Category: San Francisco Giants

Giants break skid with 3-1 win over Marlins

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Harness

The Giants snapped a seven-game losing streak Thursday afternoon, when they downed the Miami Marlins, 3-1, at Marlins Park.

In the process, they salvaged the finale of a three-game series.

Tyler Beede had a solid outing for the Giants, as he went six innings and surrendered only a run on five hits. He walked three and struck out four, but he did not factor in the decision. Instead, Reyes Moronta, who pitched a scoreless seventh during which he gave up only a walk, picked up his second win of the season.

In fact, as well as he pitched, Beede would have stood to take the loss, as he left the game trailing 1-0. However, Mike Yastrzemski, Hall of Famer Carl’s grandson, tied the game at 1-1 by bringing home Brandon Crawford with a single in the top of the seventh.

One inning later, Crawford himself drove in a pair of runs with a ground-rule double, as he drove home Buster Posey and Brandon Belt. On the down side, Crawford was the only Giant who had more than one hit on Thursday.

For the Marlins, starter Sandy Alcantara shut out the Giants for six innings, as he surrendered only a pair of hits as well as five walks. He, like Beede, ended up with a no-decision.

Like the Giants, Miami only had one player who had more than one hit, as Garrett Cooper had a pair of singles.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Giants Stuck With Heavy Contracts of Under-Producing Players

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Photo credit: @NBCSAuthentic

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

The Opening Day Payroll of this 2019 MLB season for the San Francisco Giants was $138,030,231. The estimated CBT payroll is different at $155,030,231. CBT is commonly known as the Luxury Tax. The threshold for 2019 is $206 million. The Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, and New York Yankees are over that figure.

The Giants’ larger salaries per year are those of Buster Posey ($22 million) plus Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija, Mark Melancon, Evan Longoria, and Madison Bumgarner. Some of the most recent Giants like Cueto and Longoria have multi-year deals for more than $100 million. Samardzija signed for $90 million and Melancon signed for $62 million. Cueto and Melancon have been hurt and Longoria, who was a franchise player for the Tampa Bay Rays, is not the same player after 10 years of great production. Longoria seems to be done.

In 2018, in his first season for the Giants, Longoria hit .244 with 16 home runs and 54 runs batted in. This season, Longoria has hit for a .220 average with six home runs and 19 runs batted in. Others like Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford are not starving, but are big disappointments. For example, Belt currently sports a .230 average with eight home runs and 20 runs batted in. Since he began his career with San Francisco in 2011, Belt has never hit more than 18 home runs and 82 runs batted in during a season at first base, which is supposed to be a power position. Crawford is currently hitting .209 with three home runs and 13 batted in.

I hear people talking about bringing the fences in at Oracle Park because the Giants do not hit well there, but everybody else that comes to play the Giants hit plenty of home runs. It is not the park for the Giants’ lack of hitting, it is the players. They won three World Series at the same park, which has been SBC, Pac Bell and AT&T. It’s now Oracle. Since the inauguration of this beautiful park, the dimensions have been the same, so instead of focusing on the fences, the Giants should focus on the team.

The Giants simply got old, and they are playing not the same type of baseball that everybody else is playing today — home runs, home runs, and more home runs. Since MLB got a new ball this year, which is much lighter (a good friend of mine in this business told me, “Amaury, the ball is on Steroids.” Yes, and everybody is hitting home runs, except for the Giants.

You do not need Statcast or any other of the new and fancy baseball analytics to tell you that the Giants have spent more that most teams in baseball and got little in return for their money. On July 31, we will likely see this team trade Madison Bumgarner and perhaps reliever Will Smith. Only God knows who else, but they need more than a tune-up, they need a new engine.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez is the Spanish voice of the Oakland Athletics. He was born in Cuba and has lived in the Bay Area since 1969. He has broadcasted for the A’s, Giants, Mariners, and Angels — a veteran of radio and television. He has been inducted to BARHOF (Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame) in 2010, Cuban Sports Hall of Fame (Miami), and The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame (San Francisco), and nominated multiple times for the MLB Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasters.

Marlins hold on, keep sad-sack Giants sinking

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Photo credit: artesianews.com

By Jeremy Harness

Twenty-two years ago, the Giants and the then-Florida Marlins went toe-to-toe in the National League Division Series, a series that saw the Marlins move on and eventually win the World Series.

Fast forward to 2019, and now the two teams are battling it out as two of the worst teams in baseball.

The Marlins technically have the inferior record at 19-34, but based on how the two teams have played the past two days, that is hard to believe. Miami downed the 21-33 Giants by a score of 4-2 Wednesday night at Marlins Park, less than 24 hours after the Marlins bombed them, 11-2.

The Giants may have three World Series banners floating around Oracle Park, but they sure have been hanging a lot of L’s these days.

Wednesday was the seventh straight loss for the Giants, and despite winning three World Series in five years, they stand a chance of finishing the decade with a losing record. Depending on who you talk to, that fact is either very funny or tragic indeed.

After Miami took the early lead with a run in the third, Brandon Belt’s solo home run tied the game in the fourth. The Marlins then scored three unanswered runs over the next four innings, and the Giants could not recover.

Madison Bumgarner had a solid outing, going six innings and gave up only a pair of runs on six hits, walking one and striking out four. However, his record fell to 3-5, as he was the victim of the Giants’ miserable offense, which is statistically one of the worst in the majors.

To pour a little more salt into the wound, former Giants closer Sergio Romo, who had a big hand in the World Series run and put the finishing touches on the 2012 Fall Classic, nailed down the save for the Marlins, although he did surrender a run on two hits in the process.

Despite all of this, there is some good news, in that you don’t have to look very far to find a good baseball team, and the tickets are more than half the price. The A’s have recently gone on a 10-game winning streak and are heading toward the top of the American League standings.

To add to the good cheer, the Golden State Warriors are heading to their fifth consecutive NBA Finals, a series that starts Thursday night in Toronto against the Raptors.

Giants routed by Marlins 11-3; SF lost 6 straight

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Photo credit: @NBCSGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

Once again, the San Francisco Giants gave up double digits in runs and the game slipped in a nutshell.

Jorge Alfaro and Garrett Cooper each hit three-run home runs, as the Miami Marlins defeated the Giants 11-3 at Marlins Park.

The Alfaro and Cooper three-run blasts were the first three-run home runs by the Marlins during the 2019 season.

This was the third time in four games that the Giants have allowed at least 10 runs in a game, and have lost six in a row.

Over their last four games, the Giants have been outscored 45-11 and are a season-high 11 games under .500.

Joe Panik gave the Giants a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, as he hit the first pitch of the game off of Trevor Richards for a solo home run.

Following the Panik home run, Richards settled down, as he ended up going seven innings, allowing just one run on two hits and the Marlins have won eight out of their last 11 games.

Alfaro blew the game wide open in the bottom of the fifth inning, as he hit a three-run home run and then Cooper put the Marlins in double figures, when he smashed his three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Thru their first 51 games of the season, the Marlins did not hit a three-run home run and ended the night with two.

Rosell Herrera closed out the scoring for the Marlins in the bottom of the eighth inning, as he hit a pinch-hit home run, his first home run of the season.

All of the Marlins first seven runs came with two outs, as the Marlins are now 10-4 since 2017 against the Giants.

Jeff Samardzija lost for the third time in a row, as he saw his record fall to 2-4 on the season. Samardzija gave up a season-high five earned runs in four innings of work, tying his shortest start of 2019.

NOTES: Nick Vincent was forced to leave the game in the bottom of the sixth inning with a trainer.

UP NEXT: Madison Bumgarner heads to the mound on Wednesday, as he looks for his fourth win of the season. Thus far in the month of May, Bumgarner is 2-0 in five starts and on the season, has walked only 13 and struck out 70.

Pablo Lopez will his first ever start against the Giants on Wednesday, as he looks to improve his record up to 4-5. On the season, Lopez is 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA in four home starts during 2019.

Struggling Giants face the inevitable parting of ways with several familiar faces

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By Morris Phillips

Of course, in the season the Giants enter the MLB trade deadline market as unrepentant sellers, a buyers market has developed that could leave the club with few, attractive options for its most desirable assets.

Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith are the biggest names the Giants have to offer. But they will also listen if teams show interest in Tony Watson or Pablo Sandoval. Wishful Giants fans thinking others like Brandon Belt, Evan Longoria or Joe Panik could be dealt for something of value are just being wishful.

Simply, on a team that’s currently 10 games below .500 (21-31) and on pace to lose 95 plus games–again–a market doesn’t currently exist for players who have underperformed or have contracts that can easily be termed an albatross.

So that brings us back to Bumgarner, Smith, Watson and Sandoval. Can any of those four in some combination bring the Giants the youthful, high-level prospects that they desire? That remains to be seen. One thing’s for certain: the offers currently being tossed about aren’t blowing GM Farhan Zaidi out of his office recliner.

The biggest factor in creating interest for any teams looking to off load veteran talent is a buyer’s market that’s robust. And take a look at the current Memorial Day standings, the number of teams that consider themselves contenders for a playoff spot or a World Series title is dwindling fast.

In the American League especially the playoff picture is–like last season–reaching clarity early. The Yankees, Twins, Astros, Rays all seem playoff worthy, and everyone outside of the Red Sox and A’s do not. That leaves one notable club, the Indians, as a likely seller, and in direct comparison to the Giants, Cleveland would appear to have more desirable starting pitchers in Trevor Bauer and Cory Kluber (currently on the injured list) than the Giants do in Bumgarner.

Of the six AL clubs that appear to have postseason resumes, few have holes in their rosters at this time that would force them to consider a big deal prior to the July 31 trade deadline. The A’s, Rays and Yankees especially are currently content to see what pieces they can add from within, as all three have pitchers that could regain their health and be significant additions from the injured list.

The Twins, Astros and Red Sox–at least to this point–haven’t generated many rumors regarding their needs, and while that could change dramatically in the next 60 days, their situations don’t appear to be headed toward a deal for a big ticket item like Smith or Bumgarner.

In the National League, two clubs, the Padres and Phillies, have expressed interest in adding a high level starter or reliever, but two clubs don’t form a competitive buyer’s market. And a deal with the Padres could be disadvantageous to the Giants, who may not be interested in strengthening a divisional rival, even for the short haul.

Another factor looms over the entire trade market, affecting any deals that are consummated, and that is the premium all 30 clubs place on their prospects, as baseball trends heavily toward younger players with controllable deals. Just look around the league, or just look at the Giants’ opponents thus far this season that have visited Oracle Park. Young pitchers are dealing, and youthful sluggers are raking all across major league baseball, and that trend makes it less likely a team will part with a top 100 prospect to add a Bumgarner or a Smith.

Finally, the July 31 trade deadline for the first time is a hard deadline. New rules prohibit any waiver wire trades after that date, limiting the time and circumstances that could trigger a significant trade. While players will still be available after July 31 through the waiver wire, that would only allow a club to shed a hefty salary as opposed to adding a desirable asset.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Bochy says it’s the worst season he’s seen in awhile

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@BruceBochy file photo: San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy says this has been the worst season in awhile for the struggling Giants, who are on a five-game losing streak.

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips:

#1 Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong for the San Francisco Giants. The basics: no hitting and no pitching. Manager Bruce Bochy says its the worst season he’s seen in awhile.

#2 Up and down the lineup, they’re just not getting the hitting or run support from Joe Panik .245, Steve Duggar .242, Buster Posey .252,Brandon Belt .229, Evan Longoria .225, and Brandon Crawford .200.

#3 The Giants have also been lacking in their pitching help. For example, starters Drew Pomeranz, Andrew Suarez, and Shaun Anderson have pitched 11 2/3 innings and allowed 20 runs

#4 One item that has been discussed is local businesses have struggled near the ballpark. Merchants have said business has been down by half or worse and some say no one is coming into their business.

#5 Giants have a much-needed day off before heading to Florida. Starting for SF, Jeff Samardzija (2-3, 3.27 ERA) vs. the Marlins Trevor Richards (1-5, 4.14 ERA).

Morris does the Giants podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

D-Backs break out broom on Giants

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Photo credit: @carskelly

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — This will be a series that the San Francisco Giants will want to put behind them, and look forward to hitting the road.

Ketel Marte hit a solo home run off of Shaun Anderson in the top of the first, and then Eduardo Escobar scored on a sacrifice fly by Adam Jones and the Arizona Diamondbacks swept the Giants after a 6-2 victory before a crowd of 37,017 at Oracle Park.

This was the first sweep by the Diamondbacks over the Giants in San Francisco since June 12-14, 2015.

In the three-game series, the Giants were outscored by the Diamondbacks 34-8.

If you’re going to look now (on Memorial Day weekend), now’s the time. That’s the worst series of the year. I can’t remember one where we had three consecutive games with that kind of baseball we just played. Starters had a hard time getting the ball where they wanted. Anderson (pitch location) was up early, he finally made an adjustment. But along with the hits, the mistakes he made. Now you throw in bad defense and that’s a recipe for what happened today. You know that’s three games where we just played our worst ball, said Bruce Bochy.

Escobar singled following the Marte home run, advanced to second on an Anderson wild pitch and then scored on the Jones sacrifice fly.

Buster Posey got the Giants on the board in the bottom of the first inning, as he doubled in Joe Panik, who led off the inning with a double that came up feet short of Paniks third home run of the season.

Nick Ahmed started off the second inning by singling, stole second and went to third, when Andersons pitch got by Posey. After a Carson Kelly, Luke Weaver dropped down a perfect sacrifice bunt and Ahmed, when Anderson failed to look Ahmed back to third base.

Jarrod Dyson got in on the act, as he singled in Kelly. Following the Dyson single, Marte drove in his second run of the game, as he singled, went to second on the throw and when the throw hit the third base bag, Dyson scored easily from third base.

Weaver picked up his fourth win of the season, as he went five innings, allowing one run on six hits, walking two and striking out six, before leaving the game with tightness in his right arm.

Anderson went five innings, as he gave up six runs (four of them earned) on nine hits, walking one and striking out one and lost for the first time in his major-league career.

It was a huge day at the plate for rookie Mike Yastrzemski, who went 3-for-4 with two runs scored; however, he will be best remembered for what happened on his first major league hit. Yastrzemski wandered too far off of first base, and as he attempted to get back to first base, he was thrown out by left fielder Blake Swihart.

In comparison, it took Yastrzemskis grandfather, Hall of Famer Carl, 10 games to notch his first three-hit game in the majors. The 21-year old Yastrzemski picked up his first three-hit game on April 29, 1961 for the Boston Red Sox against the Detroit Tigers at Tiger Stadium.

Sam Coonrod made his major-league debut, as he pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

NOTES: With the 34 runs scored in the series, the Diamondbacks broke their team record of 32 for most runs in a three-game series on the road. The previous record was set from June 3-5, 2014 against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.

The 34 runs tied a team record that was set at Chase Field from September 12-14, 2016 against the Rockies.

This was the second time this season that the Giants have been swept at home, as the New York Yankees swept the Giants from April 26-28.

Overall, the Giants have lost 14 out of their last 20 games at Oracle Park.

To make room for Coonrod on the roster, the Giants optioned Saturdays starter, Andrew Suarez to Triple-A Sacramento.

Posey picked up his 13th double of the season, giving him 259 in his career, which is fourth all-time in SF history. The late Willie McCovey is third all-time with 308 doubles during his two stints with the Giants.

UP NEXT: After an off-day on Monday, the Giants begin a three-city, nine-day road trip on Tuesday against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park.

Jeff Samardzija will take the mound for the Giants, while Trevor Richards will open the series for the Marlins.

D-Backs drop a 10 spot on the Giants

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Photo credit: @Dbacks

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — If you thought the Arizona Diamondbacks scored enough to score to be all scored out, you are watching the wrong game.

Ildemaro Vargas reached on a fielding error by Pablo Sandoval that allowed Ketel Marte to score from third base, and then Kevin Cron hit a sacrifice fly to Kevin Pillar that saw Pillar fly in the air like Superman, got up and threw to Joe Panik, who in turn threw to Brandon Belt for the double play; however, Vargas was originally as no across the plate in time. Torey Lovullo challenged the call and it was reserved, as that would be all the runs that the D-Backs would need on their way to 10-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants before a crowd of 31,531 at Oracle Park.

“It’s bad baseball, there’s no getting around it,” said Bruce Bochy.

This was the first time that the D-backs scored at least 10 or more runs in back-to-back games since September 20, 2017 against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, and then two days later against the Miami Marlins on September 22 at Chase Field.

As for the Giants, it was not as long, as they gave 10 or more runs to the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 29 and 30 of 2018.

Andrew Suarez helped out his cause in the bottom of the second inning, as he legged out an infield single that allowed Brandon Belt to score from third base. That run batted in by Suarez would account for the Giants only run on the afternoon until Evan Longoria walked with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning that scored Mike Yastrzemski, who was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning.

Yastrzemski, who is the grandson of Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame left fielder Carl Yastrzemski was recalled from Sacramento and to make room for Yastrzemski, the Giants designated Mac Williamson for assignment.

In his debut, Yastrzemski went 0-for-3 with a hit by a pitch, as he started in left field before moving to center field in the top of the eighth inning.

Things went from bad to worse for the Giants, as the D-Backs scored eight runs between the third and fifth innings to blow the game wide open.

It was a tough day for Suarez, who went four innings, allowing nine runs (seven of them earned), walked three and struck out four, also threw two wild pitches and allowed a home run and fell to 0-2 on the season.

The nine runs allowed by Suarez were a career-high, breaking the previous mark of eight that was set on August 4, 2018 against the D-Backs at Chase Field.

Tyler Clarke went 6.1 innings for the D-Backs, allowing three runs on six hits, walking three and striking out one, as he picked up his first major league win.

Marte hit a home run for the second time in as many games, as it was the second time in his career that he hit home runs in back-to-back games.

NOTES: On the double play that ended the first inning, that was the 16th outfield assist for the Giants this season, which leads the major leagues. The Miami Marlins are second in assists with 12.

Cron picked up his first major league hit and run batted in, as his father Chris Cron, who is the manager of the D-Dbacks Triple-A farm club, Reno Aces, looked on from the crowd.

UP NEXT: Shaun Anderson continues to look for that elusive first major league win, as the former Florida Gators pitcher faces Luke Weaver, who pitched for the Gators rival, the Florida State Seminoles and is looking for fourth win of the season for the D-Backs.

Pomeranz, Giants bitten by Diamondbacks 18-2

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Photo credit: @Dbacks

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — If you thought allowing another first inning run to an opponent was nothing new for the San Francisco Giants, just wait to see what happened over the next five innings.

After taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a Ildemaro Vargas home run, the Arizona Diamondbacks quickly relinquished that lead, when Austin Slater smashed a two-run home run to give the Giants a 2-1 lead.

Unfortunately, that Giants lead would last only one-half inning, as the Diamondbacks scored 17 runs over the next six innings on their way to a 18-2 victory over the Giants before a crowd of 31,777 at Oracle Park.

The win by the Diamondbacks stopped their five-losing streak.

Ketel Marte tied up the game in the top of the second inning, as he singled in Nick Ahmed, who singled to lead off the frame.

Vargas then picked up his second run batted in of the game, as he singled to right field that scored Carson Kelly, who walked after Ahmed singled.

Robbie Ray helped out his own cause in the top of the third inning, as he hit a two-run single that scored Adam Jones and Ahmed.

That third inning would be the end of the line for Drew Pomeranz, as he went 2.2 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits, while walking just one and striking out six and lost for the fifth time in six decisions this season.

It was a huge night for Jones, who went 4-for-5 with three runs and three runs batted in before being replaced by Blake Swihart in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Not only was a huge night for Jones, but Ray pitched a good game as well. Ray went 5.1 innings, allowing two runs, five hits, walking two and striking out and won for the fourth time in five decisions.

Ahmed got in on the run batted in parade in the top of the fourth inning, as he walked to Eduardo Escobar; however, the big hit in the inning was a two-run single by Tim Locastro.

The quartet of Marte, Vargas, Escobar and Jones racked up 14 of the 21 Diamondbacks hits on the evening.

Marte ended the night with three hits, Vargas with five, Escobar with two and Jones with four.

Escobar joined the home run parade in the top of the sixth inning, as he smashed a Nick Vincent offering onto the arcade for a three-run home run.

All in all, Vincent went 2.2 innings, allowing six runs on seven hits, and striking out two.

Derek Holland was cruising in the top of the seventh inning, as he got the first two outs; however, then the wheels fell off, as he gave up a single to Kelly, then hit Locastro, then Swihart grounded into a fielders choice that saw Donovan Solano throw the ball into right for another Diamondbacks run.

Marte then got in on the home run derby, as he smashed a Holland pitch into the left field bleachers.

The biggest applause of the night came in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Pablo Sandoval came into the game to pinch hit and promptly singled to right field.

Following the Marte home run, the fans began to chant Let Pablo Pitch, but it did not come to fruition and Holland returned to the mound, much to the chagrin of the remaining fans that hung around.

Zach Godley pitched the final three innings to pick up his second save of the season for the Diamondbacks.

On the other side of things, the usually stellar Giants bullpen was anything but that, as they 13 runs (nine earned) on 13 hits, walked two and struck out six. They also gave up three home runs over the final seven and one-thirds innings.

NOTES: The 18 runs scored by the Diamondbacks are the most by a visiting team in the history of Oracle Park breaking the record of 17 that was set by the Colorado Rockies on May 5, 2016.

Also, the 18 runs scored by the Diamondbacks tied for the second most in team history, and the most ever on the road.

Their 21 hits are also the second most in team history, one shy of the team record that was set on August 24, 2013, when they smashed 22 hits against the Philadelphia Phillies.

UP NEXT: Andrew Suarez makes his second start of the season, as he takes the mound for the Giants on Saturday afternoon. Right-hander Tyler Clarke will toe the rubber for the Diamondbacks, as he looks for that elusive first win of the season

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Giants’ Williamson and company lacking the hits

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Photo credit: @NBCSGiants

On the Giants podcast with Miguel:

#1 What’s off with the Giants’ Mac Williamson swing? He was striking out five times on Thursday afternoon against the Atlanta Braves

#2 Five times they needed that bat of Williamson to make hay in a one-run loss that went 13 innings.

#3 Williamson is trying to make this club and be a main stay. We ask Michael is this a temporary hang up or something that needs a quick fix?

#4 Another bat out of the Giants’ lineup: shortstop Brandon Crawford, who missed Thursday night’s contest due to pink eye.

#5 The Giants opened a three-game series on Friday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks started Robbie Ray (3-1) and the Giants went with Drew Pomeranz (1-4)

Michael does the Giants podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com