Category: San Francisco Giants

Belt accuses umpire of trying to end game quickly after Giants’ 6-3 loss to Reds

Published on by bentleonard18Leave a comment

Photo credit: San Francisco Giants’ Brandon Belt (9) is congratulated after hitting a home run against the Cincinnati Reds during the third inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Wednesday, May 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

By Ben Leonard

SAN FRANCISCO—When home plate umpire Doug Eddings rung him up to end the game, Brandon Belt didn’t bother holding back.

Immediately after Raisel Iglesias pounded a fastball away to close a 6-3 Reds’ win, the 6-foot-5 Texan turned his head and started screaming at Eddings while everyone else walked off the field. More than 20 minutes later in the clubhouse, Belt was still fuming, even in the midst of a hot streak, accusing Eddings of trying to bring the game to a quick end.

“Multiple times, I’ve heard that guy say or insinuate that he wants to get through the game fast,” Belt said. “Then he makes calls like that that I can’t imagine he thought was a strike. You’ve got to wonder.”

Belt wouldn’t go into details of what Eddings said or when, but said Eddings was one of a couple bad apples of umpires in a league with many quality officials.

“You have a feeling that one or two of them just want to get the game over with, whether through it’s what they say or what they do,” Belt said. “I’m not sure if they’re connected or not, but if you don’t want it to be, then don’t say it.”

According to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Henry Schulman, crew chief Joe West declined to comment, saying, “I don’t comment on postgame comments and things said in anger.”

Belt’s rage ultimately made no difference in the outcome, as his Giants (22-22) fell just short of a sweep of lowly Cincinnati (15-29). The first baseman finished the day 2-for-5 with a solo home run as part of a 9-for-18 tear in his last four games, but a four-run Reds’ first inning was ultimately too much for San Francisco to overcome.

Rookie Andrew Suarez looked like he wasn’t going to make it out of the first after allowing the first four hitters of the game to score, including three on former Giant Adam Duvall’s homer. Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy thought the slight left-hander was trying too hard to power his way through hitters in the early going—and Suarez agreed.

“My adrenaline was pumping too much in the first,” Suarez said. “After those first four runs, I just tried to settle in and go as deep as I could.’

Considering it took him 29 pitches to get his first out, Suarez did go deep, rebounding to give the Giants six innings and allowing just one more run—an unearned run after a passed ball from Nick Hundley in the fifth. The 25-year-old gave up just three hits after the first inning.

The Giants scratched and clawed their way back into the game, but couldn’t get the big hit to take the lead. San Francisco quickly responded with two runs in the first on an RBI double from Andrew McCutchen and a Pablo Sandoval sacrifice fly against ex-Mets’ ace Matt Harvey.

The ‘Dark Knight’s’ mystique has been all but defiled, but that didn’t stop him from bearing down when it counted. He found himself in a mess with two runners in scoring position and no outs in the second, but worked his way through the inning unscathed. Despite giving up the solo shot to Belt, Harvey limited the damage and kept Cincinnati ahead for good.

Harvey finished just four innings and gave up three runs, but struck out the side to end his day and stem the tide for the Reds to pull away and avoid a sweep. Three Reds relievers combined for five innings of scoreless, five-hit ball to cap off Harvey’s start and send Cincinnati home on a high note.

A former All-Star, Harvey found his way to Cincinnati after struggling mightily since 2016 and weathering numerous off-the-field incidents—the most recent of which reportedly partying the night before a start. Bochy was impressed with his velocity—Harvey touched 95 mph at times on the radar gun—and thought his stuff was still there, but thought his command was not quite as sharp as he had seen before.

“But he’s healthy. You look at that more than anything,” Bochy said. “He just needs to get out there and pitch.”

The Giants will welcome the Colorado Rockies (23-20) to AT&T Park for the first time this season for a four-game set beginning Thursday. Jeff Samardzija (1-2, 6.94) is slated to square off against the Rockies’ Chad Bettis (4-1, 3.12) to open the series.

Belt goes swimming, Crawford goes 4-for-4 in Giants’ 5-3 win over Reds

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO–After allowing three runs in the first four innings, you knew that it would be long night for Ty Blach.

Luckily, Blach’s teammates helped him out, as they came back with four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and the San Francisco Giants defeated the Cincinnati Reds 5-3 before a crowd of 37,809 at AT&T Park Tuesday night.

Brandon Belt got the rally started with one swing of the bat, as he took a Tyler Mahle offering and it landed in McCovey Cove for Belt’s eighth home run of the season.

Following the Belt Splash Hit, the Giants got three straight singles from Evan Longoria, Brandon Crawford and Austin Jackson. After a strikeout by Kelby Tomlinson, pinch-hitter Pablo Sandoval lashed a Mahle pitching inside third and down the line to tie up the game.

“I was surprised at the situation,” said Sandoval.

Gregor Blanco then singled to reload the bases, Andrew McCutchen narrowly beat Scooter Gennett’s throw from second for a Fiedlers’ Choice to score Jackson with the go-ahead run.

“Cutch looking good hustling down the line,” said Bruce Bochy.

Blach went four innings, allowing three runs (one of them earned) on five hits, walking one and striking out one.

Eugenio Suarez got the Reds on the board, as he hit a two-run home run off of Blach in the top of the third inning. The Suarez home run came just after Tomlinson committed a fielding error at second base that allowed Jesse Winkler to reach base.

The Reds added to their lead in the top of the fourth inning, as Billy Hamilton drove in Tony Cruz, who singled with one out, then went to second on a Mahle sacrifice bunt.

It was another nice night for Crawford at the plate, as he continues to hit the ball well, as he went 4-for-4 on the evening and is 9-for-12 over his last three games.

Mahle, who pitched 3.1 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits, while walking one and striking out two, saw his record fall to 3-5 on the season.

The perfect pitched fifth inning by Pierce Johnson gave the right-hander his second win of the season, as he struck out one.

All in all, the five bullpen pitchers that included Johnson, Will Smith, Sam Dyson, Tony Watson and Hunter Strickland went five innings, allowing no runs on four hits, not walking a batter and struck out eight to preserve the Giants third win in a row and clinching the series.

“Had guys that were fresh,” said Bochy.

NOTES: Andrew Suarez looks for his second major league win, as he takes the mound on Wednesday afternoon, as the Giants look for their first three-game sweep over the Reds since May 3-5, 2002. Matt Harvey will make his second start for the Reds since being acquired from the New York Mets for catcher Devin Mesoraco on May 8.

Austin Slater was optioned to Sacramento after Monday’s 10-7 victory over the Reds, while Miguel Gomez was recalled from Double-A Richmond.

The Belt Splash Hit in the bottom of the fourth inning was the 78thhit into McCovey Cove since the ballpark opened on April 11, 2000. It was the eighth Splash Hit for Belt, tying him with Sandoval, who hit his eighth earlier this season on April 4 off of Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners.

Belt and Sandoval are tied for second place behind Barry Bonds, who hit 35 in his eight years playing at AT&T Park.

UP NEXT: Game 3 of the series is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at 12:45 pm PST.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca and Morris Phillips: McCutchen and Giants swing for six doubles against Reds on Monday night

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

photo @SFGiants: San Francisco Giants hitter Andrew McCutchen swings for one of his two doubles on Monday night at AT&T Park against the visiting Cincinnati Reds

On the Giants podcast with Michael and Morris:

The Cincinnati Reds came into AT&T Park on Monday night after sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers in four games and with a six game winning streak but ran into the Giants who had a six game losing streak until they snapped it on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-0.

With the win it picked up the Giants spirits and hitting as well on Monday they got help from Andrew McCutchen, Brandon Crawford, Buster Posey Brandon Belt, and Evan Longoria all who hit for doubles. Belt hit an eighth inning home run his seventh of the season with nobody out to help provide for the Giants offense.

The Giants got the 10-7 win and got their run production early three in the first, one in the second, two in the third, and later three in the sixth which helped because the Reds put seven runs on the board which in most circumstances is good enough to win a ball game normally.

Michael Duca and Morris Phillips do the Giants podcast weekly at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Rollercoaster ride: Giants start fast, then hang on in 10-7 homecoming win over the Reds

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–The Giants returned home from a rough road trip on Monday, and appeared to have their handpicked, get-well opponent in place: the NL bottom-dwelling Cincinnati Reds.

Except the Reds–after falling 19 games under .500 in the season’s first 35 games and firing manager Bryan Price–suddenly turned hot over the weekend, sweeping a four-game set at Dodgers Stadium.

So what to expect Monday night? A ragged ballgame were neither team looked like the ’98 Yankees, especially the Giants who burst out to a 9-4, sixth inning lead only to hold on for a 10-7 win that got dicey in the ninth.

“They’ve been playing very well, they’ve been scoring runs,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “We had a lot of timely hitting going on. It was good to start a homestand like this.”

After interrupting a six-game slide on Sunday with a 5-0, getaway win in Pittsburgh, the Giants were looking to maintain their self-esteem on Monday. They did that with 14 hits, seven of them doubles, and 12 of those 14 coming from the first six guys in the lineup. After Brandon Belt homered in the eighth, the Giants were three outs away from a tidy, 10-4 win.

But the ninth got hairy as reliever Jose Valdez, in just his second appearance as a Giant, allowed a three-run homer to Adam Duvall. Valdez did recover however, striking out Scooter Gennett to end the ballgame.

Chris Stratton picked up the win, going five innings, allowing nine hits and four runs. That was just enough for Stratton to pick up his fourth win and comfortably keep his rising ERA under 5.00. Stratton allowed home runs to Tucker Barnhart and Scott Schebler.

The Giants evened their record at 21-21 with the win, surprisingly enough to keep the club within 3 1/2 games of division-leading Arizona, who lost their sixth straight on Monday. If Monday’s snapshot of the league standings is any indicator, 2018 is no 2017. This time last year, the Giants’ awful start had them dead and buried as the Dodgers, D-Backs and Rockies surged on their way to playoff appearances. This season, a .500 record has them within reach of the entire National League, where 10 of the 15 clubs have winning records, but none are better than the Braves at a modest 25-16. The Giants swept the Braves in Atlanta last week.

Andrew McCutchen picked up the 1,500th hit of his 10-year, big league career in the Giants’ three-run, first inning. McCutchen finished with a pair of doubles and scored twice.

A guy with more than 1,600 career hits, Joey Votto of the Reds, had an interesting, if not brief evening. Votto was at the plate in the first inning when a 3.5 earthquake registered in the East Bay, and probably caused more of a stir within the stadium on people’s cell phones than in their senses. Votto would ground out in that at-bat. His second at-bat ended his evening, a base hit with enough personality that it took a right turn on outfielder Gregor Blanco for an additional base error. But Votto eased up turning around first and was removed with lower-back tightness, which he said cropped up in warmups.

“I was feeling pretty good and then that earthquake hit and all of a sudden everything got thrown off right around 7:18 p.m. in the middle of my first at-bat,” the not-normally humorous Votto said afterwards.

The Giants have Ty Blach starting Tuesday, in a Ty-Ty affair. Tyler Mahle starts for the Reds, a 23-year old who holds the distinction of being the active-leader in strikeouts among all players aged 23 or younger with 58 in the 64 plus innings of his career, accumulated this season and last. That’s no trivial matter for the Giants; they’ve struck out 92 times in their last eight games, including six on Monday. In fact, the Giants have suffered 10 strikeouts or more in 14 of their 42 games this far.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: After snapping six-game skid, Giants looking to get back on track in series with Reds in SF

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: sfgate.com

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips:

The Giants, after dropping six straight games, finally got a win and took some of the pressure from a six-game skid in Pittsburgh with a 5-0 shutout being the pitching of Derek Holland, who went six-plus, four hits, no runs and seven strike outs. Holland’s five walks was the most he has given up thus far this season.

The Giants provided great defense behind Holland and didn’t commit an error. The team is leading the National League in errors with 31. The Giants also look forward to getting pitcher Madison Bumgarner healthy again.

Bumgarner threw off the mound tonight at AT&T Park before the Giants meeting with the Cincinnati Reds. Bumgarner will continue to rehab until his scheduled start on May 25th some 11 days from now. Meanwhile, the Reds, who are in last place, have recently found their way to the win column putting together a six-game win streak coming into AT&T tonight. The Reds have simply improved with good hitting and good defense.

Morris Phillips does the SF Giants podcasts Mondays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants feature with Tony the Tiger Hayes: He was a Giant? Cesar Gutierrez, former infielder for SF in the 60s

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment
Topps 1970 baseball card of former San Francisco Giant and Detroit Tiger infielder Cesar Gutierrez

CESAR’S SALAD DAY

By Tony “Le Tigre” Hayes

Cesar Gutierrez – IF – 1967, 1969 – # 17

SAN FRANCISCO–He Was a Giant?

This slight 5’9″, 150 pound infielder – who spent parts of two seasons swinging and missing as a Giant – was alternately nicknamed, “Bandito” (he was a nifty base stealer) and “Cocoa” (for an undying love of Hershey bars).

But “The Enigma” would have equally worked for Gutierrez — especially in reference to the right-handed hitter’s perplexing batting results in the Majors.

Though he was a minor league career .299 hitter and even won a Triple-A batting title as a Giants farmhand, the Venezuelan was an underachieving big league batsman, hitting a moribund .235 in 223 MLB contests.

Gutierrez was practically an automatic out.

That is… with the exception of one stunning performance by Gutierrez as a Detroit Tiger in 1970, when the normally feeble swinger set a modern day big league record for most hits in a game without recording an out.

He batted 7-for-7, in a 9-8, 12-inning Tigers win at Cleveland in the night-cap of a double header (6/21/70).

Cesar batted safely off all six Cleveland pitchers that day.

He collected two singles off the Tribe’s Rick Austin (in his MLB debut), mashed a double and single off Dennis Higgins, laced another single off Fred Lasher, stroked another single against Dick Ellsworth and capped his day with yet another single off the losing pitcher Phil Hennigan.

Astonishing Gutierrez’s six singles and one double that day, fell just one short of the grand total of hits Gutierrez amassed as a Giant when he batted .182 in 33 contests.

Why Was He a Giant?
With the sure-handed Hal Lanier holding down shortstop in SF, Gutierrez was the back up to begin the 1967 campaign. but didn’t hang around long – spending most of the season at Triple-A Phoenix.

Coincidently he thrived in the desert, winning the Pacific Coast League batting crown with a .322 average.

Before & After
After spending all of 1968 back in the minors, Gutierrez made the Giants big club on Opening Day in 1969, but failed to get his bat in gear once again.

The Giants cut ties with Gutierrez later that season, trading the then 26 -year -old to the Tigers to complete an earlier deal for rubber-armed reliever Don McMahon.

Gutierrez finally got his shot to play in the bigs in 1970 and was Detroit’s starting shortstop for most of the season. But save his one heavy volume hit day – Gutierrez did not impress at the plate (.243).

He failed to hit a home run and to make matters worse, Gutierrez had more errors (23) than he did RBI (22). After the Tigers’ disappointing fourth place finish, the Bengals closed the curtains on the Gutierrez experiment.

He Wasn’t Omar Vizquel… But
After starting his Giants career 0-for-10, Gutierrez delivered his first two big league hits off of former 20-game winner Chris Short of Philadelphia in a 9-1 loss at Candlestick Park (9/29/67).

Giants Footprint
Since Gutierrez’s magical day at the plate in 1970, only two players have stroked seven hits in a game. They each have ties to the Orange & Black.

In 1975, as a member of the Pirates, future Giant Rennie Stennett batted 7-for-7 in a regulation 9-inning game.

Then in 2017, current SF player Brandon Crawford batted 7-for-8 in a 12-inning game.

Tony the Tiger Hayes does the Giants features. Catch him at http://www.sportsradioservice.com.

Hernandez and Holland help end the Giants’ skid with 5-0 shutout

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

After seeing their opponents, the Pittsburgh Pirates, hit fly ball home runs for the first two games, the San Francisco Giants thought enough was enough and they needed to join in.

Well, Gorkys Hernandez did just that, as he hit a solo home run to lead off the top of the sixth inning, where the Giants scored all their runs on their way to stopping their six-game losing streak thru the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania after defeating the Pirates 5-0 at PNC Park.

Brandon Belt and Pablo Sandoval each singled, Brandon Crawford doubled and then Nick Hundley greeted reliever Richard Rodriguez by taking his first pitch out of the park for a 5-0 lead.

After the Sandoval single, Crawford hit a double that scored Belt to increase the Giants lead to 2-0, and ended Pirates starter Ivan Nova’s day

The single by Sandoval was one that haunted Nova in the end, as he knew he was able to field it for the possible third out; however, he was unable to handle and then Hundley launched his three-run home run.

Derek Holland pitched 6.1 innings, scattering four hits, walking five and striking out seven, as he won for the second time this season.

Holland was helped out by the fact that the Pirates went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position on the afternoon, including 0-for-8 against Holland.

The trio of Reyes Moronta, Will Smith and Hunter Strickland ended the seven-hit shutout, as the Giants picked up their fourth shutout of the season, while the Pirates were shutout for the third time this season.

Nova went 5.2 innings, allowing four runs and eight hits, and Is 0-2 in five starts since defeating the Miami Marlins on April 15.

Andrew McCutchen went 1-for-4 with a walk, and the weekend by going 4-for-14 with three doubles in his first weekend playing in the city where he played for the first 13 seasons of his career. McCutchen extended his hitting streak up to 12 games, and 16-for-43 during the streak.

NOTES: Chris Stratton opens up the seven-game home stand on Monday night, as he takes the mound against the Cincinnati Reds. Stratton, who is 3-3 on the season and in his three losses, the Giants have been outscored by their opponents, 35-9.

Madison Bumgarner will throw a bullpen session on Monday at AT&T Park, and could begin his rehab assignment within days. If the rehab goes well, Bumgarner could be activated from the 60-day disabled list on May 25, the day he is eligible to come off of it.

UP NEXT: The Giants will return home to host the Cincinnati Reds for a three-game series. Game 1 is scheduled for Monday night at 7:15 pm PT.

Watson falters in Giants’ 6-5 loss to Pirates

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

Once again, it was a homecoming for a former Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star, but this is one game that Tony Watson will want to forget.

Watson, who played for the Pirates for six seasons got into a jam, as he loaded the bases and then the Pirates took the lead for good, when Watson hit former teammate Jordy Mercer to score Josh Bell from third base and the Pirates defeated the Giants 6-5 at PNC Park.

The win went to Pirates closer Felipe Vasquez, who picked up his second win of the season, as he got the final five outs of the game.

Bell picked up two hits on the night, and his base running helped the Pirates score the winning run. David Freese hit an infield single that Evan Longoria fielded, and Bell was able to elude Longoria’s tag to get back to third base.

Andrew McCutchen went 2-for-5, as he extended his hitting streak to 11 games and streak of getting on base up to 22 games.

Longoria and Alen Hanson hit home runs for the Giants, who have lost six games in a row thru the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Jeff Samardzija went 5.2 innings, allowing five runs and six hits, as he saw his earned run average increase to a whopping 6.94 on the season. Samardzija also gave up two home runs to Francisco Cervelli and Gregory Polanco.

After Cervelli gave the Pirates a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, as his laser shot landed in the front row of the right-center field seats.

Brandon Belt cut the Pirates lead in half, as he singled in McCutchen in the top of the seventh inning.

Austin Jackson tied up the game in the top of the eighth inning, as he doubled to left to score Hanson, who is day-to-day with a tight left hamstring.

Pirates starter Chad Kuhl pitched six innings, allowing three runs and six hits. Kuhl also struck out six and walked four.

Both Samardzija and Kuhl did not fare in the decision for either teams.

NOTES: Derek Holland looks to stop the teams’ losing streak, and a streak of his own, as Holland last won on the road on May 21, 2017, while with the Chicago White Sox. Ivan Nova looks to help the Pirates pick up the sweep.

Hunter Pence looks to be improving, and he could possibly be activated during the Giants’ seven-game home stand that begins on Monday night against the Cincinnati Reds.

UP NEXT: The Giants-Pirates series concludes with a series finale on Sunday at 10:35 am PT.

Pirates hit four home runs; spoil McCutchen’s homecoming with 11-2 rout

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

On a night where the Pittsburgh Pirates welcomed home of their favorite sons, they put an absolute bludgeoning on his new team.

Josh Bell, Starling Marte and Jose Osuna each launched two-run home runs, and Max Moroff hit a three-run home run, as the Pirates defeated the San Francisco Giants 11-2 at PNC Park that spoiled the homecoming of current Giants right fielder Andrew McCutchen, who was drafted with the 11thpick in the 2005 Amateur Draft by the Pirates.

While with the Pirates, McCutchen was a multi-time All Star and the 2013 MVP. McCutchen also helped lead the Pirates back to the postseason in 2014, where they faced the Giants in the National League Wild Card Game.

That 2014 appearance in the postseason was the Pirates first postseason appearance since 1992, when their leftfielder won his second NL MVP in three years; however, after that season, that leftfielder returned to his hometown of San Francisco. That leftfielder’s name is Barry Bonds.

McCutchen went 1-for-5 on the evening, and ended the sixth inning, as he threw Colin Moran out at the plate that brought cheers from the home fans.

Steven Brault improved to 3-1 on the season, as he picked the win in relief of Pirates starter Jameson Taillon, who was forced to leave the game after just three innings due to a laceration on his pitching hand.

Once again, the Giants starting pitcher was unable to make it out of the fifth inning for the fifth straight game.

Andrew Suarez went just four innings, as he gave up five runs and seven hits, as his record dropped to 1-2 on the season and the Giants have lost five in a row after sweeping the Atlanta Braves to open the road trip.

The Giants tied up the game in the top of the fourth inning, as Austin Jackson hit a two-run double off of Brault. Unfortunately, Suarez was unable to hold the lead and the Pirates took the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth.

Once again, the Giants struggled in scoring position, as they went 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position. Also, the Giants struck out 14 times, as they have struck out a whopping 69 times during their five-game slide thru the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

NOTES; Jeff Samardzija looks to put the end to the losing streak on Saturday night, as he takes the mound against the Chad Kuhl.

It is not good news for Mac Williamson, as he remains in the concussion protocol and it could be another week before he is cleared, this according to Giants manager Bruce Bochy. Williamson last played on April 24, when he crashed into the wall near the Giants bullpen at AT&T Park against the Washington Nationals.

Bochy also said that Hunter Pence’s sprained thumb was doing better, as he is on a rehab assignment with the Sacramento Rivercats.

UP NEXT: Game 2 of this series is scheduled for Saturday at 4:05 pm PT.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Glad to get out of Philly, Giants try to turn things around in Pittsburgh

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @mega_webnetwork

On the SF Giants podcast with Michael:

The San Francisco Giants who are on a four-game losing streak after dropping four straight to the Philadelphia Phillies after sweeping the Atlanta Braves in three games in Atlanta. What is wrong with the Giants? They’re thus far 3-4 on this road trip with three more games to go as they open tonight in Pittsburgh and they’re a .500 ball club.

Four loses on the road is not outside of what you would expect if they had gone 2-1 or 1-3, you might feel a little bit better about that, you might think the Giants flip flopped after winning a sweep then getting swept in four.

What is a surprise in this series in Philadelphia, the Giants, who were hitting well at home and who had been tearing it up in Atlanta, got into one of the top offensive ball parks in the National League, Philadelphia, and they didn’t hit. They didn’t hit at all. They got a couple home runs on Thursday. They jumped off to a 3-0 lead, but the Phillies’ pitching bore down and the Giants couldn’t add any more runs and the Phillies came back and won the game.

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