Category: San Francisco Giants

San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Name all the things that went wrong with S.F. this season

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On the Giants podcast with Marko:

#1 What went horribly wrong for ex-Giants general manager Bobby Evans?

#2 There were plenty of injuries throughout the season: Buster Posey, Brandon Belt, Jeff Samardjiza, Johnny Cueto, Joe Panik and Evan Longoria; just to name a few did that lend to the lack of play for the Giants, and thus, Evans getting the blame for the mounting loses.

#3 The Giants fell short of losing 100 games last season and have lost 13 of 16 as of Tuesday night and are 12 games under .500 did. That also factored into Evans’ departure.

#4 Giants manager Bruce Bochy said he was hoping to stay on with the Giants for next season. The front office says they’re going to look for outside help for replacing Evans. Where does Bochy’s future lie with this change?

#5 Finally, how much blame does Giants CEO and team president Larry Baer share in the failure of last year’s team as well as this year’s team?

Marko Uklovic did the Giants podcasts for the 2018 season and will be doing the San Jose Barracuda podcasts starting next week on Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Bumgarner’s walk-off single lifts Giants to 5-4 win over Padres in 12 innings

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By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — Madison Bumgarner came up with the biggest hit of the night when it was needed the most.

Bumgarner, who was forced to pinch hit after there were no more pinch hitters hit a walk-off single off of Brad Wieck in the bottom of the 12th inning, as the San Francisco Giants came back to defeat the San Diego Padres 5-4 before a crowd of 36,063 at AT&T Park on Tuesday night.

The Bumgarner single off of Wieck scored Gorkys Hernandez from third base, after Hernandez tripled to lead off the inning against Wieck.

This was the first walk-off of Bumgarner’s career, and his fourth career pinch-hit with the last coming on July 21, 2016 against the Washington Nationals.

Chris Stratton went just 4.2 innings, allowing three runs on six hits, walking five and striking out five.

The win by the Giants stopped their five-game losing streak, as they won for just the fifth time in their last 22 games.

The Giants took the lead in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Gregor Blanco came off the bench and doubled down the left field line to score pinch-hitter Joe Panik, who singled and Hunter Pence, who singled Panik to third base. Gorkys Hernandez led off the inning with a double, but was thrown out trying to steal third base for the first out of the inning.

Unfortunately, Will Smith was unable to close it out, as he gave up a one-out double to Wil Myers and then Framil Reyes singled to score Myers.

Eric Hosmer gave the Padres the lead in that third inning, as he singled in Robbie Erlin and Myers, on the play, Hernandez to control the ball for an error that sent Reyes across the plate.

Abiatal Avelino then committed the Giants second error in as many at-bats, as he was unable to field the Hunter Renfroe ball that scored Reyes from third base.

Erlin went the minimum five innings, allowing two runs on four hits, not walking a batter and striking out four, but did not fare in the decision.

Evan Longoria gave the Giants an early 1-0 lead on a double that scored Pence, who led off the by reaching on an error by Javy Guerra.

Pence, whose contract with the Giants comes to an end on Sunday got the Giants within one run in the bottom of the fifth inning, as he hit his fourth home run of the season.

NOTES: With the victory, the Giants raise their record to 52-19 when they score four or more runs in a game.

Bumgarner is the first MLB player since Jon Lester of the Chicago Cubs to get a walk-off single without pitching in a game. Lester’s walk-off came on July 31, 2016 against the Seattle Mariners at Wrigley Field.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Padres conclude their series Wednesday night at 7:15 pm PDT.

The Giants’ Casey Kelly takes the mound, as he looks for his first win, while the Padres will Eric Lauer to the mound in the series and season finale between the two teams.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Giants Have Many Decisions to Make This Winter

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By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

The Giants could go in a new direction. Would if be towards analytics and be more creative with their player acquisitions and trades? AT&T Park will never be a home run friendly park, even if they acquired Bryce Harper; that alone might not be enough for them to contend on their division. Many decisions now rest with the new person that will take over Baseball Operations, replacing Bobby Evans, who was fired prior to the game Monday against the Padres at AT&T Park.

The Giants have $132.9 million committed in 2019, $129.4 million in 2020 and $94.1 million in 2021–just five players.

The Giants have a lot of money tied up into a handful of players and most of them are bound to return in 2019.

Next year’s Giants will have Evan Longoria, Brandon Crawford, Buster Posey (coming back for surgery), Johnny Cueto $130 million (coming back from surgery), Jeff Samardzija–$90 million, and Mark Melancon–$63 million, These players are veterans who are in their 30’s.

Yes, the Giants need to get younger. Are the Giants going to pick up the 2019 option for Bumgarner? $12 million, that is a bargain, but maybe the new General Manager/Baseball Operations that will take Evans’ place might consider trading him for a few young prospects. I would trade Bumgarner if I was able to find a few young, exciting, promising players. Why not? He is the best bait you’ll have for a nice deal.

The Giants had a good run and won three World Series, but they got melancholic with their established players,  pouring big money on them and hoping for another run, which never happened. It is understandable, as they have a great fan base and want to keep that winning style of baseball happening at AT&T Park. But the last two seasons were not exciting at all. When you do not hit in today’s game, you become a boring team.

Yes, their pitching this year surprisingly was not that bad, but this is not Soccer/Fútbol, there is no tie and you have to win. You have to hit and hit with power in today’s game. The Giants are the only MLB team this year with no player hitting at least 20 home runs. Look across the bay, that A’s team has Khris Davis, Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Stephen Piscotty, Jed Lowrie, Mark Canha, Marcus Semien and company–they all hit home runs and that is a huge part of the game and they ended up winning.

And by the way, the Coliseum–just like ATT Park–is also not a home run friendly park.

Good luck to the next man or woman who will be running the Giants’ Baseball Operations.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips and Michael Duca: After getting shutout, Giants drop to 13 games below .500

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On the Giants podcast with Morris and Michael:

The San Francisco Giants’ long season is about to be put to rest. The Giants are 13 games under .500 after notching another loss on Monday night at AT&T Park in a resounding 5-0 shutout by San Diego pitcher Bryan Mitchell (6.16 ERA). The Giants straddled the .500 line as if the wheels have kind of fallen off.

The Giants had played a series in San Diego and St. Louis before returning back to San Francisco to host the Padres. The Giants mustered only seven hits in the ball game, but couldn’t get a runner to cross the plate. They’ve seen Mitchell before and his fast ball was good, but the Giants got shutout by a pitcher with a 6.16 ERA.

Our thanks to Morris and Michael for their work on the Giants podcasts. Join them both for Cal Bears podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Going in Another Direction: Giants relieve GM Evans of his duties, lose quietly to the Padres

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO — If the philosophy employed by GM Bobby Evans to construct the 2018 Giants is horribly out of step with current baseball thinking, we got one more reminder on Monday night at AT&T Park.

After Evans was relieved of his duties earlier on Monday, the Giants’ bats fell silent in a 5-0 loss to the Padres. Padres’ starter Bryan Mitchell completely shutdown the Giants’ offense a week after he allowed the Giants nine hits and four runs in a loss at San Diego in his previous start.

The Giants have lost 16 of 20 to fall a season-worst 13 games under .500. At the root of all the struggles is an offense that frequently can’t even manage a base hit; the Giants are hitting .222 as a team since the All-Star break, the lowest such mark for any team in baseball since 1974.

“We’ve got to get this offense fixed,” manager Bruce Bochy said afterwards.

The move to relieve Evans and retain Brian Sabean while reducing his responsibilities means the club will look outside the organization to find their philosophical leader for the first time in decades. That next GM/executive will have to fortify an offense without the likelihood a free agent hitter would chose San Francisco as his destination given the dramatic dropoff in offensive production recent transplants have experienced.

Against Mitchell on Monday, a Giants’ lineup of underperforming holdovers and prospects Chris Shaw and Aramis Garcia managed just six base hits and one double from Brandon Crawford. Only leadoff hitter Hunter Pence managed multiple hits as Mitchell dominated for 8 2/3 innings. Mitchell struck out seven, and induced numerous ground balls that kept the Giants from mounting a rally.

“A really impressive performance, I would have loved to see him finish it,” manager Andy Green said of Mitchell.

Derek Holland pitched well but was lit up by Jose Pirela’s lind drive homer that increased the Padres’ lead to 3-0 in the fourth.

Giants fire Bobby Evans after four seasons

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By: Mizuho Takagi

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Giants announced in a statement Monday that Senior Vice President and General Manager Bobby Evans would be removed from his general manager duties effective immediately. The team said Evans would be reassigned with responsibilities to be determined.

“I want to thank Bobby for his tireless work on behalf of the Giants. He played an important role in our team’s success throughout his tenure, which includes three World Series championships, four NL pennants and eight playoff appearances,” said Giants President and CEO Larry Bear in a statement.

The Giants will immediately begin a search for its next head of baseball operations.

“I take great pride in the long standing continuity of our baseball department. I want to express my thanks to Bobby for all he has given to the Giants over the past 25 years and for his countless contributions,” said Giants Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Brian Sabean in a statement. “I will be working closely with Larry as the organization finds its next leader of baseball operations.”

Evans first joined the Giants as a minor league administrative assistant in 1994 and later promoted to director of minor league operations in 1998,  and director of player personnel in 2005. He became vice president of baseball operations in 2009 and was named as general manager in April, 2015. Evans is signed through 2019.

The Giants opened their final homestand of 2018 and lost 5-0 to the Padres on Monday. The Giants are in fourth place of National League West Division with a 72-85 record in its second straight losing season.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Giants may be out, but haven’t given up; Get swept in St. Louis; Get ready for San Diego tonight

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@SFGiants file photo: Hunter Pence (left) sits with former coach Tim Flannery at Dodger Stadium during Flannery’s time with the team. Pence is expected to finish his tenure with the Giants this week.

On the Giants podcast with Morris:

#1 The Giants went through the motions in St. Louis and lost their 50th game on the road in a three-game sweep with the Cards.

#2 Manager Bruce Bochy said that St. Louis is a really balanced ball club with a tough lineup.

#3 The Cards executed all the reasons why they’re a wild card competitor. With what Bochy said, they have power, speed, and are good athletes.

#4 The 50-game road loss was a five-game improvement over last year’s loss total of 55.

#5 The Giants open a three-game series tonight against the San Diego Padres at AT&T Park. This most likely will be the final curtain for Giants’ Hunter Pence and Gregor Blanco as members of the team.

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

 

Cardinals break out the brooms following 9-2 rout of the Giants

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By Jeremy Kahn

After starting the final road trip of the 2018 season with consecutive victories, the road trip ended up being a nightmare for the San Francisco Giants. In particular, the St. Louis Cardinals.

Yairo Munoz drove in the only run that Miles Mikolas would need with a single that scored Jedd Gyorko, as the Cardinals completed a three-sweep with a 9-2 victory over the Giants at Busch Stadium on Sunday.

Mikolas, who won for the 17th time on the season against just four losses, went seven innings, allowing just one run, walking a batter and striking out eight, as the Cards keep pace for the second Wild Card spot in the National League behind their division rival, the Milwaukee Brewers.

Not only did Mikolas come up big on the mound, but he helped himself out with a single to right field in the bottom of the fourth inning to score Harrison Bader.

The Cards broke the game wide open in the bottom of the sixth inning, as they scored five runs that got started when Bader hit into a fielders’ choice that scored Patrick Wisdom.

Munoz drove in his second run of the afternoon, as he singled to score Yadier Molina and then Andrew Suarez’s day ended and was replaced by Pierce Johnson, Jose Martinez doubled to score Bader and Munoz. Paul DeJong put the capper on the inning, as he singled to score Tyler O’Neill.

Brandon Crawford drove in the lone runs for the Giants in the top of the seventh inning, as he hit a two-run home run that also scored Evan Longoria.

Matt Carpenter hit a two-run home run for the Cards in the bottom of the eighth inning to put the finishing touches on the scoring.

Suarez went five innings, allowing two runs on six hits, walking one and struck out five and saw his record fall to 7-12 in his rookie season.

NOTES: Over their last 12 road games of the season, the Giants went 2-10, that included an 0-6 road trip when the Giants were swept by the Colorado Rockies and the Milwaukee Brewers.

In the month of September, the Giants are 4-16 in their 20 games during the month.

UP NEXT: The Giants return to AT&T Park to host the Padres for a three-game series starting Monday night at 7:15 pm PDT.

Derek Holland begins the Giants’ final homestand on Monday night, as he looks for his eighth win for the season, while the Padres will send Bryan Mitchell to the hill, as he searches for his second win of the season.

MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum: A’s pennant plans for today; M’s again erased from postseason; Tribe pitchers combine for 200 K’s in a season; plus more

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On the MLB The Show podcast with Daniel:

1 Pennant race status as of Sunday. The A’s magic number is 1

2 Mariners extend longest postseason drought in major North American sports to 17 years.

3 Indians’ first time in MLB to have four pitchers with 200 strikeouts in a single season.

4 Giants celebrate National Singles Day by hitting 10 singles.

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

O’Neill ends it with a walk-off to lift the Cardinals to a 5-4 win over the Giants

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By Jeremy Kahn

Tyler O’Neill ended Saturday afternoon’s game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants with one swing of the bat.

O’Neill smashed a solo home run with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, helping the Cardinals to their fifth win in their last six games with a 5-4 victory over the Giants at Busch Stadium.

Mark Melancon served up the O’Neill home run, as the Cards smacked their team record eighth walkoff home run of the season.

It was the ninth home run of the season for O’Neill, as they remain in the second spot for the National League Wild Card game and remain behind their division rival, the Milwaukee Brewers for the top spot.

The win by the Cards gave the victory to closer Carlos Martinez, who improved to 8-6 on the season, while Melancon drops to 0-3 for the Giants, who have dropped their last three games.

Adam Wainwright made just his third start of the season for the Cards, as he went 6.1 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits, walking no one and striking out six.

Things were looking good for the Giants, as they led the Cards 4-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning, but Yadier Molina tied up the game with a two-run home run off of Giants starter Dereck Rodriguez.

Aramis Garcia came up with a big hit in the top of the seventh inning, as he gave the Giants a 3-2 lead. Garcia picked up four hits on the afternoon for the Giants.

Garcia went 4-for-4 on the afternoon, a career-high and Garcia now has hits in 10 out of his last 12 games.

Gregor Blanco extended the Giants lead up to 4-2, as he grounded into a fielder’s choice that scored Garcia.

Molina tied up the game with his 19th home run of the season off of Rodriguez, whose day ended following the Molina home run.

Rodriguez went six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits, walking one and striking out two and he will make one start next weekend against the Los Angeles Dodgers at AT&T Park.

This was the first time since his second major league start against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on June 9 that Rodriguez allowed three or more earned runs in the same game. Rodriguez went 15 consecutive games without allowing three runs or fewer.

Joe Panik picked up three hits and drove in a run for the Giants.

NOTES: Garcia is the first Giants rookie since Austin Slater on June 15, 2017 against the Colorado Rockies on June 18, 2017, to have a four-hit game in his rookie season.

The four-hit game by Garcia came one day after the rookie struck out four times in the same game. Garcia is the first to accomplish this feat since Hunter Pence did it from July 22-24, 2015 and only the second Giants player to do it since 1913, this according to STATS, LLC.

Garcia is only the fifth rookie in major league history to strikeouts four times in a game, and then four hits in the game. He joins Andre Ethier of the Dodgers in 2006, Travis Hafner of the Cleveland Indians in 2003. Roberto Meija of the Colorado Rockies and Craig Paquette of the Oakland A’s also in 1993.

Panik made his professional debut at first base, as he started the game at first base and it was the first time that Panik started there on the minor league or the Major League level.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Cards wrap up their series Sunday at 11:15 am PDT.

Andrew Suarez puts an end to the road trip and the Giants 2018 road schedule, as he takes the Busch Stadium mound for the first time in his Major League career, while Mike Mikolas takes the mound for the Cards.