Category: San Francisco Giants

photo courtesy of Mothers Cookies: Former San Francisco Giants catcher circa 1986 Brad Gulden was called the original Humm Baby by then manager Roger Craig

By Tony The Tiger Hayes

SAN FRANCISCO–He was a Giant?

Gulden was more than your prototypical, chunky legged back-up catcher – he was also the original Giants’ “Humm-baby.”

The well traveled receiver would appear in just 17 games for the plucky 1986 club, but the hard-nosed style of play Gulden displayed in training camp helped spark a rebirth of the club’s winning clubhouse culture.

After one particularly gritty Cactus League game performance, new Giants manager Roger Craig gushed over the third stringer, calling him a legitimate “Humm-baby.”

Whatever that was.

We soon came to know that “Humm-baby” was practically the highest honor the San Fran skipper could bestow on a Giant.

A derivation of “come-on-baby” , the term “Humm-baby” would come to capsulate the blue collar Giants club over the course of Craig’s seven year Giants managerial term to praise a hustling player, an old school winning play or uncompromising effort.

The slogan was additionally used in Giants marketing campaigns, was emblazoned on bumper stickers and came to define one of the most exciting periods of west coast Orange & Black baseball.

Why was he a Giant?

Based purely on his physical tools Gulden was a major leaguer by the skin of his teeth, but it was his gamer attitude that helped land the backstop a spot on the Giants ’86 opening day roster as a third string catcher behind Bob Brenly and Bob Melvin. Initially he remain with the club into May before going to Triple-A Phoenix before returning to the majors in September.

Before & After

Gulden originally arrived in the majors with the Dodgers but didn’t stay long, moving on to the Yankees, Expos, Mariners and Reds, before signing with the Giants in ’86. In 1979, Gulden auditioned to replace the late Thurman Munson in New York, but hit just .163 in a career high 40 contests. The Giants were is final big league stop.

He wasn’t Terry Kennedy. But…

Gulden batted just .091, (2-for-22) with San Francisco, but still found a way to crack on the Dodgers (5/11/86), driving home the winning run with RBI single off Tom Niedenfuer in the 11th inning of a 9-8 win at Los Angeles.

Giants Footprint

Coincidently, in Gulden’s final big league game, it took a classic “Humm-baby” team-wide Giants performance to topple the Dodgers 6-5 in 16-innings, nearly six hour game (9/28/86). Candy Maldonado tied the game in the ninth with a pinch home run, then Bob Brenly plated the winning run with a single in the 16th. The Giants used 25 players, including a couple pitchers who were forced into outfield duty. Gulden struck out in a pinch hitting at bat.

 

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Consecutive victories, playoff caliber opponents, 12 plus innings and no earned runs allowed? Chris Stratton is establishing himself as a big league starter, news that couldn’t be more welcome for the officially postseason-eliminated Giants.

Stratton followed up his gem in Washington against the Nationals with six, shutout innings against the NL Central contending Brewers on Monday. The Nats were without a couple key, offensive threats, but Stratton excelled with ten strikeouts. The Brewers had their heavy hitters in the lineup, but managed just four hits. Consequently, on a club where opportunities are to be had by those that are ready, Stratton is moving toward the top of the list.

“Jones, Parker, Stratton, they’re trying to show they belong in the major leagues,” manager Bruce Bochy said after the Giants 2-0 win, their first shutout victory at home this season.

So good was Stratton, he not only carried the Giants past the Brewers and 14-game winner Zach Davies, he lightened the mood in the clubhouse after the game. While being interviewed by the assembled media, Stratton was interrupted by catcher Nick Hundley, making light of the rookie pitcher’s only strikeout on Monday. Stratton took the slight in stride.

“I just left all the strikeouts in Washington, I guess,” Stratton shot back.

Stratton’s scoreless streak is the longest by a rookie pitcher since Chris Heston went more than 15 innings without allowing a run in 2015. Stratton spotted his fastball and changeup with consistency, and he and three relievers kept the Brewers without a hit after Stephen Vogt singled in the fourth inning.

“He did a good job of just not going over the middle of the plate,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “The wind early in the game killed some balls we hit to right. But it was more of how good he was.”

Brandon Crawford’s RBI double in the fourth got the Giants on the board, and two outs later, Hundley’s groundout scored Hunter Pence. The rail-thin Davies grew stingy after that but lost on the road for the first time in 2017 after seven victories.

The Brewers had won six of seven coming in, but fell 2 1/2 games behind the Cubs in the NL Central and 3 1/2 games behind the Diamondbacks with the loss. The Giants are 10-1 against Milwaukee in their last 11 meetings in San Francisco.

Jeff Samardzija looks to continue his mid-season surge in a matchup with the Brewers’ Jimmy Nelson  at 7:15pm on Tuesday.

 

 

 

San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey (28) is hit by the first pitch thrown from Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Hector Neris (not shown), during a MLB game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California. Valerie Shoaps/CSM (Cal Sport Media via AP Images)

On the Giants podcast with Morris:

1.San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey said that Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Hector Neris deliberately hit him on the back with a pitch during Sunday’s game at AT&T Park. Neris said in that situation in the eighth inning you don’t want to hit anybody as the Phillies were trying to hold onto a two run lead at that point. Neris said it didn’t make sense to hit Posey.

2.The Giants in dropping the 5-2 decision to the Phils, Giants manager Bruce Bochy says the team’s job was to go out and beat the Phils and the last thing Bochy wanted to do is go out and lose to the worst team in the NL

3.Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner went six innings giving up four hits and a run. Mad Bum looked good enough to complete the game but the pitch count caught up with him at 111 and he was lifted and the bull pen couldn’t finish.

4.On the concussion front Brandon Belt is still working and rehabbing in the gym and Giant second baseman has moved up to the batting cage and took some swings on Monday night before the Giants game against Milwaukee.

5.The NL Central’s second place team the Milwaukee Brewers will be AT&T Park Mon-Wed. The Brewers are playing for keeps as their headed for post season. This is a series that Bochy doesn’t want to lose.

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

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner (40) delivering in the first inning, during a MLB game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California. Valerie Shoaps/CSM (Cal Sport Media via AP Images)

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-One could imagine if Madison Bumgarner did not injured and missed the two months that he missed due to his shoulder injury, where would the San Francisco Giants be in the National League West.

Unfortunately, the lead that Bumgarner left with disappeared, as the Philadelphia Phillies scored three runs in the top of the eighth inning on their way to a 5-2 victory over the Giants before a crowd of 39,921 at AT&T Park.

With the loss, the Giants are the first team to be officially eliminated from the division race.

The Phillies got five consecutive singles that turned a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead, as all the runs and hits came off of Hunter Strickland.

Former Sacramento State star Rhys Hoskins started the rally with his first hit of the inning, then Maikel Franco, Jorge Alfaro, Nick Williams and Pedro Florimon each singled.

It was the Florimon single that eventually gave the Phillies the lead for good, as they were able to salvage a series split against the Giants.

The score could have been worse, but Gorkys Hernandez threw out Williams at the plate for the second out of the inning.

After falling behind by two runs, and with two outs, the Giants began to mount a rally, as Kelby Tomlinson singled, as did Jarrett Parker to bring Buster Posey up with two on and two out. Phillies reliever Hector Neris then nailed Posey in the ribs, and in a rare show of emotion, Posey began to jaw with Neris as he walked down the first base line.

Bumgarner went six innings, allowing one run on just two hits, while walking one and striking out seven.

In his seven starts since returning from the disabled list, Bumgarner is 3-2 during that stretch, with two no-decision against the Los Angeles Dodgers at July 30 and on Sunday.

Not only did Bumgarner pitch well, he also drove in a huge run as he singled in Ryder Jones, who doubled down the right field line with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Bumgarner’s battery mate, Buster Posey drove in the only other Giants run, as he singled in Kelby Tomlinson, who walked to lead-off the bottom of the fourth inning.

The Phillies took an 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning, as Florimon doubled to left field to score Nick Williams, after he singled with two outs.

Florimon also came up with a big throw in the bottom of the second inning, as he threw out Posey at the plate on a Brandon Crawford single.

The Florimon throw was not the only big time defensive play by a left fielder in the game, as Jarrett Parker threw out Cameron Perkins trying to score the eventual tying run in the top of the seventh inning.

Hoskins put the finishing touches on the scoring, as he hit a solo home run off of Kyle Crick in the top of the ninth inning.

The Sacramento native is the first Phillies player in team history (since 1913) to hit five home runs in his first 11 games.

Hoskins went 5-for-13 with two home runs and four RBIs in the four-game series.

NOTES: Chris Stratton takes the mound on Monday night, as the Giants open up a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers. Zach Davies looks for his 15th win of the season, as he takes the ball in the opener for the Brewers.

With his two hits on the afternoon, Posey extended his hitting streak against the Phillies up to 22 games, the longest hitting streak against any team in his major-league career.

San Francisco Giants pitcher Matt Moore throws against the Philadelphia Phillies during the eighth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Friday, Aug. 18, 2017. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Matt Moore is now looking like the pitcher that the San Francisco Giants acquired last season from the Tampa Bay Rays for Matt Duffy.

Moore went 7.1 innings, allowing two runs on two hits, while walking three and striking out four and the Giants made it two in a row with a 10-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies before a crowd of 39,487 at AT&T Park.

This was the second quality start in a row for Moore, as he went seven innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and struck out a season-high nine in Sunday’s 6-2 11-inning loss to the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Moore won for the first time at AT&T Park since May 13 against the Cincinnati Reds.

Both of the hits that Moore allowed were to Phillies catcher Jorge Alfaro, who got the Phillies first hit in the top of the second inning and then the second and final hit off of Moore in the top of the eighth.

The Giants offense got going in the first inning, as Denard Span led off the frame with a single, then Hunter Pence followed up with a double and then Jarrett Parker drove the two of them in with a double inside the left field line.

After a Buster Posey ground out that sent Parker to third base, Pablo Sandoval hit a single over the drawn in Phillies infield Parker scored easily from third base.

Pence hit his 11th home run of the season with two outs in the bottom of the second inning to lengthen the Giants lead.

Following a Sandoval walk in the bottom of the third inning, Brandon Crawford got in on the act, as he slammed a opposite field two-run home run.

When Posey doubled in the bottom of the fifth inning, it marked the 20th consecutive game that Posey got a hit against the Phillies, his longest streak against any team in his major-league career.

The Phillies finally got to Moore in the top of the eighth inning, as they scored both of their runs on the evening in the frame.

Freddy Galvis drove in both runs, as he hit a bloop single to left field that scored Alfaro and Pedro Florimon.

The Giants added three more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, as Carlos Moncrief hit into a Fielders’ Choice and on the play, Cesar Hernandez’s throw went to the backstop that allowed Sandoval and Crawford score.

Moncrief eventually scored on Span’s third hit of the game that gave the Giants their first double digit run-scoring game since they scored 11 against the Oakland A’s on August 3.

In all, Phillies starting pitcher Zach Efflin went five innings, allowed all six runs on seven hits, walked and struck out two. Efflin also gave up both home runs, as his record fell to 1-5 on the season.

With the victory, the Giants are now 16-18 since the All-Star break, after going 34-56 prior to the break.

This was the ninth win for the Giants in their last 10 last home games against the Phillies.

NOTES: Ty Blach looks to clinch the series on Saturday night, as he takes the mound for his 21st of the season. Jered Eickhoff will take the mound for the Phillies, as he looks for his fourth win of the season.

This will be the second start for Blach against the Phillies this season. In his previous start on June 2 at Citizens Bank Park, Blach threw a complete game 10-0 shutout, as he allowed seven hits, walked no one.

Eickhoff will be making his second start of the season against the Giants, as he faced the Giants on June 2 and the starting pitcher for the Giants was Blach. He last 2.2 innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits, walking five and striking out two

San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey, left, celebrates with Sam Dyson after a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies in San Francisco, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. The Giants won 5-4. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

By Jeremy Harness

SAN FRANCISCO – After yet another tough stretch, the Giants were sure glad to see the Philadelphia Phillies in their home ballpark.

For that matter, so was Jeff Samardzija. After a miserable start to his 2017 campaign, Samardzija has now won four of his last five decisions dating back to July 26, thanks to a 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, the only other team in the National League with a worse record than the Giants this year, at AT&T Park Thursday night.

What makes this especially sweet for the tall righty is the fact that he did not have a very history against this ballclub. Entering Thursday, Samardzija had not seen the Phillies in three years and was 1-4 with an 8.67 ERA in his career against them.

He did get quite a bit of help, however. The one-time Notre Dame wide receiver was given a four-run lead but leaked some serious oil down the stretch before his bullpen came in and slammed the door on the Phillies and preserved the win for him.

For his part, Samardzija (8-12) went six innings and surrendered four runs on eight hits, walking one and striking out six in getting the win.

His pitching counterpart, Aaron Nola (9-8), came into Thursday on a nice roll, surrendering only six runs over his last five starts.

The Giants were able to get going against Nola by using their legs. Kelby Tomlinson led off the third inning by stretching a bloop single into a double. Three batters later, Hunter Pence flared a single into left-center to bring Tomlinson around. After Jarrett Parker drew a walk, Pence came around when Buster Posey scooted one past second to give the Giants a 2-0 advantage.

After Cameron Rupp’s solo shot in the top of the fifth, the Giants pushed the lead back up in the bottom half when Parker hit one into the gap in right-center and scored a pair of runs.

Denard Span had actually intended to tag up at second and got a late start toward the plate while Pence, who was at first, got a full head of steam and came up right behind Span as the two men headed toward third and ended up crossing the plate only a few feet apart.

The Gints could have done even more damage, however. Brandon Crawford singled into left-center to score Parker, but Buster Posey, who had walked during the previous at-bat, was thrown out at third, after he slid in safely but had his momentum carry him off the bag.

The Phillies did get to Samardzija in the top of the sixth, bringing two runs across before he got a single out. Samardzija would surrender another run to narrow the lead to a single run, but he was able to escape with the lead still intact.

The Giants bullpen took care of matters from there, as three relievers combined to give up only a walk and a single for the remaining three innings, with Sam Dyson assuming the closer’s role. One-time closer Mark Melancon, who returned from the disabled list last Saturday after missing 36 games with a right pronator strain, gave up the lone hit after Samardzija left the game.

getty image photo: Former San Francisco Giants pitcher Steve Carlton circa 1986

By Tony “The Tiger” Hayes

SAN FRANCISCO–He was a Giant?

As a Phillie, the ego-centric Carlton ranked as one of the all -time accomplished ace pitchers AND ace tools. The prickly pitcher piled up wins and Cy Young Awards with ease but hardly any friends.

But upon joining San Francisco in a surprise mid-1986 transaction, the taciturn Carlton flipped the script on that story.

At least temporarily .

Suddenly “Lefty” was downright chatty, he gave his first press conference in more than a decade, stating he would pitch to age 50 and that he looked forward to a bright future with the Giants. He even proclaimed he’d stick around NorCal after his pitching days with an eye towards operating a vineyard in Napa.

But on the mound Carlton – slowed by age and a balky shoulder – proved he had all but withered on the vine. He appeared in just six games before he was gone, the one high-light being career strikeout No. 4,000.

Why was he a Giant?

Surprise contenders in ’86, the Giants, while leery of Carlton’s difficult rep – they insisted he talk to the media before bringing him into their young, unjaded clubhouse – saw the obvious benefits of adding a HOF bound hurler after he and the Phillies decided to part ways.

Carlton joined an SF rotation that featured Mike Krukow, Mike LaCoss, Vida Blue and Scott Garrelts. In a half dozen starts, Carlton was 1-3, with a 5.10 ERA.

His first Giants shining moment actually came as a batter when he clubbed a three-run round-tripper off the Cardinals Greg Mathews in a 8-3 road loss (7/21/86). After being cuffed around in his first three starts, Carlton earned his only Giants victory at Pittsburgh, throwing seven shutout frames in a 9-0 victory (7/26/86).

Before & After

Before joining the Giants, Carlton, armed with the most devastating swing and miss slider in history, had amassed a staggering 309 MLB victories with the Cardinals and Phillies. Included in his bevy of accomplishments were four Cy Young Award seasons, six 20 campaigns, 55 shutouts and a pair of World Series titles.

After leaving the Giants, just five weeks after signing, he immediately hooked on with the White Sox and later pitched for the Twins, retiring in 1988. Carlton made the Hall of Fame in 1994.

He wasn’t Mike Krukow. But…

In his final game with the Giants on a foggy Tuesday night at Candlestick Park, Carlton became just the second big league pitcher to reach the 4,000 career strikeout mark, fanning the Reds Eric Davis at Candlestick Park (8/5/86) with a swing and miss fastball in the third inning with no outs and two runners on base. The celebration was short lived as Carlton not would last through the fourth inning, leaving after surrendering allowing seven runs on seven hits as Cincinnati romped to a 11-6 victory. He was released just two days later.

Giant Footprint

Carlton never made it to Napa. These days “Lefty” is a right-wing nut who literally resides in a concrete and earth encased bunker in Colorado. He occasionally surfaces to spout bizarre conspiracy theories about gamma rays, secret societies that run the world and hypnotized suicidal political hit men.

 

 

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Matt Cain adjusts his cap during the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2017, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

By Jeremy Harness

 The Giants’ season continues to go into the tank, and that figures to continue all the way until the end of the year.

 They just concluded a three-game series with the Miami Marlins, and they came up on the short end with an 8-1 defeat at Miami’s Marlins Park, meaning that they lost two of the three games in this series.

 The game could not have gotten off to a worse start, as the Marlins raced out to a 4-0 lead, which was highlighted by Tomas Tellis’ two-run double into shallow left field. At that point, the damage was done to starter Matt Cain, who went only four innings and gave up two earned runs – five total – on five hits.

 He walked only one batter and struck out seven in the process, but he saw his ERA grow to 5.19. Albert Suarez then took over for Cain and surrendered another three run over three innings, walking three and striking out one.

 The Giants had only one run, but it was not due to lack of opportunities, however, as they collected eight hits. Their undoing was that they left runners stranded throughout the game, as they left four runners in scoring position

 Hunter Pence and Jarrett Parker each had a pair of hits for the Giants. However, there were no extra-base hits to be had on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Miami had two doubles and a triple to help boost its offense.

 None of those, however, belonged to Giancarlo Stanton, even though the slugger did have a pair of singles to go along with a stolen base.

 There is some immediate hope on the horizon, however. The Giants will face the Phillies, the worst team in the National League, in a four-game series that starts Thursday night at AT&T Park.

 

San Francisco Giants’ Joe Panik reacts after he was tagged out at home during the fourth inning of the second baseball game of a split doubleheader against the Washington Nationals, Sunday, Aug. 13, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

On the Giants podcast with Michael and Jerry:

1 The Miami Marlin Giancarlo Stanton is on waivers but whose going to take that big salary

2 He’s been showcasing including the first two games in this series hitting a home run in each of his last last eight games

3 Madison Bumgarner has been putting it together of late with two straight wins including Tuesday night with a win going six, nine hits, and four runs for the win

4 San Francisco Giants second baseman Joe Panik will be out for at least seven days for his concussion . A strange injury on a throw that hit him on the head while sliding. The ball hit Panik and went into the catcher’s glove for the tag at the plate and the out

5  Panik’s replacements have been Orlando Calixte whose expected to take the role until further notice and previous game replacements for Panik Kelby Tomlinson and Miguel Gomez. Gomez is expected to be optioned out according to Giants manager Bruce Bochy.

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