Category: San Francisco Giants

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–A four-game win streak–the first of the season for the Giants when just days earlier they couldn’t claim better than a two-game streak.  What lead to this?

Depends on who you ask.

Matt Cain, Monday’s good luck winning pitcher, pointed to Friday’s marathon victory over the Reds.  Cain also talked about how unsettling last week’s road trip was, how he and some teammates discussed changing their routine, anything to break the string of losses. Show up earlier? Stay later? Stay later; a 17-inning affair that ends at 12:43 a.m. certainly qualifies.

“It’s tough to be in a really long game, and lose it,” Cain pointed out.

Brandon Crawford doesn’t seem particularly superstitious, but he offered Denard Span’s bleeder that couldn’t afford to stay airborne any longer than it did.  When it dropped, the Giants had their first run on Monday night.  They would go on to score seven more.

“It felt like the first hit of the season,” Crawford joked.

If not Span’s blooper, what about Cain’s well-executed bunt that preceded it. Manager Bruce Bochy offered that, as well as Mac Williamson’s season debut. Williamson started to show signs of belonging in spring training, only to get hurt in the final week before the season’s start.  Finally healthy, Williamson debuted with two hits, a run scored and a run knocked in.

What about Buster Posey’s new goggles? Naw, the catcher said, just trying to block the furious winds and dust that often kick up during warmups as the sun’s setting, and definitely no fashion statement. Posey ditched the goggles after warmups.

“Yeah, sure,” Posey said sarcastically when it was suggested fashion was in play.

To sum up, a lot of things have gone into this modest win streak. That’s logical in that a lot of things went wrong prior. It’s ying and yang.  But the Giants needed to start winning in the worst way–the season’s now 25 percent consumed–or likely, pack it in for 2017. So few teams recover from falling 12 games below .500 in May.

Four games into their recovery, it’s so far, so good.

“We’re not going to get giddy here,” Bochy warned.  “We’ve dug ourselves a hole.  Every day we have to come out and try to play our best game. These guys are doing that right now.”

Cain improved his record to 3-1, needing a season-high 112 pitches to get into the seventh inning, while allowing five hits and a run.  Posey noticed the movement on Cain’s fastball, while Bochy noted that Cain could have thrown as many pitches in his previous start had the manager not needed a pinch hitter with runners aboard and the Giants trailing the Mets 3-1 in the fifth. The Giants went on that one, 6-5.

“His stamina is back, his strength is there,” Bochy said of Cain.

Offensively, the Giants hit overdrive in the fourth inning.  The first four batters got hits, capped by Eduardo Nunez’ single up the middle that scored Posey and Crawford. When Nunez’ ball was fielded by Corey Seager behind the second base bag, Nunez drew the attention of Dodgers’ starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy.  Taking advantage of a scrambled infield, Nunez broke for second. McCarthy cut off an awkward throw to the plate near the mound, putting him in position to catch Nunez in no man’s land.

But, hey Brandon in the grey uniform. What about the Brandon in the white uniform?

“He shouldn’t have been in the middle of the diamond,” manager Dave Roberts said of the unaware McCarthy. “The mechanics of the play, he should have been behind home plate, so that’s where it gets funky from the beginning.”

Adding to the funkiness of the play, third base coach Phil Nevin waved Crawford assuming the ball was going to split Seager and second baseman Chris Taylor. It didn’t, so Crawford was hung up as well.  But McCarthy forgot about Crawford, and instead waited for Seager to get back to second, where his throw to catch Nunez was late.

Did we mention that McCarthy just came off the disabled list? Or that the Dodgers were without their corner infielders, Justin Turner (rest) and Adrian Gonzalez (on the disabled list for the first time in his 14-year career)?

That’s called catching a break. The Giants could use a few.

On Tuesday, former Athletic Rich Hill faces Giants rookie Ty Blach at 7:15 p.m. in the second game of three between the heated rivals.

San Francisco Giants right fielder Justin Ruggiano (39) at bat during a MLB game between the Cincinnati Reds and the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. (Cal Sport Media via AP Images)

By Jeremy Kahn

After being swept by the Cincinnati Reds just seven days ago, many thought that the San Francisco Giants were destined for a long season.

Just one week later, the Giants have escaped the National League West cellar and it came at the expense of the Reds.

Brandon Belt hit his third home run in his past four games, as the Giants defeated the Reds 9-3 at AT&T Park. With the victory, the Giants ended up winning the weekend series three games to one.

During the three-game sweep at Great American Ballpark, the Reds outscored the Giants 31-5, but their four-game set in San Francisco, the Giants switched up roles and outscored the Reds 16-9.

This is the first time this season that the Giants have three games in a row, and remain nine games behind the Colorado Rockies for the National League West lead.

Asides from Belt, the Giants and Jeff Samardzija received hitting help both Eduardo Nunez and Joe Panik, who each picked up two hits and Buster Posey drove in two runs, just two games after his dramatic 17th inning walk-off home run, his first walk-off home run of his career.

Samardzija won for the first time this season, and put a stop to his career-long six-game losing streak that began at the end of the 2016 season. In 6.2 innings of work, Samardzija gave up three runs, not walking a batter and striking out eight.

On the other side of things, the Reds were forced to go to their bullpen due to an injury to starter Tim Adelman after just the first inning.

Adelman allowed four runs before leaving the game due to a neck strain.

Panik got the ball rolling in the bottom of the first inning, as he hit a RBI double, Posey drove in a run with a single and then Nunez got into the act, as he drove in the final two runs with a big single.

Things got no better for the Reds in the second inning, as Adelman’s replacement, Barrett Astin allowed three runs and the Giants took a 7-0 lead at the end of the second inning.

Scooter Gennett broke up Samardzija’s shutout in the top of the fifth inning, as he hit a two-run single. Samardzija gave up his third run in the top of the seventh inning, as Tucker Barnhart hit a pinch-hit sacrifice fly to Jose Peraza from third base after Peraza tripled.

NOTES: Matt Cain looks to extend the Giants winning streak to four games, as he takes the mound against the Los Angeles Dodgers, while Dave Roberts will send former Oakland A’s pitcher Brandon McCarthy.

Hunter Pence was held out of the lineup for the third consecutive game after an MRI revealed tightness in his left hamstring.

By Ben Leonard

SAN FRANCISCO—After a late night out under the lights, the Giants needed a pick-me-up.

San Francisco needed to use eight pitchers to throw 269 pitches to eke out a 17-inning 3-2 win against the Cincinnati Reds in the depths of Friday night—and had to wake up bright and early Saturday to get after it again.

But despite early bouts of wildness, Matt Moore gave the weary Giants the boost they needed, throwing 120 pitches to take the ball into the eighth inning to carry San Francisco to a 3-1 win Saturday. With help from some slick defense from Brandon Crawford, fresh off the disabled list, Moore wiggled out of traffic, including a bases-loaded predicament in the second inning after walking Reds’ pitcher Lisalverto Bonilla on five pitches, helping conserve a taxed bullpen.

“There really wasn’t anything more he could have done,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “It was really needed for him to get deep into the game, and he gave us even more than I thought with where his pitch count was early. But he found a way to get us into the eighth inning. He pitched his way through some jams there but found a way to make some pitches.”

The win marked just the second time all season that the struggling Giants (14-24) had won two consecutive games—giving them three wins in the last four games, to boot.

The win was much-needed for a ballclub that came into the season with championship aspirations, but has struggled mightily in all phases of the game, ranking dead last in the National League in runs scored and second-to-last in runs allowed.

“It was really important for us,” Bochy said. “You have a long game like that and you win it, you have some celebrating, but it can’t be long because you’re getting up early. You put the big win behind us, just like the tough losses, and come back out and win this ballgame. It was big.”

The game didn’t get off the most auspicious beginning for the Giants, however. Although left fielder Brandon Belt and right fielder Justin Ruggiano had provided an early jolt with solo home runs in the first and second innings, the lead appeared tenuous because Moore’s fastball command was missing in action after giving up 12 runs in his last two outings— he had to expend 57 pitches through three innings.

But Moore buckled down with runners on base: the Reds (19-17) finished the game stranding 11 baserunners and went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. With the help of his defense, the lone blemish on Moore’s line was  giving up a sixth-inning solo shot to Scott Schebler, who also chased Moore with one out in the eighth with a double down the left field line.

Even after 17 innings in the field Friday night, Crawford didn’t miss a beat, making several difficult plays look effortless, including a spinning throw to nab Scooter Gennett in the ninth inning.

Gennett lined a shot hard off the mound up the middle, but Crawford angled to his left, fielded the ball cleanly, and made a spinning throw to help Derek Law get the first out of the ninth inning.

Ever since Crawford’s return Thursday, the Giants have given up just six runs in their three games.

“It gets back to what our strength is, pitching and defense,” Bochy said. “We’re a different club with Crawford out there when you have a guy out there with his talent, he makes us that much better defensively. Those plays win ballgames for you.”

Moore flashed the leather himself too, nabbing a hard comebacker off the bat of first baseman Joey Votto in the fifth inning. Although he made it look easy, he said he barely knew how he made the play.

“I was kind of wondering how guys catch those at times,” Moore said. “No part of me knew what was happening. I threw the ball and then my hand started hurting, that was it.”

Despite their slick glovework and strong pitching, Bochy said the Giants will need to continue to add more power to an offense that has struggled mightily to collect extra-base hits. While the Giants have hit nine home runs in their past six games, eight of them have been solo homers—and they still rank dead last in slugging percentage in the National League.

“I like three-run homers, sure,” Bochy said. “I really believe we’re going to hit for more power. Not just home runs, doubles, triples too. We’re getting better swings off. It’s a lot easier to score when you add some slugging to the club. That still needs to go up, but you see what power does. Hopefully this continues, and we start doing this with some men on base.”

 

Cover Image:

San Francisco Giants pitcher Matt Moore throws against the Cincinnati Reds during the sixth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Saturday, May 13, 2017. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

 

 

San Francisco Giants’ Buster Posey, right, is mobbed at home plate after hitting a walk-off home run against the Cincinnati Reds during the 17th inning of a baseball game Saturday, May 13, 2017, in San Francisco. San Francisco won 3-2. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Buster Posey ended the San Francisco Giants longest game of the season with just one swing of the bat.

Posey hit the first pitch he saw from Robert Stephenson and planted it into the left-center field bleachers, as the Giants defeated the Cincinnati Reds 3-2 in 17 innings before a crowd of 41,325, the 505th consecutive regular season sellout at AT&T Park.

The Posey home run was the latest regular season home run in a game since Jimmy Davenport on May 13, 1966 against the New York Mets, yes 51 years to the day. The Davenport home run was off of David Eilers.

It was the first walk-off home run of Posey’s career, and it made a winner out of Cory Gearrin, who pitched the final two innings, allowing two hits with a walk and two strikeouts.

Denard Span led off the bottom of the first inning with his second home run in as many nights, and it was 1st lead-off home run for a Giants player this season and the 12th of Span’s big league career.

The Reds took the lead in the top of the second inning, as Scott Schebler singled with one out and then scored the tying run on a triple to right-center field by Scooter Gennett. Tucker Barnhart then broke the tie, as he hit a sacrifice fly to Justin Ruggiano in right field.

Eduardo Nunez scored the tying run in the bottom of the fifth inning, as he led off the inning with a bunt single and then went to second on a successful bunt single by Ruggiano. The two advanced an additional 90 feet, as Johnny Cueto put a perfect sacrifice bunt.

Following the perfect sacrifice bunt by Cueto, Span tied up the game with a single to right field that scored Nunez from third base. Span was thrown out trying to get to second base by Reds first baseman Joey Votto.

Reds starting pitcher and Bay Area native Scott Feldman went seven innings, allowing two runs on seven hits, walking just one and striking out two.

Cueto went eight innings, allowing two runs on five hits, walking three and striking out six. This was the third time that Cueto faced his former team, and second in the last six days.

With a chance to give Cueto the win instead of a no-decision, Brandon Belt hit a ball into the gap that was cut-off by Billy Hamilton, who in turn threw to Zack Cozart and Cozart threw to Eugenio Suarez, who tagged out Belt for the third and final out of the inning.

The Giants bullpen of Derek Law, Stephen Okert, Hunter Strickland, Josh Osich, George Kontos, Brian Morris and Gearrin went a combined eight innings, allowing zero runs on six hits, walking five and striking out seven.

Despite the loss, the Reds bullpen went nine innings, allowing just one run on five hits, not walking a batter and striking out seven.

NOTES: Matt Moore looks to make it two in a row for the Giants, as he takes the ball in the third game of the four-game series, while the Reds will send Lisalverto Bonilla to the mound.

On this date in Giants history (May 12 version) was a Willie Mays special, as just six days after his 27th birthday Mays hit the first grand slam in San Francisco Giants history in a 12-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy, right, greets Denard Span (2) in the dugout after Span’s solo home run against the Cincinnati Reds during the fifth inning of a baseball game Thursday, May 11, 2017, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

By Jeremy Harness

SAN FRANCISCO – After Wednesday night’s proceedings at AT&T Park, one could only ponder which scenario was more likely: That the Giants would hold on for victory against a team that has had their number this year, or they actually sold the game out, as the team told us that they did.

In front of the “sellout” crowd of an announced crowd of 41,193 – there were a considerable number of empty seats around the ballpark that would suggest otherwise – the team that currently owns the worst record in the major leagues took yet another one on the chin, falling 3-2 to the Cincinnati Reds.

The Reds have now beaten the Giants in each of their four matchups this year, while the Giants have lost six of their last seven overall.

The night got off to a promising start, however, after Brandon Belt got a hold of a Bronson Arroyo fastball and sailed it into the garden beyond the center-field wall to give the Giants an early 1-0 lead.

Giants starter Ty Blach turned in a very nice outing on Wednesday and made that slim lead stand up for three innings, but the Reds got to him and squared the game up in the fourth. The first two batters touched him for a single and a double, while the very next batter, Joey Votto, grounded out but also scored the tying run.

Blach, who went seven innings and gave up only two runs on five hits, walking one and striking out two, avoided any further damage and continued to give his team a chance to win. It was a far cry from the last time he saw the Reds last Saturday, when he was torched for eight runs on 11 hits and was out of the game after only three innings.

“You can lose a little confidence with that (previous) start, when you’ve got to pitch against the same ballclub that beat you up pretty good,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “I was proud of him. He did all he could to win that ballgame for us.”

The Giants re-took the lead in the fifth, as Cincinnati starter Bronson Arroyo hung a 2-2 curveball to Denard Span. The center fielder, who was just activated from the 10-day disabled list in time for Wednesday night’s game, quickly deposited it into the seats in right-center to give the Giants a 2-1 lead.

For Span, it was as successful a return as one could hope for, as the veteran collected four hits on Wednesday.

That was the extent of the damage the Giants would inflict on Arroyo, who went six innings and also surrendered only a pair of runs on six hits, walking only one and striking out three more.

Meanwhile, Votto struck again in the sixth, as his RBI single in the sixth brought in Billy Hamilton to even the game up before Cincinnati took the advantage for good two innings later.

Scooter Gennett lined one off the center-field wall off reliever Hunter Strickland to open the eighth inning with a triple. Two batters later, Zack Cozart smoked a double into the left-center gap to bring Gennett around to put Cincinnati ahead, 3-2.

By Jeremy Harness

The Giants have been terrible this year, bad enough to have a firm grasp of the National League West cellar, and things do not look to get any better any time soon.

However, they finally got a taste of victory Wednesday at New York’s Citi Field, as they beat the host Mets, 6-5, to put a merciful end to a five-game losing streak and avoided a three-game sweep at the hands of the Mets.

The Giants found themselves behind early in the game, but they slowly rallied in the late innings before breaking through in the ninth inning.

Hunter Pence tied the game at 3-3 with a sac fly before Christian Arroyo broke the game wide open with a bases-clearing double that scored three runs and gave the Giants a commanding 6-3 lead. Arroyo was among five Giants who had two hits on Wednesday.

However, they did their best to give up the bank, but New York simply ran out of outs. Closer Derek Law surrendered a two-run double to Wilmer Flores in the bottom of the ninth inning, but he was able to hold off the Mets the rest of the way to nail down his second save of the season.

Both starters on Wednesday ended up with a no-decision. Matt Cain went only five innings and gave up two earned runs on only four hits, striking out three and walking a pair while former A’s starter Tommy Milone also went five and surrendered a pair on six hits. He walked two and struck out five batters.

The Giants will now head home and start a four-game series with the Cincinnati Reds, who beat up the Giants like they stole something when they paid a visit to the Great American Ball Park last weekend. To illustrate that point, Cincinnati out-scored the punchless Giants by a count on 31-5, which indicates how hard San Francisco has fallen at this point.

 

AP file photo:San Francisco Giants Pitcher Mark Melancon (41) throws a pitch during an MLB game between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 3, 2017, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)

On the Giants podcast with Miguel:

#1 What does the loss of Giant’s reliever Mark Melancon to the ten day DL mean and how does it impact the relief staff?

#2 Melancon is on board for four years and 42 million this is not the kind of start he had in mind in the first year of the deal

#3 In the Giants five game losing streak their opponents have outscored them 41-9

#4 How frustrating has it got to be for Jeff Samardjiza he is winless at 0-5 and lost his last game to New York Mets 6-1

#5 The Giants open a homestand against the Cincinnati Reds  Thursday night the Reds swept them in Cincinnati Mike discusses how this series shapes up

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