taking the mound Tuesday against Nick Pivetta RHP.
Watched the last half of the game, glad I did, got to see an exciting play that I never thought I would see in a major league game. A little league home run, unbelievable! Birdsongs 3 innings of scoreless relief was one of the key contributor to the win. He saved Tyler Rogers from pitching the 8th inning. He is underutilized but a weapon out of the bullpen. You're right Doval looked great.
ReplyDeleteKoss is sure proving to be a valuable utility player ... what a clutch RBI hit. And it was fun to watch Adames running up the third base line cheering Ramos home on the walk-off winning run. This team has something going, doesn't it!
ReplyDeleteIf you take out Hicks, Verlander, and Roupp, the team ERA is 2.50.
DeleteIf you take out Walker and Trivino, the team ERA is under 2.
Plus, all of the ERA "offenders" except Trivino seem to be heading in the right direction.
With a team batting average of .229, it does seem like smoke and mirrors.
DeleteGiants are 8th in runs scored, 7th in fewest runs scored against
DeleteRelievers are 10-3, Starters are 9-7
They have 10 saves in 14 opportunities
They are 7-3 in 1-run games, 2-0 in extra innings, they have 10 comeback wins, 4 blown leads, 5 walk-off wins
They have been shutout 4 times, games they ordinarily win: 3 games were 2-0 and 1 was 1-0
They've been blown out 1 time and lost only 1 game by 4 runs
They are almost always IN the game, and win 2 out of 3 of them!
They've bl
Rangers walked once all weekend
ReplyDeleteoops, actually twice (still, 16 less than Brewers walked in the prior 4 SFG games)
DeleteBuster’s plan is pitching, D, occasional timely hit. Working so far. Hitting should regress positively over time. Best may be yet to come.
ReplyDeleteAlmost like Real Baseball.
I must say that the current season is more interesting than 2023 or 2024. The team tends to come back even if they are down a few runs late in the game. I don't know if it's possible to increase the offense without taking on a bit of salary and mortgaging the future. Is a Marcel Ozuna rental worth years of potential with James Tibbs or Dakota? Adames and LMWJ probably need time to come around, and I'm glad to see the longer leash this season.
ReplyDeleteIt seemed like when the Giants had stretches like the 10-game road trip and the 17 consecutive games last few years they might start out strong but would fade on the back end. They were particularly bad on Sunday afternoon games seeming to be thinking more about getting out of town than winning the ballgame. That seems different this season, at least so far. The stretch they just completed was impressive.
DeleteWhen you have a lockdown bullpen, your starters can allow 2 runs in 4 or 5 innings or 3 runs in 5 or 6 innings, bad ERAs, but recoverable: that's why the Giants are winning. Unless they face a shutdown pitcher, thye can score 3 or 4 runs and win.
DeleteStatcast showed that Ramos reached a sprint speed of 29 feet per second during his race around the bases.. While not Pablo sized, Ramos is deceptively speedy for his size
ReplyDeleteThe Giants are playing great baseball, and I will be the first one to say that I have egg on my face. I believe I had a pretty pessimistic view coming into this season and the team has wildly exceeded my expectations.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do not believe I've seen enough yet to say that this team is "for real", but I will also admit it took maybe most of the season in 2021 for me to say the same.
- Fan
It's easy to forget we are only one month into a 6 month season so it's appropriate to be cautious in our optimism.
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