Game Wrap 4/5/2023: White Sox 7 Giants 3

 The BABIP gods were not smiling on the Giants today as the White Sox played pepper with all day and turned it into 7 runs while the Giants couldn't turn 9 walks into any 3-run homers.  Key Lines:

Lamonte Wade Jr 1B- 0 for 0, 3 BB.  BA= .214.  Has LMWJ turned into the god of walks?  His OBP is .500.

David Villar 2B- 0 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .235.  Thairo Estrada was a late scratch due to lingering leg tightness after taking a foul ball off it on Monday.  Villar moved over from 3B but may have shown how much the Giants need Thairo as several of those 13 hits were ground balls that found their way through the right side.

J. D. Davis 3B- 1 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .200.  Davis got the start at 3B after Villar moved to 2B and drove in the Giants first run with an oppo field HR.  Unfortunately none of those 9 walks were on base in front of him.

Logan Webb RHP- 5 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 6.55.  Webb gave up his share of line drives so it wasn't all BABIP luck but while is ERA for the day was 7.20, his FIP was 1.63 and xFIP was 2.99.  I seem to recall Webb got off to a slow start last season too and ended up with almost identical numbers to 2021.

Sean Hjelle RHP- 1.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, GO/AO= 3/1.  Even with the 4 hits allowed, Hjelle's FIP for the game was 2.63 and xFIP 3.65.

Alex Wood LHP makes his first start of the season tomorrow trying for a series win against Lance Lynn RHP.

Down on the Farm: 4/4/2023

 AAA:  El Paso Chihuahuas outscored the Sacramento River Cats 10-8.

Heliot Ramos RF- 2 for 5.  BA= .375.

Brett Wisely CF- 2 for 4, 2B, BB, SB(1).  BA= .500.

Kyle Harrison LHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 4 K.  ERA= 4.50.

Nick Avila RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Keaton Winn RHP- 3 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 9.00.

Cole Waites RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R 2 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Fernando Tatis Jr(Chihuahuas)- 1 for 2, 2 BB, SB(1).  BA= .500.

Kyle Harrison's BB/9 has hovered around 4 throughout his minor league career which is too high.  Heliot Ramos is off to a strong start batting leadoff for the River Cats.  Good to have Nick Avila back from his Rule 5 stint with the White Sox.  Fernando Tatis Jr. begins a rehab assignment.

A+ Eugene Emeralds first game is this Thursday with the rest of the minor leagues swinging into action on Friday.

Game Wrap 4/3/2023: Giants 12 White Sox 3

 The Giants had toonder in their bats today as they hit 7 HR's including 4 in one inning with two separate back-to-backs.  That offensive explosion overshadowed a terrific start by Anthony DeSclafani in a runaway win.  Key lines:

Lamonte Wade Jr 1B- 2 for 6.  BA= .214.  LMWJ did not figure in the scoring but had two hits.  I've seen some griping about him batting leadoff on other sites.  I know it's early but dude has an OBP of .421.  That is exactly what you want out of a leadoff batter!  So I say, keep putting him up there until he stops getting on base.

Michael Conforto RF- 2 for 6, HR(1).  BA= .167.  Conforto is off to a slow start but we weren't seriously worried.  He started the dinger barrage in the 5'th inning with shot to RF and added a single.  I think he's going to be alright.

Thairo Estrada 2B- 2 for 4, HR(1), BB, SB(1).  BA= .375.  We're looking for a breakout year from Estrada and the early returns sure look promising.  He did leave the game after taking a foul ball of his leg.  He finished the AB but felt tightness in the leg later.  Better to be cautious in the early spring cold weather.  Estrada might be the player the Giants can least afford to lose for an extended period.  Oh, and the HR was a monster deep into the seats on LF.

Joc Pederson DH- 1 for 3, HR(2).  BA= .214.  Pederson started the Giants scoring with a bomb leading off the 2'nd inning and you could see it coming as he worked his way into a 3-2 count. 

Mike Yastrzemski CF/LF- 2 for 3, 2B, HR(1), 2 BB.  BA= .357.  I gotta say, after the last two seasons and an awful spring training, I thought YtY might be done.  So far it looks like he is most definitely not done and that is a very good thing.  It looks like he has gotten away from trying to yank everything down the line and is driving the ball into the gaps like he did in 2019 and 2020.

David Villar 3B/2B- 2 for 4, 2 HR(2), BB.  BA= .286.  Per some tweets I saw today, Villar is tied with two other players for most HR's in MLB since his second callup on Sept 2 last season and this was his third multi-homer game.  This has to be a huge confidence boost for him and we could be witnessing the dawning of an era.

Bryce Johnson CF- 1 for 1, HR(1).  BA= .500.  Bryce Johnson said "Hey!  Don't forget about me!"  He went in as a defensive replacement for Blake Sabol and ended up hitting the 7'th HR of the game for the Giants.  Johnson's yearly HR output in the minors was limited to single digits so I don't think we should expect to see him join the 20 HR club anytime soon.

Anthony Desclafani RHP- 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  GO/AO= 9/1.  ERA= 0.00.  DeSclafani kept the White Sox off balance with great command and mixing his pitches.  At one point Andrew Vaughn yelled at him while running down the 1B line on a soft tapper.  DeSclafani had the be restrained by LMWJ.  Apparently Vaughn was upset that DeSclafani threw a slider on 3-0.  Really?  Then what was he doing swinging in 3-0?  

Sean Manaea LHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 1 K, GO/AO= 4/1.  ERA= 13.50.  Manaea got knocked around but was sitting at 96 MPH with the FB.  If he can maintain that velocity, he'll get it figured out.  Meanwhile with the Giants leading by 7 runs, he forced the White Sox to burn 6 outs to get 3 runs without Kap having to use his late-inning relievers and that has value in a game like this.

It's on off day in The Windy City tomorrow.  Logan Webb RHP is listed as the SP on Wednesday facing Dylan Cease RHP.

Down on the Farm: 4/2/2023

 AAA:  Salt Lake City Bees defeated the Sacramento River Cats 8-3:

Austin Wynns C- 1 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .167.

Nick Duron RHP- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Melvin Adon RHP- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

R. J. Dabovich RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Wynns is kind of the forgotten guy in the Giants catching shuffle. Adon's comeback is starting to look intriguing.  Game time temp was 44 degrees but at least the wind was only 4 MPH out to CF.

Game Wrap 4/2/2023: Yankees 6 Giants 0

 The Giants faced a trifecta of negative energy today:  Facing a rookie pitcher making his first MLB start and a getaway game on the east coast.  It went about as expected.  Not good!  Key lines:

There is honestly not much to say about this game.  The Giants lineup mustered just 3 hits and 2 walks against Jhony Brito RHP while Ross Stripling RHP and Sean Hjelle RHP had tough outings.  Brito was sitting at 97 MPH with a very live heater backed by what looked like at least a plus changeup, which is a tough combination to hit off of.  On the other hand, it looked to me like Brito was getting most of his close pitches called in his favor while Stripling was consistently getting squeezed.  

What's hard to know is how much of that was related to catcher "framing", a concept I still don't understand and makes me wish for automated strike zones every time I read or hear about it.

Blake Sabol C got mostly positive reviews from Stripling and Kap but did not look like a MLB caliber catcher to my very amateur eye.  Sean Hjelle was visibly frustrated over a no-throw on a double steal although it looked like the problem on that play was no defender at 3B to throw to.  Hjelle also threw 3 WP's and really has nobody to blame but himself for those.  They were scuds who any catcher would have struggled to block.  Bottom line:  I think Sabol is going to need a few more games to get the full picture of whether he can play the position or not.

Churn Watch:   Joey Bart C was placed on the 10-day IL with a mild back strain which made room on the active roster for Hjelle.  Currently Roberto Perez C and Blake Sabol C/OF are the only catchers on the active roster.

The Giants move on to Chicago to face the White Sox tomorrow at noon PT with Anthony DeSclafani RHP facing hard throwing Michael Kopech RHP.

Down on the Farm: 4/1/2023

 AAA:

Salt Lake City Bees blanked the Sacramento River Cats 2-0(Game 1 of DH, 7 innings).

Heliot Ramos RF- 2 for 3, SB(1), Assist(3B).  BA= .667.  

Tristan Beck RHP- 3.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 4/1.  ERA= 5.40.  

Ryan Walker RHP- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Game time temp was 50 degrees with a 13 MPH wind blowing in from RF.  Brrr!!!!  Ramos' assist as assisted as he hit a cutoff man who relayed the throw to 3B per a tweet I saw.

Sacramento River Cats outscored the Salt Lake City Bees 7-4(Game 2 of DH, 7 innings).

Heliot Ramos CF- 1 for 4, SB(2).  BA= .429.

Casey Schmitt 3B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .429.

Ricardo Genoves C- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .667.

Clint Coulter 1B- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .500.

Cole Waites RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, Save(1).  ERA= 0.00.

Game time temp at 2:00 PM was up to 58 degrees but wind was up to 18 MPH from RF.  Brrrr!!!

AAA is only minor league level to start the season so far.

Game Wrap 4/1/2023: Giants 7 Yankees 5

 The Giants brought their hitting shoes and the pitching was just good enough as they evened their season record against the Bronx Bombers in Yankee Stadium.  Key Lines:

Lamonte Wade Jr 1B- 1 for 3, 2 BB, SB(1).  BA= .167.  OBP= .444.  Not forgetting Brandon Belt just yet but LMWJ is at least reaching base from the leadoff spot in the lineup.

Joc Pederson DH- 2 for 4, HR(1), BB.  BA= .286.  There you go!  Perfect roles for Joc= lefty side of a DH platoon and Yankee Stadium is tailor made for him with the short porch in RF.

Mike Yastrzemski CF/LF- 2 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .286.  A couple of veterans all but left for dead by the end of spring training showed signs of life today.  YtY played a critical role with 2 doubles while manning CF.

David Villar 3B- 2 for 5.  BA= .333. Villar got the start today and responded with 2 hits.  His development into an everyday player is a big key to the season, IMO.

Brandon Crawford SS- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(1), SB(2).  BA= .375.  Turn back the clock!  Crawford came up huge in this one.  Giants need to remember to give him days off and keep him healthy.

Blake Sabol LF- 1 for 2, 2 HBP.  BA= .250.  The hit was a highly questionable bunt with 2 outs, an open base and Roberto Perez C coming up, but hey!  Sabol has an MLB batting average!  He also got plunked twice which tied some sort of record with 2 other players.  

Roberto Perez C- 0 for 4.  BA= .167.  The Giants catching situation keeps getting weirder.  Joey Bart was supposed to start but was a late scratch with back tightness.  Word is he's getting an MRI.  Hmm....that sounds like a bit more than back tightness, whatever that is.  Is Joey Bart headed to the IL?  Will Blake Sabol get his first MLB start at catcher tomorrow?  I mean, FZ says he has to contribute behind the plate to stick with the team so they have to find out if he can sometime, right?  Are we going to see Gary Sanchez in a Giants uniform sooner than later?  

Alex Cobb RHP- 3.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K's GO/AO= 4/1.  ERA= 2.45.    Cobb was his own worst enemy as he airmailed a potential GIDP after a comebacker in the first inning to score a run for the Yanks and run his pitch count up.  Other than that, it was a fine performance pointing to good things to come.

Jake Junis RHP- 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.86.  If Junis can do this all season, he'll be a big asset.  

Camilo Doval RHP- 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K, Save(1).  ERA= 9.00.  Talk about torture!  Doval was a mess with severe sail on his fastball and no clue about the pitch clock.  He's an extreme GB pitcher and got the GIDP to end the game just when it looked like it was going to be yet another opening series bullpen meltdown.

As the Roster Churns:  

Gary Sanchez C was signed to a minor league contract with a May 1 opt out if he is not added to the MLB roster by then.  I'm thinking he's going to get added a lot sooner than that.

Remember Bryce Johnson OF getting reassigned to minor league camp and Brett Wisely making the roster after being told he was being optioned and his family cancelling their plane tickets to New York?  Well, today Johnson had is contract selected to the 40-man roster and was added to the active roster with Wisely getting the option.  Apparently these roster shenanigans happened because the Giants were chasing a trade which would have had a player on the 40-man roster going the other way and they were hoping to avoid putting Luke Jackson RHP on the 60-day IL.  Oh BTW, Jackson was put on the 60-day IL to make room for Bryce Johnson.

Ross Stripling RHP goes for the series win tomorrow facing rookie Jhony Brito RHP making his first MLB appearance.  He put up solid numbers in AA and AAA last season so this could be trouble as the Giants tend to struggle against pitchers they've never faced before and Stripling was less than sensational in spring training.