Category: San Francisco Giants

Fans believe it not just hours earlier were fanning themselves at AT&T Park in sunny 81 degree weather but the storm clouds formed around 5:00PM two hours before first pitch and it rained causing a delay and the game time to be changed to 10:15PM on Monday night in the opening game of the three game series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants (AP Photo/Jose Sanchez)

On the Giants podcast with Morris Phillips:

1 The Los Angeles Dodgers come to San Francisco after losing ten straight and 15 of 16 will Monday Night’s game at AT&T be a test for LA. The Dodgers want to get back on track after having this embarrassing run and if there is any sign of strange things to happen to LA is a rain delay in San Francisco which produced thunderstorms and forced a rain delay. The game was supposed to start at 7:15PM but the thunder and lighting has it rescheduled until 10:15 PM for a first pitch. Which is tough on a Monday night with patrons needing to go to work early Tuesday plus public transportation shuts down after 12 midnight.

2 The Giants are coming off two loses in Chicago. The Giants enter the ball game wanting to play spoiler at their home park on Monday night

3  Jarrett Parker the Giants designated hitter on Sunday in Chicago who had missed 96 games and one week’s worth of baseball took his first at bat and went deep. Parker previous to being the Giants lineup had looked great in batting practice but got to do it for real on Sunday.

4 Madison Bumgarner got shelled in the second inning on Sunday for six runs and eight hits mirroring pitcher Jeff Samardjiza’s last outing. Mad Bum drops his record with the loss to 3-8.

5 The Giants have now lost five straight road series and are 0-9-1 in their last 10 road trips

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

 

Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu (79) reacts after sliding into third base for the triple and hitting for the cycle during the game between the San Francisco Giants and the Chicago White Sox on September 9, 2017 at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)

By Jeremy Kahn

Going into his final at-bat of the game, all Jose Abreu needed for the cycle was the hardest part of it, a triple.

Abreu, who says his legs were not responding; however, he would not give and got the triple to become the first Chicago White Sox player to hit for the cycle in 17 years and the White Sox demolished the San Francisco Giants 13-1.

The last White Sox player to hit for the cycle was Jose Valentin against the Baltimore Orioles on April 27, 2000.

Abreu hit one of six home runs for the White Sox on the evening, as it was the 13th time in team history that the White Sox hit six home runs in the same game.

He hit his 29th home run of the season off of former White Sox pitcher Jeff Samardzija in the bottom of the first inning, added a double in the bottom of the third, after striking out in the bottom of the fifth inning, Abreu, added a single off of reliever Josh Osich in the bottom of the seventh and got the cycle, when he hit a two-run triple off of Roberto Gomez in the eighth inning.

Asides from Abreu, Tim Anderson, Avisail Garcia and Yoan Moncada also added solo home runs, while Nicky Delmonico hit a two-run home run and Yolmer Sanchez hit a three-run home run.

This was the first trip to the South Side of Chicago since the final week of the 2015 season, as he allowed six runs and eight hits in 5.2 innings.

James Shields went a season-high seven innings, as he retired 17 of the 18 batters he faced before Nick Hundley hit a home run in the top of the seventh inning.

NOTES: Madison Bumgarner closes out the series and the road trip, as he takes the mound on Sunday afternoon, while the White Sox will counter with Carson Fulmer.

Ty Blach will head to the bullpen, while Matt Cain will return to the team on Monday when the team begins an eight-game home stand against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

San Francisco Giants Pablo Sandoval celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a three-run home run against the Chicago White Sox during the fourth inning of a baseball game in Chicago, on Friday, Sept. 8, 2017. (AP Photo/Jeff Haynes

By Jeremy Kahn

Pablo Sandoval was probably sick and tired that he recently set a San Francisco Giants record for most at-bats without a hit.

Sandoval, who set the record previously held by Johnnie LeMaster, ended his 0-for-39 slump, when he hit a three-run home run in the top of the sixth inning and the Giants defeated the Chicago White Sox 9-2.

Prior to the home run, Sandoval’s last hit was a single on August 25 against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Sandoval ended the night 1-for-3, as he added a sacrifice fly and four runs batted in.

It was the second win in a row for the Giants after they lost seven of their previous eight games.

Denard Span also hit a home run and Brandon Crawford picked up three hits and drove in a run for the Giants.

Matt Moore was solid on the mound, as he gave up two runs and allowed five hits in 6.2 innings, as he won for the second time in his last nine decisions.

The only two runs allowed by Moore came on a Avisail Garcia two-run home run for the White Sox, who have lost five in a row.

It was a tough night for Lucas Giolito, as he allowed five runs, three of those runs earned, and gave up three hits in 5.1 innings. Giolito also gave four up walks and struck out five before being ejected by home plate umpire Gabe Morales.

Giolito was not the only member of the White Sox ejected, as manager Rick Renteria was also ejected, as he was ejected by Eric Cooper, the crew chief.

Prior to being lifted and then ejected, Giolito did not allow a hit until giving up one to Crawford, who singled in the top of the fourth inning. Following the Crawford single, Nick Hundley, then after an out, Sandoval launched a Giolito pitch 405 feet into the right-field bleachers to give the Giants a 3-0 lead.

Garcia then cut the Giants down to 3-2 in the bottom of the inning, as he hit a two-run home run off of Moore.

Buster Posey scored on a weird play in the top of the sixth inning, as he scored from third base on a Hunter Pence walk. On the play, Crawford was tagged out while going to second base on a Hunter Pence walk and Posey scored from third base.

Crawford scored after he advanced to third on an Aaron Bummer wild pitch and scored on Sandoval’s sacrifice fly.

The shortstop drove in a run in the top of the seventh inning, and then the Giants closed out the scoring, as they scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning, when Span hit a solo home run and Hundley hit a two-run single.

NOTES: Former White Sox pitcher Jeff Samardzija takes the mound on Saturday, while the White Sox counter with James Shields.

Giants closer Marc Melancon will have season-ending surgery on his right forearm on Tuesday, and should be ready into time for spring training. Melancon has been bothered by chronic compression of a muscle in his arm all season.

AP Photo File: San Francisco Giants’ Matt Moore throws in the outfield before the baseball game against the San Diego Padres Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Orlando Ramirez

By Jeremy Harness

 The Giants won a road game against Colorado, which is always a cause for celebration, no matter what kind of season they are having.

 The Giants will now try to build on that positive momentum and carry it into Chicago, as they start a three-game series on Friday night against the White Sox.

 Besides having won its last game, more good news for the Giants comes in the fact that the White Sox are reeling at this point. In fact, Chicago is coming off a four-game sweep at the hands of the American League Central-leading Cleveland Indians.

 Ironically, the White Sox lost their most recent contest by the same score, 11-2, as the Giants won theirs. They have also lost eight of their last 10 games dating back to Aug. 29.

 Furthermore, Chicago is in the same overall state this season as the Giants. The White Sox are in last place in the AL Central with a 54-85 mark, which puts them 29 ½ games out of first place.

 To keep their trend going, the Giants are going to lean on Matt Moore (4-13), who has this month to show the Giants that he is worthy to be in the starting rotation next season after a very dismal 2017 campaign, by far the worst of his seven-year career.

 However, he has shown some signs of coming out of it. In his last outing, he went two scoreless innings last Sunday against St. Louis, during which he gave up only a hit to go along with a strikeout.

 He will take the hill opposite Chicago righty Lucas Giolito (2-1), who has won his last two starts and has surrendered only a run on six hits combined in the process. He has also walked only four and struck out 14 batters, including a 10-strikeout outing against Tampa Bay in his last outing on Sept. 3.

 

San Francisco Giants’ Joe Panik smiles after his single off Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Shane Carle to lead off the eighth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017, in Denver. The Giants won 11-3. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

By Jeremy Harness

 On Wednesday, the Giants experienced a new low – yeah, there was a new one – but there was also a high that the team has never experienced before.

 Second baseman Joe Panik absolutely torched the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday with five hits to point the Giants toward a 11-3 win at Coors Field, a place that his team, even when things are going much better, have found it very difficult to get wins over the years.

 In the process, Panik tied a franchise record by collecting 11 hits in a three-game series, the first time that has occurred since 1995. He also saw his average climb to .285 and drive in a pair of runs and scored three more.

 The Giants got the hit parade going off Colorado starter Kyle Freeland (11-10, 3.89 ERA) very quickly on Wednesday, racing out to a 5-0 lead in the first four innings, including a first inning that saw rookie Austin Slater single in a pair of runs.

 Panik had a pair of doubles, both of which drove in runs and added to the Giants’ lead. In addition to panic, four other Giants had multi-hit games, including center fielder Gorkys Hernandez, who had a pair of hits that drove in three runs.

 Meanwhile, Johnny Cueto (7-7, 4.54 ERA) went five innings and surrendered only a run on five hits, walking only one batter and striking out seven, picking up his first win since June 30 at Pittsburgh. When Cueto exited the game, four relievers combined to give up two runs on three hits.

Now for the low.

 Pablo Sandoval, whom the Giants welcomes back with open arms this season, set a new franchise record on Wednesday by going hitless over 38 straight at-bats. His last hit came on Aug. 25, when he singled against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

 

San Francisco Giants’ Buster Posey breaks from first base on a ground ball hit by Brandon Crawford off Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Chad Bettis in the first inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 4, 2017, in Denver. Posey was forced out at second base on the play. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

On the Giants podcast with Michael:

1 How important it was for the Giants pitcher Jeff Samardjiza to win the NL Player of the Week Award. Considering how bad things have gone for the Giants that was one of the illuminating moments for the ball club

2 Samardjiza pitched a three hit shutout against the Padres on Aug 28th then over seven innings then threw a shutout against the Cardinals

3 The Giants catcher Buster Posey is day to day after getting hit in the hand from a foul tip, the Giants no doubt will miss him out of the line up

4 The Giants continue this match up with Colorado Bochy wants to get out of this road swing with at least a win the team has lost every game on this trip

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

 

San Francisco Giants’ Pablo Sandoval strikes out swinging against Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Antonio Senzatela during the sixth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017, in Denver. Colorado won 9-6. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

By Jeremy Kahn

With the season coming to an end in less than a month, the San Francisco Giants are limping towards the finish line.

Chris Rusin won his fourth game of the season, as the Colorado Rockies defeated the Giants 9-6 at Coors Field.

It was the 10th straight win for the Rockies over the Giants this season, as the Rockies continue their push for the second wild-card spot in the National League.

Rusin was part of an eight-man reliever crew on the evening, as Tyler Chatwood made the impromptu start for the Rockies and pitched three innings.

It was the first start for Chatwood since August 2, and he threw 61 pitches in those three innings.

Ty Blach, who is from the Denver area, gave up five runs in 5.1 innings on the first anniversary of Blach’s major league debut at Coors Field.

After falling behind 7-3 going into the top of the eighth inning, the Giants began to mount a late inning comeback.

Denard Span got the rally started, as he hit a two-run double and then Joe Panik hit a single for his fourth hit of the game. Adam Ottovino came on, and struck out Buster Posey on a pitch out of the strike zone to end the rally and the inning.

Nolan Arenado tied Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins for most RBIs in the major league with 112. Trevor Story also hit a home run for the Rockies.

Pablo Sandoval went 0-for-4 on the evening with a walk, as he is now 0-for his last 37, tying the Giants team record for longest streak without a hit. Johnnie LeMaster set the record in 1984.

NOTES: Johnny Cueto make his second start since returning from the disabled list with blisters and a strained flexor tendon.

Posey was forced to leave the game in the bottom of the eighth inning after he was hit on his throwing hand on a foul ball.

Two Giants pitchers made their major-league debuts, Reyes Moronta was recalled from Sacramento and Roberto Gomez’s contract was purchased from Sacramento.