The Giants took the lead in the top of the 9'th inning of a low-scoring game only to see it slip away due to another late bullpen failure. Key Lines:
Rafael Devers 1B- 1 for 4, HR(8), BB, R, RBI. BA= .243. Devers HR was into the teeth of a wind from RF that was blowing fly balls as much as 50 ft back toward home plate. The man does have power when he can reach it.
Jung Hoo Lee RF/CF- 2 for 4, SB(1). BA= .324. If I understood Dave Fleming and Hunter Pence right, the SB came on Lee's first attempt of the season. The first SB attempt......all season! The SB did not contribute to the scoring but Lee also took third base on a single by Bryce Eldridge which led to Chapman's SF to score the go-ahead run in the ninth. Oh! And Jonah Cox stole 2B in the same inning for what will hopefully be the first of his career.
Landen Roupp RHP- 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 4.00. Roupp was helped the the aforementioned wind blowing in but pitched well until running out of gas in the 6'th inning.
Caleb Kilian RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 3.45. Kilian leads the team in Saves with 4 but Tony Vitello went to him in the 6'th inning. Maybe Kilian's role is high-leverage guy whether that is the 6'th or 9'th inning? Otherwise it appears Vitello is willfully working to avoid defining roles as Kilian and Winn have alternated roles for awhile now. Maybe that approach works on paper but historically it has not worked in practice.
Keaton Winn RHP- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 2.48. Winn entered the game in the 8'th inning with one out and nobody on. He retired the next two batters but then gave up Pete Crow-Armstrong's second HR of the game to blow the Save in the 9'th inning. The Giants failed to score in the top of the 10'th and Sam Hentges LHP gave up the game-winning hit aided by an error in RF by Victor Bericoto.
Reminder that winning 18-3 does not gain more games in the standings than are lost by losing 3-2 in extra innings. And another reminder that a bullpen down to two sometimes reliable relievers is going to cost the team games. This team cannot lose games they lead in the 9'th inning if they have any hope of getting back into playoff contention no matter how many games they win by double-digit margins.
Trevor McDonald RHP tries for a series win today facing Jameson Taillon RHP who comes in with a 5.13 ERA. And why on Earth is this a night game on a Sunday on the final game of a road trip after day games on Friday and Saturday?
I went to the game and face planted after Winn blew it. I would have walked PCA. Sanmartin and Foley will be back soon but, neither one is giving me confidence in their rehab assignments. I guess we could try Fulmer who is closing in Sacramento or sign Kopech if he's healthy. We can't be running and gunning for wins.
ReplyDeleteThe tough thing was, the PCA homerun was with two out. Ouch!!
ReplyDeleteSaw former Brewers GM Doug Melvin currently working for Brewes as a special assistant. Maybe would be a good idea if Giants could hire former Giants assistant and Dodgers GM Ned Coletti as a special assistant to Buster. His experience as a GM would be invaluable. Read an article that Yankees assistant pitching coach has been working with Camilo Doval to fix his mechanics. Looks like another pitcher the Giants didn't help, maybe trade was best thing. Hope Justin Message and Christian Wonders can be better then previous coaches at helping the pitching staff
ReplyDeleteTough loss. To quote Tommy lasorda: “No matter how good you are, you're going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are you're going to win one-third of your games. It's the other third that makes the difference.” It feels like the Giants are losing too many close games and that has to change if they want to have a fighting chance. Not sure what will help with bullpen and situational hitting. Was the bullpen better with the Rogers and Doval?
ReplyDeleteThe bullpen was better with Rogers and Doval but neither was a Closer. Rogers because he gave up too much contact and Doval because of poor command.
DeleteGiants made a good decision to trade Rogers last off season because of his expiring contract. Doval trade was questionable because his contract not expiring but after reading Yankees worked with him in DR to fix mechanics in the offseason probably better for Dovals career to move on from the Giants. Timing is everything-it's unfortunate that back in 2018 Giants hire FZ as new POBO, Brian Sabean ends up leaving the Giants for the Yankees claiming FZ didn't use him enough. I bet Sabean would have been a big help to Buster if he was still with the Giants today.
ReplyDeleteLG, you keep talking about all these people who could help Buster. If Buster needs all this help, why is he the POBO and not in some understudy position where he can learn the ropes before being the lead guy?
DeleteGood question Doc, came across Doug Melvin former Brewers. GM currently working with for the Brewers as a senior special advisor to current POBO Matt Arnold.who has been in the role since 2025. I don't know Doc , Buster and even ZM both admitted being new in their current roles, Buster probably doesn't need the help based on how decisive he's been with baseball decisions but I'm sure he would have welcomed having Sabean around as a valuable resource. I believe they still stay in touch anyway
DeleteBrian Sabean works for the Yankees. He's not also working for the Giants. Buster already has senior advisors. He has Bruce Bochy and Dusty Baker and he's specifically mentioned Jeremy Shelley who works under him and has been around through multiple administrations. I don't get the need for Buster to bring in even more advisors. You reach a point where there are too many voices. If Buster needs that much help he shouldn't be in the position in the first place.
DeleteThat's true Doc, I understand they still communicate as friends anyway. Big test coming up for front office is the upcoming draft and trade deadline.
Delete