Category: San Francisco Giants

Hitting a double deep into left, Miami Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton (27) in the fifth inning, during a MLB baseball game between the Miami Marlins 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-It seems that the new Achilles heel for the San Francisco Giants is the first inning.

Thru the first two games of the series, the Miami Marlins have scored six runs and the two runs that they scored against Jeff Samardzija held up, as they defeated the Giants 5-4 before a crowd of 41,480, the 529th consecutive regular season sellout at AT&T Park.

Dee Gordon led off the inning with a single, went to second on a Giancarlo Stanton ground out and then scored the only run that the Marlins would need on the night, as he scored on a Christian Yelich double. Marcell Ozuna then singled in Yelich to give the Marlins two runs before the Giants even came to the plate.

Chris O’Grady, who was signed to a minor-league contract by the Marlins after he was released by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pitched admirably in his major-league debut. O’Grady went 5.1 innings, allowing three runs on five hits, while walking two and striking out four.

O’Grady was pulled by Marlins manager Don Mattingly in the bottom of the sixth inning, after he allowed a double to Buster Posey with one out and then Brandon Belt followed up with a double of his own to score Posey from second base. Crawford added an RBI in the frame, as he cut the Marlins lead down to one, as he grounded out to score Belt.

The Marlins added an insurance run in the top of the ninth inning, as George Kontos unleashed a wild pitch that scored JT Riddle from third base. Riddle led off the inning with a double over the head of Denard Span in centerfield.

Despite trailing by two in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Giants tried to mount a comeback, as Crawford walked to lead off the inning, Miguel Gomez struck out for the first out of the inning, then Conor Gillaspie hit a single that sent Crawford to third base. After the Gillaspie single, Span struck out for the second out of the inning to bring up Joe Panik, who singled to score Crawford.

Unfortunately, the comeback up short, as Hunter Pence struck out against closer A.J. Ramos to end the game.

Samardzija went seven innings, as he allowed four runs on nine hits, walking one and striking out five, as he saw his modest two-game winning streak come to an end.

The leadoff walk to Gordon in the top of the seventh inning by Samardzija was the first walk he allowed since June 16, when he walked D.J. LeMahieu of the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. The walk ended a streak of 25.1 innings without a walk.

Justin Bour extended the Marilns lead up to 3-0 in the top of the fourth inning, as he took a Samardzija pitch and put it into the left-field seats, an opposite field home run, his 20th of the season.

The Giants broke thru against O’Grady in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Belt doubled and then after Jae-Gyun Hwang popped out for the second out of the inning, Brandon Crawford singled in Belt.

Stanton got in on the act in the top of the fifth inning, as he doubled to left field and then scored on a Ozuna’s second hit of the game.

Ichiro Suzuki bunted for an out in the top of the ninth inning, while pinch hitting for reliever David Phelps.

NOTES: Johnny Cueto will take the mound on Sunday afternoon in the series finale, while the Marlins will counter with Jose Urena, who is looking for his eighth win of the season.

Prior to the game, Barry Bonds became the 49th Giants to be honored on the teams’ Wall of Fame in front of AT&T Park on the King St. side of the ballpark.

Bonds, who played for the Giants from 1993-2007, hit a major-league record 762 home runs in his 22-year career with both the Pittsburgh Pirates (1986-1992) and the Giants.

Austin Slater was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a strained right groin, and to replace Slater, the Giants have recalled Mac Williamson from Triple-A Sacramento.

Miami Marlins pitcher Dan Straily, center, is removed during the ninth inning of the team’s baseball game against the San Francisco Giants on Friday, July 7, 2017, in San Francisco. Miami won 6-1. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-After a 3-2 road trip thru Pittsburgh and Detroit, you would think that the San Francisco Giants would continue that positive road trip at home; however, that did not happen.

Giancarlo Stanton hit an opposite field two-run home run in the top of the first inning, helping the Miami Marlins to a 6-1 victory over the Giants before a crowd of 41,510 the 528th consecutive regular season sellout at AT&T Park.

Dee Gordon led off the top of the first with a single off of Matt Moore, and Stanton planted a Matt Moore into the right field bleachers for his 24th home run of the season.

That two-run home run by Stanton was just the tip of the iceberg for runs and hits for the Marlins in the opening frame.

After Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna each flew out to Denard Span in centerfield, the flood gates opened for the Marlins against Moore, as they added two more runs on four consecutive singles before the Giants even came to bat for the first time.

It turned out to be a huge night for Gordon, who picked up four hit in five at-bats against Giants pitching on the evening.

Moore lasted just 3.1 innings, allowing five runs on 12 hits, not walking a batter and striking out one, as his record on the season fell to 3-9.

On the other side of the diamond, it was a great night on the mound for former Oakland A’s starter Dan Straily, who went 8.1 innings, allowing one run on just four hits, while walking no one and striking out three. With the victory, Straily improved his record to 7-4 on the season.

Denard Span broke up the shutout in the bottom of the ninth inning, as he hit a solo home run that landed into McCovey Cove. It was the 74th Splash Hit by a Giants player since the park opened on April 11, 2000.

The Marlins added another run in the top of the second, as Justin Bour drove in Gordon, who singled to lead off the inning for the second inning in a row.

Joe Panik picked up the Giants first hit in the bottom of the first, but that was it for the bottom of the first.

Brandon Belt led off the bottom of the second inning with a Texas Leaguer down the third base line; however, Belt was thrown out at second base by Marlins third baseman Martin Prado, as he tried to stretch the single into a double.

J.T. Realmuto added a solo home run off of Gearrin in the top of the fifth inning.

NOTES: Jeff Samardzija looks to get the Giants back on their winning ways, as he takes the mound for the final time before the All-Star break. While Don Mattingly will send Chris O’ Grady to the mound, as the left-hander makes his major-league debut.

O’ Grady was 3-5 with a 3.29 earned run average with 15 walks and 54 strikeouts this season. The Marlins signed him to a minor-league contract on May 6.

The Giants recalled Miguel Gomez from Double-A Richmond, and he made his major-league debut as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the ninth inning and flew out to Stanton in right field.

To make room for Gomez on the roster, pitcher Chris Stratton was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento.

Ryder Jones was placed on the 10-day disabled list retroactive to July 4 with a right wrist contusion, and Conor Gillaspie was reinstated from his rehabilitation assignment with Sacramento.

Detroit Tigers shortstop Dixon Machado (49) is greeted by left fielder Justin Upton, center, and right fielder J.D. Martinez after the Tigers’ 6-2 win over the San Francisco Giants in a baseball game, Thursday, July 6, 2017, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

By Jeremy Harness

 The San Francisco Giants, at least for the moment, have returned to their losing ways.

 The Giants, after evening their series with the Detroit Tigers the night before, were forced to swallow a tough 6-2 loss to the team that they beat in the 2012 World Series Thursday afternoon at Comerica Park.

 They simply could not do much of anything against Detroit starter Anibal Sanchez, who threw six innings and gave up only a pair of runs on five hits to the Giants in picking up his first victory of the season (1-0). He also struck out eight hitters and did not walk a single batter.

 Their task got even more daunting as they fell behind early, as the Tigers’ bats didn’t miss their wake-up call against starter Chris Stratton. Detroit put five runs on Stratton in the first three innings, including a three-run second inning that was highlighted by Dixon Machado’s two-run homer.

 After falling behind 5-0, the Giants finally got some momentum in the sixth inning, getting a pair of runs off Sanchez, as Joe Panik scored Denard Span with a triple and eventually scored on Hunter Pence’s groundout.

 Detroit, however, had an answer in the bottom of the eighth to round out the scoring. Nicholas Castellanos gave the Tigers a four-run lead with a single to center that scored J.D Martinez.

 No Giants player got any more than one hit on Thursday, while the Tigers had a pair of guys who had two hits in Castellanos and Alex Presley. Presley, meanwhile, also had two RBI.

 Stratton went 6 2/3 innings and gave up five runs on six hits, walking five and striking out only one batter, as his season record fell to 0-2 and his ERA went up to 9.00.

The Giants will not have much time to recover, but they will return home for a three-game series with the Miami marlins, a series that starts Friday night at AT&T Park.

 

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Ty Blach throws during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Wednesday, July 5, 2017, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

By Jeremy Harness

The Giants have been winning in more ways than one these days.

 They have now won seven of their last eight games, following a 5-4 win over the Detroit Tigers inside of Comerica Park behind a strong effort by starter Ty Blach.

The lefty went six innings and surrendered three runs on six hits, walking one and striking out a pair to run his record to 6-5.

 The Giants raced out to a 5-0 lead after four innings, but they had to withstand a comeback by the Tigers in seventh inning, which saw Blach get chased from the game. However, Steven Okert, Cory Gearrin, Hunter Strickland and Sam Dyson, who got the save by pitching a perfect ninth inning, combined to keep Detroit off the scoreboard.

 And it keeps getting better for the Giants.

 To add to their good fortunes, the Giants will soon get star lefty Madison Bumgarner back in their rotation. The four-time All-Star currently has a target date of next Saturday, July 15, to return to major-league action.

 Bumgarner, who has been out since April after he crashed his dirt bike, an accident that caused a partially torn ligament in his left shoulder as well as a bruised ribcage, made a rehab start in Triple-A Sacramento and threw 62 pitches in the process.

 He has had hiccups en route back to the big club, however. Bumgarner made a start for Single-A San Jose Wednesday and was knocked around by the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. He gave up nine earned runs on nine hits and only lasted four innings. He also gave up a whopping four home runs to the Class A hitters.

 According to reports, he is scheduled to make another rehab start Monday night against Modesto.

 

San Francisco Giants pitcher Ty Blach who starts Wednesday night in Detroit throws against the Colorado Rockies during the first inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Wednesday, June 28, 2017. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

On the Giants podcast with Michael:

1 The Giants who swept two series with Colorado and Pittsburgh for six straight wins Michael talks about what the keys were for turning things around

2 In the Pirates series they looked like they solved their ills with getting around on the ball which led to that sweep

3 Brandon Belt is getting around on the ball with a two run home run on Sunday against the Pirates

4 How’s Matt Cain looking? Is he coming around or are the struggles continuing on Tuesday he went five innings for seven hits, and five runs and dropped his record to 3-8 on Tuesday in Pittsburgh

5 The loss on Tuesday to the Tigers snapped the Giants six game losing streak. The Giants will start Ty Blach, Michael says that pitching at Comerica can be an advantage for Blach where there’s lots of space to keep the ball in the park.

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

 

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Michael Fulmer (32) and left fielder Justin Upton hug after the baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Tuesday, July 4, 2017, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

By Jeremy Kahn

Michael Fulmer won the American League Rookie of the Year for the Detroit Tigers, and his performance in the opener against the San Francisco Giants showed why he won the award.

Fulmer gave up a huge game-tying two-run home run to Brandon Crawford in the top of the seventh inning, but that did not worry the right-hander, but he was able to go eight innings and the Tigers defeated the Giants 5-3 at Comerica Park.

After Crawford’s two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning, the game was tied for all of a half-inning, as Justin Upton hit a two-out two-run single in the bottom of the seventh inning, helping the Tigers put a stop to the Giants season-high six-game winning streak.

Justin Wilson came on for Fulmer and pitched a perfect ninth inning to earn his eighth save in nine opportunities since he became the closer in May. Also during that same time frame, Wilson is 2-2.

Hunter Pence gave the Giants an 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, as he hit a solo home run off of Fulmer. That was the first home run allowed by Fulmer in 73.2 innings, the longest active streak in the majors.

The Crawford home run allowed by Fulmer marked the first time this season that he allowed two home runs in the same game.

Victor Martinez tied up the game in the bottom of the second inning, as he took a Matt Cain offering and planted it into the right field seats.

Martinez added a run-scoring single to score Justin Upton in the bottom of the fourth to score Justin Upton, who walked to lead off the inning. Nick Castellanos then hit a sacrifice fly to score Miguel Cabrera from third to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead.

Matt Cain went 6.1 innings, allowing five runs and seven hits, as his record fell to 3-9 on the season. Cain is 0-7 in nine starts since his last win on May 15 against the Los Angeles Dodgers at AT&T Park.

NOTES: Ty Blach will make his first ever start against the Tigers on Wednesday night, while the Tigers will send Daniel Norris to the mound. This will also be the first ever start by Norris against the Giants.

Cabrera was forced to leave the game in the top of the seventh inning with tightness in his left hip, and was replaced at first base by Andrew Romine.

AP File Photo: San Francisco Giants pitcher Mark Melancon, right, celebrates the 6-3 win over the the Atlanta Braves with Nick Hundley at the end of a baseball game Saturday, May 27, 2017, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

On the Giants podcast with Morris:

The Giants who have now swept both the Colorado Rockies and the Pittsburgh Pirates and this is all the while that they haven’t swept anybody all year. It inspired a lot of questions from a lot of people. You had to wonder how a team as talented as the Giants are and with that huge pay roll they have could have struggled to the tune of 51 loses in most the first half this season. The Giants handpicked this team pretty much from what they have and you had to wonder how they could have played so poorly.

So in some small sense the sweeping of these last two series is a small validation of what this club was supposed to be and for next season a larger sample size is what their going to need going forward and they need to stick with most of the players have now. Giants reliever Mark Melancon (You talk about stretching) did land on the disabled list and he lends to be a big part of the Giants six game win streak.

Melancon is very closeted about his physical issues and having blown four saves he had issues pitching this season and when he was with Washington last year that would indicate he’s had problems all along. Malancon is the player on this team to look to at first as to the reasons why as this team has been awful.

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

 

 

 

San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt (9) looks on before hitting a home run in the eighth inning during an MLB game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Francisco Giants on July 02, 2017 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA. (Photo by Shelley Lipton/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)

By Jeremy Kahn

As the San Francisco Giants continue their winning ways, they just have to look at their first baseman and thank him for his contribution to the win streak.

Brandon Belt hit a huge single in a three-run seventh inning, and added a two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning and the Giants completed a three-game sweep with a 5-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.

This was the sixth win in a row for the Giants, and completed their second consecutive sweep just one week after being swept at home by the New York Mets. The six-game winning streak by the Giants is their longest winning streak since eight in a row from June 11-19, 2016.

With the victory by the Giants, they have won six straight games against the Pirates, their longest win streak against the Pirates since 1953.

Jeff Samardzija won for the second game in a row, as he went six innings, allowing two runs on six hits and did not walk a batter. Samardzija last walked a batter on June 16 at Coors Field, when he walked D.J. Lemahieu to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning.

Samardzija added five more strikeouts, giving him 118 strikeouts on the season, while allowing 13 during the season.

Jordy Mercer gave the Pirates a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning.

Pirates starter Trevor Williams looked fantastic, as he pitched into the seventh inning and then the wheels began to fall off. Williams walked Hunter Pence, then Buster Posey and then Belt and Crawford each hit run-scoring singles to tie up the game. Kelby Tomlinson hit a sacrifice fly to give the Giants the lead for good.

On consecutive days, the Pirates lost games after leading in the fifth inning.

John Jaso hit a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning off of Stephen Okert, but the Pirates were unable to get any closer.

Sam Dyson pitched a perfect ninth inning to pick up his second save in as many days.