Willy Adames tied the score at 3 with a dramatic opposite-field home run in the top of the 9'th inning only to make a mental mistake by not anticipating a throw to 2B on a sac bunt in the bottom of the 9'th leading to a walk-off win for the Royals. Key Lines:
Heliot Ramos LF- 1 for 4, HR(9). BA= .276. Ramos hit a monster oppo-field home run in the 4'th inning to give the Giants a short-lived lead. Doesn't he still have the only splash hit by a RH batter at Oracle Park?
Willy Adames SS- 1 for 4, HR(18). BA= .228. Adames' HR was not as long as Heliot's but it drove in Jung-Hoo Lee RF ahead of him to tie the game.
Daniel Susac C- 2 for 3, 2B, SB(2). BA= .264. Nice game for Susac. Unfortunately he did not figure into the scoring. He did make a nice tag at the plate to complete a double play on a potential sac fly.
Trevor McDonald RHP- 4 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 5.12. McDonald lost his slider somewhere around the second inning and was throwing only sinkers. Was that due to an injury? As he completed his warmup for the 5'th inning he appeared to flinch and raise his left shoulder like maybe he was trying to stretch out a muscle in his left side. After some gestures toward the dugout he appeared to wave the trainer out with his glove. After some discussion with the trainer and Tony Vitello, he walked off the field and J. T. Brubaker RHP was summoned
J. T. Brubaker RHP- 2.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 2.74. Brubaker is eligible for free agency after this season so should be available for trade before the deadline. I am sure he has some value as a multi-inning reliever for some contending team.
Caleb Kilian RHP- 0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 4.81. This one was not really his fault. The leadoff batter, Josh Rojas slapped one just inside the 3B line and was held to a single but Heliot Ramos' quickly getting to the ball. Adames fateful failure to get to the 2B bag on a sac bunt attempt put runners at first and second with no outs. A flyball out advanced Rojas to 3B and a safety squeeze that Bryce Eldridge bobbled drove in the walk-off winning run.
The Giants scored 3 runs for the third game in a row losing all three. This was the 25'th game they have scored exactly 3 runs. Not sure what their W-L is for those 25 games but I believe it's underwater.
Tyler Mahle RHP tries to break the 3-game losing streak tomorrow evening against Luinder Avila RHP who comes in with an ERA of 5.08.
I came across a Youtube video of a Dave Flemming interview from this morning's Murph and Mac Show on KNBR. Although he did not call out anyone in management by name, he was rather blunt and pointed in his assessment of the current state of the team and what needs to be done at the trade deadline. I thought his comments about the Giants approach to building a pitching staff compared to the rest of the league were eyebrow-raising to say the least.
coincidentally, i heard the Fleming interview as well and appreciated hearing his honest assessment from top to bottom. i also agreed with his views on Vitello and disagree with those who think he's in over his head. anyone had to expect a learning curve and that would not have been a problem if Posey had assembled a better team (insert here my broken record rage at the Houser, Mahle signings.) pitching development comments were unsettling as the good Doctor referenced as well. losing a coach such as Andrew Bailey was significant and it's clear certain teams have unlocked secrets to pitching development that continue to elude the Giants. there are a cohort of pitchers in the Giants org. that have simply stalled in their development and it's massively disappointing and frustrating.
ReplyDeletei have good friend who is a fan of a team that is as bad off as the Giants. we commiserated and i admitted that misery does in fact love company. his team is going nowhere - oh hang on, the Red Sox have now won 14 in a row! some friend he turned out to be! p.s. your blog is the best. thanks. -es
To my eye, Vitello appears to be in over his head but again I don't have all the information to know that for sure.
Delete...but as Flem pointed out, that doesn't mean it's all Tony Vitello's fault. There is a huge player talent issue here and that is on people at higher levels than Tony Vitello.
DeleteHiring a career college coach, albeit a very good college coach, directly into MLB was all but sure to fail with its incredibly steep learning curve.
DeletePlus, it was also incredibly expensive: $10.5M ($3.5M per year for 3 years), $3M to Univ of Tennessee, and $4M to Melvin, $17,500,000 in all.
Maybe that's a bargain: $20,500,000 for Bader and $22,000,000 for Houser.
Mahle could be a bargain for $10,000,000, although what's a 2-8 pitcher with a 5.31 ERA worth?
8 wins, 17 losses
ReplyDelete9 shutout losses
ReplyDelete1-10 with 1 run scored
2-12 scoring 2 runs
Giants have thrown 7 shutouts
9-14 in 1-run games
3-4 in extra innings
Winning record against LAD, ALT, CHW, As, & Pitt (6 more to play against LA)
Every time Adames makes a bonehead mistake, he needs to ride the pine.
ReplyDeleteHere’s to hoping that Adames’s clutch 9th inning HR will convince some NE team to take on at least half his remaining salary in a trade.
ReplyDeleteThe clutch HR was unfortunately unusual; most come in garbage time. The play at 2B is also unfortunately more typical.
Can someone post the link to that Dave Fleming interview? I can't find it!! Grrr
ReplyDeleteFrom KNBR podcasts: Dave comes in about half way through. https://omny.fm/shows/murph-markus-podcast/giants-bullpen-concerns-bryce-eldridge-buzz-and-dave-flemming-s-honest-assessment-of-the-2026-san-francisco-giants
Delete