Category: San Francisco Giants

San Francisco Giants Tuesday game wrap: Puig and Bellinger lead Dodgers to win 13-5

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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Franklin Gutierrez watches his solo home run off San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Matt Moore, front, during the second inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, May 2, 2017, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

By Jeremy Kahn

Things were looking good for the San Francisco Giants after a big second inning, but the Los Angeles Dodgers came to the plate in the bottom of the inning.

The Giants scored four runs in the inning, as they were helped out by a huge Matt Moore single that scored Christian Arroyo and Eduardo Nunez, with Nick Hundley advancing to third. Moore went to second on a Kike Hernandez throwing error.

After Hunter Pence was retired, Brandon Belt singled down the right field line to score Hundley and Moore.

You would think that four runs in the top of the inning would be enough, but the Dodgers scored the next six on their way to a 13-5 victory over the Giants at Dodger Stadium.

This was the Dodgers fifth win in their last six games, with their only loss coming in Monday’s 4-3 loss to the Giants.

The Dodgers scored five in the bottom of the second, as they led by a huge Franklin Gutierrez home run to center-field off of Moore to lead-off the inning.

Cody Bellinger tied up the game with one swing of the bat, as he hit a bases loaded triple that scored Chris Taylor, Yasiel Puig and Austin Barnes.

Dodgers starting pitcher Alex Wood helped out his own cause like Moore did in the top of the second inning, as he hit a single to left that scored Bellinger from third base that gave the Dodgers the lead for good.

Wood would eventually score when Justin Turner hit a sacrifice fly, as the Dodgers took a 6-4 lead.

Joe Panik singled to centerfield in the top of the third inning to score Buster Posey, but that would be the last run that Wood would allow in the game.

Wood, who looked like would not get of the second inning, ended up going five innings, allowing five runs on seven hits, while walking just one and striking out eight, as he won for the second time without a loss this season.

Moore did not help himself out in the bottom of the fourth, as he hit Turner to score Wood and the Dodgers extended their lead.

That would not be it for Moore, as Gutierrez hit into a fielder’s choice, as they would all for Moore.

In all, in just 3.1 innings of work, Moore allowed nine runs on six hits, walked five and struck out three, as his record fell to 1-4 on the season.

Puig ended up driving in four runs with two huge singles, Bellinger drove three of his own with his first career triple.

NOTES: Jeff Samardzija looks for his first win of the season on Wednesday night for the Giants, while the Dodgers will send Julio Urias to mound for the second time in six days after he made his season debut on Thursday afternoon at AT&T Park.

That’s Amaury’s Podcast, News and Commentary: Giants get a turnaround to kick off May; It’s a Gray day for Oakland and that’s a great thing: Sonny Gray is back starts in Minnesota

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San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Johnny Cueto celebrates as he gets out of the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Monday, May 1, 2017, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

On That’s Amaury’s Podcast, News, and Commentary:

LOS ANGELES–The Giants got by the Los Angeles Dodgers Monday night getting a jump start on the month of May after one their worst April’s in recent history with a one run 4-3 victory and getting past the pitcher in the National League Dodger starter Clayton Kershaw who dropped his record to 4-2 after coughing up a third inning homer to Giants hitter Buster Posey that put the Giants in front for the rest of the game. It was Posey’s second homer of the season.

The Minnesota Twins are a game over .500 host the Oakland A’s for the first of three games Tuesday night. The Twins are a game back in the American League Central behind Cleveland and Chicago. The Twins Miguel Sano is in the AL top ten and is the key show case in the Minnesota line up hitting a whopping .316, with 17 runs, 25 hits, and seven homers. The A’s Khris Davis is leading the AL with ten home runs and is fifth with 18 runs scored.

The A’s are happy to have starting pitcher Sonny Gray back making his first start of the regular season. Gray is coming off a lat injury he suffered in spring training and after much rehab in Nashville the A’s triple A system is feeling up to pitching back in the big leagues again. He struck out seven hitters for Nashville in his last outing for the Sounds. The A’s have also sent down outfielder Ryan LaMarre to Nashville and Rajai Davis who had been on the DL will rejoin the A’s in Minnesota to fill in for injured A’s pitcher Sean Manaea’s roster spot.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez does is the Angels Spanish TV talent, the A’s Spanish radio talent, and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Giants turn the page on April by starting May with a win over Clayton Kershaw

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Posey pop

By Morris Phillips

No recap of the Giants’ tidy performance at Chavez Ravine could resonate without prefacing the facts pointing to how daunting a challenge the NL West cellar dwellers faced on Monday night:

The Giants just experienced a dreadful April, one of the three worst season opening months since their move to the west coast over 65 years ago.  Under those humbling circumstances the last guy the Giants wanted to see was the forever emboldened Clayton Kershaw.  But surprise, Monday belonged to the Giants, and not to the guy that had 19 victories in his career against them, and had seen the Dodgers beat the Giants seven of the last eight times the two clubs met with Kershaw starting.

Johnny Cueto pitched seven strong innings, throwing 30 pitches in a tense, seventh inning in which the Dodgers threatened to plate the tying run.  And the Giants got home runs from Hunter Pence and Buster Posey off Kershaw, and held on to win, 4-3.

If the Giants needed an off night by the Dodgers’ ace to find the victory column, they didn’t exactly get it.  Kershaw worked through six innings, allowing eight hits, but would have survived had it not been for the offerings to Pence and Posey that left the yard.  In the first, Pence took advantage of a hanging curve on a two-run blast.  In the third, Posey connected on an ineffective slider that neatly cleared the left field wall down the line.

“I wasn’t great, but they had something to do with it as well,” Kershaw said.

In the fifth, Christian Arroyo singled home Gorkys Hernandez to put the Giants up 4-2.  Arroyo managed a pair of hits, after he received a nasty introduction to Kershaw in the second, when he struck out on a slider in the dirt.  Arroyo also drew a walk hitting in the two hole, seeing 27 pitches in all, a nice development for a 21-year old with less than 10 big league games under his belt, and none as challenging as this one.

With the win, the Giants remain in last place in the NL West, 6 1/2 games behind the division-leading Rockies.   But the victory reversed an ugly pattern of failures on the road.  The Giants won for only the fourth time in 13 road contests thus far this season.

Cueto retired 13 consecutive batters after allowing a single to Kershaw in the third.  In the seventh, the first two Dodgers to bat reached.  But Cueto escaped, retiring Andrew Toles with two runners aboard and a run in, to preserve the lead.

Lefty reliever Steven Okert retired the next five Los Angeles hitters, leaving Derek Law to strike out Yasiel Puig for the game’s final out.  After blowing a save opportunity on Sunday against the Padres, closer Mark Melancon was bypassed for Okert and Law.

The Giants hope to make it two straight with Matt Moore taking the ball on Tuesday.  The Dodgers will counter with Alex Wood, who threw six scoreless innings at AT&T Park last week, only to get a no decision when the Giants rallied late for a 4-3 win.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Giants have a tough way to go in their climb to get out of the cellar

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April 30, 2017: San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Ty Blach (50) on the mound during a MLB game between the San Diego Padres 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 Phillips:

Were starting to see what the story lines are going to be especially in 2017 in the Western Division in the NL West the Colorado Rockies are much improved with their pitching which is home grown pitching. The Rockies have held up so far and they’ve got people like Nolan Arenado whose hitting the cover off the ball with a .293 clip. He’s the guy the Rocks count on to hit the ball out of the park. You have to stay extremely competitive in a ball game like the Rockies were against the Diamondback Sunday in that 2-0 loss in 13 innings .

Colorado tried to win that game but they couldn’t score, the Rockies are getting good at playing low scoring ball games  and winning them. So as far as the Giants go they’ve got to start hitting the baseball. Obviously the pitching hasn’t been great for San Francisco but it’s been good enough to help them win in certain situations with the offense they’re providing right now.

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

 

 

 

 

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Giants second worst in baseball since 2016 All Star Break

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Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw winds up during the first inning of the team’s baseball game against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday, April 25, 2017, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

Giants second worst in baseball since 2016 All Star Break

The San Francisco Giants ended worst month of April for them since 1983. How bad? Sunday the 30th of April (last day of the month)they lost their 17th game. They ended the home stand scoring a total of 18 runs. On Sunday, also, the Washington Nationals scored 23 runs, in case you are counting that is five more runs in nine innings that the Giants scored in their home stand of seven games. During the Washington Nationals vs. New Mets rout of 23-5, National’s Anthony Rendon went 6 for 6,Rendon hit three home runs and drove in ten runs.

During the recent home stand, the first four games against the Dodgers which they split, the Giants scored a total of eight runs. Next, the San Diego Padres took the three-game series, in which the Giants scored a total of ten runs.

The second half of the 2016 season, the Giants were the worst team in baseball, and although their bullpen was less than desirable, the offense also went on vacation, for example during the second half of 2016 the Giants superstar Buster Posey hit three home runs.

Only one team in Major League Baseball has a worse record than the San Francisco Giants since the 2016 All Star Game, the Minnesota Twins. Interesting because the Twins have one of the lowest payrolls in the game, while the Giants are there with the big boys, and they sellout every home game and have plenty of dinero. 

Tonight (May 1) the Giants open a nine game road-trip. Three at Los Angeles vs Dodgers, three in Cincinnati and then three more in New York vs Mets. The Giants first obstacle? Is to beat the best pitcher in the game Clayton Kershaw, tonight. Then after that, everything else should be easy. Well, maybe…

Amaury Pi Gonzalez does News and Commentary each week and is the Oakland A’s Spanish radio talent and is the LA Angels Spanish TV talent at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Myers three-run home run gives Padres series win

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San Diego Padres’ Wil Myers, right, celebrates with Erick Aybar (8) after hitting the go-ahead three-run home run off San Francisco Giants’ George Kontos in the 12th inning of a baseball game, Sunday, April 30, 2017, in San Francisco. The Padres won 5-2. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Wil Myers likes to hit long home runs, and his home run against George Kontos was a no doubter.

Myers hit a towering three-run home run in the top of the 12th inning, giving the San Diego Padres a come-from-behind 5-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants, before a crowd of 41,989, the 503rd consecutive regular season sellout at AT&T Park.

This was the second game in a row that Myers hit a towering three-run home run, as he did it in Saturday’s 12-4 victory by the Padres over the Giants.

Hector Sanchez hit a two-run pinch hit home run off of Mark Melancon in the top of the ninth inning to tie up the game. It was the third pinch-hit home run of Sanchez’s career and his first since June 15, 2014 while with the Giants against the Colorado Rockies.

Ty Blach pitched seven strong innings, allowing no runs on just three hits, walking two and striking out one

It was a Blach sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth inning that gave the Giants their first run of the afternoon.

Joe Panik scored the first run that the Giants, as he was hit by a Clayton Richard pitch, went to third on a Gorkys Hernandez double and then scored easily on Blach’s sacrifice fly to Manuel Margot in centerfield.

Hunter Pence scored the second run for the Giants in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Pence led off the inning with a walk, went to second on a Buster Posey groundout and then scored easily on a Michael Morse double.

It was a no decision for Clayton Richard, as he pitched 5.1 innings, allowing both runs, six hits, walked one and struck out three, as his record stays at 2-3 on the season.

Richard did pickup two of the five Padres hits, as both of his hits careened off the right field wall.

The Padres attempted to make a game out of this in the top of the eighth inning, as Margot and Yangervis Solarte singled off of Derek Law; however, Law able to get Austin Hedges to strikeout to end the inning.

In all, Law allowed two hits and struck out the side, as Law struck out Erick Aybar, Wil Myers and Hedges. In between the Myers and Hedges strikeouts by Law, Solarte singled for the second Padres hit of the inning.

NOTES: Johnny Cueto will take the hill on Monday night in the opener of a three-game series in Los Angeles versus the Dodgers, while Clayton Kershaw will take the mound for the Dodgers.

This upcoming road trip will be the Giants only three city trip of the entire season, as they head to Los Angeles for three, then onto Cincinnati for three and then end with a three-game series against the Mets.

Neil Ramirez was the first Giants reliever to allow two three-run home runs in the same game since Joe Nathan gave up two on May 26, 2003 against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, when Charles Johnson and Preston Wilson turned the trick.

Bryan Morris was recalled by the Giants from Triple-A, and to make room for Morris on the 40-man roster, the Giants have designated Ramirez for assignment.

The 12 runs scored by the Padres on Saturday night were the most they ever scored at AT&T Park, and their most in San Francisco since July 2, 1995, when they scored 15 runs at Candlestick Park.

Padres storm past Giants at AT&T 12-4

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San Francisco Giants’ Brandon Belt runs to first base after hitting a two-run single off San Diego Padres’ Jhoulys Chacin in the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, April 29, 2017, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Hector Sanchez spent some quality seasons playing in San Francisco, but now he comes back to AT&T Park with his new team.

Sanchez walked with the bases loaded, helping the San Diego Padres to a 12-4 comeback victory over the San Francisco Giants before a crowd of 42,862, the 502nd consecutive regular season sellout at AT&T Park.

Ryan Schimpf drove in the first of the eight runs that the Padres scored in the inning, as Yangervis Solarte singled to get the ball rolling.

Austin Hedges then tied up the game with a single off his own, and then after Erick Aybar walked to load the bases, Sanchez walked to drive in the eventual game-winning run for the Padres.

Miguel Margot drove in the next run, as he singled to right field to score Hedges and then after Cory Spangenberg hit into a force play to score Aybar, Wil Myers hit a Neil Ramirez deep into the left field bleachers for his sixth home run of the season.

Despite the fact that the Giants narrowed down to 9-4 in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Padres extended their lead up to 12-4 with one swing of the bat, as Allen Cordoba hit a three-run home run in the top of the seventh inning.

Aybar drove in the first run for the Padres in the top of the fourth inning, as he singled to Schimpf, who singled with one out in the inning.

Unfortunately for the Padres, they were unable to score anymore runs in the inning, as Buster Posey and Joe Panik teamed up for a pickoff play to get Austin Hedges at the plate. Posey originally threw to Panik to attempt to get Aybar at second base; however, Aybar beat the throw at second base. Panik then threw home to get Hedges trying to steal home.

Nunez tied up the game in the bottom of the fifth inning, as he singled in Conor Gillaspie from second base. Gillaspie led off the inning with a double off of Padres starter Jhoulys Chacin. It was the second hit of the night for Gillaspie, who singled off of Chacin in the bottom of the second inning.

After Drew Stubbs popped out for the first out of the inning, Kelby Tomlinson singled to advance Nunez to second base and then Panik walked to load the bases and then Brandon Belt singled up the middle to give the Giants the lead.

Cain pitched five innings, allowing just one run, on six hits, not walking a batter and striking out seven. Despite not getting the win, Cain lowered his earned run average on the season down to 2.30.

Chacin also pitched five innings, allowing three runs on five hits, while walking two and striking out six.

NOTES: Ty Blach looks for his first win of the season, as he takes the mound in the home stand finale on Sunday afternoon for the Giants. Blach will be opposed by fellow left-hander Clayton Richard, who is looking to evening his record at 3-3.

Brandon Crawford was reinstated from the bereavement list, and was placed on the 10-day disabled list (retroactive to April 26) with a right groin strain.

San Jose Giants Infielder Dillion Dobson tied a Giants team record on Friday night, as he hit three home runs in a game. Since becoming the Giants single-A team in 1988, Dobson is just the third player ever to hit three home runs in the same game. The two players are Adam Witter, who hit three home runs in the same game in 2007 and Sanchez, who did it in 2011.

Arroyo wins it with a home run finally puts SF in the win column 4-3

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San Francisco Giants’ Christian Arroyo celebrates after hitting a home run off San Diego Padres’ Ryan Buchter during the eighth inning of a baseball game Friday, April 28, 2017, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-What a first five days in the major leagues for newest San Francisco Giants player Christian Arroyo.

The week started on Monday, where he was in the lineup versus the Los Angeles Dodgers, got his first big league hit off of Clayton Kershaw on Tuesday, hit his first major league home run on Wednesday, picked up his first multi-hit game on Thursday and to end the first five days, Arroyo won the game.

Arroyo hit a solo home run off of Ryan Buchter to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning, as the Giants defeated the San Diego Padres 4-3 before a crowd of 41,436, the 501st consecutive regular season sellout at AT&T Park.

The home run by Arroyo made a winner out of Derek Law, who won for the third time on the season.

In just one inning of work, Law struck out one and gave up one hit before giving way to Mark Melancon, who pitched a perfect ninth inning for his fifth save of the season.

Jeff Samardzija pitched the first seven innings for the Giants, allowing three runs on just four hits, walking just one and striking out five.

Samardzija did not allow a hit until the top of the fifth inning, when Ryan Schimpf took a Samardzija pitch and planted it over the center-field wall to tie the game. Just prior to the Schimpf home run, Samardzija hit Yangervis Solarte for the second consecutive at-bat.

The Giants got to Luis Perdomo in the first inning, as Joe Panik got the ball rolling with a single up the middle, the Brandon Belt hit an opposite field single. After both Hunter Pence and Michael Morse were unable to get Panik or Belt across the plate, Arroyo reached on a fielding error by Erick Aybar to score Panik with the first run of the game.

Following the Aybar error, Conor Gillaspie singled up the middle to score Belt to give the Giants their second run of the inning.

The Padres took the lead in the top of the fifth inning, as Cory Spagenberg singled to left field following Schimpf’s home run; however, Brandon Belt was unable to field the ball cleanly and Spangenberg advanced to third base on the two-base fielding error. Austin Hedges then singled in Spangenberg to give the Padres their first lead of the evening.

Morse was able to tie up the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, as he hit a sacrifice fly to Jabari Blash in right field to score Belt from third base. Belt doubled to lead off the inning, went to third on a Perdomo wild pitch with Pence at the plate.

NOTES: Matt Cain takes the mound on Saturday night, as he looks for his third win of the season, while the Padres will send Jhoulys Chacin to the hill.

Dodgers survive Matt Moore, then strike in the tenth to earn a split with the Giants

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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Chase Utley, left, slides into home plate to score a run past the tag from San Francisco Giants catcher Nick Hundley, right, on a sacrifice fly by Dodgers’ Enrique Hernandez during the tenth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Thursday, April 27, 2017. The Dodgers won 5-1. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–The Giants squandered a shot in the ninth.  The Dodgers then put together a combination of shots in the tenth to win it.

In a game with almost no offense–after Corey Seager sent the eighth pitch of the game soaring–the Dodgers’ extra-inning finish had to be termed a flurry.    But their four-run outburst felt modest, propped up by a pair of bases-populating walks, then highlighted by run-scoring singles by Andrew Toles and Justin Turner.

Instead of offense, pitching and defense ruled most of the day.  And Giants’ starter Matt Moore pitched a gem, ironically after he tailor-fitted Seager with a waist-high fastball in the first inning. Moore would motor from there, allowing just two hits in seven innings with eight strikeouts.  After Moore departed, the battle of bullpens desperately seeking consistency commenced.  On Wednesday night, that same battle went to the Giants. On Thursday, the Dodgers’ bullpen bounced back.

“Moore was tough,” Seager said.  “He’s been tough on us the last couple of times we faced him.  So you’re doing whatever you can to scratch for runs, and then in the tenth, we kind of put it together.”

In the tenth, Cody Gearrin walked the first batter, Adrian Gonzalez.  That mistake prompted manager Bruce Bochy to summon his one lefty in the pen, Steven Okert to get the next hitter, who happened to be the .088-hitting Chase Utley.  But Utley reached on an infield chop, and Yasmani Grandal drew a walk to load the bases. Andrew Toles singled to give the Dodgers a lead, and Bochy went back to his pen.

Hunter Strickland coaxed a pop out of Kiki Hernandez, but Buster Posey, playing first base, couldn’t throw out Utley tagging from third.   Seager was intentionally walked, but Strickland gave up a RBI single to Turner, and walked Chris Taylor to force in the fourth run.   Again Bochy had to change pitchers, getting Neil Ramirez to record the third out.

Offensively,  the Giants sustained very little seven singles and no extra base hits. Only Christian Arroyo’s RBI single in seventh had any lasting impact. Slumping hitters were populated throughout the Giants’ lineup on Thursday, most notably Brandon Belt and Eduardo Nunez.

Dodgers’ phenom Julio Urias, the 20-year old starter, made his season debut and looked as if he were in mid-season form.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Are the flash light rallies paying off for Giants? Maybe they’ve won two of three from LA so far

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On the Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 Does Michael really believe that the app on the on the cell phones during the Giants flash light rallies play into the Giants improving offense it just might the Giants Michael Morse hit the gamer on Wednesday night and it seem like the Giants could be breaking out of their long cold snap winning two out of the last three from the Los Angeles Dodgers with one more meeting to go

#2 How much is Madison Bumgarner really kicking himself for the dirt bike accident and how relieved is he for not having to have to go through surgery

#3 How impressive was Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw with a 2-1 win over the Giants on Tuesday night

#4  The Giants who have brought up Chris Stratton a top selection for the club back in 2012 is up with the club and what does Giants manager Bruce Bochy look and expect from Stratton

#5 In speaking with Giants manager Bruce Bochy does it appear pre mature that he came back too early from his heart rhythm procedure?

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