Category: San Francisco Giants

San Francisco Giants first baseman Buster Posey (28) makes the catch to beat Minnesota Twins designated hitter Robbie Grossman (36) (not shown) in the first inning during a MLB baseball game between the Minnesota Twins and the San Francisco Giants on ”Dog Days of Summer” at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California. Valerie Shoaps/CSM (Cal Sport Media via AP Images)

On the Giants podcast with Morris:

The Giants after getting a healthy 13 runs in their 13-8 victory over the visiting Minnesota Twins on Sunday had not scored any runs prior to Sunday’s game as they were shutout three times and they scored one run against the Washington Nationals in the finale of that series in which they closed the last homestand. It’s been rough for San Francisco. Your expecting good things to happen when your the Giants and the fans and media have been expecting nothing when the Giants come to bat.

It’s just hasn’t been a good year offensively for the Giants but except for one player and you don’t have to look no further than Buster Posey ESPN just wrote an article about him and here’s most of the line up struggling at the plate but Posey has been hitting pretty consistent in the neighborhood of .350 and has 20 RBIs to show for it. It’s just turning out to be a pretty bizarre year for the Giants not hitting the baseball and not scoring runs.

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

 

San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey (28) comes into second base on a sacrifice hit, during a MLB baseball game between the Minnesota Twins and the San Francisco Giants on ”Dog Days of Summer” at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California. Valerie Shoaps/CSM (Cal Sport Media via AP Images)

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-What an explosion for the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the seventh inning of their series finale with the Minnesota Twins.

Buster Posey hit a two-run double off of Matt Belisle to score Kelby Tomlinson and Eduardo Nunez and the Giants came back to defeat the Twins 13-8 before a crowd of 41,321, the 519th consecutive regular season sellout at AT&T Park.

The 13 runs scored by the Giants are a season high, breaking the mark of 10 that they scored in a 10-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on June 2.

Also the 17 hits by the Giants were a season high, bypassing the previous high of 16 that was set on Thursday in their 9-5 10-inning victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park.

Following the Posey two-run double that gave the Giants the lead for good, Hunter Pence drove in Posey with a double of his own. Pence then scored on a base hit by Austin Slater.

Posey went 3-for-5, as he raised his average to .347 on the season, second in the National League behind Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals, who is batting .365.

Pence also went 3-for-5 at the plate for the Giants, who picked up 17 hits on the afternoon against Twins pitching.

Austin Slater also picked up three hits in the game, as he cleared the bases with a triple in the bottom of the eighth inning.

This will be a major-league debut that Nik Turley will never forget for the rest of his life, but the one downfall is that he will not fare in the decision.

Turley went four innings, allowing four runs on eight hits, not walking a batter and striking out four

The former Giants farmhand left the game with a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, so he did not go the required five innings to get the decision.

The Twins were attempting to become the first team to sweep the Giants in a three-game series by an American League at AT&T Park since the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim turned the trick from June 15-17, 2009.

Matt Cain lasted just 4.1 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits, walking three and striking out one; however, he did not fare in the decision.

Aaron Hill got the Giants on the board in the bottom of the first inning, as he hit a sacrifice fly that scored Tomlinson, who led off the inning with a single. Posey then drove in the second run of the inning, as he drove in Eduardo Nunez after a groundout to Joe Mauer at first base.

Nunez extended his on-base streak up to 26 games, after he singled off of Turley in the bottom of the first inning.

That would be the score for just a half-inning, as the Twins tied up the game in the top of the second, when Eduardo Escobar and Byron Buxton each hit solo home runs off of Cain.

Nick Hundley gave the Giants the lead again in the bottom of the fourth inning, as he singled in Pence.

Unfortunately, for the second time in the game, the lead for the Giants would evaporate after just one-half inning, as the Twins scored three times to retake the lead in the top of the fifth inning.

Robbie Grossman drove in what turned out to be the winning run, as he singled off of Cain to score Brian Dozier and Mauer. Escobar drove in the third run of the inning for the Twins, as he singled to drive in Grossman. It was the second RBI of the game for Escobar, who hit a solo home run to get the Twins on the board in the to get the Twins on the board in the top of the second inning.

The Twins scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning, as Sam Dyson, who was making his Giants debut gave up three runs; however Brian Norris was able to stop the bleeding and the Giants took the finale.

NOTES: After a day-off on Monday, the Giants will open a two-game series against the Kansas City Royals beginning on Tuesday night. Ty Blach will take the mound in the opener for the Giants, while Jason Vargas will take the mound for the Royals, who will be making their first AT&T Park appearance since Game 5 of the 2014 World Series, where the Giants behind Madison Bumgarner shutout the Royals 5-0 on their way to their third World Series championship in five years.

The annual MLB Draft begins on Monday afternoon, and the Giants will have the 19th overall selection in the first round, and the 58th selection in the second round.

Minnesota Twins catcher Chris Gimenez (38) stealing second base as San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford (35) attempts the tag out during a MLB baseball game between the Minnesota Twins and the San Francisco Giants on Autism Awareness Day at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California. Valerie Shoaps/CSM (Cal Sport Media via AP Images)

On the MLB Podcast with Matt:

1 The San Francisco Giants took another loss on Saturday losing by a run to the Minnesota Twins 3-2 it was their second straight loss on the current homestand our own Morris Phillips will have that game recap

2 Friday’s loss was no better as Twins starter Ervin Santana pitched a gem shutting out the Giants 4-0 on  four hitter at AT&T Park

3 Santana also helped his own cause with three RBIs nothing like one wave of the bat

4 It was a laugher on Friday night in Tampa Bay as the Rays were spraying the ball all over the yard off A’s starter Andrew Triggs who was placed on the 15 day DL effective Saturday morning. The Rays on Friday hit for 13 runs on 15 hits to beat the A’s 13-4

5 It’s most likely arm issues for Triggs as he struggled throughout Friday’s game and is being observed by the A’s medical staff and it was decided to put Triggs on the DL following the game Friday night as announced on Saturday

Matt Harrington does the MLB Podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Minnesota Twins first baseman Joe Mauer (7) tossing to starting pitcher Ervin Santana (54) to catch the Giants Brandon Belt (not shown) during a MLB baseball game between the Minnesota Twins and the San Francisco Giants on Portuguese Heritage Night at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California. Valerie Shoaps/CSM (Cal Sport Media via AP Images)

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-After returning home from a 3-4 road trip, and a win in the road finale, you would think that the San Francisco Giants would continue their winning ways.

Unfortunately that did not happen, as Ervin Santana hit a bases clearing double in the top of the fourth inning and the Minnesota Twins took game one of the three-game weekend series with a 4-0 victory over the Giants, before a crowd of 41,046, the 517th consecutive regular season sellout at AT&T Park.

The three runs driven in by Santana are the most by a Twins pitcher since Luis Tiant on May 28, 1970 against the Milwaukee Brewers.

In what was his first ever appearance against the Giants, Santana threw a complete game, allowing zero runs, while scattering just four hits, while walking just one and striking out four, as he improved his record to 8-3 on the season. Prior to tonight, the Giants were the only team that Santana never faced.

Brian Dozier drove in the only run that the Twins would need on the night, as he singled in Byron Buxton, who singled to lead-off the top of the third inning.

Despite that one bad inning, it was not a bad night for Matt Moore, as he went six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits, walking three and striking out three; however, his record on the season fell to 2-7.

Eduardo Nunez extended his hitting streak up to 11 games with a single in the bottom of the first inning, and he also extended his streak of reaching base up to 24 games. On the other hand, Buster Posey saw his streak of reaching base come to an end after 22 straight games.

NOTES: Jeff Samardzija takes the ball for the Giants in the second game of the three-game series for the Giants, while Jose Berrios will take the mound for the Twins. This will be Berrio’s first ever appearance against the Giants.

Prior to the game, the Giants added Sam Dyson to the roster and sent Orlando Calixte to Triple-A Sacramento.

It was two years ago tonight that Chris Heston threw the fifth Giants no-hitter in seven years, as the Giants defeated the New York Mets 5-0 at Citi Field. Heston did not walk a batter and struck out 11. He also hit three batters.

San Francisco Giants’ Hunter Pence hits an RBI single during the 10th inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Thursday, June 8, 2017, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

By Jeremy Harness

 Mark Melancon was brought in specifically to address the need for a closer that the Giants can count on to close games, which has been a huge problem for them for years.

 Based on what happened Thursday afternoon, however, that holding a lead in the late innings is not a foregone conclusion, either. Melancon had a two-run lead when he took the ball in the ninth, but the Milwaukee Brewers scored two runs off of him to tie the game, resulting in his second blown save of the year in 12 chances.

 The Giants, however, were able to rebound from this, rallying in the very next inning with an offensive explosion to gut out a 9-5 win over the Milwaukee Brewers inside of Miller Park. The win ensured the Giants of an even split of the four-game series.

 “We’ve had some tough times,” Bochy said. “That can really get a club down. But that shows a lot about the character and how resilient they are, to come back and find a way to win the game, especially on a road trip that hasn’t been great for us.”

 ‘We’ll get this turned around, but we’ve just got to keep plugging.”

 On another positive note, the Giants are actually 6-2 in extra innings this season.

 The Giants also got a glimpse into the future, as outfielder Austin Slater, who as just called up from Triple-A Sacramento a week ago, launched his first major-league home run in the fourth inning to give the Giants a 3-2 lead.

 “He got a good swing off, and he hit it well,” Bochy said. “He’s more of a line drive-type guy, but (when) he gets it in the air, I’ve seen some long ones by him.”

 This one was pretty long, too. In fact, the ball traveled 461 feet, which is the longest home run by a Giants player this season.

 The Giants will now head back to AT&T Park for a five-game homestand that starts Friday night, as the Minnesota Twins pay a visit to the Giants for a three-game series.

 

Milwaukee Brewers’ Jonathan Villar celebrates his home run in front of San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey during the seventh inning of a baseball game Wednesday, June 7, 2017, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

By Jeremy Harness

 The Giants can’t seem to get out of their own way this year, and it has continued to show its ugly head time and time again.

 The latest installment of all that is wrong with this former perennial National League contender was Wednesday night, as the Milwaukee Brewers tagged with a 6-3 loss at Miller Park.

 The Giants have now lost seven of their last nine games overall, and they currently share the NL West bottom spot with the lowly San Diego Padres, as they sport a le4ss-than-stellar 24-37 record.

 Starter Ty Blach (4-3) did not have a very good outing at all. Although he did not walk anyone and struck out three, he gave up five runs on nine hits, and he only pitched six innings to do it.

 The setback snapped Blach’s four-start win streak, which started May 16 and saw him throw at least seven innings in each start. In fact, Blach was coming off his best start of the year, as he threw a complete-game, seven-hit shutout in a 10-0 win at Philadelphia five days ago.

 Meanwhile, Brewers starter Jimmy Nelson (4-3) also went six innings, but he surrendered three runs on seven hits, walking only one and striking out six in the process.

 After Milwaukee jumped out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to a homer by Domingo Santana, the Giants responded with a three-run third inning that was highlighted by Buster Posey’s two-run homer, which game the Giants a 3-1 lead.

 The Brewers used a two-run fourth inning to tie the game, and Milwaukee utilized extra-base hits in innings five through seven to grab the lead for good.

 The Giants and Brewers, who are currently 32-28 and are at the top of the National League Central at this point, will play the final game of this four-game series tomorrow afternoon, as the Giants hope to earn a split, as they took Monday’s opener before losing the next two.

 

San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey #28 talks with San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Matt Cain #18 during the Major League Baseball game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the San Francisco Giants at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI. John Fisher/CSM (Cal Sport Media via AP Images)

On the Giants podcast with Michael:

1 The Giants dropped a three run game to the Brewers 5-2 another tough outing for Matt Cain ten hits, five runs in five innings

2 Are Cain’s bad outings related to mechanics, mental, or his arm giving him problems

3 How remarkable is Giants starter Jeff Samardzija it was noted in the modern era that Samardzija is the first pitcher to have at least 50 strikeouts over his last seven starts with just one walk he actually tallied 59 during that stretch

4 Madison Bumgarner has been throwing on a flat surface and is due to throw of the mound in a few weeks according to the Giants. Bumgarner when he feels better he will be entering rehab with the minor league Giants affilate Sacramento River Cats. After rehabbing he’s expected back in full form in July.

5 The Giants go with Ty Blach whose 4-2 and had a win in his last outing what’s your take in his last few outings

Michael Duca does the San Francisco Giants podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com