A cathartic run explosion by the lineup and an encouraging pitching performance by Carson Whisenhunt carried the Giants to a runaway win in Citi Field. Key Lines:
Heliot Ramos LF- 2 for 4, BB, 2 R, RBI. BA= .268. Ramos is steady-as-she-goes...at least at the plate. He's been the Giants most consistent hitter this season which is not nothing.
Rafael Devers DH- 3 for 4, HR(20), BB, 2 R, 4 RBI. BA= .258. Devers busted out of his slump and how! The home run drove in 3 runs and was crushed well into the upper deck in RF. The singles were also hit hard with one smacking off the RF wall to the RF who caught Devers trying for a double.
Dominic Smith 1B- 1 for 5, R, 2 RBI. BA= .269. A single in 5 AB's doesn't look like much but it was at a the end of a great AB in a 2-out, bases-loaded situation. to drive in 2 insurance runs. Casey Schmitt followed with a 3-run blast to put the game on ice.
Casey Schmitt 2B- 2 for 5, HR(6), 2 R, 3 RBI. BA= .253. We mentioned that Casey was putting together better quality AB's and he delivered the coup-de-grace with the 3-run jack in the 9'th. He went 5 for 13 on the series. He has an opportunity over the last 2 months here to make himself the presumptive starting 2B going into next season.
Jung Hoo Lee CF- 4 for 4, 2B, BB, 2 R. BA= .258. Lee made an adjustment over the All-Star Break and started using the whole field instead of pulling everything. He's batting .315 since. This was his first 4-hit game and he reached base 5 times.
Carson Whisenhunt LHP- 5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K's, 6/3 GO/AO. ERA= 4.35. Much, much better than his first MLB start. Excellent command of a mid-90's fastball with a sharp downward plane that was shaving the corners of the zone. Still some inconsistency in the changeup but the first inning solo HR by Lindor was the only major damage. So far I would say the fastball is better than advertised and the changeup a little less. Hopefully the changeup will come as he gets settled in and gains confidence. Good looking young pitcher!
Jose Butto' RHP- 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 3.47. It took just one pitch for Butto' to get Whiz off the hook in in the 6'th with a GIDP. He then struck out the side in the 7'th. Dave Fleming and Hunter Pence commented on the TV broadcast that the Giants scouted Butto' for a long time and really wanted him in the Rogers trade.
Giants win the series and move on to Pittsburgh to try to pay back the series sweep in Oracle Park. It's just their second series win since July 9. Now they just need to avoid the faceplant that happened after winning the Braves series on July 23. Justin Verlander RHP tries to keep his string of good starts going against TBD.
Devers has always been streaky.
ReplyDeleteWhisenhunt said after the game he hung a changeup badly, and recognized right away he hadn’t delivered it correctly. Also, Estes gave Whisenhunt props for completely changing up his sequencing when facing Lindor the second time. Some of that is no doubt due to Bailey, but the kid does seem to know what he’s trying to do out there on the mound. He might really be a keeper!
ReplyDeleteHow do you spell sweep?
ReplyDeleteVerlander — Webb — Ray
Showtime!
The Orioles have claimed right-hander Carson Ragsdale off waivers from the Giants, according to a team announcement. Ragsdale, meanwhile, was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk.
ReplyDeleteWell, that reduces the Carson confusion to 2.
I like what I have seen from Butto as both a Met and his Giants appearances so far. And FA to be Rogers was a likely candidate to wear down for the Giants (maybe not with the Mets). I do like that trade. Good to see an offensive explosion and with no hits from the 3rd and 4th hitters! I.Good stuff for The WHiz to get a tough win on on the road nd hope he can build on it. The kid knows how to pitch, just needs consistent execution like ROUPP had found.
ReplyDeleteSteveVA
It's reported on the Mets' website than José Buttó cried when he heard he had been traded to San Francisco.
ReplyDeleteLater Buttó said, "I'm surprised. I didn't expect this. But I'm happy to go there and be a Giant."
On a 1:1 comparison, Rogers is head and shoulders above Buttó but the key is the latter is not a Free Agent until 2031, AND SF got the Mets #10 & #12 prospects which ain't nothin'!
Besides, Tyler didn't rule out the possibility of re-signing with the Giants, and SF was willing to spend the big bucks for his brother under a different regime.
Wouldn't that be a hoot!
Tyler Rogers strengths are he is durable, can be used frequently and gets a LOT of groundballs. His weaknesses are he is basically a contact pitcher who can fall prey to the BABIP gods and he's tried and failed several times to take the Closer role. He's a great pitcher to have on a controlled contract but I will be honestly surprised if he's back next season as a free agent. Without any evidence other than a feeling to back it up, I think Buster will look for younger, lower cost, harder-throwing options to fill out the bullpen this offseason.
DeleteThanks for posting your game wraps Doc. I only get to watch some games but try to follow all as much as possible. That game was fun to watch. Whisenhunt was good, he threw strikes, and had good stuff against a tough lineup. It was cool to see Verlander go up to him and gave him a high five! Devers homer was smoked to the 2nd deck, wow! Smith drove in 4 runs this weekend with good professional ABs. He just tried to make contact.Schmidt looks much improved. His homer was nice. I see his K rate is 23%. Time to get revenge on the Bucs! My Bucs friend made me watch a video on how their beatwriters are slamming their FO for their trade deadline moves.
ReplyDeleteThank you, LG. I appreciate your faithful reading and insightful comments.
DeleteGiants-Bucs today will feature Patrick Bailey and Joey Bart, each with 307 games behind them, 3 years for Bailey, 6 for Bart in their 8th game head-to-head.
ReplyDeleteBart leads in the percentage offensive numbers and HRs (25 to 17), but Bailey in raw numbers with 74 more PAs.
Bailey wins big in dWAR but can't quite overtake Bart's oWAR, 3.1 to 3.2.
Lots of numbers, you might get the results @
https://stathead.com/baseball/versus-finder.cgi?player_id2=bart--000joe&player_id1=bailey000pat&request=1&utm_id=bailepa01&utm_campaign=2023_01_wdgt_player_comparison&utm_medium=sr_xsite&utm_source=br
Will they chat with one another in their at bats?
Jerar Encarnación activated but not in the starting lineup, Matos to Sacramento.
ReplyDelete