Author: moepea

I like lilacs, mist and cold air.

Giants enter the defining stretch of their season: at Atlanta, home for Milwaukee and the Dodgers

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

After today’s much-needed off day, the Giants play 16 games in 16 days, a stretch that will undoubtedly define their season that has them at 80-44, and in first place in the NL West.

What’s especially intriguing about the stretch is the “middle” 10 games against the Braves, Brewers and Dodgers–all three almost locks to qualify for the postseason just like the Giants. Each series will be a referendum on the Giants’ wildly successful formula thus far: can they continue to play home run ball against playoff-caliber pitching, and can their starting rotation stand up given the questions surrounding Kevin Gausman, Anthony DeSclafani and Johnny Cueto?

The series against the Dodgers will be the pair’s final regular season meetings. The season series is tied, 8-8 and each club will have just 25 games remaining after it concludes.

The Braves have won 15 of 17 and taken control of the NL East, leading by five games over the Phillies. The Giants will see two of the Braves’ best starters on Friday and Saturday in Max Fried and Drew Smyly.

The Brewers and Giants had an entertaining series in Milwaukee a couple of weeks back that saw the Giants pull out a couple of sneaky wins to capture that series. Since then, the Brewers have won 10 of 13 and still have a chance to capture the NL’s best won-loss record if the Giants or Dodgers falter.

The last seven games of the stretch–against the Brewers and Dodgers–will be at Oracle Park.

A’s find out what the Giants are working with for the second, consecutive day in tough 2-1 loss

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND–For Mark Canha, who had the historical angle in his memory, it was a head scratcher.

“They did the same thing to us this year that we did to them last year,” Canha said. “It’s kind of insane to think about how that happened.”

Last year in the COVID-shortened season, Stephen Piscotty came up the ninth inning, grand slam to tie it, and Canha the three-run homer in the ninth the next night. Those surprises happened in the Giants’ ballpark, resulted in one run wins for the A’s, and they went to the playoffs and the Giants did not.

Fast forward to Saturday and Sunday, and the Giants come up with Lamonte Wade Jr.’s two-run shot in the ninth to win it Saturday, and a two-run shot from Donovan Solano to win Sunday, 2-1.

You can’t make this stuff up, and after a disastrous week at Chicago, and at home for Bay Bridge Series, the A’s have to wonder if their playoff hopes are in peril.

Maybe the biggest surprise Sunday was the A’s manager Bob Melvin followed Frankie Montas’ seven, scoreless innings with a relief appearance from inexperienced A.J. Puk. But his regular guys, Yusmeiro Petit and Andrew Chafin needed a day after some heavy lifting over the previous games. That put Puk in a big situation, and he appeared up to it, after he retired Wilmer Flores and Darin Ruf, the first two batters he faced.

But Puk then walked Austin Slater, and Solano took him out over the left field wall on the next pitch.

“He gets two out and nobody on,” Melvin said. “But two-out walks, a lot of times, end up hurting you.”

Offensively, the A’s struggled with five singles, and three doubles, but no key hits. The A’s finished 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position, and Starling Marte’s sixth inning base hit made contact with Canha running off second base, and produced an out–not a two-run lead.

After a 2-5 week, the A’s are 70-55, tied with the Red Sox for the second wild card spot, and looking at the Mariners, who have climbed within three games of Boston and Oakland for the second spot. The A’s see the Mariners at the Coliseum on Monday for the first of two games.

The A’s did have some bright spots. Montas was spectacular for seven innings, and showed that he may be ready to give the club what they’ll be missing with Chris Bassitt on the injured list. Also, Starling Marte had three more hits, and stayed as hot as possible, as he clearly is the most productive trade deadline acquisition anywhere in MLB.

Paul Blackburn will be called up to start Monday’s game in place of Bassitt in a matchup with Seattle’s Marco Gonzales.

Bullpen Runs Thin: Giants keep Mets in check through 10 innings then disaster strikes in 6-2 loss

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Okay, all knowing metropolitan New York media, what of that connection between Steve Cohen and Tyler Chatwood. What do we know?

There probably isn’t a relationship between the frustrated, billionaire Mets owner and the Giants’ newest bullpen acquisition, but from a journalistic standpoint, it’s worth a look.

On Wednesday afternoon at hazy Oracle Park the Giants–without starter Anthony DeSclafani, who departed after throwing 29 pitches with an ankle issue–held the Mets in a lifeless state for 10 innings. Through 10, the Mets managed five hits, none for extra bases, and one walk. J.D. Davis rescued the Metropolitans with a ninth inning, sacrifice fly to tie the game 1-1 and keep his team from an ignominious result.

Still, Cohen had to be steaming.

One day after he issued his well-intentioned tweet criticizing his team’s offense by saying, “it’s hard to understand how professional hitters can be this unproductive. The best teams have a more disciplined approach. The slugging and OPS numbers don’t lie,” the Mets seemed to be playing in defiance or ignorance of Cohen’s statement.

Then Chatwood appeared, and the tenor and rhythm of the afternoon changed dramatically.

In his initial appearance as a Giant–after he was DFA’d by the Blue Jays–Chatwood nudged the slumbering New York bats. First Michael Conforto delivered a hard-hit double to right field gap that chased home the placed runner, Jeff McNeil, to give the Mets their first lead of the game.

But Chatwood escaped further damage, retiring the next two batters. The Giants answered in the bottom of the inning with Tommy La Stella’s RBI hit, and that brought us to the 12th and more from Chatwood.

First, Jonathan Villar smashed a shot down the left field line that was initially ruled fair for a run-scoring double, but then ruled foul by replay review. Villar struck out two pitches later. But the next batter, Patrick Mazeika battled for seven pitches, and got rewarded with a bloop single. Former Giant Kevin Pillar was next, and he sent a 95 mph sinker into the left field bleachers for a 5-2 Mets lead.

The backstory? Chatwood has always been known for his nasty repertoire of two-seam fastballs (sinkers) and cutters with the cutter arriving at the plate most frequently at seven miles an hour slower than his sinker. But in discussing his recent past with local media upon his signing with the Giants, he said that the popularity of the high fastball in today’s game left him lacking, and trying to do something he doesn’t do well. That led to lack of command, more walks, and inflated ERA that ultimately forced him out of favor with Toronto.

Enter the Giants, who have developed a reputation of resuscitating pitchers by eliminating pitches that they don’t throw well, reference Kevin Gausman and DeSclafani. So in four appearances in Sacramento, Chatwood focused on just throwing his sinkers and cutters and he had success. In 5 2/3 innings versus Triple-A competition, Chatwood didn’t allow a run. That earned him a promotion on Tuesday.

Chatwood’s sinker that had good sink didn’t fool Pillar. The veteran hitter waited on it–if you can on a 95 mph offering–and put a swing on it. The issue? Chatwood had thrown 30 pitches at that juncture, and 19 of them were sinkers at 95 to 97. If good hitters see it enough, they’ll figure it out.

But that’s the dire nature of extra inning baseball and being the last available guy. Manager Gabe Kapler had a philosophical take on the pitch that essentially decided a long, afternoon of baseball.

“Chatwood in that situation did everything we could ask him to do,” Kapler said. “Obviously I think he’d like to have that sinker back he threw to Pillar that ran middle-in or into a spot where Pillar could get it in the air like he did.”

Ironically, Kapler started his managerial career four seasons ago as a guy who was in over his head managing his bullpen. In a well-known sequence, Kapler, then managing the Phillies made a pair of rapid fire pitching changes, and didn’t realize that second arm he summoned hadn’t been up throwing and warming up. The Philly media pounced, and the scene became a national story.

Fast forward to August 2021, and Kapler has the best team in baseball, and a pitching staff that has gotten better and better as the season has progressed. Along with the 181 home runs that will shatter the San Francisco record book, the team’s 3.33 ERA is the biggest surprise. The Giants have turned close, low scoring games keyed by that pitching into a wildly winning formula by mixing in the bundle of timely, always impactful home runs. Again, Kapler was philosophical after the game.

“I think we’ve gotten pretty spoiled by this group of relievers,” Kapler said. “They’ve just been so dependable and so durable and we’ve come to expect they’re going to throw up zeroes and give us a chance to win. I don’t feel there are many clubs that can say that.”

The Giants finished their homestand with a 7-2 record and pending Wednesday night’s Pirates-Dodgers game saw their lead in the NL West shrink to 3 1/2 games. An off-day with no planes or hotels leading into a road trip that starts in Oakland couldn’t be better placed.

The Giants maintain their lofty spot as the second-best regular season team in San Francisco history after 121 games with a 78-43 record, surpassed only by the ’93 Giants who famously didn’t qualify for the playoffs despite 103 wins. This Giants team merely needs a slightly better than .500 finish in their 41 remaining games to win 100 games and likely outlast the World Champion Dodgers. A 22-19 finish would do the trick.

Not bad.

The Giants resume play Friday night in Oakland with Alex Wood facing the A’s James Kaprelian.

Kris Boss: Bryant homers twice, Giants outlast the Mets, 7-5

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–On 77 occasions this season, the Giants have felt great about themselves and their play. After Monday’s win, that good feeling was running rampant throughout their clubhouse.

“We’re working the ball through the middle, we’re not letting the starter steal strikes from the very first pitch and we’re ready to go right when the bell rings,” Monday’s hero Kris Bryant said. “It’s really fun to be a part of.”

Bryant homered twice–the first time to give the Giants the lead, then later to build on that lead–and the Giants outlasted the Mets, 7-5 at Oracle Park. The team’s big trade deadline acquisition had gone more than two weeks without home run after doing so in his first game with his new club on August 1.

“After the second one, obviously back-to-back is going to get the crowd going,” Bryant said. “I felt that one. That one, I just can’t thank (the fans) enough. They’ve embraced me with open arms and it’s really been a great time playing in front of them.”

Bryant’s second homer in the seventh came one pitch after Brandon Belt connected, and extended the Giants lead to 6-3 in a game the Mets briefly led 3-2 in the fifth inning. The Mets answered with Jonathan Villar’s two-run shot in the eighth, but Jake McGee closed the door after that, pitching a 1-2-3 ninth for his career-best 26th save.

Bryant and McGee weren’t the Giants only stars on the night. In fact, there were a bunch as the club bagged its most satisfying win in weeks, and maintained its four-game lead over the Dodgers in the NL West.

Kevin Gausman picked up his 12th win–a career high–by pitching five innings, allowing three runs while striking out seven. The seven strikeouts caught notice as the team’s ace has struggled since the All-Star break. On Monday however, Gausman had great fastball location, and life on his cutter, as Mets’ hitters struggled to find balance attacking his pitches. Still, Gausman’s outing wasn’t without its wart: Pete Alonso’s hard hit triple keyed a three-run fifth that briefly gave the Mets the lead.

Brandon Crawford continued his hot hitting with four hits, Wilmer Flores knocked in a run against his former team, and Brandon Belt came up big with his pinch-hit home run in the seventh.

A couple of the Mets complained about the scheduling that saw the team play at home in Citi Field on Sunday night against the Dodgers than have to fly all the way across country to face the Giants on Monday night. The Dodgers made the same trek, and survived, beating the Pirates 2-1. And to be fair, the Mets survived too, thanks to starter Rich Hill, and his underwhelming but effective repertoire that kept the Giants under raps until the fourth when they strung together five, consecutive hits for a 2-0 lead.

The Mets are in the midst of a concerning stretch of 13 games against the Giants and Dodgers that could decide their fate in the NL East. The club had lead the division until they slumped coming out of the All-Star break, allowing the Phillies and Braves to surge. The Mets are 0-4 in the stretch so far, a stretch which as challenging as any in the last 40 seasons at this stage of the season. Both the Dodgers and Giants have winning percentages above .600 and no club has faced teams with such superior win percentages 100 games into a season for this lengthy a stretch since the Blue Jays did it in 1980. The Jays didn’t fare well either, winning just four of the 13 games.

The Giants moved a season-best 35 games above .500, and have the second-best, 119-game start to a season in San Francisco Giants history at 77-42. The Giants have won 16 of 21, and a much more modest stretch of 23-20 to end the season would net them 100 wins.

On Tuesday, the Giants welcome the much anticipated appearance of Logan Webb, who will be trying to win a sixth, consecutive decision dating back to May 11. New York will counter with Marcus Stroman, who will be facing the Giants for only the second time, and the first as a Met.

A’s, Manaea roughed up in 7-4 loss to the Rangers

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

The look on Sean Manaea’s face? Not good.

After allowing a second home run on Sunday afternoon to Texas’ DJ Peters–or better yet, assisting Peters–Manaea looked up at the Globe Life Field retractable roof, and without saying anything, and just looking at his eyes, appeared to be saying, “What am I doing?”

In the grandest circuit of professional baseball anywhere in the world, you won’t see two, more majestically struck baseballs. Peters deserves credit, but Manaea would admit, he was more than helpful.

It’s been one of those seasons for Manaea: sometimes spectacular, sometimes awful, the A’s top line starter can’t find a groove from start to start. Manaea allowed seven earned runs in Sunday’s 7-1 loss, the second time he allowed as many runs this season. He also allowed five earned runs in a loss at the Coliseum two weeks ago to the Padres.

But in 12 of his 25 starts this season, Manaea’s been splendid, allowing zero or one earned run. In one stretch of five starts spanning June and July, Manaea strung together five such starts, including his four-hit, complete game shutout at Seattle on June 2. None of the last three starts for Manaea have fallen into the splendid category. With the season on the line, he needs to get back to winning.

“Giving up home runs, so, yeah,” Manaea said when asked what needs to change. “I guess, throwing stuff down the middle, I guess that counts as better command.”

“It was just some long balls that got him today,” manager Bob Melvin said of Manaea. “This is a tough stretch for him. A lot of guys go through tough stretches. You’ve got to pitch your way out.”

Manaea was both good and bad within Sunday’s start. He walked just one batter, struck out five, but five extra-base hits–three homers and two doubles– each chased home at least one run. None were cheap, especially the two hit by Peters. The 460-foot home run he tagged in the first inning was one of the longest hit in the short history of the new Arlington ballpark, and could be seen picking up passengers in flight.

“I just want to be as prepared as possible and do my homework, from the elite bullpen arms to the starters every day — watching films and taking notes,” Peters said of his breakout performance which netted him two of his four career home runs. “Obviously, I’m still new but being as prepared as possible is definitely key. That’s what all of the championship teams do.

Manaea departed trailing 7-1 after five innings, and that put the A’s in an impossible spot, but they still rallied with Mark Canha’s homer in the sixth, and RBI hits from Tony Kemp and Sean Murphy in the seventh and eighth. But the ninth brought no magic: Starling Marte flew out to left with a pair of runners aboard to end the ballgame.

Matt Chapman stayed hot with a solo shot in the 2nd off winning pitcher Koby Allard. He had three hits on the afternoon, and he’s homered three times in the first six games of the road trip.

The A’s have 44 games remaining, and as they’ve grown accustomed to in recent seasons, there are plenty of moving parts around them. The Astros also lost, so the A’s squandered an opportunity to get within 1 1/2 games of the AL West lead. The trio of wild card contenders in the AL East–Boston, New York and Toronto–all won with Boston equaling Oakland’s mark at 68-50.

Frankie Montas gets the start Monday in Chicago for the first of four games with the White Sox. Familiar face Dallas Kuechel gets the start for Chicago, and at age 33, the veteran may be losing velocity and fooling hitters less frequently. Kuechel has allowed 21 home runs in 22 starts this season.

Webb, Wade help give Giants their biggest NL West lead of the season in a 7-0 romp over the Rockies

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–German Marquez may be on pace for his most wins in his six major league seasons along with his first All-Star Game appearance last month, but he can’t beat the Giants.

Marquez is 0-4 against the Giants this year with a 13.82 ERA, and last night’s 7-0 drubbing at Oracle Park may have been his worst outing yet against the G-Men. Against everyone, Marquez is 10-9 with a 3.77 ERA.

“I continue to make my pitches and continue to work, but I’m really not sure,” Marquez answered when asked about his struggles against San Francisco.

 “He was really focused tonight to turn the tide on these guys,” manager Bud Black said of German. “It’s just that he didn’t make any pitches.”

In his career, German is 4-9 against the Giants with an ERA of 7.19. But in his six years in Denver, he’s never seen a Giants’ team this good. Or a Giants’ team that treats him this bad. On Thursday, German expended 81 pitches to get through four innings, capped off by a six-run outburst in which everything the Giants hit was hit hard. Lamonte Wade Jr. typified the inning with a 430-foot bomb above Triples Alley where home runs rarely land. In fact, experienced Giants’ hitters know not to elevate pitches in that area of the ballpark because they usually result in frustrating outs.

But the fourth inning on Thursday was its own animal for Marquez. After Brandon Belt was retired, Brandon Crawford, Mike Yastrzemski and Curt Casali reached on hard-hit balls. Alex Dickerson was intentionally walked to get to pitcher Logan Webb, but Webb disrupted that strategy with a two-run single that traveled 399 feet and almost got out. Wade followed with his blast that had him looking like Barry Bonds with the poor location of the pitch and his classic swing follow through. Wade’s ball left the yard at 107 mph.

I joke around saying I’m gonna hit a home run and I almost did,” Webb said afterwards.

Webb was just as impressive with his pitching performance in which he went six innings, allowing three hits and striking out eight. Webb has become the Giants’ best pitcher of late by stringing together four, consecutive quality starts while the other starters have had their post All-Star break struggles. Webb is 4-0 at Oracle Park and his strikeout totals (17 combined) in his last two outings are eye-opening.

“Ever since he came off the IL, he’s been an absolute gem on the mound and a bulldog,” Curt Casali said of Webb.

The Giants increased their lead in the NL West to five games with the win, the first time they’ve held a lead that large this season. They’ve won five straight and 10 of 12 to improve their major-league best mark to 74-41. The Giants haven’t had a won-loss record this good after 115 games since 1993 when Dusty Baker’s first year as manager saw them open 77-38.

On Friday, the Giants turn to Anthony DeSclafani in a matchup with Austin Gomber. DeSclafani hasn’t won any of his last four starts since beating the Washington Nationals on July 10.

What Else is New? Giants beat the D’Backs and hit a bunch of homers in the process

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Quite simply, the Arizona Diamondbacks are the most essential opponent in the world.

For example, without them, there wouldn’t be a best in baseball San Francisco Giants.

After Wednesday night’s harder-than-it-looked 7-2 victory over the D’Backs, the Giants are 32 games above .500 for the first time since 2003, but they’re 12 games above .500 against Arizona alone.

That’s a big chunk of a 110 plus game win-loss record, but that’s how division races are won, and how teams make postseason runs. Pick a divisional opponent, and over the course of 19 meetings, smash that opponent.

The Giants have done that, and it’s not over yet. They’ll get a chance to improve their 14-2 record against Arizona at the end of September, perfect timing for a first place club to get a little pick me up.

On Wednesday, the D’Backs allowed the Giants four home runs–their speciality–and a comfortable landing spot for Kevin Gausman after the birth of his second child allowed him to miss a start last week. Beyond that, Merrill Kelly, a guy who has twice previously beat the Giants at their own game–controlling “time of possession” as they call it–had a rough night, starting with him throwing 31 pitches in the first inning, insuring that he wouldn’t last as long as seven innings as he had done twice previously this season.

Kelly only made through five innings, as he couldn’t locate his cutter and control the inner half of the plate as he had done famously, having allowed just nine runs in 24 innings over four starts against the Giants earlier this season. Twice, Kelly had pitched into the seventh inning, and that’s a feat that has only been accomplished 10 times in 113 games against the Giants coming in. Most nights, the Giants wear down the opposing starter, but Kelly appeared to have the elixir with his cutter riding in on the inner half. On Wednesday, that pitch deserted him.

“This was the fifth or sixth time I think we’ve faced him this year,” Brandon Crawford said. “I think we did a good job of picking good pitches to hit. We put some good swings on the ball, and we were able to score some runs.”

With that Kelly issue solved, the Giants pounced building a 5-2 lead after five innings. And while the D’Backs didn’t disappear late, or blow a sizeable lead, or extend a once-in-a-baseball-life road losing streak, they did have their signature moment. Ketel Marte, an excellent centerfielder, saw Lamonte Wade Jr.’s two-run blast ride off his glove and over the wall in the fifth to extend the Giants’ lead. A highlight not to miss, from the numerous camera angles, saw Marte not have his finest moment and he nearly threw his glove in disgust. But to be fair, catching home run balls isn’t easy business and this one–after he located it and made his move on it–just got on him too fast. Wade’s ball was going out either way, Marte just added to the drama with his near miss.

Before Wade connected, Buster Posey gave the Giants a 3-1 lead in the third. And after, Crawford connected in the seventh, and pinch-hitter Alex Dickerson in the eighth. The big night for big flies increased the Giants’ season total to 174, the best total in baseball. In all, the Giants piled up 14 hits, six of those for extra bases, including Wilmer Flores’ softy that was well placed enough to set the Giants up to break a 1-1 tie in the second inning.

Gausman had his struggles in winning for the 11th time, and the staff ace needed 89 pitches to labor through five innings. But he limited damage, as he always does, and kicked in a pair of singles to boot, one that gave the Giants that 2-1 lead. Gausman was a life long American Leaguer with just two career hits before this season, but this season he has eight hits, the perfect additive for a hurler needing a pickup.

The Giants’ bullpen was near perfect again, handling the last four innings while allowing just two hits. Dominic Leone is quickly becoming the star of the bunch, making 31 appearances now while keeping his ERA insanely low (1.99).

Logan Webb gets the start on Thursday in a matchup with Colorado’s All-Star starter German Marquez. The Rockies had won five of six, but dropped their last two in a matchup with the first-place Astros.

Won’t Win A World Series: Giants’ win total can’t help come postseason, but it’s impressive

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–The last time the Giants were 30 games above .500 was 2003, when Barry Bonds could decide a game with just one or two official at-bats a game, and the Dodgers… well the Dodgers couldn’t pull things together with a not yet mature Adrian Beltre and an over-the-hill Fred McGriff.

Those were good times.

They also ended way too soon. The Giants won 19 of their final 27 games that season, ran away with the NL West, winning 100 games, and went home quick after three straight losses to the Marlins in a NLDS series that started with a promising Giants 2-0 win.

In that series, no Giant hit a home run. Bonds walked eight times, and ended up with nine official at-bats. His one extra-base hit–a double–didn’t decide anything. Rich Aurilla and Marquis Grissom couldn’t buy a base hit. And Joe Nathan and Sidney Ponson were two guys that didn’t do much on the mound amongst a Giants pitching staff that was clearly capable of much better outings.

The undeniable disclaimer in all this: regular season win totals mean nothing in the postseason. This is just one example, they are hundreds of such examples involving all the great franchises and eras in baseball.

So that being made explicitly clear, the 2021 Giants are racking up the wins, and in and of itself, it’s pretty impressive.

This year, the Giants have managed to stay in first place in baseball’s most challenging division for more than two months. They’ve answered the head-to-head challenges put forth by the Dodgers and Padres. They’ve had one, three-game losing streak, and one, four-game losing streak. They haven’t had one stretch where they’ve gone on a huge tear, instead they have three, five-game win streaks and they’ve taken advantage of almost every one of their 19 opponents.

They lead the majors in home runs currently with 169 in 112 games, and along with that they’ve scored the most runs via the home run of any club. The Giants aren’t particularly impressive in terms of hits, doubles and batting average, but they are right around league average in all three categories. They’ve fielded the oldest lineups of any club throughout the season, and they suffered in that regard to a degree with most of that veteran core having extended periods on the injured list. Their strikeout total is high, but they’ve hit an extraordinary number of homers in close games, which brings us to the biggest surprise–their pitching.

The Giants currently rank third in baseball in team ERA (3.35) and their pitching staff has been stingy in allowing home runs–114 thus far, fewer than just three other clubs. They don’t walk people either (296 walks allowed) which is second fewest in MLB and 166 fewer than the Cardinals, who have issued the most. Again, the pitching staff is a veteran unit, only five other clubs have groups that are older, and in that regard, the Giants have had to answer questions about durability and sustainability. But to date, the group has held together with remarkable consistency due to its overall depth.

In the San Francisco era, only three Giants’ clubs have won at least 100 regular season games. Those seasons were 1962, 1993 and 2003. None of those three seasons ended well–the 1962 club lost the World Series in Game 7 in dramatic fashion. The 1993 club didn’t even qualify for the playoffs, and was eliminated in the final regular season game at Dodger Stadium, and the loss was almost immediately lopsided and uncompetitive.

The most games any of the three, most recent World Series champion Giants won was 94 in 2012. That juxtaposition makes sense in that no club sets itself up to play its best baseball if its grinding through the regular season right to its conclusion. So does this version of the Giants want to win 100 games?

If it must to outlast the Dodgers and Padres, of course. Falling into the wild card, even as a host participant, would be a huge letdown for a club that has spent the majority of the season in first place. But after that, one game playoff decides the Giants’ first postseason opponent, little is gained. As the highest ranked qualifier in the National League, the Giants will draw the winner–most likely the Dodgers–in a seven-game series in which the only advantage they’ll have is home field in Game 7.

If it doesn’t have to win 100, the Giants will likely use the final two weeks to set their lineup and rotation for the NLDS. But avoiding the wild card winner is unlikely. The Giants are well ahead of the Brewers and Phillies in the NL Central and East, and as the highest ranked qualifier they will draw the wild card winner–likely the Dodgers or Padres.

So do they win 100? If it’s done in organically, with all hands contributing, why not? But don’t look for the process to unfold in the final weeks like 2003. This time the Giants–with their next 12 games in the Bay Area, nine at Oracle Park, and three in Oakland–need to put together their 100-game push now. Winning 10 of 12 or 11 of 15 would do the trick. If so, they would merely have to play .500 ball in the season’s 30 or so remaining games to reach 100.

Texas Reduced to Size: A’s sweep, keep pace in AL Wild Card hunt

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND–This may have been the worst Texas Rangers team to visit the Oakland Coliseum. The A’s treated them in the best way they know how… with little or no empathy.

The A’s completed a three-game sweep with a 6-3 win Sunday that extended the Rangers’ road losing streak to 14 games. A bad Rangers’ team might have been only part of Oakland’s motivation, the other part may have been a wild card race that’s heating up fast with the Red Sox flailing and the Blue Jays emerging. Whatever the reason the A’s are playing better–winners of seven of nine–manager Bob Melvin’s not divulging. He knows the final 50 games of a postseason push won’t be defined by any one stretch or a bad opponent.

“There’s a lot of baseball left,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “The main thing you need to do is just focus on yourself. We’re playing better baseball right now.”

The A’s moved to 16 games above .500 for the first time since June 19, and they assumed the lead AL Wild Card position by percentage points over the Red Sox. The Yankees and Blue Jays are within three games of the leaders, and a race that wasn’t a few weeks back during the trade deadline, is now.

Starling Marte stepped into the playoff push right before the trade deadline and immediately made himself comfortable, hitting .425 in his first nine games with Oakland, including four hits on Sunday. Seth Brown, Sean Murphy and Jed Lowrie also drove in runs in a game the A’s took control of early with three runs in the first and a 5-1 lead in the fourth. Marte’s arrival and performance seem almost miracle-like given he’s basically replacing the dynamic Ramon Laureano, who was shelved by an 80-game suspension for use of performance enhancing drugs.

James Kaprelian returned from the injury list, and didn’t miss a beat, pitching six innings and allowing two earned runs to gain his sixth victory of the season. Meanwhile, Jordan Lyles, who was undefeated in his previous appearances at the Coliseum, fell to 0-4 since the All-Star break, allowing all six A’s runs and walking four batters in the process. At one point, Kaprelian retired 11 straight batters before walking Brock Holt in the fifth.

He gives us six innings, only three hits, gets swings and misses, real efficient,” Melvin said of Kaprelian. “After having a little bit of time off, he didn’t miss a beat. He pitched in the fashion that he basically has been all year.”

“I was pretty tough on myself,” Kaprelian said. “It’s the in-game stuff. The not getting ahead with the fastball, the not throwing enough strikes. The four straight balls to walk (Brock) Holt. Obviously the bats were going today and things were on our side. But, maybe in another situation if I do that, I might not be in the game anymore. So I need to clean that up and I was disappointed in myself for that.”

The A’s outscored Texas 22-7 in the three-game sweep, and they trailed for only two innings all weekend. The Rangers had a lot to do with the lopsided nature of the games, but they simply haven’t ever been in this poor of shape. They’ve lost six, consecutive games, and their road losing streak is only two away from the franchise record. If things continue to be this bad on the road, they could win as few as 22 road games this season, which is almost unheard of.

“We’ve been playing our best, but just trying too hard,” Isiah Kiner-Falefa said. “I think everybody realizes what’s at stake, and instead of seizing the opportunity, it’s almost like (we’re) scared to mess up because you know what could happen if you don’t start producing.”

The A’s have six games remaining with Texas, and Seattle and the Yankees will see the Rangers as well in the final month plus of the season. How unkind the contenders are to the struggling Rangers could be a key factor in the race for the postseason.

The A’s travel to Cleveland, where they open a series on Tuesday with Sean Manaea facing Triston McKenzie in the opener.

Giants blow big lead, recover in extras to best the D’Backs, increase NL West lead

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

Trade deadline activity that strengthens a competing club is energizing for the fans and organization. But it can be agonizing for players who may be on the departing end of a big trade.

Once the trade deadline passes, nervousness ceases and everybody gets back to work.

On Monday night in Phoenix, Alex Dickerson got back to work.

The Giants’ burly left fielder hit a grand slam to give the Giants a big lead, only to see it evaporate, and force the club to regain control in extra innings in an 11-8 victory over the Diamondbacks. With the acquisition of Kris Bryant, Dickerson had to be wondering about his current status with the club with Bryant offering a better option for the team’s outfield spots. But Monday found Bryant and Dickerson in the lineup together, a clear sign that manager Gabe Kapler hadn’t forgotten what a menace Dickerson has been when facing Arizona.

“He’s had quite a bit of success against the D-backs,” Kapler said. “He’s had quite a bit of success in this ballpark. I think he feels especially confident.”

“It hasn’t been the greatest year for me to this point, but they know and I know that I’m better than how I’ve played,” Dickerson said. “I just needed that kind of day where it all comes together. It was a good feeling to have everybody pulling for me.”

Kapler made it clear that while more is expected of Dickerson, hitting just .217, not much more is expected. Being an occasional home threat and delivering in that manner may be enough.

“I just think he needs to be the better version of Alex Dickerson. That’s a guy who’s a really tough out at the plate against righties and occasionally has games with big damage like he had today. I don’t want Alex to put any additional pressure on himself to be perfect every time out. Just be productive and keep the line moving.”

Dickerson’s slam off reliever J.B. Bukauskas in the fifth was typical, Giants home run express delivery: a poorly placed pitch in the hitting zone that wasn’t missed. That Dickerson sent the pitch 437 feet for his career-best 11th home run of the season said it all. The slam ended an 0 for 17 stretch for the slugger.

Despite building a 7-1 lead, the Giants found themselves in a nail bitter with a D’Backs club that came in 40 games below .500 and was embarassed by the Dodgers on Sunday, losing 13-0. Josh Reddick got the Arizona comeback started with a two-run shot off Anthony DeSclafani in the fifth. Asdrubral Cabrera followed with another two-run shot, and Christian Walker’s two-run double got the D’Backs even in the seventh.

Reliever Jay Jackson was victimized by Walker, a surprise after Jackson gave the eight, neat appearances in July, and had put himself in line for a bigger role out of the Giants’ pen. Jackson’s command issues on Monday were apparent prior to facing Walker, but Kapler was reluctant to turn to any of his top three relievers after a weekend of extended activity against the Astros.

With the game tied, Kapler did find some success with newly reacquired Tony Watson and hot arm Jarlin Garcia, who pitched the ninth and tenth innings. That gave the Giants a chance to catch a collective breather, and rally in the tenth. Buster Posey started it with a double that chased home Brandon Crawford, the placed runner to start an extra inning. Dickerson’s line out advanced Posey to third, and Austin Slater walked. Steven Duggar followed with an RBI single, and Donovan Solano capped the rally with a ground out that allowed Slater to score.

The Giants gained a half game on the Dodgers and Padres, increasing their lead in the NL West to 3 1/2 games. The Giants have won six of eight and moved a season-best 28 games above .500 at 67-39. The season series against Arizona continues to be lopsided with the Giants capturing 10 of 11 meetings thus far.

On Tuesday, the veteran matchup sure to gain attention takes place with Johnny Cueto facing Madison Bumgarner, the former Giant and 2014 World Series hero at 6:40pm.