The Giants set a franchise today, yes I said FRANCHISE, record.......and that is not a good thing. In season of late-inning failures, blowing a 6-run lead in the 9'th inning turned out to be not only the biggest failure of the season but in the entire history of the franchise, and yes, that includes the New York era. Key Lines:
Jonah Cox CF- 1 for 3, HR(3), BB, 2 R, 2 RBI. BA= .255. Cox drove in the Giants first runs of the gamew with a homer in the second inning. After an 8 consecutive strikeout run over 3 games, Cox bounced back nicely to go 3 for 8 with 2 HR's over his last 3 games. He looks like at worst he could be the right side of a CF platoon with Drew Gilbert.
Drew Gilbert PH/CF- 1 for 1, 2B, 3 RBI. BA= .242. Speaking of Drew Gilbert, it sure looked like he put the game away with a pinch-hit, bases-loaded double in the 8'th inning making the score 9-3.
Rafael Devers DH- 2 for 4, HR(29), BB, R, 2 RBI. BA= .246. Devers HR in the 5'th gave the Giants a 4-2 lead. After a rough series in Boston, he went 5 for 11 with a HR in each game of this series. Devers really turned his season around in the second half. The finger-wagging incident and subsequent apparent make up with Manager Tony Vitello seemed to be a turning point.
Turner Hill LF- 3 for 4, 2B, R. BA= .318. Hill is making good on the promise of the number he put up in the minors this season and putting himself in the conversation for a spot on next season's team.
Shay Whitcomb 2B- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(3), 2 R, 2 RBI. BA= .147. Shay Whitcomb sure weares a baseball uniform well but has struggled at the plate since his call up. He broke out today with a double and HR. The double preceded Jonah Cox's HR in the second inning and the 2-run HR in the 6'th inning increased the Giants lead to 6-2.
Logan Webb RHP- 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 K's. Not sure why Landen Roupp's start was pushed back and Webb's moved up. There is absolutely no reason to push Webb this season. In fact, I would consider shutting him down and he is critical to any hope of a Giants turnaround for next season. At least he is apparently healthy and threw another Quality Start.
Spencer Bivens RHP- 1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 12.00. Bivens allowed a leadoff baserunner in the 8'th but then got the last two batters of the inning on strikeouts. He has experience pitching multiple innings so I can't criticize sending him back out there for the 9'th although the bottom of the 8'th was a very long inning to sit through. The top of the 9'th started HR, single, WP, walk, WP, walk. That's when sub-manager Jayce Tingler went out and brought in Dylan Smith RHP. Was there a point prior to that which was a better time to replace Bivens? Given the Giants lead I can't really say so. I will say that the first batter Smith faced, Eugenio Suarez, might be the absolute most dangerous hitter on the planet in that situation. That man hunts pitches to send over the fence and that's exactly what he did and with the bases-loaded. Suddenly the score was 9-8 and the rest of the story was so predictable we all knew before it happened. What a crusher!
There is no rest for the weary as the D'Backs come in for a 4-game series over the weekend including an odd doublheader on Saturday. Anyone know why that is? Anyway, Landen Roupp RHP tries to shake it off tomorrow evening facing Jose Cabrera RHP who comes in with a 5.60 ERA.
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