Author: moepea

I like lilacs, mist and cold air.

Giants, Webb run out of steam and blow their lead in a 5-3 loss to the Rockies

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By Morris Phillips

As often happens, the decision to lift an effective, but laboring starting pitcher can be agonizing.

The decision to remove Logan Webb in the eighth inning on Wednesday was a no-win for the Giants and manager Gabe Kapler. Literally.

Trailing 3-2 to the Giants, and facing the likelihood of a record, 13th consecutive loss to their division rivals, the host Rockies rallied with three runs to gain a critical 5-3 win.

Connor Joe drew a leadoff walk against Webb, ending his streak of 16 consecutive, retired hitters, and that opened the door for Colorado. With Webb at 100 pitches, Kapler decided to remove his starter for reliever Jose Alvarez.

“After the second, which I thought was the more challenging inning, (Webb) was as good as we saw last year,” Kapler said. “This is a very, very challenging place to pitch into the eighth inning. I thought it was one of the better performances in recent memory for Logan.”

It also wasn’t the spot to lean heavily on his ace, thought Kapler. This early in the season, and with an effective bullpen cast ready to go. A two-run lead also provided Alvarez, who hadn’t given up a home run in more than 56 innings of work, a nice cushion.

But Charlie Blackmon sacrificed Joe to second, Yonathan Daza followed with an RBI single and C.J. Cron gave the Rockies a two-run lead with his long home run off Alvarez.

“We’d done a nice job up until that point with Cron,” Kapler said. “He hasn’t taken his best swings against us, which I think is a positive for our pitching staff. It’s really tough to fall behind him. He then is able to sit on a pitch like he did right there, and look, he’s one of the better right-handed hitters in baseball.”

Tyler Kinley retired the Giants in the eighth, and Daniel Bard recovered from a blown save on Monday to get the visitors out in the ninth, ending an agonizing slide for the Rockies, who were also trying to avoid a fourth straight loss overall.

The Giants concluded their road swing with a 3-3 record through Denver and St. Louis. They open a homestand on Friday night against the Padres.

Mike Yastrzemski had an RBI single on Wednesday and Austin Slater and Darin Ruf contributed run scoring, sacrifice flies. Ruf put the Giants in front in the fourth, and Webb cruised into the eighth. But it wasn’t enough to earn the Giants a sweep.

Sean Manaea gets the start for San Diego on Friday, and Jakob Junis goes for the Giants as they continue to utilize a bullpen strategy in the absence of injured starter Anthony DeSclafani.

Yaz Strikes Late: Big home run in the ninth gets Giants past the Rockies, 7-6

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By Morris Phillips

Game deciding home runs look great and feel even better. Ask Mike Yastrzemski.

That felt really good,” said Yastrzemski of his ninth inning blast that broke a 6-6 tie in Denver on Monday night. “Just really trying to get a pitch to drive and elevate, and I got one.”

The Giants had an awful weekend in St. Louis, losing Saturday and Sunday without putting forth much resistance. The Rockies had an awful week, bringing their fast start to the season to a grinding halt. On Monday, both teams were desperate to change their storylines.

For the Rockies to be the club to rebound closer Daniel Bard would have needed a better executed pitch against Yastrzemski. It wasn’t and Bard was saddled with a blown save for the second, straight day after allowing two late runs to the Royals on Sunday.

“It was a breaking ball, probably middle-in, and probably not down enough,” Black said. “It looked to be middle-down, on the inside part of the plate and he kind of golfed it.”

Golf or baseball, Yaz looked good rounding the bases, part of his personal resurgence after he was infrequently in the lineup in last year’s postseason.

Neither starting pitcher lasted long on Monday, and the Rockies’ Antonio Senzatela departed with an injury in the second inning. Alex Wood didn’t survive a rough, fifth inning that saw the Rockies cut into the Giants 4-1 lead. That stuff happens at Coors Field, leaving the game decision up to both bullpen and whatever hitters can supply late-game dramatics. Yastrzemski, preceded by Curt Casali, who homered twice in the game, were the guys for San Francisco.

Casali homered in the third and the fifth innings to give the Giants their 4-1 lead. It marked just the third multi-homer game of his career that’s been built on catching and defense.

“It’s one of those stretches where I just feel good at the plate right now,” Casali said. “I work hard on defense, and that’s always a constant for me, and sprinkle in some offense here and there. It’s nice to drive in some runs and score some runs. It’s fun, that’s all I can say.”

John Brebbia and Camilo Doval closed the door for the Giants in the eighth and ninth after Tyler Rogers allowed a pair of game-tying runs in the seventh.

Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt had rough nights going hitless with a combined five strikeouts. Joc Pederson was 0 for 3 in the three spot in the batting order, and Tommy La Stella was hitless in his only at-bat before being lifted for a pinch-hitter. It was La Stella’s anticipated, season debut after injuries shelved him out of spring training.

Alex Cobb and Colorado’s Chad Kuhl are the announced starters for Tuesday’s game two of the three-game set.

Where’s the O in Oakland? A’s are looking for it after quiet 4-1 loss to the Angels

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By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND–Thirteen times in 37 games the A’s haven’t given themselves a chance. In the cavernous, sparsely populated Coliseum, you can hear what everyone’s asking.

Where’s the offense?

The A’s got a high quality start from Frankie Montas but did little to support it in 4-1 loss to the Angels on Sunday. Thirteen times the A’s have scored one or no runs, and they lost for the 12th time on Sunday under those limitations.

The A’s finished with five hits, proof they couldn’t solve Patrick Sandoval or reliever Jimmy Herget. Both pitchers had their moments of vulnerability, but the A’s never produced a breakthrough. Eleven at-bats with a runner in scoring position were squandered. The A’s only run came on Sean Murphy’s ground out with Jed Lowrie breaking to the plate from third.

The hosts could claim fatigue. In a once in a career type week with nine games in seven days, the A’s finished 5-4, but lost three of the last four to their Southern California rivals.

Last season–with Matt Olson and Matt Chapman leading their offense–the A’s won 15 of 19 against the Angels. This season the health of Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, along with the emergence of Taylor Ward have allowed the Angels to turn things around. They’re tied for first place with the Astros, and Sunday’s win moved them 11 games over .500 for the first time in nearly three years.

“Our goal is to win within our division,” Maddon said. “That’s a big goal of ours this year. We were horrible at it last year, and especially against Oakland. They beat up on us like a drum last year. We have to get better within our division. We’ve got to win series like this on the road.”

Ohtani capped his best series in Oakland with a loud, two-run shot off Montas in the first inning. On Saturday, Ohtani hit his 100th home run in the second game of the scheduled doubleheader.

“Not many people hit Montas but I don’t know, that was 97 mph elevated and he got all of it. When he’s starting to get to that, heads up.”

Anaheim nursed a 2-1 lead until the eighth when they came up with single runs in the eighth and ninth to put the game away.

On Monday, the A’s loaded stretch of games continues with the Twins visiting the Coliseum. Zach Logue will be recalled from AAA Las Vegas and make his third, big league start for the A’s in a match-up with the Twins’ Chris Archer.

Giants’ group mentality winning games again in 2022, despite individual losses and additions

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Buster Posey retired, Kevin Gausman left town in search of big bucks, and yes, the Dodgers did everything but disappear. And somehow the Giants persevered, and in many ways got better.

Better than 107 regular season wins? We’ll see.

The common wisdom has been that the Giants don’t have to break a franchise-record for regular season wins for a second, straight season to be better. Trying to do so in competition with the Dodgers, and within the new reality of expanded playoffs would be unnecessary. But within an organization built on incremental improvement and fine tuning, the Giants–through 31 games–have shown signs of ascendancy.

The 2022 Giants don’t hit home runs like they did in 2021, but they’re positively stingy in giving them up. The pitching staff has allowed just 17 round trippers in 31 games, and they’ve issued just 84 walks. The theme: nothing easy for opposing hitters, and as the team’s offense kicks in, these pitching numbers grow in significance.

Evan Longoria, LaMonte Wade Jr., Steven Duggar, Brandon Belt and Tommy LaStella (who has yet to debut in 2022) have missed sizeable pieces of the schedule, reducing the potency of the offense. In their place Luis Gonzales, Thairo Estrada, Joc Pederson and Wilmer Flores have picked up their games, and kept the basepaths moving. Compensating for the relative lack of homers (32 hit in 31 games), the Giants led MLB in sacrifice flies (17) and 20 stolen bases put the team in the top five across baseball. Can’t hammer ’em? Finesse ’em, be resourceful. The Giants have clearly gotten the message.

The team’s bullpen has been fantastic so far, easily the best unit of the ballclub to date. No fewer than seven, heavy usage relievers sport ERAs of less than 3.38. Jake McGee, last season’s closer is the one outlier and he’s landed on the injured list partly in hopes he can recapture his effectiveness.

The Giants’ schedule–as we can envision it now–is challenging throughout. That’s the case succinctly in the coming weeks with the Cardinals, Mets, Padres and the Phillies before they host the Dodgers for the first time on June 10.

On Friday, Logan Webb goes for a MLB-leading fifth win on Friday night in St. Louis. The Cardinals have Jordan Hicks has their expected starter.

Rockies Roughed Up… Again: Giants complete sweep with 7-1 win over Colorado

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–For the Giants, beating the Colorado Rockies isn’t routine, but there is a routine to it.

A tenth consecutive win over their division rivals featured ten hits for the Giants, extending an incredible streak to–you can’t make this up–ten games of ten hits or more. Not only did the Giants sweep the three-game set, winning 7-1 on Wednesday afternoon, they slugged their way throughout leaving themselves elated and the visitors dejected.

“When we’re together and we’re near healthy, and with new contributions, we’re a deep offensive club,” manager Gabe Kapler said.

“We all knew this is us, but it’s nice to have confirmation that this is the way we should be playing,” said starting pitcher Alex Cobb, who pitched into the sixth inning and allowed just three hits.

The win allowed the hosts to complete the rarity of five, consecutive losses followed by five, straight victories. The streak coincides with the returns of Brandon Belt, LaMonte Wade Jr., and on Wednesday, the season debut of Evan Longoria. The streak also timed up with the appearance of the Rockies, who are having a rough time achieving anything positive these days. Colorado won just one time on their completed road swing to Phoenix and San Francisco, scoring 13 runs total and failing to hit a home run.

“We got outpitched, we got outhit,” manager Bud Black said. “We’ve got to clean up a couple of things defensively.

“But we’ll bounce back, we’ve got a good group. The guys are frustrated, but you know, it’s part of the long season.”

The Giants took advantage of pitcher Chad Kuhl the second time through the batting order with three runs in the fourth, and two more in the fifth. Joey Bart abandoned his struggles with the bat, contributing an RBI single in the fourth. And a suddenly quiet Brandon Crawford hit loudly in the fifth with a two-run shot.

Kuhl hurt himself by issuing a walk to Mike Yastrzemski, then throwing the ball away on a pick off attempt. Crawford’s run-scoring, ground ball out followed. After Bart knocked in Thairo Estrada, Belt capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly plating Crawford.

Longoria’s debut wasn’t pretty, he struck out three times and went hitless in five at-bats. But Rockies’ third baseman Ryan McMahon inadvertently included Longoria in the parade, by booting his ground ball in the eighth, which keyed a two-run rally that put the Giants comfortably ahead.

A day off for travel precedes the Giants’ series opener in St. Louis on Friday night. Logan Webb gets the start in a match-up with the Cardinal’s Steven Matz.

Strike Three!: Giants throw the baseball past the Rockies in 8-5 win

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Giants’ fans versed in what makes the team click under manager Gabe Kapler already know: Carlos Rodon and his contributions are special. It may sound trite, but the team’s key free agent acquisition is just what the doctor ordered.

Thankfully, Kapler comes closest to describing the newest phenomenon to hit Oracle Park.

“As good as he’s been, as many dudes as he struck out, there’s still probably more ceiling in there for Carlos,” Kapler said. “He’s that good.”

Rodon piled up 12 strikeouts, and mixed in two, timely double play balls in the Giants 8-5 win over the visiting Rockies Monday. The former Chicago White Sox threw 110 pitches and marveled at how easily the ball left his hand more than his ability to consistently dial up swings and misses.

“It worked out for us,” Rodon said of Kapler’s decision to allow him to pitch a sixth inning. “I felt like it was an easy fastball and I really wasn’t exerting a lot on all pitches, so it was an easier decision for me to say yes.”

“He has good stuff,” manager Bud Black said of Rodon, who frustrated Rockies’ hitters. “He’s not leading the league in strikeout percentage for any reason on that his stuff. It’s legit. We saw the velocity and we saw the slider, just like we talked about. We knew it was coming.”

Rodon’s first six outings as a Giant are in the record books. His 53 strikeouts over that span are the second most registered by a Giants’ pitcher since the turn of the century 122 years ago. Only Tim Lincecum with 56 in 2010 has tallied more.

The Giants’ offense did their part with a run in the first, two in the third and three in the sixth which ruined the evening for Austin Gomber. The Rockies’ starter surrendered a first inning triple to Austin Slater and a two-run shot to Mauricio Dubon in the third. After a pair of hitters reached in the sixth, Gomber was relieved by Robert Stephenson, who couldn’t keep the visitors within range, down just 3-2.

Darin Ruf’s single scored Dubon, Brandon Crawford drew a walk, then the Rockies got sloppy. Stephenson uncorked a wild pitch and catcher Elias Diaz’ throwing error allowed Wilmer Flores to score. Pinch-hitter Joc Pedersen’s sacrifice fly chased home a third run in the inning.

The Giants’ offense showed resourcefulness throughout with three sacrifice flies and a pair of stolen bases. They piled up 11 hits, performed late in counts as Kapler’s edict for his team to control a game’s “time of possession” played big. The team capped a brilliant offensive night with a pair of runs in the eighth.

The Giants won a third straight after losses in seven of eight. The momentum could build as the Rockies have dropped eight in a row to the Giants, with each of those eight wins featuring at least 10 Giants’ hits. The Rockies have dropped seven of eight away from Coors Field, possibly signaling that their unexpected fast start to the season could be ending.

Alex Wood takes the mound for San Francisco on Tuesday, and he’s had success against the Rockies across 19 starts against them for the Dodgers and Giants. What’s telling is most of that success has come away from Coors Field, where Wood’s ERA is an undesirable 8.50.

Antonio Senzatela starts for Colorado. He has a 5-1 record against the Giants.

Capable Yet Culpable: A’s lead briefly, but lose 4-3 to the Twins, their ninth, straight loss

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By Morris Phillips

The A’s went from virtually no offense on Saturday to a key lineup addition and a little bit of offense on Sunday, but it wasn’t enough. The struggling ballclub still dropped its ninth straight, losing to the Twins 4-3.

If you’re concerned, grab a bat. This club needs all the help it can get apparently.

The A’s enjoyed a brief, 3-1 lead over the Twins and starter Chris Paddack in the third, but Paddack apparently wasn’t right, and after motioning to the Twins’ dugout, Paddack departed with what was later described as elbow discomfort. The injury was disturbing news for the hosts. It also was a clear moment of changing momentum as well.

The Twins answered with three runs in the bottom of the third, first on Jose Miranda’s RBI double, then Jorge Polanco’s two-run single off Daulton Jeffries. Jeffries went seven, but suffered the loss, allowing four runs on seven hits. After winning his first decision this season, Cal alum Jeffries has dropped five, consecutive decisions, and continues to struggle with opponent’s high, on-base percentage which translates to heavy traffic on the bases.

The A’s welcomed back Ramon Laureano from his lengthy, PED suspension, but were without Stephen Piscotty, Jed Lowrie and starting pitcher Cole Irvin. The absences have hurt a club desperate for talent and experience, which is reflected in the length of losing streak, and their statistics which have them last in on-base percentage and hitting just .170 as a team over their previous 13 games combined.

The Twins have 11 players currently on the injured list, but the effect on their play isn’t as noticeable. The Twins won Sunday for the ninth, consecutive time at Target Field. Their most notable absence prior to the game’s start was Byron Buxton, the hard hitting outfielder who shelved due to a “low-level” hip strain.

The A’s struck first–in the first– in a manner unlikely for a team that has scratched together the bare minimum offensively the last two weeks with three, consecutive base hits with two outs. Chad Pinder delivered the third single, scoring Sean Murphy. In the third, Seth Brown knocked in a pair of runs with a base hit that preceded Paddack’s exit.

The A’s haven’t won since splitting the two-game series with the Giants. Since then they’ve been swept by the Guardians, Rays and now the Twins. The A’s open a series with the Tigers in Detroit on Monday with Paul Blackburn getting the start, opposed by the Tigers’ Michael Pineda.

“We’ve just got to keep swinging it and it will fall come the next couple series,” Jeffries said.

Hitting Woes Persist: Cardinals shutdown Giants 7-1 in series opener

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Since Gabe Kapler assumed the manager’s position, the Giants haven’t lost five, consecutive games.

That streak is jeopardy.

After a third straight game of scoring just one run, and losing 7-1, the Giants have lost four in a row, and six of seven. Their absence-laden lineup hasn’t cut it, forcing the pitching staff into a do-or-die situation in regards to surrendering one or two runs. Right now, the doomsdayers are circling, leaving the team to beg for patience.

“We hit some balls hard right at people,” Mike Yastrzemski said. “We’ve had some unlucky breaks, and we’re still in a mode where we’re waiting for some people to get back. It’s too early for there to be anything to worry about.”

The visiting Cardinals scored one in the third inning–on Yadier Molina’s home run–two in the fifth, and for in the seventh.

Miles Mikolas, a 33-year old starter with an unusual career arc, pitched into the sixth inning to gain the win. Mikolas has been a major leaguer since 2012 but he’s thrown more than 931 pitches in just two of those 11 seasons, winning 18 games in 2018, only to lose 14 games in 2019. Mikolas didn’t pitch at the big league level at all in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2020. Since signing a four-year, $68 million dollar deal prior to 2019, he’s won just 11 games, but one of those 11 came Thursday.

Mikolas scattered seven hits and three walks across his 6 1/3 innings, which energized the Giants’ crowd at points only to see them leave 10 runners stranded over the length of the ballgame.

“We’re getting guys on, now we’ve got to find a way to get ’em in,” Brandon Crawford said.

The Giants rolled out nine arms to handle a ballgame in the absence of a traditional starter but saw Jose Alvarez and Jake McGee struggle as the pair allowed five of St. Louis’ seven runs. The Giants bullpen remains a bright spot in the early season with a gaggle of low ERA’s and quality relief efforts, but that doesn’t include McGee, who has allowed eight runs in 8 1/3 innings work.

Molina is in his 19th and presumed, final season and he’s still injecting the occasional, long ball. The iconic catcher has hit 20 home runs just twice in his career, but his 171 homers show he’s capable.

“I feel back to normal,” Molina said. “I started seeing the ball pretty good, I started making better at-bats. That’s what I can do. Hopefully I can keep doing what I’m doing right now, just having great at-bats and the results will come.”

The Giants turn to Alex Cobb in game two on Friday night. Jordan Hicks gets the start for the Cardinals.

Dodgers Swat the Giants: 9-1 win part of LA’s emphatic early-season statement

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By Morris Phillips

The Giants were in a competitive ballgame Wednesday night, and then they were not. Simple as that.

In consecutive innings the Dodgers got a Mookie Betts home run, a two-run triple from Freddie Freeman, and another homer from Max Muncy and the Giants were trounced 9-1 at Dodger Stadium. In the brief, two-game set, the Giants scored just two runs, a continuation of their rough times that started on their previous, home stand.

Alex Wood breezed through the Dodgers lineup the first time through, but by the end of his stint in the sixth inning, his former club figured him out, scoring three times on four hits to lead 3-1.

Freeman’s breathless run around the bases was the centerpiece to Los Angeles’ four-run seventh that turned the game into a rout. Muncy’s home run with Will Smith aboard capped the Dodgers’ outburst in the eighth.

“I think collectively it was the best game we’ve played,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Just a well-played offensive game.”

The Giants have dropped five of six, and are finally showing the stress of all their personnel issues, although they did see Mike Yastrzemski return to the lineup on Wednesday. Evan Longoria, Tommy La Stella and Lamonte Wade Jr. are all expected to return within the next seven days.

“When we get leadoff runners on consistently, we’re going to score runs,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “Obviously didn’t happen in this game. They beat us throughout the night.”

The Giants return home for Thursday’s opener against the Cardinals, a four-game set that will take them through the weekend.

Giants/Dodgers 2022 Is Here: What to know

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By Morris Phillips

The Dodgers-Giants rivalry got a lot more entrenched last season after the teams combined for 213 regular season wins and an incredible 5-game series in the NLDS. None other than Vin Scully proclaimed Game 5 as the biggest, single game in the century-plus series.

The Giants lost Game 5, and the Dodgers lost in the next round to the Braves, who won the World Series, not the Dodgers or the Giants. But the memories and excitement persist, how could they not?

“It was phenomenal. It was a lot of fun. I think it was probably fun for all the fans that got to witness that,” manager Gabe Kapler said of last year’s high-level duel.

So 2022 is here, the rivalry returns Tuesday in Dodger Stadium, and both teams are still plenty capable of ruining things for each other and winning it all. Let’s get caught up:

The Dodgers saw big names move in and out, and one big name stay put. Kenley Jansen, Corey Seager, Max Scherzer left the Dodgers, while Freddie Freeman got a generous deal to leave the Braves and come to LA. Clayton Kershaw turned down some offers, and opted not to retire. So far this season–his 15th in Los Angeles–he’s been up to old tricks. It’s a slightly younger, less experienced team, but still heralded as the Series favorite. More importantly, the Dodgers are so good offensively and defensively, no other team comes close. Not surprisingly, they lead MLB in run differential despite seven losses to date (+47).

The Giants didn’t act all crazy in free agency and worked the margins of their roster with a couple of low-profile upgrades. But the results aren’t bad: Through 22 games, the Giants have the highest scoring offense in baseball with nearly five runs a game, and they won 14 times.

Heading into the series, the Giants have to be worried about their personnel with a couple names returning and a sizeable group still injured. At least one outfielder, LaMonte Wade Jr. will return and Mike Yastrzemski is a possibility for Tuesday.

The Dodgers position group is completely healthy, while their pitching staff has some omissions. Blake Treinen, Dustin May, Andrew Heaney and David Price are all out, and none are expected this week.

The Giants get an opportunity to make an early impression with Carlos Rodon, the hottest performer on either roster. Rodon has struck out a franchise-record (for debut pitchers) 38 batters and won three times in four starts.