Category: San Francisco Giants

Giants Good Again in 2022, Just Not In the Manner They Were Good in 2021

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by Morris Phillips

Expanded playoffs, universal designated hitters, shrinking batting averages and greater reliance on relief pitchers. Seemingly, all of baseball’s newest machinations favor the Giants and their preferred methods of competing.

Currently the Giants are bundled with three other NL clubs (Dodgers, Mets, Brewers) at the top of the standings in the first season in which six teams will qualify for postseason play in both leagues. No more roll of the dice in a Wild Card game means no one goes home after an initial, bad playoff game. When you’ve got a great shot to be in, it’s even better if you can’t all of a sudden be out.

Throughout baseball, batting averages are down, as is scoring. Trying to buck that trend are the Giants with their .248 team batting average, well above the .235 number that this season is considered average among the 30 teams. The Giants also are averaging 5.11 runs per game, which trails only the Dodgers. But those key metrics don’t mean that individual sluggers on the team haven’t had their struggles. Benefitting the Giants of course, is their philosophy to seek game-altering extra-base hits and homers at the expense of on-base percentage and playing the old-school, station-to-station game.

Given that, the Giants still draw their walks (ranking second with 144 free passes), utilize the sacrifice fly (they rank first with 20), and steal bases consistently, if not frequently with 21 steals and only six caught stealing situations. Those numbers weigh heavier given that the Giants aren’t a record-breaking, home run-hitting club this season with only 40 hit so far.

What they do is hit more than their opponent by a nice margin augmented by their league-low 26 home runs allowed. And when those home runs are hit, it’s usually in a close, low-scoring game. That combination, as it was in 2021, is a real weapon for the Giants: they win close games.

A major piece of that formula is the team’s bullpen which is currently loaded with standouts from closer Camilo Doval with seven saves to Taylor Rogers, John Brebbia and Jarlin Garcia as the key, setup options. With so many returners from last season in the team’s bullpen, comparisons are easy. And so far, this year’s group’s been that much better than last’s.

The Giants have won 8 of 11 leading into Friday night’s meeting with the Padres. In the coming weeks the Giants will see the Padres, Mets and the Dodgers, teams they need to measure themselves against in preparation for a possible, postseason appearance.

On Friday, Jakob Junis gets the starting nod in a matchup with San Diego’s Sean Manaea.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Giants open three game series against Manaea and Padres Friday night at Oracle

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Colorado Rockies rookie catcher Brian Serven flies out in the bottom of the fifth inning at Coors Field against San Francisco Giants pitcher Logan Webb on Wed May 18, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 Michael, talk about how disappointed San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Logan Webb had to be retiring 16 straight Colorado Rockie batters after giving up two runs in the first inning in seven plus innings of work in a 5-3 final. Reliever Jose Alvarez allowed two runs in relief for the loss.

#2 The Rockies CJ Cron broke the 3-3 deadlock with a two run homer it was a monster shot 454 feet in the eighth inning and helped hand the Rockies their first win after losing 12 straight games to the Giants. What are some of the successes the Giants have over the Rockies and how big a role did the Cron home run have in changing the direction of the game.

#3 Michael what was the pitch that Alvarez to Cron for the home run and did it seem like Alvarez struggled or did the Rockies just see some good pitches to hit off him.

#4 Rockies rookie catcher Brian Serven on his first big league pitch fouled the ball behind home plate where his family was sitting. The ball was picked up by a fan and the Rockies communications department traded the ball for a signed Brendan Rogers signed ball and Serven’s parents Jim and Laura received the foul ball. For Serven that had to be a special at bat to foul one off and his parents get the ball back.

#5 The Giants have Thursday off and will host the San Diego Padres at Oracle Park on Friday night at 7:15pm PDT. The Padres will start LHP Sean Manaea (2-3 ERA 3.77) and he’ll be opposed by Giants RHP Jakob Junis (1-1 ERA 1.74). How do you see this match up Friday night?

Join Michael for the Giants podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

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.

Giants win 10-7 Coors Field slugfest over Rockies

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San Francisco Giants hitter Tommy La Stella takes Colorado Rockies pitcher Chad Kuhl deep in the first inning at Coors Field in Denver on Tue May 17, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Tommy La Stella made his return to the San Francisco starting lineup a memorable one on Tuesday, as the Giants held on for a 10-7 win over Colorado in Denver.

The wild 3-hour, 40-minute win was the Giants’ 12th straight over an opponent, going back to last season. This streak equals the team’s longest winning streak over an opponent since the New York Giants defeated Philadelphia 12 consecutive times in 1945 and 1946.

Eight of the Giants’ 12 wins against Colorado have been at Coors Field.

La Stella, who was on the injured list with an Achilles injury, opened the game with a 464-foot home run to right off Rockies starter Chad Kuhl to lead off the game. It was La Stella’s sixth career leadoff home run – his fourth as a Giant.

The Giants’ bats didn’t stop there. In the second, Brandon Crawford tripled and scored on a throwing error. In the top o the third, Mike Yastrzemski hit a two-run double, and Darin Ruf and Thairo Estrada added RBI singles. In the top of the fourth, Ruf struck again with a two-run double.

Run-scoring singles by Crawford and Estrada in the sixth made it 10-2 in favor of the Giants.
San Francisco’s 10-2 lead after 5½ innings began to evaporate in the bottom of the sixth, when the Rockies scored five times.

After C.J. Cron and Ryan McMahon delivered RBI singles, Randal Grichuk capped the rally with a three-run homer to left, pulling the Rox to within 10-7.

Despite being responsible for all seven of Colorado’s runs, Alex Cobb (3-1) picked up the win, despite giving up 10 hits and a walk. The Giants’ bullpen delivered 3 2/3 shutout innings to preserve the win.

John Brebbia, Tyler Rogers and Dominic Leone shut down Colorado on a collective two hits, and Camilo Doval struck out one and walked two in a scoreless ninth to earn his seventh save.
Kuhl (3-2) gave up six runs – five of them earned – in three innings.

La Stella and Crawford were 3-for-5 as the Giants collected 14 hits. Cron was 3-for-5 to lead the Rockies’ 12-hit attack.

The Giants and Rockes wrap up their three-game set on Wednesday afternoon. Logan Webb (5-1, 3.48) starts for San Francisco, facing Colorado starter Kyle Freeland (1-4, 4.91). First pitch is at 11:10 PDT.

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.

Cardinals hand Giants a second loss 15-6

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In a game where everybody touches them all and the St Louis Cardinals Paul Goldschmidt (left) was no exception after hitting a first inning home run against San Francisco Giants pitcher Carlos Rodon (right) at Busch Stadium in St Louis on Sun May 15, 2022 (AP News photo)

Cardinals Hand Giants A Second Loss 15-6

By Barbara Mason

Saturday the San Francisco Giants (20-13) were shut out by the St. Louis Cardinals (18-15) 4-0. Sunday they were looking to bounce back in the final game of their series. It did not go as planned for San Francisco losing by a significant margin 15-6 at Busch Stadium in St Louis.

The Cardinals scored in the first, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh innings. They had 17 hits in this game and it was not until the ninth inning that the Giants showed much signs of life. The Cardinals bats were just too much for San Francisco to handle.

Joey Bart and Luis Gonzalez both hit home runs in the ninth inning for the Giants. Darin Ruf and Thairo Estrada both scored on the Gonzalez homer. San Francisco was trailing by the score of 15-2 going into the ninth inning so it was too little to late for the Giants.

Joc Pederson also had a homer in the sixth inning for San Francisco. The Giants had seven hits in the game in a very disappointing series for the team.

The Cardinals also hit three home runs in this game. Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado and Yadier Molina all hit homers with runners on base. St. Louis completely outplayed the Giants in front of their home crowd.

The Giants will now travel to Colorado for a series with the Rockies. The first game will be Monday with first pitch at 5:40 PM. Going for San Francisco starter LHP Alex Wood (3-2 ERA 3.60) and for Colorado RHP Antonio Senzatela (2-2 ERA 4.88) gets the call first pitch 5:40 pm PDT

St Louis beats San Francisco in shutout 4-0; End SF’s six game win streak

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St Louis Cardinals starter Dakota Hudson throws against the Giants line up in the first inning at Busch Stadium in St Louis on Sat May 14, 2022. Hudson and the Cardinal bullpen shutout the Giants on a eight hitter (AP News photo)

St. Louis Beats San Francisco In a Shut Out 4-0

By Barbara Mason

In the first of this series the San Francisco Giants (20-13) handled the St. Louis Cardinals (18-15) without much trouble. They had eight hits and eight runs winning 8-2.

Saturday the two teams met in the second game of their series. In this game San Francisco again had eight hits with a completely different outcome. The Giants were shut out 4-0. St. Louis had seven hits in the second game of this series.

On the mound for the Giants was Jakob Junis who went 5.2 innings. He got relief pitching from John Brebbia and Camilo Doval for the loss.

St. Louis’ Dakota Hudson went five innings for the shut out and was relieved by Genesis Cabrera, Andre Pallante, Ryan Helsley and Giovanny Gallegos who all had a hand in this win.

The Cardinals scored in the second inning off a double from Brendan Donovan for the early 1-0 lead. They would tack on another in the fifth inning when Tommy Edman hit a solo home run to right and a 2-0 lead.

They would solidify the win in the seventh inning with two runs off a couple of doubles from Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado for the 4-0 final.

Notes: The Giants traded utilityman Mauricio Dubon to the Houston Astros for catcher Michael Papierski. Papierski who will report to the Giants minor league affiliate Sacramento. The Giants in turn called up infielder Donavon Walton.

Walton was picked up by the Giants on Wednesday from the Seattle Mariners. Walton played in Saturday’s game against the Cards playing at second and hitting for a double.

Giants infielder Tommy LaStella is coming right along after suffering from right Achilles inflammation he’s been looking good in rehab hitting for a grand slam and going 2-5 on Saturday in Sacramento.

The Cardinals activated RHP Drew VerHagen who suffered a right hip impingement and came off the IL. The Cards optioned LHP Packy Naughton to Triple-A Memphis.

The Giants were able to hit in this game but could not bring anyone home. The final game of this series will be Sunday in a late game. First pitch is schedule for 4:08 PM. Starting for San Francisco Sunday left hand pitcher Carlos Rodon (4-1 ERA 1.80) and for the Cards righthander Adam Wainwright (3-3 ERA 3.18)

Logan pitches into sixth and Longoria gets key double in Giants 8-2 win against Cardinals; SF extends winning streak to six

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San Francisco Giants starter Logan Webb delivers against the St Louis Cardinals line up in the first inning at Busch Stadium in St Louis to open the three game series on Fri May 13, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum

Friday, May 13, 2022

Evan Longoria’s bat came alive during a five-run rally, San Francisco pitching turned in another solid performance, and the Giants extended their winning streak to six with an 8-2 verdict over the St. Louis Cardinals Friday at Busch Stadium.

After going 0-for-5 in his first game back off the injured list, Longoria hit a two-run double in the top of the eighth inning, helping to put the game out of reach. Thairo Estrada and Brandon Crawford scored on the play, extending San Francisco’s lead to 6-1.

Curt Casali capped the five-run eighth when he followed with a two-run home run to left-center – his first of the season – driving in Longoria. Earlier in the inning, Crawford had reached on a base hit that drove in Mike Yastrzemski.

Paul Goldschmidt drove in both Cardinal runs with a first-inning groundout and his third home run of the season, a solo shot in the bottom of the eighth. The Giants went ahead to stay on Yastrzemski’s tie-breaking two-run double in the top of the third, driving in LaMonte Wade Jr. and Brandon Belt.

Luis Gonzalez’ RBI single to left tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the second. Logan Webb (5-1) surrendered one earned run on three hits and three walks with one strikeout. Dominic Leone earned his third hold, while Zack Littell and Jarlin Garcia finished up.

Jordan Hicks (1-3) struck out three and walked two, but also gave up three earned runs on three hits. Relievers Nick Wittgren and T.J. McFarland gave up the five San Francisco runs in the eighth.

The second game of the weekend series starts at 11:15 a.m. PDT Saturday. Jakob Junis (1-0, 1.20) starts for San Francisco, and the Cardinals will go with Dakota Hudson (2-2, 3.56).

San Francisco Giants podcast with Daniel Dullum: Longoria back and SF opens three game series in St Louis tonight

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Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford is congratulated by Thairo Estrada after Crawford slams a two run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Thu May 11, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the Giants podcast with Daniel:

#1 Daniel, the Giants are coming off a very strong finish against the Colorado Rockies with a three game sweep and a five game win streak.

#2 The Giants have now won ten straight games against the Rockies and scored early and often during the last three games at Oracle. Simply put Rockie starters Austin Gomber, Antonio Senzatela, and Chris Kuhl all had their troubles trying to get out of innings against the Giant lineup.

#3 Giants third baseman Evan Longoria returned to the line up on Wednesday afternoon taking in his first regular game of the season after having finger surgery. Longoria batted third and went 0-5 but said it was like Christmas morning just to put the uninform on and compete.

#4 Giants starting pitcher Alex Cobb said the team struggled when they were going through a five game losing streak but said upon the current five game winning streak “this is us.”

#5 The Giants open up tonight in St Louis they’ll send starting pitcher Logan Webb (4-1 ERA 3.82) to the mound agianst the St Louis Cardinals Jordan Hicks (1-2 ERA 3.78) for a 4:10 pm PDT first pitch.

Join Daniel Fridays for the Giants podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

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.