Author: jeremy2878

AP Photo File: San Francisco Giants’ Matt Moore throws in the outfield before the baseball game against the San Diego Padres Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Orlando Ramirez

By Jeremy Harness

 The Giants won a road game against Colorado, which is always a cause for celebration, no matter what kind of season they are having.

 The Giants will now try to build on that positive momentum and carry it into Chicago, as they start a three-game series on Friday night against the White Sox.

 Besides having won its last game, more good news for the Giants comes in the fact that the White Sox are reeling at this point. In fact, Chicago is coming off a four-game sweep at the hands of the American League Central-leading Cleveland Indians.

 Ironically, the White Sox lost their most recent contest by the same score, 11-2, as the Giants won theirs. They have also lost eight of their last 10 games dating back to Aug. 29.

 Furthermore, Chicago is in the same overall state this season as the Giants. The White Sox are in last place in the AL Central with a 54-85 mark, which puts them 29 ½ games out of first place.

 To keep their trend going, the Giants are going to lean on Matt Moore (4-13), who has this month to show the Giants that he is worthy to be in the starting rotation next season after a very dismal 2017 campaign, by far the worst of his seven-year career.

 However, he has shown some signs of coming out of it. In his last outing, he went two scoreless innings last Sunday against St. Louis, during which he gave up only a hit to go along with a strikeout.

 He will take the hill opposite Chicago righty Lucas Giolito (2-1), who has won his last two starts and has surrendered only a run on six hits combined in the process. He has also walked only four and struck out 14 batters, including a 10-strikeout outing against Tampa Bay in his last outing on Sept. 3.

 

San Francisco Giants’ Joe Panik smiles after his single off Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Shane Carle to lead off the eighth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017, in Denver. The Giants won 11-3. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

By Jeremy Harness

 On Wednesday, the Giants experienced a new low – yeah, there was a new one – but there was also a high that the team has never experienced before.

 Second baseman Joe Panik absolutely torched the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday with five hits to point the Giants toward a 11-3 win at Coors Field, a place that his team, even when things are going much better, have found it very difficult to get wins over the years.

 In the process, Panik tied a franchise record by collecting 11 hits in a three-game series, the first time that has occurred since 1995. He also saw his average climb to .285 and drive in a pair of runs and scored three more.

 The Giants got the hit parade going off Colorado starter Kyle Freeland (11-10, 3.89 ERA) very quickly on Wednesday, racing out to a 5-0 lead in the first four innings, including a first inning that saw rookie Austin Slater single in a pair of runs.

 Panik had a pair of doubles, both of which drove in runs and added to the Giants’ lead. In addition to panic, four other Giants had multi-hit games, including center fielder Gorkys Hernandez, who had a pair of hits that drove in three runs.

 Meanwhile, Johnny Cueto (7-7, 4.54 ERA) went five innings and surrendered only a run on five hits, walking only one batter and striking out seven, picking up his first win since June 30 at Pittsburgh. When Cueto exited the game, four relievers combined to give up two runs on three hits.

Now for the low.

 Pablo Sandoval, whom the Giants welcomes back with open arms this season, set a new franchise record on Wednesday by going hitless over 38 straight at-bats. His last hit came on Aug. 25, when he singled against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

 

San Francisco Giants pitcher Matt Cain throws to the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/George Nikitin)

By Jeremy Harness

SAN FRANCISCO – The Giants just can’t seem to get out of their own way these days, and when facing a decent team that does not often beat itself, the result is usually a decisive defeat.

That’s exactly what happened Thursday night at AT&T Park, as the St. Louis Cardinals came into town and wrestled the first of a four-game series from the Giants, 5-2.

One can point to a number of aspects that went into the opposite direction of what the Giants needed them to go, such as a lack of productivity at the plate to support starter Matt Cain’s nice outing in place of scheduled starter Madison Bumgarner, who was sick and could not pitch Thursday.

The Giants could not get much of anything going off Cardinals starter Michael Wacha, who went six innings and surrendered only a single run on four hits, walking two and striking out two more.

The one bright spot was Cain, who responded by going five innings and gave up only a pair of runs on seven hits, striking out two and not walking anyone.

“I’ll take that any time,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “Matty gave us everything we needed, but unfortunately, we’re not swinging the bats very well right now.

“He threw the ball great.”

Those two runs, however, came on one swing of the bat in the second inning. Despite giving up a leadoff hit, Cain got through the first inning unscathed, but fate was not as kind to him in the second. That’s because after giving up a single, right fielder Randal Grichuk took Cain deep into the stands in left-center to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.

The Giants got one of those runs back in the fifth inning, thanks to some nice hustle from none other than Hunter Pence. The veteran right fielder tagged up from second to third on a middle-length flyout to right, and then bolted home on a fly ball from pinch hitter Carlos Moncrief.

However, the Cardinals widened the lead again in the seventh when Tommy Pham hit one right back up the middle to bring in Greg Garcia. The Giants looked poised to narrow the gap slightly, particularly when Ryder Jones came through with a two-out triple, and the next batter, Moncrief, appeared to have an infield single in hand.

However, shortstop Paul DeJong snatched the opportunity away by bringing out his inner Derek Jeter, ranging deep in the hole near third base and got just enough on the throw to nab Moncrief and end the inning.

Mark Melancon took the ball in the eighth and immediately got into trouble, loading the bases with only one out. He then walked in a run and then hit Matt Carpenter to bring in another one, handing St. Louis a 5-1 advantage before Bochy decided to yank him.

The Giants made a bit of a rally in the bottom of the ninth, when the Giants ran into a bit of controversy.

Brandon Crawford appeared to have hit a two-run homer just past the wall in right field, right at the foul. However, upon review, umpiring crew chief Mike Everitt determined that a fan had interfered as he caught the ball, forcing Crawford to go back to second while the run was still allowed to score.

However, many in the ballpark shared a different vantage point, which indicated that the ball would have landed just beyond the brick portion of the wall, resulting in a home run. Furthermore, it was in almost the exact same area that J.T. Snow’s homer in Game 2 of the 2000 National League Division Series landed.

“I’m shocked that he overturned it,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “Really, it wasn’t even close (to not being a home run), so that why I think we’re all stunned he overturned it.

“You know the ground rules, that if it’s on the green (portion beyond the wall), it’s a home run.”

As it stood, Crawford would be left stranded at second, as Seung Hwan Oh came in and shut the door on the Giants.

 

 

 San Diego Padres starting pitcher Travis Wood throws a pitch to a San Francisco Giants batter during the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Orlando Ramirez)

 By Jeremy Harness

 At the beginning of this season, it was unfathomable that a team that made the playoffs the year before would lose 100 games the very next year. Sadly for Giants fans, that’s what appears to be happening to their team in 2017.

 That possibility got heightened a bit Wednesday night, as the Giants were shut out by the San Diego Padres, 5-0, at San Diego’s Petco Park, as they saw their record drop to 53-82 with a full month to go in the regular season.

 Padres starting pitcher Travis Wood got things started for the Padres in the third inning, as he touched up his counterpart, Ty Blach, with a solo homer over the wall in left-center. Jose Pirela added yet another solo shot three innings later, as his shot landed in the stands in left field.

 Later that inning, the hinges came off for the Giants. Two more runs came across in the sixth, one of them coming on a wild pitch and the other coming from a single by Austin Hedges that brought in Jabari Blash to give San Diego a commanding 4-0 lead.

 Blash completed the scoring two innings later with a single that scored Wil Myers.

 When it was all said and done, Blach was charged three of those runs on five hits, walking two and striking out one in seeing his ERA go up to 4.68 and seeing his record drop to 8-11. Meanwhile, Wood pitched 4 1/3 innings of shutout ball and gave up six hits. He walked four and struck out one, but he didn’t stick around long enough to get the win.

 That honor belonged to Craig Stammen, who finished up the fifth inning and pitched a perfect sixth to pick up the victory.

 As a result, the Giants dropped the three-game series with San Diego, and they will now head home and face the St. Louis Cardinals for a four-game series that starts Thursday night at AT&T Park.

 

San Francisco Giants’ pitcher Ty Blach who will start on Friday night in Arizona bunts for a single in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Saturday, Aug. 19, 2017, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Mathew Sumner)

By Jeremy Harness

 Well, the Giants’ fate has long been sealed, the season heading absolutely nowhere, and that the only redeeming quality left is seeing how the young guys play from now until the end of the season, as part of a year-end evaluation.

 They will get their next test starting Friday night as they head to Arizona to face the second-place Diamondbacks for a three-game series.

 Ty Blach (8-9, 4.59 ERA) will take the hill Friday night opposite Arizona righty Zack Greinke (14-6, 3.16 ERA).

 Blach has lost his previous two outings, including a defeat at the hands of the hapless Philadelphia Phillies during which he surrendered six runs on eight hits over only 5 1/3 innings. Overall, the lefty has lost four of his last six decisions.

 Greinke has dropped two of his past three decisions, the most recent coming in a 5-0 loss to Minnesota that saw him give up four earned runs (five total) on seven hits and lasted only four innings while doing so.

 If they were in any other division in the majors, the Diamondbacks would be at or near the top spot. However, the 90-win Dodgers happen to play in the National League West, and Arizona, which sports a 70-58 record, is 21 games out of first place.

 The Diamondbacks, however, currently own a playoff spot. Arizona has the inside track on the first of two wild-card positions in the National League. They have a half-game advantage over the Rockies, who have the second wild-card spot.

 

San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey, left, celebrates with Sam Dyson after a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies in San Francisco, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. The Giants won 5-4. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

By Jeremy Harness

SAN FRANCISCO – After yet another tough stretch, the Giants were sure glad to see the Philadelphia Phillies in their home ballpark.

For that matter, so was Jeff Samardzija. After a miserable start to his 2017 campaign, Samardzija has now won four of his last five decisions dating back to July 26, thanks to a 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, the only other team in the National League with a worse record than the Giants this year, at AT&T Park Thursday night.

What makes this especially sweet for the tall righty is the fact that he did not have a very history against this ballclub. Entering Thursday, Samardzija had not seen the Phillies in three years and was 1-4 with an 8.67 ERA in his career against them.

He did get quite a bit of help, however. The one-time Notre Dame wide receiver was given a four-run lead but leaked some serious oil down the stretch before his bullpen came in and slammed the door on the Phillies and preserved the win for him.

For his part, Samardzija (8-12) went six innings and surrendered four runs on eight hits, walking one and striking out six in getting the win.

His pitching counterpart, Aaron Nola (9-8), came into Thursday on a nice roll, surrendering only six runs over his last five starts.

The Giants were able to get going against Nola by using their legs. Kelby Tomlinson led off the third inning by stretching a bloop single into a double. Three batters later, Hunter Pence flared a single into left-center to bring Tomlinson around. After Jarrett Parker drew a walk, Pence came around when Buster Posey scooted one past second to give the Giants a 2-0 advantage.

After Cameron Rupp’s solo shot in the top of the fifth, the Giants pushed the lead back up in the bottom half when Parker hit one into the gap in right-center and scored a pair of runs.

Denard Span had actually intended to tag up at second and got a late start toward the plate while Pence, who was at first, got a full head of steam and came up right behind Span as the two men headed toward third and ended up crossing the plate only a few feet apart.

The Gints could have done even more damage, however. Brandon Crawford singled into left-center to score Parker, but Buster Posey, who had walked during the previous at-bat, was thrown out at third, after he slid in safely but had his momentum carry him off the bag.

The Phillies did get to Samardzija in the top of the sixth, bringing two runs across before he got a single out. Samardzija would surrender another run to narrow the lead to a single run, but he was able to escape with the lead still intact.

The Giants bullpen took care of matters from there, as three relievers combined to give up only a walk and a single for the remaining three innings, with Sam Dyson assuming the closer’s role. One-time closer Mark Melancon, who returned from the disabled list last Saturday after missing 36 games with a right pronator strain, gave up the lone hit after Samardzija left the game.