Author: jeremy2878

By Jeremy Harness

AP photo: San Francisco Giants Buster Posey is greeted at home plate by Denard Span after scoring on a Ramiro Pena single in the second inning off Pittsburgh Pirates

When you’re on a roll, like the one that the Giants find themselves on these days, you just find different ways to win on a consistent basis.

Wednesday was one of those instances. The Giants found themselves down early on, but they got their bats going in the middle innings to pull out a 7-6 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.

Jeff Samardzija had one of his more forgettable outings of the year – although there have not been very many – as he gave up six runs on six hits and lasted only three innings. Most of that damage was done in the second inning, as Gregory Polanco tagged Samardzija for a three-run homer that gave the Pirates a 5-1 lead.

Jung-ho Kang added a solo homer in the next inning, but the Giants would soon start their march. Brandon Crawford began the comeback with a single to right in the fourth, and the Giants added a pair more in the fifth to cut the lead to only two.

In the sixth, Ramiro Pena’s double narrowed Pittsburgh’s lead to a single run, and then Joe Panik scored him as well as Jarrett Parker with another double to give the Giants a lead that they would not relinquish.

However, the comeback would not have been made possible had the bullpen not stretched itself to help out Samardzija. After the starter was chased after the game following the third inning, five pitchers combined to give up only four hits the rest of the way and not a single run.

After not playing in the majors in 2015, Pena has had an impressive start to his tenure with the Giants. The third baseman, who is taking over for Matt Duffy, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained Achilles tendon, is batting .462 after five games, including going 2-for-5 on Wednesday and driving in a pair of runs in the process.

Crawford and Denard Span also had a pair of hits on Wednesday.

 

By Jeremy Harness

photo courtesy sfgate.com: The San Francisco Giants prepare to play indoors at Tampa’s Tropicana Field on Friday night against the Rays

Unlike the Warriors, who have appeared to have taken a significant step back in their quest to win their second straight NBA championship, the Giants have gotten their game back on track after a brief slide.

After taking two of three from the hated Los Angeles Dodgers, the Giants swept right through the Milwaukee Brewers in a three-game series at AT&T Park, punctuating things with a convincing 10-1 win.

The Giants will now travel across the country to take on the Tampa Bay Rays, a team that holds a 31-33 record and is currently in fifth place in the American League East, for a three-game weekend series.

For the Friday opener, the Giants will send Jeff Samardzija to the hill against the Rays’ Chris Archer.

Jake Peavy, who has had his share of struggles this year on the mound, appears to be getting it together after throwing six scoreless innings in his previous start against Dodgers, will start Saturday against Tampa’s Matt Moore (3-4, 5.05 ERA), who himself tossed seven shutout innings in his previous outing.

The Giants will close the series out on Sunday by starting righty Albert Suarez (2-1, 3.33 ERA) opposite Rays right-hander Jake Odorizzi (3-3, 3.79 ERA), who gave up five runs over only 5 2/3 innings in his last outing.

NOTES: The Giants are once again getting re-acquainted with an old pal.

The team signed right-handed reliever Jean Machi to a minor-league deal on Thursday. He went 11-2 with a 3.47 ERA over four years with the Giants from 2012 to 2015, but he really struggled since leaving the Giants.

The 34-year-old spent the first half of this season in the Cubs organization, but while playing for their affiliate in Iowa, he was released earlier this month.

If that wasn’t enough, a bout with alcohol made it much worse. Shortly after his release, a drunken Machi was seen urinating on the bumper of a car owner by an employee of a nearby restaurant. When the employee asked him to stop, the pitcher then challenged him to a fight.

Now he has another chance, to recapture the form that made him such an effective weapon out of the bullpen.

 

By Jeremy Harness

photo by gammonsdaily.com file photo: 36 year old Travis Ishikawa was signed to a minor league contract with the Giants

SAN FRANCISCO–The Giants have lost four of their past seven games, but they still sit four games ahead in the National League West.

In second place in the division is none other than the Los Angeles Dodgers, and they are on a slightly more of an upward trend than the Giants are at this point. While the Giants split a four-game series a week ago in Atlanta, the Dodgers swept those very same Braves at Dodger Stadium in a three-game series last weekend.

Friday night’s opener at AT&T Park is expected to be a dandy. Clayton Kershaw (8-1, 1.46 ERA) will take the hill for the Dodgers, but this time, he won’t be going up against Madison Bumgarner but rather Johnny Cueto (9-1, 2.16 ERA).

On Saturday, Jeff Samardzija will start for the Giants and will square off against Scott Kazmir, who has spent time with the A’s in the past. The Dodgers will send a 19-year-old to the mound in left-hander Julio Urias to face Giants righty Jake Peavy.

NOTES: The Giants are going to get re-acquainted by an old friend.

The team re-signed outfielder Travis Ishikawa, who came up through the Giants’ organization and won a place in team lore with his game-winning home run that sent the Giants to the World Series in 2014, to a minor-league contract on Thursday.

The 32-year-old Ishikawa had spent this season with the White Sox organization, but he was recently released after batting only .201 in 175 plate appearances. At this point, Ishikawa does not have a defined role with the big club, but the sole purpose of signing him is merely for depth.

Meanwhile, the team also signed 36-year-old Chris Denorfia, who has played with the division foe San Diego Padres for the past few years, to a minor-league deal. He has not played this season, but he did hit .269 last year while with the Cubs organization.

 

By Jeremy Harness

AP photo: San Francisco Giant starter Albert Suarez pitches in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field on Wednesday night

The Giants went down to the Atlanta Braves in the 11^th inning, 5-4, inside Turner Field Wednesday night, thanks to a solo homer by Freddie Freeman off reliever Derek Law.

That was not the worst news for the Giants, however. In the fourth inning, Hunter Pence abruptly stopped running out a grounder halfway to first base, having suffered what was later determined to be a strain to his right hamstring, forcing him to miss the rest of the game.

Pence is scheduled to undergo an MRI Thursday morning, and while manager Bruce Bochy said that he is likely headed for the disabled list, Pence himself reportedly said that he can walk on that leg without very many issues, indicating that he may avoid the DL.

The cause for concern for the Giants is that prior to Saturday, Pence had missed six games with another right hamstring strain, which Bochy reportedly said is in the same area as the current injury.

As far as the standings are concerned, the Giants are still in decent shape. With a 33-22 record, they are atop the National League West, sitting 4 ½ games ahead of the second-place Los Angeles Dodgers.

NOTES: As tough as the Giants’ day was, it pales in comparison to the one that Marlon Byrd had Wednesday.

The outfielder, who spent the latter half of last season with the Giants and is now a member of the Cleveland Indians, received a 162-game suspension after testing positive for the growth hormone secretagogue Ipamorelin.

The reason for such a stiff penalty was due to the fact that this was the second such offense. As a free agent in 2012, he was suspended for 50 games after a positive test for Tamoxifen.

Each player has a right to appeal a decision such as this one, but Byrd, assuming sole responsibility for the positive test, decided to waive that right and will begin serving the suspension immediately, which is likely to end his playing career.

By Jeremy Harness

USA Today file photo: San Francisco Giant pitcher Matt Cain is looking forward towards his third successful start on Friday night in Colorado

The Giants are in a great place right now overall, however. They currently sit on top of the National League West with a 4 ½ game lead over the second-place Los Angeles Dodgers. They were able to extend their lead this week by sweeping the San Diego Padres – against whom they are 9-0 this year – in a three-game series at AT&T Park.

As an indication of how good they have been, they have only lost seven contests in the month of May, thanks to a starting rotation that has been on top of its game, which is nothing new to a team that has grown accustomed to winning.

The Giants now head to a place that has not been very kind to them over the years. Coors Field has served as a house of horrors of sorts for the team, and it has not enjoyed much success in this young season there, either.

The team traveled to Denver for a three-game series last month and took the opener quite easily, but the success stopped there. The Rockies used the thin air to their advantage in the next two games, scoring double-digit runs in both of them to take the series.

This time, however, the Giants’ rotation in on a nice roll, including Friday’s starter, Matt Cain. The right-hander has a quite-underwhelming 1-5 record at press time, but his most recent was a dandy. He gave up only a run in six solid innings to a very good Cubs lineup five days ago to get things back on track.

He will face Colorado righty Tyler Chatwood (5-3, 3.02 ERA).

The next day, the Giants will have the top of the rotation ready to take the ball. Madison Bumgarner (6-2, 2.17 ERA) will start the opener against Rockies right-hander Eddie Butler (2-2, 3.58 ERA).

 

By Jeremy Harness

AP photo: San Francisco Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija throws against the San Diego Padres in the first inning

In order for the Giants to gain some real momentum, they had to do it on this particular road trip. That’s precisely what they did.

As it stands right now, they will now board a place back to San Francisco at the top spot in the National League West, winners of eight straight contests, including all seven of their road games at division foes Arizona and San Diego.

Jeff Samardzija jump-started the Giants Thursday night, going eight solid innings and giving up only a run on three hits in the process in shutting down the Padres en route to a 3-1 victory. In addition, Samardzija (6-2, 2.66 ERA) struck out eight batters and did not walk anyone.

The Giants now sit a full three games ahead of the second-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.

The Giants got the lead early, as Buster Posey’s sac fly scored Denard Span and gave them a 1-0 lead.

The Padres, however, responded in the very next inning, tying the game on Alexi Amarista’s RBI double.

Samardzija soon settled down and shut out the Padres the rest of the way. Meanwhile, the Giants pulled away with their bats. Hunter Pence, who had homered the night before, singled in Matt Duffy to give the Giants the lead back, while Brandon Crawford’s solo homer in the seven gave them just the right amount of distance.

Second baseman Joe Panik had four hits for the Giants and also had a stolen base, while Jon Jay had two of the Padres’ four hits.

The Giants, however, face a very stern test as they head home. The Chicago Cubs, who own a 28-11 record at press time, look poised for their first World Series appearance in more than 60 years, and they will send Jake Arrieta (7-0) to the mound for the series opener Friday night against a struggling Jake Peavy (1-4).

 

By Jeremy Harness

AP photo: San Francisco Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto throws out the San Diego Padres Jose Pirela on a bunt attempt in the second inning of Wednesday night’s game at Petco Park

While most folks in the Bay Area are fixated – and for very good reason – on the Warriors’ run through the NBA playoffs, a team from across the bay is putting together a dominant streak of its own.

The Giants have now won seven straight games and have taken over the top spot in the National League West, the latest installment coming in the form of a 2-1 win over the San Diego Padres at Petco Park Wednesday afternoon.

Johnny Cueto, who has solidified the No. 2 spot in the starting rotation, showed his dominance once again on Wednesday. The right-hander with the unique windup gave the entire bullpen the day off by going the distance.

In doing so, Cueto (6-1, 2.70 ERA) gave up only one run on four hits, walking one two against eight strikeouts.

That lone run came in the second inning, when the Padres put together a rally that culminated in an RBI single by Alexei Ramirez. That was short-lived, however, as San Diego would collect only two more singles the rest of the game, as Cueto stayed in his groove.

The Giants helped him out at the plate in the fourth inning. Buster Posey led off the inning with a walk, and Hunter Pence followed that right up by belting a two-run homer off San Diego starter Drew Pomeranz to give the Giants a 2-1 lead that they would not relinquish.

Pomeranz (4-4, 1.96 ERA) went six innings and gave up only those two runs while only surrendering four hits himself, walking two and striking out five.

Of those four hits, leadoff man Denard Span, who improved his batting average to .279, had two of them while Posey and Pence had the other two.

 

 

By Jeremy Harness

AP photo: The San Francisco Giants Connor Gillaspie 21 gets congratulated by Trevor Brown 14 after hitting a home run off Reds pitcher Dan Straily in the fourth inning in Cincinnati

When things start to go wrong, Jake Peavy loves to talk to himself in a, let’s just say, rather harsh sort of tone and very visible to the paying customers in the stands.

Well, he had a lot to yell about Wednesday afternoon.

The right-hander, who certainly has not had a lot to smile about this season, was victimized by the Cincinnati Reds, particularly in the second inning that saw five runs score en route to a 7-4 Giants loss at the Great American Ball Park.

In that inning, the Reds hit three home runs off Peavy, who has been known for giving up longballs in bunches, to spearhead the attack and give them the lead for good. In all, Peavy surrendered seven runs on eight hits over six innings, walking one batter and striking out eight of them.

His counterpart, former Athletic Dan Straily, was a bit more efficient, going 6 1/3 innings and giving up only three runs on six hits, striking out four hitters and walking only two.

All was not lost for the Giants, however, as they were still able to win two out of the three-game series.

Brandon Belt, Kelby Tomlinson and Mac Williamson, who was just called up from Triple-A Sacramento two weeks ago, each had a pair of hits for the Giants, with Belt driving in a run in the process.

The Giants will now head home for a seven-game homestand, which kicks off Thursday night at AT&T Park against the Colorado Rockies.