Category: San Francisco Giants

Former San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey acknowledges the crowd, former teammates, former Giant manager Bruce Bochy, manager Gabe Kapler, Giant announcers, the media and much more as the Giants pay tribute to his career in baseball at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Sat May 7, 2022 (AP News photo)

St. Louis. 7. 14. 3

San Francisco. 13. 9. 0

Saturday May 7, 2022

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–The first time I saw Buster Posey play was on June 13, 2009, when was the catcher and clean-up hitter for the San José Giants against the visiting Modesto Nuts. He got one hit in two at bats to go with a pair of walks.

Who would have thought that, 13 years later, I’d be attending a tribute to his 12 year major league career, in which he compiled a lifetime batting average of .304 with wins above replacement of .831, while leading the San Francisco Giants (15-12) to World Series championships in 2010, 2012, and 2014, capping it all with last year’s 107 win NL West division championship?

But, then, who would have thought that many of the 40,113 fans who attended the ceremony would have been wondering if this year’s Giant team would ever break its current five game losing streak, in which it dropped seven of its eight most recent contests?

They did break it, whalooping the visiting St Louis Cardinals (16-11) convincingly, 13-7.

Two changes in the San Francisco lineup this afternoon indicate that there had been a serious problem and also a possible solution. The indication of a problem was that Brandon Crawford, the hard, but sporadic, hitting shortstop, who usually is a delight to watch field his position was benched, replaced by Mauricio Dubón.

Crawford had been hitting .236 in spite of a three game hitting streak. His fielding percentage was .949, thanks to his five errors, as opposed to only nine over all of last season. Perhaps this brief rest will enable Crawford to resume his high standard of play. Dubón would go 2 for 4 with a home run and a single. He also made several nifty plays in the field.

The more important change was Brandon Belt’s return from the injured list, playing first base and batting in the third position. The outcome of his outing was, at the end of the game, was in doubt. Belt had to leave the game in the bottom of the eighth, when it appeared that he had fouled a ball onto one of his feet.

San Francisco sent Logan Webb (3-1 ERA 3.26) to the mound, and he quickly allowed the Cardinals to jump ahead. Tommy Edman walked on four pitches and stole second on the called third strike to Paul Goldschmidt.

Nolen Arenado’s hard hit single to right center plated Edman to put St. Louis up, 1-0. Just as quickly as he had gotten into trouble, Webb pitched himself out of it, thanks to a U4-3 double play, Estrada to Belt.

The Redbirds’ starting pitcher, southpaw Steven Matz (3-2 ERA 4.56) is, as his ERA indicates, eminently getatable. And the Giants got to him in their half of the first. They loaded the bases with a walk to Slater, an infield single by Dubón, and another walk to Belt.

After Darin Ruf popped out to second, Wilmer Flores unloaded the bases by unloading a 394 foot grand slam into the left field bleachers. The Giants didn’t get greedy, and after 34 pitches, Maltz got out of the frame with his team still behind, 4-1.

The Cardinals came rushing back with the thousandth career RBI by another catcher who might very well become a Hall of Famer.

Yadier Molina smacked an 0-2 pitch into right for a single that drove in Juan Yépez from third, which he had reached on a hard hit infield single, followed by Dylan Carlson’s productive ground out to short, and Harrison Bader’s single to center.

Bader then scored on Paul DeJong’s single to center, reducing the Giants’ lead to a single run.

Dubón reopened the gap with a two run fly that just made it over the 391 foot marker in dead center field with Mike Yatrzemski on first with a lead off single to right.

Then Darin Ruf added another two tallies to the scoreboard, sending Belt, who had received his second consecutive passport, home with a 383 foot round tripper that cleared the National Car Rental sign in left center. The blast came off a 93 mph sinker. San Francisco now had a lead of 8-3.

That was all the Giants would score against Matz because, after Webb set the Cards down in order in the third, Jake Woodford relieved the Cards’ woebegone starter, who left a legacy of two innings pitched, eight runs, all earned, allowed on five hits, three of which went yard, and three walks. He threw 57 pitches, of which 34 were deemed strikes

A walk and an uncontested stolen base put Harrison Bader in scoring position in the St. Louis fourth. Score he did, on DeJong’s single to left, reducing the distance between the two teams to four runs.

Flores got another chance–two chances, in fact–for a second grand slam when he came to the plate with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom half of that frame.

He lofted a pop foul on a 1-1 count, but the 39 year old Molina dropped the ball while every Little League coach in the stands muttered, “Use two hands!” Then Flores flew out to right, a sacrifice fly that restored the home team’s five run margin. The run, incidentally was unearned.

Webb left after pitching five mediocre innings, throwing 84 pitches, 56 for strikes. All four runs he surrendered were earned. They came on eight hits and two bases on balls. He struck out seven Cardinal batters.

Domenic Leone took his place on the pitcher’s rubber.

Woodward was lifted with one out in the bottom of the sixth, which Packy Naughton wrapped up for St. Louis.

The relievers on parade continued, with Zach Littell allowing the Cardinals to draw closer in the top of the seventh on 391 foot four bagger by Dylan Carlson, his to right with Goldschmidt and O’Neill on board. It was Carlson’s first homer of the year.

Once more, the Giant bullpen was faltering. Bader legged out a single to short, bringing Molina to the plate, representing the potential tying run. He worked a full count before striking out. Side armer Tyler Rogers would replace Littell in the eighth and hold St. Louis scoreless in spite of a two out double by Goldschmidt.

Then it was Nick Wittgren on the mound, trying to keep St. Louis in the game after the crowd had finished singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” He failed. A one out single by Luis González, followed by Estrada’s two bagger to left put San Francisco’s run total in double digits.

Kodi Whitley dutifully replaced Wittgreen to open the home eighth and failed more ignominiously than his predecessor, walking all five batters he faced. (In reality, he faced six; LaMone Wade, Jr. replaced Belt, who injured himself during his plate appearance).

The walk to Flores gave the Giants third sacker his sixth RBI of the afternoon. TJ McFarland, who replaced Whitely after the walk to Flores, hit González and gave up a sac fly to Estrada before being rescued by a pitcher´s best friend.

It was up to Jarlín García to protect the orange and black’s 13-7 lead and return the team to the win column. In spite of a lead off walk no O’Neill, García held St. Louis scoreless.

The Giants haven’t announced who will start for them in tomorrow afternoon’s fray, scheduled for a 1:05 first pitch. The Cards will send righty Dakota Hudson (2-2ERA 3.16) to the mound.

St. Louis Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan, right, scores what would be the winning run and runs past Andrew Knizner (left) against the San Francisco Giants during the top of the ninth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Friday, May 6, 2022. (AP News photo)

St. Louis. 3. 6. 0

San Francisco. 2. 7. 0

Friday May 6, 2022

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–When dawn broke this morning over the Bay Area, optimism was nowhere to be found among fans of the local baseball teams. It had gone down the Bay Tube. The Athletics were in the throes of a sixth game losing streak, and the San Francisco Giants (14-12), with seven players on the injury and covid list and another on bereavement leave, had just lost their fourth in a row, dropping them to fourth place in the NL West with a record of 14-11 after another bullpen meltdown changed a close game into a disastrous 7-1 defeat at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals (16-10) Thursday night.

Over the last six games, San Francisco’s relievers’ innings pitched have equalled the amount of earned runs they’ve allowed, 28. On the bright side, LaMonte Wade, Jr., came off the injured list today to make his first appearance of the season, leading off and playing right field. Unfortunatey, he went 0 for 2, including a strikeout.

The teams from the Gateway City and the City by the Golden Gate met again tonight in the second of their four game series, which will last through Sunday. The Cards sent three year veteran JordanHicks to the mound.

The fireball hurling right hander had been used exclusively in relief until two weeks ago, when on April 21, he started against the Marlins in Miami and pitched decently for three innings, allowing one run on two hits and a couple of walks but taking the loss. In his two subsequent starts, he lost to the Mets and left without a decision against the Diamondbacks.

He went 3-1/2 innings in that last appearance, his longest as what the St. Louis media has called a starter. In fact, he really shouldn’t be given that name, but that’s what they call him in St.Louis.

The Redbirds’ manager, Oli Mármol, had this to say on the question when interviewed by Kevin Wheeler on KMOX: “He’s gonna come in and start the game, and they’ll evaluate it inning by inning …. [He’s] not what you would think of technically as an opener, which is a guy who comes in, pitches to the top of the order, and then comes out of the game.” Let’s just call him an extended opener and mention that he brought a record of 1-2 ERA 3.65 with him to the mound.

Alex Cobb, who returned from the IL on May Day and couldn’t finish the first inning, giving up five runs before leaving with two down.

The Cardinals touched him for four hits and three walks, but it can be said in Cobb’s defense that a costly error in left made all but one of those runs unearned. His defense was no defense. He throws mainly sinkers and splitters, with an occasional curve for variety. Those sinkers average a little less than 95mph.

Cobb was masterful the first time through the St. Louis order. He didn’t allow a baserunner until the top of the fourth, when he issued a one out, full count walk to Paul Goldschmidt.

Nolan Arenado followed that with a hard bounder down the line that barely skipped over a diving Jason Vosler’s glove into left field for a double that sent Goldschmidt to third. At this point, Cobb recovered to strike out Juan Yépez on three pitches. Half of the dozen outs he recorded by the end of the frame had been Ks.

There was nothing shabby about Hicks´performance in his early innings. A walk to Crawford and a single to Thairo Estrada was all the damage San Francisco could inflict on him over his initial 3-2/3 frames on the mound. Then Crawford legged out a Texas League double to center, only to be stranded on second when Estrada grounded out to Tommy Edman, the Cardinals’ second sacker.

Cobb’s magic disappeared in the top of the fifth. Corey Dickerson led off with a clean single to right center. One out later, Harison Bader parked an 89mph split fingered fastball 358 feet to left field, just over the Game Up sign.

The Giants challenged the call, but the verdict was upheld on review. Cobb got his next two men out, but the home team now trailed, 2-0. (During that inning, Andrew Kinzler pinch hit for Yadier Molina, remaining in the game as catcher. No announcement was made of an injury to the veteran backstop).

San Francisco chased Hicks from the mound in their half of the fifth with a walk, a single by Luis González and a walk to Vosler, who was erased when Bart forced him at second while González moved up to third.

That´s when Génesis Cabrera entered the game, getting pinch hitter Austin Slater to ground out to the mound, advancing Bart to scoring position. Both runners scored on Ruf´s pinch hit single to right.

John Brebbia, back from bereavement leave, replaced Cobb to start the sixth, and retired the side in order,notching two Ks in the process.

Hicks had allowed two runs, both earned, on three hits and two walks while striking out five in his 4-1/2 innings of work. He threw 68 pitches, 44 for strikes.

Cobb’s line was five full innings pitched,also two runs, both earned, on three hits. He struck out five and walked one. Of his 74 offerings, only 20 were balls.

Slater, who had hit for Wade, stayed in the game in center field. Ruf, who had batted for Yastrzemski went on to play left, and González moved from left to right, all in the top of the sixth.

Sean Hjelle, making his big league debut, relieved Brebbia and hurled a perfect seventh, preserving the 2-2 tie.

Vosler’s one out single to right in the home seventh ended Cabrera’s effort. The southpaw yielded mound duties to the right handed Ryan. Helsley, who struck out Bart and Slater.

Tyler Rogers, pitching in the top of the eighth, was the beneficiary of acrobatic catches by Ruf in left and González in right, but the latter was helpless aginst Tommy Edman’s two out blast against the Levi’s Landing wall that went for a triple.

The side arming righly then walked Goldschmidt, putting runners on the corners with the powerful Nolan Arenado at the plate.

Camilo Doval trotted in from the bullpen to face him. Doval got him to bounce out on a comebacker on his second pitch, and we went into the bottom of the eighth with the score still tied at two.

Which is where it remained when Doval came out to pitch the ninth. He struck out Tyler O’Neill swinging, but Yépez pulled a double down the left field line.

Brendan Donovan ran for him and scored the go ahead run on a single to left center by Dylan Carlson, who had replaced Corey Dickerson in right in the bottom of the seventh. Doval retired Knizner and Bader, but, once more, the Giants went into the bottom of the ninth trailing, this time 3-2.

Giovanny Gallegos took over, trying to shut the hometown team in the botom of the night. He got Crawford on a fy to right center. Estrada drove a powerful single down the left field line, which put the run on base, only to be wiped out in a 4-6-3 double play.

The Giants’ woes continued. (By the way, the A’s also lost, 2-1.

The win went to Helsley and the save to Gallegos. Doval was charged with the loss.

Willie Mays deserved something better on his 91st birthday.

The teams will resume their four game series Saturday afternoon at the unusual hour of 4:15, preceded an hour earlier by a celebration in honor of the recently retired Buster Posey, after which Steven Matz (3-1 ERA 4.56) will go for the Cardinals against the Giants’ Logan Webb (3-1 ERA 3.26)