Category: San Francisco Giants

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!”

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Mets-Giants go extra innings three times in series

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sfgate.com photo: San Francisco Giants’ Mike Yastrzemski, right, is congratulated by third base coach Ron Wotus (23) after hitting a solo home run against the New York Mets during the 12th inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Sunday, July 21, 2019.

On the Giants podcast with Morris:

#1 San Francisco Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski is having a season with on Sunday. He got a walk away home run off New York Mets pitcher  Robert Gsellman in the bottom of the 12th in a four-game series that went into extra innings three times.

#2 The game on Sunday went 12 innings, which gives you an idea how the Mets and Giants battled tooth and nail to win this series

#3 The Giants have been getting these series in the last month’s worth. They take three out four from the Mets and are just 2 1/2 games back in the NL Wild Card standings

#4 Giant outfielder Kevin Pillar got fed up with the strike calls when he got punched out by plate umpire Mark Rippenger. He argued with Rippenger, but got ran. It was Pillar’s first ejection for this season.

#5 The Giants open a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs on Monday night. Starting pitchers for the Cubs, Alec Mills (0-0, 4.50 ERA), and for the Giants, Shaun Anderson (3-2, 4.87 ERA).

San Francisco Giants podcasts are heard right here at http://www.sportsradioservice.com each Sunday

Giants Yastrzemski wins it 3-2 with a walk off in 12 innings

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photo from sfgate.com: San Francisco Giants’ Mike Yastrzemski hits a solo home run against the New York Mets during the 12th inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Sunday, July 21, 2019.

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Mike Yastrzemski ended the weekend series with one swing of the bat for the San Francisco Giants.

Yastrzemski hit a changeup off of Robert Gsellman on a 3-2 pitch in the bottom of the 12th that landed in the left field bleachers giving the Giants a dramatic 3-2 victory over the New York Mets before a crowd of 35,406 at Oracle Park.

It was the first career walk-off home run for Yastrzemski and his 9th home run of the season for the rookie.

The Yastrzemski walk-off gave the Giants three wins in four games over the Mets, and they have won eight out of their last nine, 11 out of 13 and 15 out of 18.

This was also the fifth consecutive series win for the Giants since splitting the four-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks from June 27-30.

Despite not faring in the decision, Connor Menes went five innings, allowing two runs on three hits, walking three and striking out six in his major-league debut.

Menes got into trouble in the first inning, when J.D. Davis doubled with one out in the inning; however, Kevin Pillars defense came up huge again.

Pillar made a great running catch off a Pete Alonso hit ball, and was able to regroup to throw out Davis at third base to end the inning.

It was the team-leading sixth outfield assist for Pillar, and the MLB leading 25th outfield assists for the Giants as a team this season.

Steven Matz went six innings, allowing two runs on six hits, walking just one and striking out six and like Menes, he did not fare in the decision.

Zach Green like Menes, made a great first impression for his new teammates, as he picked up two hits in his first two at-bats in the major leagues.

It was Greens double in the bottom of the fourth inning that scored Buster Posey tied up game, and that was the score until Yastrzemski’s home run in the bottom of the 12th inning.

Michael Conforto got the Mets on the board in the top of the second inning, as he hit his 18th home run of the season that landed in McCovey Cove and it was the 125th Splash Hit since the Park opened in 2000 and the 47th by an opponent.

Two batters later, Michael Conforto gave the Mets a 2-0 lead, as he hit his 11th home run of the season.

After the Rosario home run in the top of the second inning, the next Mets hit did not come until there was one out in the top of the 11th inning, when Davis singled off of Mark Melancon.

Trevor Gott pitched the 12th inning to pick-up the victory, as he raises his record to 6-0 on the season.

In all, the bullpen of Reyes Moronta, Tony Watson, Sam Dyson, Will Smith, Melancon and Gott went a combined seven innings, allowing zero runs on two hits, walking two and striking out eight.

NOTES: To make room for Menes and Green on the roster, Ty Blach was optioned to Sacramento and Derek Holland and Ryder Jones were both Designated for release or assignment.

Pillar was ejected by home plate umpire Mark Rippenger in the bottom of the eighth inning for arguing balls and strikes. This was Pillars first ejection as a Giant, and the second of his career.

UP NEXT: Shaun Anderson will take to the Oracle Park mound on Monday night, as the Chicago Cubs invade the Bay Area for their only trip this season. Alec Mills will take the mound for the Cbs]

MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum: A’s can sweep Twins today in Minneapolis; Will Giants take a dive if they part with Bum and Smith?

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photo from sfgate.com: Oakland Athletics’ Mark Canha, left, and Marcus Semien celebrate Canha’s two-run home run off Minnesota Twins pitcher Zack Littell in the seventh inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 20, 2019, in Minneapolis. The Athletics won 5-4.

And here they are, from the home office in Gardner, ND Daniel Dullum’s MLB The Show podcast for Sunday:

MLB

1 A’s-Twins in key AL series

2 Should Giants be sellers at the deadline?

3 Mariners’ Mike Leake nearly throws perfecto; Angels DFA former All-Star pitcher Matt Harvey

4 RIP Pumpsie Green, Don Mossi, Jim Bouton

Catch Daniel each Sunday for the MLB podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Winning streak comes to an end in 11-4 Mets victory

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By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO– All good things must come to an end, and on this day, it was the San Francisco Giants seven-game winning streak.

Dominic Smith, whose error on Friday night gave the Giants a dramatic 1-0 10 inning and less than 14 hours later, he was a hero for the New York Mets.

Smith hit a solo home run in the top of the second inning, helping the Mets to an 11-4 victory over the Giants before a crowd of 33,860 at Oracle Park.

That was the first of four RBIs on the afternoon for Smith, who added an RBI single in the top of the fourth inning that easily scored Todd Frazier, who tripled with one out in the inning.

The four RBIs by Smith tied a career-high, and it was the second this week that Smith picked up four RBIs in a game. He also did on Wednesday versus the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.

Jeff McNeill broke the game open in the top of the fifth inning, as he hit a two-run home run off of Jeff Samardzija.

Amed Rosario led off the inning with a single and then after Walker Lockett struck out for the first out of the inning, then McNeill hit his ninth home run of the season.

It was a good day for Lockett, who went five innings, allowing one on five hits, walking no one and striking out three and won his first major league game.

Samardzija went five innings, allowing four runs on six hits, walking no one and striking out seven, as he fell to 7-8 on the season.

Frazier added a solo home run of his own in the top of the sixth inning, as hit his 13th home run of the season.

Pete Alonso, who did not get the start for the Mets came off the bench and launched a pinch-hit three-run home run to lengthen the Mets lead up to 8-1.

It was the first career pinch-hit home run for Alonso, who broke Darryl Strawberrys rookie record for most RBIs by a Mets player. Strawberry drove in 74 runs for the Mets in his Rookie of the Year season in 1983.

Smith put the finishing touches on a three-hit day, as he hit a two-run single in the top of the ninth inning and then J.D. Davis got in on the hit parade, as he drove in a run with a single of his own.

Lost in the game was the fact that Pablo Sandoval picked his first four-hit since August 28, 2015, when he did it for the Boston Red Sox versus the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park. This was the 11th four-hit game of Sandoval’s career.

Alex Dickerson hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth, his fifth home run of the season and then two batters later, Mike Yastrzemski hit his eighth home run of the season, a solo home run. Both home runs came off of Stephen Nogoshek.

NOTES: Evan Longoria, who is currently on the 10-day injured list with Plantar Fasciitis in his left foot took ground balls prior to the game with third base coach Ron Wotus, Longoria will remain in the walking boot before being re-evaluated.

UP NEXT: Conner Menez will make his major-league debut for the Giants on Sunday afternoon, while the Mets will send Steven Matz to the mound in the series finale.

Giants win on Mets’ costly error in extra innings

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — What in the name of Timmy Lupus or Rudi Stein happened in left field during the San Francisco Giants game versus the New York Mets?

Alex Dickerson scored the only run of the game when Dominic Smith could not catch the Pablo Sandoval what would have been the third out of the inning, and the Giants defeated the Mets 1-0 in 10 innings in front of 32,861 at Oracle Park.

Dickerson, who led off the inning with a walk off of losing pitcher Jacob Rhame and sped all the way around the bases when the ball dropped in front of Smith. The throw from Smith was cut off Pete Alonso, and his throw was up the line and the Giants dugout went into celebration mode for the second night in a row.

This was the seventh straight win for the Giants, who have reached the .500 mark for the first time since they were 68-68 on August 31, 2018.

Not only is this seven straight wins for the Giants, but it is also 10 out of 11 and also 14 out of their last 16.

Jacob deGrom and Tyler Beede were in a pitchers duel until the entire time that the two were in the game at the same time.

In all, Beede went eight innings, allowing zero runs on three hits, walking one and striking out five and his record is remains at 3-3 on the season.

On the other side of things, deGrom went seven innings, giving up zero runs on three hits, walking three and striking out 10 and did not fare in the decision.

This was the 38th time in deGroms career that he reached double figures in strikeouts and the sixth time this season.

The Giants did not get a rally started until the bottom of the sixth inning, as Beede helped out his own cause, when his single dropped in between Robinson Cano, Amed Rosario and Michael Conforto.

Beede was then retired, as Brandon Belt hit into a force play and then Austin Slater walked to give the Giants their first of having multiple runners on base at the same time. Unfortunately, the mini-rally was short lived, as deGrom regrouped to strikeout Pablo Sandoval and Stephen Vogt consecutively to end the inning.

Things got interesting in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Brandon Crawford led off the inning with a walk, then went to second when Mike Yastrzemski dropped down a perfect sacrifice bunt. Crawford then went to third on a Kevin Pillar fly out, but the inning ended when Joe Panik flew out to center to end the inning.

After getting the first two outs of the eighth inning, Beede then allowed a runner to reach base, as Jeff McNeil was hit by a pitch on the elbow; however, Beede got out of the jam, as he got Conforto to fly out to Pillar in center field to end the threat.

NOTES: Overall, the Giants are 13-2 in the month of July, and are 27-15 since June 1.

They also raise their record in extra inning games up to 8-2 during the 2019 season.

The last time that the Giants won games via the walk-off in extra-inning games was on April 13, 2014 versus the Colorado Rockies (10 innings) and April 15, 2014 in 12 innings versus the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Overall, the last time that the Giants went walk-off in back-to-back games on consecutive days came on April 23 and 23, 2015 against the Dodgers, and both games ended with identical 3-2 scores.

The last time that the Giants won a game without a run batted in was on June 25, 2011 against the Cleveland Indians at Oracle Park, and it was the ninth time in the 61 years that the Giants have played in San Francisco.

UP NEXT: Jeff Samardzija takes the mound on Saturday afternoon for the Giants, as he looks to raise his record up to 8-7 on the season and the Mets will send Walter Lockett to the mound, as he looks for his major league victory.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Giants have the confidence and wild card in sights, but will they deal MadBum and Smith?

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sfgate.com photo: San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner works against the New York Mets during the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, July 18, 2019, in San Francisco.

On the SF Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 San Francisco Giants centerfielder Kevin Pillar said that the team has confidence and belief, which would also be a good argument to keep pitchers Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith.

#2 The Giants so far have hit more home runs than at home at Oracle Park and average 5.5 runs on the road to 3.4 runs at home per game.

#3 The Giants are four games over .500 at 27-23 on the road. What best explains why their doing better on the road compared to at home?

#4 Manager Bruce Bochy managed the club a 6-1 road trip in Milwaukee and Colorado. The Giants in a four-game series with the New York Mets where they played to a 16 inning win over the Mets 3-2 on a walkoff single by a Donovan Solano to drive in the winning run.

#5 Hall of Famers Edgar Martinez, Harold Baines, Roy Halladay, Mike Mussina, Mariano Rivera, and Lee Smith. All will be inducted for this year’s class for the 2019 Hall of Fame. Once again, home run king Barry Bonds failed to get elected by getting 59.1% of the vote.

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

Giants extend streak in marathon vs. Mets

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Harness

SAN FRANCISCO – Madison Bumgarner threw what should have been a complete-game statement win, giving up only one run on five hits and stifling a Mets team that rolled into Oracle Park riding a four-game winning streak.

Because the Giants couldn’t figure out how to get a guy home from third with nobody out – twice, mind you – it went into the books as a nine-inning no-decision as his offense let him down once more.

The Giants turned the tables on the Mets in the top of the 10th, when New York put runners on second and third on reliever Will Smith with nobody out. The lefty then put the brakes on the Mets’ rally, striking out the side to keep the game tied at 1-1.

The bats eventually turned around for the Giants, as they sent what was left of the crowd at Oracle Park home happy after Donovan Solano’s single drove in the winning run in a 3-2 win to extend their winning streak to six games.

Bumgarner’s night didn’t get off to the best of starts, as Jeff McNeil drove his first pitch into the left-center gap for a double, with J.D Davis following that right up with a hard single to left, putting runners on the corners with nobody out.

He got out of the inning with minimal damage, although McNeil ended up scoring after Bumgarner induced Pete Alonso into a double play, giving New York a 1-0 lead.

The Giants had their first crack at getting that elusive runner home from third in the second, when Alex Dickerson led off by launching one into the deepest part of the ballpark – a place called Triples Alley located in the gap in right-center – and wound up with a stand-up triple. After Brandon Crawford and Mike Yastrzemski both struck out, Kevin Pillar popped out to end the inning and blow the chance.

The next shot came in the fourth, as they put together a rally that saw them load the bases with one out. This time, the Giants cashed in, as Pillar lined one into left field, which Davis had to leap to make the catch and save and extra-base hit.

As it stood, Pablo Sandoval, who had led off the inning with a single, tagged up easily from third to tie the game.

The Giants have been especially adept at getting extra-base hits, and they used that to their advantage again in the seventh, as Yastrzemski led off with a triple.

Once again, however, lack of situational hitting on the Giants’ part let them down and kept the game tied. Pillar put the ball on the ground, but he hit it hard and right at third base, forcing Yastrzemski to stay put. The Mets then intentionally walked Joe Panik before Bumgarner – for whom the Giants faithful were on its collective feet in anticipation of his breaking the 1-1 tie – struck out and Brandon Belt flied out.