Category: San Francisco Giants

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Crawford has a swing going that would make Rogers Hornsby proud

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sfexaminer.com file photo: Brandon Crawford who went 4-4 on Sunday and just missed the cycle leads the Giants with a .326 average has been a force at the plate

On the Giants podcast with Morris Phillips:

San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford is swinging the bat that would make former Major Leaguer Rogers Hornsby proud. Hornsby was a Hall of Fame second baseman and shortstop that hit .350 career from 1915 to 1937. Crawford on Sunday hit .326 for this season.

Not an easy achievement Crawford was able to get his perfect 4-4 on Sunday off Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is one of the best pitchers in the N.L. Crawford got a first inning single, Crawford also hit for a two-run home run, a double in the sixth, in the fourth at bat Crawford missed the cycle with a double with hit up the left field line.

Giants pitcher Derek Holland went five innings, three hits, walked two, struck out four, Holland is now 4-6. The Giants start a four-game series in Miami Monday night. The Marlins have struggled all season, but Morris gives his take on how he sees this series.

Morris does Giants podcasts twice a week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Crawford goes 4-for-4 in Giants’ 2-0 shutout over the Nationals

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Photo credit: @NBCSGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

What a day it was for Brandon Crawford in the series finale for the San Francisco Giants against one of the best pitchers in baseball, Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals.

Crawford picked up three hits in his three at-bats versus Scherzer, including a two-run home run off of Scherzer in the top of the fourth and the Giants defeated the Nationals 2-0 at Nationals Park on Sunday.

On the afternoon, the hot hitting Crawford ended up going four-for-four, as the Giants took the series two games to one, and more important, took the season series four games to two.

Crawford singled in the top of the first inning, then smashed a two-run home run into the second deck that proved to be the only runs of the game for both teams. Crawford then doubled in the top of the sixth inning, and with a chance for the cycle, Crawford doubled down the left field line to complete his four-hit day.

It was the eighth home run of the season for Crawford, and his 29th and 30 runs batted in on the season.

Crawford, who struggled thru the month of April, as he batted .189 thru the first month of the season, is now hitting .338.

Since May 1, Crawford is hitting .439, as he is 58-for-132 during that stretch. His .338 batting average is just three points behind Freddie Freeman of the Atlanta Braves, who is batting .341.

Derek Holland went the minimum five innings to pick up the victory for the Giants, who are now 2-1 on their three-city, 10 game road trip thru Washington, Miami and Los Angeles.

Holland gave up three hits, walking two and striking out four, as he improved to 4-6 on the season.

Bruce Bochy turned the game over to his bullpen, and they performed in an outstanding manner, as former Nationals closer Mark Melancon pitched the sixth inning, walking one, then Sam Dyson walked and struck out a batter in the seventh inning, then Tony Watson pitched a perfect eighth.

Hunter Strickland came on in the bottom of the ninth, who got Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon and Matt Adams, who came on to pinch hit for Mark Reynolds to pick up his 13thsave of the season.

Strickland, who in their last meeting hit Harper that led to a bench clearing brawl got Harper to ground out to Crawford for the first out. Rendon then followed it up with a ground ball with a ground ball to Crawford and then Strickland got Adams to strikeout swinging to end the game.

Scherzer went seven innings, allowing two runs, while scattering four hits, walking three and striking out nine, as he saw his record on the season fall to 10-2 and his earned run average increase from 1.95 to 2.00. This was the first loss for Scherzer since April 4, breaking his nine-game winning streak.

NOTES: Madison Bumgarner will make his second start of the season on Monday evening, as the Giants continue their road trip against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park, who will send Wei-Yen Chen, who is 1-3 with a 5.86 ERA on the season.

In his season debut on Tuesday night, Bumgarner went six innings, allowing two runs, walking no one and struck out three after missing the first two months of the season with a broken left pinkie.

This was the first series win for the Giants against the Nationals in Washington since July 9-11, 2010, the year that the Giants won the first of their three World Championships in a five-year period.

Crawford is the first Giants batter to ever get three hits in the same game off of Scherzer.

UP NEXT: The Giants will head to Miami to take on the Marlins for a four-game set. Game 1 is set for Monday at 4:10 pm PDT.

Harper hits his 19th home run in Nationals’ 7-5 win over Giants

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Photo credit: sports.yahoo.com

By Jeremy Kahn

On the day that the Washington Capitals brought the newly won Stanley Cup to Nationals Park and Alexander Ovechkin threw out the first pitch, it was the Washington Nationals superstar that provided the big blast against the San Francisoo Giants.

Bryce Harper hit his National League-leading 19th home run in the bottom of the fourth inning, as the Nationals defeated the Giants 7-5 in an early Saturday matinee at Nationals Park.

In his first game since being activated from the 60-day disabled list, Adam Eaton scored two runs to help even the weekend series with the Giants.

Eaton, who missed 52 games with a left ankle bruise, was hit by a pitch, as he led off the bottom of the first inning.

Anthony Rendon drove in Eaton with a single that gave the Nationals a quick 1-0 lead, and then in the next inning, he scored again and the Nationals took a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning.

Dereck Rodriguez lasted just 2.2 innings, as he gave up five runs just six days after his first major league start and win over the Philadelphia Phillies at AT&T Park.

Rodriguez, who is the son of Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez, pitched in front of his father for the first time as a major leaguer, and will do so again on Thursday, when he pitches in his hometown of Miami against the Marlins.

Nick Hundley got the Giants back in it in the top of the third inning, as he hit a three-run home run off of Gio Gonzalez to get the Giants within 5-3.

The Giants rally continued in the top of the fourth inning, as the Giants loaded the bases and were only able to manage one run, as Andrew McCutchen hit a sacrifice fly.

Gonzalez, who like Rodriguez saw his pitch count elevate and was unable to get out of the fourth inning.

Justin Miller picked up his third win of the season, as he retired all five batters he faced.

Hundley got the Giants within one run in the top of the seventh inning, as he doubled in a run; however, the Nationals put the game away in the bottom of the seventh inning, when Spence Kieboom hit a RBI double of his own.

NOTES: Derek Holland will take the mound in the series finale on Sunday, while the Nationals will send Max Scherzer to the mound, as he looks to improve to 11-1 on the season.

This will be the first time that Holland will face the Nationals in his 10-year career, while Scherzer looks to go to 2-0 against the Giants this season. On April 25, Scherzer went six innings and struck out 10 in a 15-2 victory for the Nationals, as they salvaged the series finale.

Brandon Crawford was out of the lineup for the first time since May 16 against the Cincinnati Reds. Crawford struck out as a pinch hitter in the top of the seventh inning.

Ovechkin’s first pitch to Scherzer went over the pitcher’s head, and the Conn Smythe Award Winner asked for another one and it was granted.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Nats conclude their series on Sunday at 1:05 pm PDT.

Road trip begins on a high note as Giants defeat Nationals 9-5

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

What a nice start to a three-city, 10 game road trip for the San Francisco Giants against a tough Washington Nationals team.

Andrew McCutchen got the offense going in the first inning, as he hit his third home run of the week that matched his season total and the Giants defeated the Nationals 9-5 at Nationals Park on Friday night.

Andrew Suarez did not go the minimum five innings, as he was pulled from the game with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning after the Nationals cut the Giants once 6-2 lead down to 6-4.

Suarez went 4.1 innings, allowing four runs on six hits, walking one and striking out five, before way to Reyes Moronta.

The Giants extended the lead to 3-0 in the top of the second inning, as Alen Hanson continues his hot hitting since coming off the disabled list, as he singled to right field that scored Pablo Sandoval. Hunter Pence then extended the lead, as he doubled in Hanson.

Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg lasted just two innings before he was forced to leave the game with inflammation in his shoulder, and will undergo an MRI on Saturday. Strasburg gave up three runs on five hits, walking no one and striking out two, as he fell to 6-6 on the season.

Gorkys Hernandez continues his hot hitting, as he hit a two-run two run home run in the top of the fourth inning that gave the Giants a 5-0 lead.

The Nationals finally got on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Suarez gave up a two-run home run to Juan Soto that landed in the Giants bullpen just out of the reach of Pence, who attempted to make a home run saving catch.

Brandon Crawford remains hot, as he doubled to left field that scored McCutchen to give the Giants a 6-2 lead in the top of the fifth inning.

Wilmer Difo began the Nationals comeback in the bottom of the fifth inning, as he singled to lead off the inning against Suarez. After Pedro Severino flew out for the first out of the inning, Adrian Sanchez singled and then Trea Turner walked to load the bases for Bryce Harper, who was the tying run.

Harper singled to right field to score both Difo and Sanchez, which marked the end of the night for Suarez.

Reyes Moronta replaced Suarez, and was able to get Anthony Rendon to fly out to Hernandez in centerfield and then Mark Reynolds fouled out to Hanson at third base to end the threat. That was it for Moronta, who picked up his second win of the season.

Matt Adams got the Nationals within one run in the bottom of the sixth inning, as he singled off of former Nationals reliever Mark Melancon.

The Giants broke the game wide open in the top of the seventh inning, as Sandoval singled in Joe Panik, who doubled to right field to lead off the inning. Following the Panik double, Buster Posey singled and then after McCutchen made the first out of the inning, Crawford was hit by a pitch that loaded the bases.

Sandoval then followed Crawford to the plate, and singled to centerfield to score Panik from third base. Evan Longoria, who did not start, came off the bench to pinch hit for Hanson and hit a sacrifice fly that scored Posey and then Hunter Pence put the finishing touches on the scoring, when singled to right field to score Crawford.

NOTES: Dereck Rodriguez will make his second major league start on Saturday, as he takes on Gio Gonzalez.

Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija both threw in the bullpen prior to the game. Samardzija, who is out with right shoulder tightness will throw one more bullpen session and then throw to hitters or make a rehab start. Cueto is likely to throw two more bullpen sessions and then a batting practice before returning from inflammation in his right elbow.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Nationals meet again Saturday at 9:05 am PDT.

Surging Giants face tough road test

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Harness

The Giants had a fantastic first week of June, and they have used that momentum to get themselves right back into the National League West race.

Now comes the hard part.

The Giants have won five of their last six games, all of them played inside of AT&T Park, and as a direct result, the Giants are back to .500 and are only 1 ½ games behind the NL West-leading Arizona Diamondbacks, the team they just took two of three from this week.

Now the Giants will hit the road for a 10-day trip that starts tomorrow in Washington, a city that is buzzing from the NHL’s Capitals winning the Stanley Cup on Thursday. Meanwhile, its baseball team, the Nationals, isn’t playing too bad, either.

The Nationals currently own a 35-25 record and are in a tie atop the National League East with the Atlanta Braves. They have won seven of their last 10 games, but those three losses came against the Braves in a four-game series played last week. They rebounded nicely, however, by sweeping the Tampa Bay Rays in a two-game series.

The Giants will start the series on Friday at Nationals Park with Andrew Suarez (2-4) on the mound against Washington righty Stephen Strasburg (6-5).

Dereck Rodriguez (1-0) picked up his first major-league win on Sunday, giving up a single run to the Phillies in a 6-1 victory, but he will have a daunting task on Saturday when he goes up against Nationals left-hander Gio Gonzalez (6-2).

To cap off the series, southpaw Derek Holland (3-6) will most certainly have his hands full as he faces righty Max Scherzer (10-1).

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Bochy on Crawford, “You couldn’t ask for a better hitter”

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sfgate.com file photo: San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford had a break out month of May and has started out June with an extra innings game winning base hit on Wednesday afternoon against the Arizona Diamondbacks

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael:

The Giants’ run of six wins out of their last seven shows the team has come together like no other time of the season. Giants’ shortstop Brandon Crawford has had a great month of May and continues with a game-winning hit on Wednesday a 10th inning RBI single.

Manager Bruce Bochy said of Crawford, “We couldn’t have asked for a better hitter up there.” The Giants head on a nine-game road trip starting tonight in Washington. The Giants have a road record 12-20 and are looking to improve their record. With what’s happened lately, can the Giants do it?

Hunter Pence made his return on Wednesday with a hit in one at-bat. How much of an impact will he make now that he has returned?

Giants podcasts with Michael Duca and Morris Phillips are heard every week during the Giants season at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Biggest Yet: Hanson, Crawford led Giants to dramatic 5-4 win over the D’Backs in 10 innings

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–A two out, two-run pinch-hit homer in the ninth to tie. One run in the tenth to win.. against the first-place Diamondbacks on getaway day?

Yes, it was unquestionably the Giants’ best win of the season so far.  And one that will be hard to top no matter which path the club takes in the remainder of 2018.

Alen Hanson’s game-tying homer off closer Brad Boxberger was so clutch and dramatic, it may have earned the utilityman a role with the club for the foreseeable future. It was so unfathomable, the entirety of AT&T Park paused as the ball approached the bricks in the right field pavilion, then lost it when the ball landed.

Biggest moment, best hit, best win. This one had the feel.

“Great win for us,” manager Bruce Bochy said.

The Giants are back to .500 again. 31-31, the 13th time they’ve evened their record so far this season. But this time, they finally stood up to Arizona, while capping a terrific, 5-1 home stand.

Until the ninth inning, the Giants were competitive, but inexorably facing a tough defeat. Chris Stratton, looking for his eighth win, was stingy again, but gone in the fifth. Paul Goldschmidt–who had two hits off Stratton–got two more hits after his departure, both scoring runs, and the Diamondbacks appeared safe, leading 4-2, and needing just three more outs.

But Boxberger, looking for his 14th save, and the D-Backs, 29-0 when leading after the eighth inning, came up one out short, because of Hanson.

Through translator Edwin Higueros, Hanson explained his success that has led to six doubles, five home runs and 18 RBI in his first 19 games as a Giant.

“Last year I basically spent the whole year pinch-hitting,” Hanson explained. “I don’t let the situation intimidate me.”

Convinced he would see at least one pitch to drive from Boxberger, Hanson did on the 0-1 pitch that grabbed too much of the plate, and was sent over the right field bricks.

“He killed us this series,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said of Hanson, who had a hit in all three games of the series, despite not starting any of the three.

In the tenth, the table was set when center fielder Jarrod Dyson couldn’t snag Andrew McCutchen’s drive that eluded his glove at the base of the center field wall. Dyson later admitted he saw it initially, but lost in the sun.

That was the only moment the Diamondbacks wished they had back. In the fifth, they loaded the bases, but Will Smith struck out Alex Avila to end the inning. In the sixth, Goldschmidt was thrown out at the plate, the victim of Pablo Sandoval’s perfect throw from first base. And in the tenth, David Peralta’s deep drive danced around the foul pole. Later in that inning, Ketel Marte and Nick Ahmed couldn’t give Arizona a lead with two baserunners aboard.

The Giants’ bullpen–with Reyes Moronta, Tony Watson, Ty Blach (two innings) and Hunter Strickland following Smith–held up, or escaped, depending on your point of view.

The Giants open a 10-game road trip in Washington D.C. on Friday night. Andrew Suarez will be opposed by the Nationals’ Stephen Strasburg in that one.

 

 

 

 

Bumgarner solid in season debut, but Giants lose to Dbacks 3-2

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Photo credit: @NBCSGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — It took nearly two months, but Madison Bumgarner finally made his 2018 season debut for the San Francisco Giants.

Bumgarner went six innings, allowing two runs on eight hits, while walking no one and striking out three; however, the Arizona Diamondbacks spoiled the night with a 3-2 victory over the Giants before a crowd of 36,925 at AT&T Park on Tuesday night.

The loss stopped the Giants’ five-game winning streak, as they fell to 4-1 on the six-game home stand versus the Philadelphia Phillies.

Through the first, Chris Owings got the Diamondbacks on the board in the top of the third inning, as he followed Ketel Marte’s double with one of his own. Kristopher Negron then made it 2-0, as he drove in Owings with a single to left field.

Paul Goldschmidt was locked in as he usually is against the Giants, as he picked up three hits in his only three at-bats off of Bumgarner.

This season against the Giants, Goldschmidt is hitting .429, as he is 12-for-28 with two home runs and five runs batted in. Against all other opponents this season, Goldschmidt is a combined 35-for-186, a .188 clip with six home runs and 15 RBIs.

Patrick Corbin was cruising into the fourth inning, as he did not allow a base runner until Andrew McCutchen got a base hit off of the left-hander to break up the no-hitter.

The Giants finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning, as Mac Williamson hit a double to left field and then Brandon Crawford continues to hit the ball well, as he hit a double inside the third base line to score Williamson from second base.

Pablo Sandoval then hit a bloop single that fell in between Marte, Nick Ahmed and Owings that allowed Crawford to reach third base. Joe Panik then walked to load the bases, but Corbin regrouped to strikeout Bumgarner, Gorkys Hernandez and Buster Posey in succession to end the inning.

That fifth double by Crawford extended his home hitting streak up to 14 games, as 24-for-49 (.490) with 11 RBIs during the streak.

Corbin ended up going 6.1 innings, allowing x runs on just four hits, walking two and striking out seven in route to his raising his record to 6-2 on the season.

Mark Melancon made his second appearance of the season, as he replaced Bumgarner in the top of the seventh inning.

Melancon ended up going one inning, striking out two and throwing a wild pitch.

With a chance to take the lead in the bottom of the seventh inning after loading the bases on walks against Corbin, Andrew Chafin and Yoshihisa Hirano, the Giants were unable to score, as Hirano got Posey to fly out to Jarrod Dyson to end the threat.

The Giants put two more on in the bottom of the eighth inning, as Evan Longoria singled with one out, then Crawford walked with two outs; however, Archie Bradley was able to regroup to get Sandoval to ground out to Ahmed to end the inning.

Hunter Strickland came on in the top of the ninth inning, and the Diamondbacks added another run, as Deven Marrero hit into Fielders’ Choice then Dyson walked and Jake Lamb hit a pinch-hit single that scored Marrero.

With one last chance to get back into the game, Alen Hanson hit a double that bounced on the right field line; however, the play was reviewed and after a brief 41 second review, the play stood. Boxberger then got Hernandez to strikeout swinging, and then Posey singled to right field to score Hanson from second base.

With McCutchen coming to the plate as the potential winning run, Austin Jackson came on to pinch run for Posey. McCutchen then singled to left field to bring up Longoria, who grounded out to Ahmed to end the game.

Brad Boxberger got the final three outs of the game, as he picked up his 14thsave in 15 opportunities.

NOTES: Chris Stratton will look to close the home stand on a high note, as he takes the mound for the Giants, and the Diamondbacks will send Clay Buchholz to the hill.

The game can be viewed on Facebook with Rich Waltz, Mike Krukow and Eric Byrnes on the call, and Ashley Adamson on the sidelines.

To make room for Bumgarner on the roster, Pierce Johnson was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento.

Thru the first five games, the Giants have outscored their opponents 24-7 with one game remaining on the home stand.

With their first pick (second pick overall) in the 2018 MLB Draft on Monday, the Giants selected Georgia Tech catcher Joey Bart, who was the 2018 Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year. Bart led the ACC in batting with a .359 clip, second in slugging at .632, and hits with 79. He also finished in the top 10 in home runs with 16, runs scored with 55, and on-base percentage at .471. His defense was outstanding as well, as finished the season with a career-best .992 fielding percentage.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Dbacks face off in a rubber match on Wednesday afternoon at 12:45 pm PDT.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca and Morris Phillips: Giants rolling with 5-game win streak; Bumgarner gets the call tonight against D-Backs

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file photo from arizonasports.com: San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner returns tonight for the first start since his injury during spring training in March

On the Giants podcast with Michael and Morris:

We knew that the Giants would be facing some tough opponents of late. Looking back to their road trip in Philadelphia, the Phillies swept the Giants in Philly. They struck 55 Phillies in five games and the Giants didn’t see any of that coming back to AT&T Park and sweeping the Phillies.

Here’s the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are starting at 19-8 and they’re still in that slide. They came into AT&T Park on Monday night with just a one-game lead in first place and they now have lost 13 of their last 14 games. The Diamondbacks re-assumed first place by beating Cincinnati and Miami, winning five out of six in Phoenix. which has been their only response to the huge swoon they went through in May.

There’s more Michael and Morris as they do the Giants podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

June boon: Giants’ 5-game win streak has them breathing down the necks of the first place D’Backs

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Right now, the NL West has some serious, what comes around, goes around, going down.

The Diamondbacks started it all by winning their first nine series, and lapping the field with their 19-8 start. All four of Arizona divisional opponents got a taste of the D’Backs’ heat, and the Giants and Dodgers dropped three-games sets at home and away to Arizona in April.

But the D’Backs went from hot to cold seemingly overnight, losing 13 of 14. Colorado jumped up first, and briefly assumed first place. The Rockies made their run on the outside, sweeping the Mets and Cubs on the road to start May. Then the Dodgers got hot, winning a pair of series against the Rockies in their surge.

Now Giants have returned home, winning the first four of a six-game home stand, and their 10-3 series-opening win seemingly indicates that it’s the D’Backs’ time to pay.

Zach Godley allowed back-to-back home runs to Andrew McCutchen and Brandon Crawford, the opening blows in the Giants’ seven-run fourth that turned a 2-0 deficit into a laugher in one, swift act. In all, the Giants hit four solo shots with Pablo Sandoval and Nick Hundley putting the finishing touches on the important win.

“We took advantage in that inning. McCutchen hit that home run and after that Crawford, and then we’re working and working every pitch to score more,” Sandoval recounted.

Key in the rally was manager Bruce Bochy’s decision to lift starter Derek Holland with the bases loaded and one out in favor of pinch-hitter Alen Hanson. All Hanson did was foul off four of the five, normally confounding curveballs thrown by Godley, before sending his hardest offering down the left field line for a double, and a 4-2 Giants’ lead.

Godley lasted just four more pitches, leaving when replay revealed that Joe Panik was hit by his curveball that veered too far inside.

When the Giants last saw Godley in April, he was the pitcher of the moment, shutting down the Dodgers (in a matchup with Clayton Kershaw) and Giants in his first, two starts of the season. After striking out nine and beating the Giants 2-1, Godley confidently stated that he used the Giants’ aggressiveness against them with great success.

But opponents soon found out that Godley’s signature knuckle curve doesn’t always finish in the strike zone, and they began laying off it in droves.

In Godley’s third start, he walked six batters and was done after four innings, trailing 5-0 to the Dodgers. Then the grizzly-bear like hurler won his next two starts without wowing either opponent. In those appearances he beat the Padres and Nationals, but allowed a combined 16 hits in 10 innings of work.

And Godley after that? One win in seven starts with only one of those lasting into the seventh inning.

“I throw my curveball a lot,” he said. “If guys can see it, they’re going to lay off of it as much as they can until I can prove that I can throw for it strikes.”

After the win Monday–and the season-best, five-game win streak–the Giants are back at .500 for the 12th time this season, and the first time since May 20 (24-24). So what’s different this time?

Two things: the Giants are just 1 1/2 games out of first place, as close as they’ve been to the top of the NL West since they were 4-3 on April 7. And Madison Bumgarner is scheduled to pitch Tuesday, the World Series MVP’s season debut after the Giants somehow survived 60 games without him.

Patrick Corbin, who was roughed up in his previous start at home against the lowly Reds, opposes Bum in the 7:15pm start.

FIRST-YEAR PLAYER DRAFT: The Giants selected catcher Joey Bart with the second overall pick in the 2018 draft on Monday. The 6’3″, 225 lbs. prospect is considered to be a plus defender and a skilled pitch caller, possessing a power bat. A skill set that not surprisingly mirrors that of 31-year old Buster Posey.

Could change be in the wind?

“When you have what I believe is the best catcher in the game with us, he’s our guy. So I don’t even think about that until it’s time to think about it,” Bochy said of any changing of the guard within the next two seasons.