Category: San Francisco Giants

White-hot Giants could go for it, be buyers at the deadline

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Photo credit: @sfgiants_fanly

By Jeremy Harness

Two weeks ago, the Giants were sure-fire sellers at the trade deadline, as they were in no position co contend and general manager Farhan Zaidi already saying that he plans to rebuild sooner or later.

Now, it appears that the Giants could very well put those rebuilding plans on hold for now, as they have suddenly found themselves in the thick of the National League’s wild-card race following a 17-4 spurt to start the second half of the season.

Zaidi now has a decision to make, and the team’s weekend series against the San Diego Padres will be a very important one, a series that starts Friday night at Petco Park.

Despite the changed state of the team, the Giants could still make the trades that have been widely discussed for most of this season, notable starter Madison Bumgarner and closer Will Smith, and get the rebuilding process off the ground.

On the other hand, they could decide to capitalize on their suddenly-winning ways and add to the roster, and therefore, become buyers at the deadline, which is this Wednesday, if they truly believe that it can make a run in the postseason and make manager Bruce Bochy’s last season a memorable one.

But it appears the moment of truth starts Friday night, when Jeff Samardzija (7-8, 4.08 ERA) takes the hill for the Giants opposite San Diego’s Joey Lucchesi (7-5, 4.27 ERA).

Meanwhile, Bumgarner (5-7, 3.66 ERA) is scheduled to take the ball against Padres righty Chris Paddack (6-5, 2.84 ERA). He has given up nine hits combined in his last six outings, and he has appeared to have flipped the switch and reminded people of the form that saw him carry the Giants to the 2014 World Series crown.

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: Raiders’ Gruden expects Carr to lead team in offense; Jimmy G has a brand new knee, looking good in drills; plus more

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Photo credit: @NBCSRaiders

On Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 What are the expectations of Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden for quarterback Derek Carr and will Carr get the protection he needs?

#2 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo says that it was a tough process to rehab from the ACL injury he had last season, but says he ready and he’s agile and mobile.

#3 You can’t win them all. The SF Giants took on the NL Central first place Chicago Cubs and lost two out of three. The Cubs are one of baseball’s toughest clubs in the majors.

#4 The A’s are a wild card team, but for them to play catch up to the Houston Astros is a reach. The A’s lost two out of three to the Astros, including an 11-1 laugher to open the series on Thursday.

#5 Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said that Andre Iguodala’s move to the Memphis Grizzlies was like a punch in the gut and Iguodala’s absence will no doubt impact the Warriors as he was considered one of the best presences on the club.

Tony Renteria does the Headline Sports each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Heavy Trumps Hot: Streaking Giants cooled by the Cubs’ home run bats, 4-1

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO — Now that the Giants have achieved some level of competency by surpassing the .500 mark in 2019, know that these two statistical numbers weigh heavily on the mind of GM Farhan Zaidi as the July 31 trade deadline fast approaches.

The Giants have hit 108 home runs this season, 30 fewer than the Major League average, 65 fewer than the Dodgers, and 83 fewer than the Twins, who are threatening to smash the major league record for home runs in a season and become the first team to hit 300.

Entering play Wednesday afternoon, the Giants had won 17 of 20, becoming only the second team to win so frequently over a 20-game stretch in 2019 (Dodgers). And what has that hot stretch earned the scrappy, upwardly-mobile Giants?

According to Baseball-Reference.com, the Giants have just a 13 percent chance to qualify for the playoffs, despite passing six NL clubs during their hot streak.

Disbelieving of what you just read? Believe this: the Giants winning ways were interrupted Wednesday in a 4-1 loss to the Cubs, as Chicago sluggers went deep three times off San Francisco starter Tyler Beede in the first four innings.

And the Giants’ offense? You had to ask.

Leadoff batter Brandon Belt, who’s not really a leadoff batter, went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. Tuesday night’s hero, Pablo Sandoval was 0 for 3 with a walk, and the Giants managed just five hits, no home runs and one run against fill-in starter Tyler Chatwood and a pair of Cubs relievers. Alex Dickerson, the Giants’ preferred cleanup hitter was out of the starting lineup for the second time in three games, dealing with back issues.

“They’ve got to be running on fumes,” said manager Bruce Bochy, referencing his Giants’ grueling schedule that saw them conclude a stretch of 14 games in 13 days on Wednesday. “They were doing all they could to get this one. We just came up short but the fight was there.”

Throw all that information into your baseball diamond-calibrated computer, and what spits out?

Buy or sell?

Sell is the smart move.

Of course, it’s buy.

In reality, it’s complicated like a personal profile on Facebook. The Giants are red-hot, but it might not much matter if they don’t tear it up in San Diego over the weekend, then fill up on the Phillies next week in Philadelphia.

Simply, it’s an four-game schedule, and the 2019 Giants will be defined by what they do in the first half of the upcoming road swing. Lose, three of four, fall below .500 and it would be prudent for the club to sell. Win three of four, and the front office and the team put all their focus on catching the Cardinals, Brewers and Phillies.

“Everyone wants to win, whether it’s players, coaches or the front office,” said Stephen Vogt. “I think everybody in this building wants to win, and we’re going to do everything it takes.”

One last statistical snap shot of the completed home stand: the Giants won 5 of 7, but were outscored 27-22.

On Friday, Jeff Samardzija takes the hill for the Giants at Petco Park. At presstime, the Padres had not named a starter for any of the three games in the series.

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Giants play their 4th extra inning game in 6 games; A’s come back on Astros for 1-run win; plus more

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

On Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 If you like extra innings, the San Francisco Giants have played four extra inning games in their last six. On Tuesday night, the Giants were down by two runs, but came back to tie the game and force extra innings against the NL Central first place Cubs. This team has a lot of fight in them.

#2 The Houston Astros, one of baseball’s toughest nemesis, a team that has given the Oakland A’s fits all season long. The A’s battled with the Astros to an 11-inning duel. The Astros opened up the game with two runs and the A’s came right back with three runs in the top of the ninth and the Astros came right back and tied the game in the bottom of the ninth. The A’s got the game-winner in extra innings in the top of the 11th to break the deadlock for the 4-3 win to even the series at Minute Maid Field on Tuesday night.

#3 Hard work pays off the Oakland Raiders. Antonio Brown is reportedly working his hardest where some coaches say his work ethic is as hard as former Raider Jerry Rice. He was seen tossing a brick from hand to hand while moving side to side during drills.

#4 San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has been rehabbing well since tearing his ACL last season in a game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Garoppolo said he was able to do pretty much everything and it was a rigorous process to come back.

#5 The San Jose Earthquakes continue to plow on through. They have gone undefeated in their last four games, which included a friendly, and defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 in their most recent game last Saturday. They’ll host the Colorado Rapids (5-5-11). The Rapids have struggled of late, they have not won a game in four tries, including a friendly against the Arsenal.

London Marq does Headline Sports each Wednesday and is a beat writer for the San Jose Earthquakes at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sandoval wins it in a Giants walk-off in the 13th

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — Pablo Sandoval sent the San Francisco Giants players and fans into a frenzy with one swing of the bat.

Sandoval hit a pitch barely off the ground and over the left field wall in the bottom of the 13th inning off of Brad Brach, as the Giants defeated the Chicago Cubs 5-4 in 13 innings before a crowd of 39,747 at Oracle Park.

That was two inches off the ground again like the ball he hit down the line yesterday and then to go to the opposite field like that in this ballpark, it’s a testament to the flight of the ball, said Cubs Manager Joe Maddon.

Brach got Buster Posey to strike out for the first out of the inning, and on the first pitch to Sandoval, the Giants won their third straight game.

It was the fifth career walk-off for Sandoval, and his first since August 9, 2018 against the Cubs, when he hit a single to left field.

This was the Giants fifth consecutive win by one run, and they are 24-10 this season in one run games, the best record in the major leagues. They are 10-2 in extra-inning games this season, including 4-0 on this current home stand.

Overall, the Giants have won three in a row, 10 out of their last 11 and 17 out of their last 20 game to move to 52-50 on the season.

The last time that the Giants won 17 out of 20 was from July 25 until August 16, 2001.

Sam Coonrod pitched a perfect 13th inning to pick-up his first win of his major-league career. Coonrod struck out Javier Baez and Kris Bryant before getting Anthony Rizzo to ground out to Joe Panik for the final out of the inning.

Things were looking good for the Giants, as they entered the top of the eighth inning with a slim 4-3 lead and the bullpen in full force.

Unfortunately, that was not the case, as Kris Bryant doubled, then went to third on a Rizzo groundout back to Reyes Moronta and after a walk to Peninsula native Daniel DeScalso, Tony Watson gave up the game-tying single to Jason Heyward. Watson was able to regroup and struck out Robel Garcia to end the threat.

I thought we battled back in the eighth inning. Anytime you play that long and hang in there I mean it’s nice to see nobody give up and still go out there and compete. It just wasn’t our night tonight, said Bryant.

Madison Bumgarner went seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits, walking just one and striking out seven, but he did not fare in the decision.

The Cubs took the lead in the top of the first inning, as Baez doubled off of Bumgarner, then Bryant singled in Baez; however, the inning ended when Pablo Sandoval, who was playing in the shift near second base, made a great play to on a ball hit by Rizzo, as he tagged Bryant and threw to Brandon Belt to complete the double play.

That was the lead until the bottom of the second inning, as the Giants tied up the game, as Alex Dickerson doubled to lead off the inning and then slid away from the throw by Kyle Schwarber to the plate on a Yastrzemski sacrifice fly.

Unfortunately, the tie would not last long, as the Cubs retook the lead in the top of the third inning, as Bryant singled to score Baez, who singled and then stole second and third.

Dickerson got the rally started, as he hit a solo home run to left field to tie up the game, then Brandon Crawford singled, which was followed by a Mike Yastrzemski walk and then Kevin Pillar hit a Yu Darvish offering to the left-center field power alley to give the Giants the lead.

Darvish went six innings, allowing four runs on six hits, walking just one and striking out six, as like Bumgarner, he did not fare in the decision. He also saw his 13.0 inning scoreless streak come to an end in the bottom of the second inning, and the four runs allowed marked his first runs since July 3 against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.

NOTES: The last time that the Giants picked up four walk-off wins in a six-game span was in the year that they moved to San Francisco in 1958. During that season, the Giants defeated the Milwaukee Braves, the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals from July 5-13, 1958.

Rizzo went 0-for-5 on the night, as his 13-game hitting streak came to an end.

UP NEXT: Tyler Beede closes out the home stand on Wednesday afternoon, as he looks for his fourth win of the season for the Giants. Jon Lester will take the Oracle Park mound for the Cubs, as he looks to get his 10th win of the season.

Headline Sports podcast with Barbara Mason: Pacquiao can still win at 40; Wizards trying to sign Beal; plus more Wiz

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Photo credit: @MPac_Foundation

On Headline Sports podcast with Barbara:

#1 Manny Pacquiao thrilled them again last Saturday night. Pacquiao won and is now with a record of 62-7-2 and 39 KOs. It was a 12-rounder won by the 40-year-old Pacquiao.

#2 The Washington Wizards have offered guard Bradley Beal a three-year deal worth $111 million. Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard said he wanted to sign Beal at the first opportunity he got.

#3 Detroit Tigers outfielder Nick Castellanos says that Comerica Park in Detroit is a joke. Castellanos says that one day his hair will turn gray, it’s something you can’t control how. Castellanos said he hit a homer to center right for some 372 feet.

#4 Is Derek Carr quarterback for the Oakland Raiders playing for his job? Or is he playing for someone else? The Raiders will be looking for a quarterback that can not only get them wins, but enough of them to get to postseason?

#5 Here’s the San Francisco Giants, who were living in last place most all season, but are now just 2 1/2 games out of first place for the National League Wild Card.

Barbara Mason does Headline Sports each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Cubs’ Garcia and Schwarber start game with 2 big flies; Twins get rare triple play against Angels; plus more

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Photo credit: @robelgarcia16

On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 The Chicago Cubs got a splash hit and a home run at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Monday night. Robel Garcia hit a tremendous drive into McCovey Cove and Kyle Schwarber hit his 22nd home run of the season.

#2 The Minnesota Twins got a 5-4-3 triple play in the first inning on Monday night when the Los Angeles Angels’ Edwin Encarnacion hit a grounder to Twins third baseman Luis Arraez, who tagged third and relayed the throw to second with the Twins’ Jonathan Schoop covering and Schoop threw to first baseman Miguel Sano for the triple play.

#3 The Houston Astros pitcher Gerritt Cole is the second fastest pitcher to reach 200 strikeouts in baseball history and he did it against the Oakland A’s in a 11-1 rout. For the A’s, it was their second straight loss, and for Cole, he was in total command and showed why he reached 200 strikeouts so quickly.

#4 As the trade deadline gets closer, the San Francisco Giants; key pitchers Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith are up for grabs. There also has been talk that Giants manager Bruce Bochy has talked with team president Farhan Zaidi about possibly keeping Bumgarner and Smith. It’s possible the Giants might not move them the later it gets.

#5 Houston Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow says with the roster, the Astros have they could win the whole thing. Luhnow said that with the four starters they have, they can win on good pitching and get deep into the postseason.

Amaury Pi-González is a pioneer in establishing Spanish baseball radio play-by-play in the Bay Area that dates back to 1970s. The Spanish broadcast for 72 games are heard on KIQI 1010AM/990AM with studios in San Francisco, serving also the Sacramento/Stockton market and does That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com 

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips and Michael Duca: Giants slowly but surely have improved the team, thanks to Zaidi

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sports.yahoo.com file photo: San Francisco Giants general manager Farhan Zaidi is the one that holds the decision as to whether or not pitchers Madison Bumgarner or Will Smith stay or go.

On the Giants podcast with Morris and Michael:

The last time Morris and Michael recorded a podcast, the San Francisco Giants were 11 games below .500 and they went as far as 12 games as far as 35-37 and they have won 16 of their last 19 and have rescued their season. We weren’t talking about the same club the last time we spoke.

The Giants are a team that has managed to during the course of the year and they’re getting younger with almost every transaction they make and yet getting more competitive also. The whole thing about Giants general manager Farhan Zaidi — he couldn’t make a splash move, but what we’ve seen is he’s making these incremental moves and made the team slightly better each time.

Listen for more as Morris and Michael bring you the Giants podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Comfortable Late: Giants hang around then pounce, beat the Cubs, 5-4

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO — It’s been nearly a year since the Giants sported a winning record, and this time, it feels like it fits.

The Giants rallied for two runs in the eighth, surprising the equally hot Cubs in a 5-4 win at Oracle Park on Monday night. The win was the Giants 16th in their last 19 games, which apparently is the length of time required for a bad ballclub to gain its footing.

In the previous three weeks, the Giants have crushed the ball, and overwhelmed the opposition on the road, and they’ve pitched, defended and picked their spots at home. On Monday, the Giants executed the latter, coming up with consecutive RBI doubles from Austin Slater and Joe Panik in the eighth to cap a comeback from being down 3-0 in the fourth.

By improving to 51-50, the Giants remained within two games of the second wild card placeholder, St. Louis. Just as importantly, they continue to gain the faith of their own front office, that now may be less likely to break up a good thing before the July 31 trade deadline.

“We’re playing our best baseball right now,” said Panik. “There’s something about this team. We’re a collective group. It’s not just one guy doing it all.”

With 61 games remaining, how could the previously last-place Giants pull this off and grab a wild card berth? Well, their schedule and the math make this three-pronged scenario a possibility.

First, they post a winning record over their next seven games leading up to the trade deadline. GM Farhan Zaidi continues to monitor the trade front while his team’s won-loss record weighs heavily on whether he buys or sells. Being at least 55-53 a week from now after the two remaining games against the Cubs, three at San Diego, and the first two of three at Philadelphia keeps the Giants where they are: a game or two out of the second wild card spot, and on the heels of the Cardinals, Phillies and Brewers, the teams they must catch.

Second, they need to win 36 of their remaining 61 games to gain an 87-75 record, which is modest, but could land them in a favorable spot when compared to the other three clubs, none of which have shown the ability to get hot and run away from the pack.

And third, the Giants only have 11 games remaining against the trio they’re pursuing. Seven road games at St. Louis and Philadelphia, and four home games against the Phillies. Their season series against the Brewers is concluded (Giants won 4 of 6 against Milwaukee). Win more than half of those 11 games, and it makes it far more likely the Phillies or Cardinals don’t get hot and approach, or reach 90 wins.

On Tuesday, Madison Bumgarner faces the Cubs in a matchup against Yu Darvish at 6:45 pm. And yes, it’s unlikely to feel or be treated like Bumgarner’s final start in a Giants’ uniform at Oracle Park.

“I’m proud of them and how they played their way into playing important games,” manager Bruce Bochy said of his Giants. “I can’t think of a season quite like this. We’ve had some ups and downs, but to go from where we were to where we are, it’s made this even more enjoyable.”

They Were Giants? Horace Speed and Darren Ford

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Photo credit: Tony “The Tiger” Hayes

By Tony “The Tiger” Hayes

Horace Speed — PR/OF — 1975 — # 38
Darren Ford — PR/OF — 2010-11 — # 34

SAN FRANCISCO–The ignored “position” of pinch-runner hasn’t been in Vogue since the mid-1970s when Oakland’s Herb Washington — a former college track star without a baseball background — was issued an unforgettable 1975 Topps baseball card listing his position as “pinch -runner.” But like sans-a-belt pants, mutton chop side burns and flapless batting helmets, the pinch-runner has been sadly all but laughed out of baseball.

Over the years, SF has had two short lived players who’s primary lane to the playing field included slapping lead foot teammates on the butt as they took their spot on the base paths.

The aptly named Speed and Ford (think Mustang) – combined to play in 50 games with the Giants – with 31 of those appearances coming as pinch-runners.

Why Were They Giants?
The LA raised Speed, who was signed to his first pro contract by SF in 1969, made the club’s opening day roster in 1975 as a backup to the likes of Gary Matthews, Von Joshua and Bobby Murcer.

While Speed was considered a more rounded prospect – batting batting .273, 14, 83 at Triple-A Phoenix in 1974,

Ford was promoted to SF in Sept. 2010 strictly for his base path acumen, after hitting just .250 at Double-AA Richmond.

Before & After
The grandson of former big leaguer Ted Ford, Darren came up through the Brewers farm system before a 2008 trade in exchange for Ray Durham brought him to SF.

He would make it into seven games in the fall of ‘10 but never made a plate appearance.

Ford made it back to the bigs with SF again in 2011 – this time getting a few hits off the bench.

After leaving the Giants organization in 2012, Ford spent a seasons each in the Seattle and Pittsburgh organizations before returning to the Giants fold in 2014-16 – however he did receive a big league call-up the second time around.

Speed would appear in just 17 games with the Giants in ‘75, batting .133 (2-for-15) before returning to the minors for the next three seasons. He would resurface in majors with Cleveland in 1979-80 batting .217 in 96 contests.

They Never Got Their Own Bobblehead. But…
Ford may not have swung a bat never for the 2010 World Champions, but he made an unforgettable impression on Giants fans – using his speed to lead the Orange & Black to victory in his big league debut in a home game vs. Colorado (9/1/10).

Running at first base for Mike Fontenot in the bottom of the eighth with the score tied at 1-1, Ford advanced to second on a sacrifice.

With one out and a 0-2 count on Andres Torres, Rockies pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez bounced a pitch in the dirt that bound a short distance from Rox back stop Miguel Olivo. Ford daringly took the initiative to sprit to third and then he kept on running home with what would be the winning run of a 2-1 outcome when a hurried Olivo airmailed a throw into left field.

Speed appeared in eight big league games before making his first plate appearance for SF. He reached base in his first start, stroking a double off Don Gullet in a 5-4 win at Candlestick over the eventual world champion Reds (4/29/75).

Giant Footprint
In his first big league multi-hit game (he only had four of them) Speed batted 2-for-4 with 2 RBI to lead Cleveland to a 3-0 win at Toronto (6/30/78). Also collecting two knocks for the Indians that day: Tribe starting 2B Duane Kuiper.

Thirty-two years later, Kuiper was behind the mic on the Giants telecast when Ford debuted with his mad dash from second base: “Ford’s gonna go! (The throw is) into left field and the Giants take the lead! Unbelievable!”