Category: San Francisco Giants

San Francisco Giants Sunday game wrap: Offensive explosion in Giants win

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By Jeremy Kahn

AP photo: San Francisco Giants Joe Panik hits a two run homer off Atlanta Braves pitcher Adam Blair in the fourth inning at AT&T Park on Sunday in the series finale

SAN FRANCISCO-Joe Panik accomplished a first in his career in the series finale for the San Francisco Giants.

Panik hit two home runs on his way to a three hit game, as the Giants defeated the Atlanta Braves 13-4, before a crowd of 41,675, the 474th consecutive regular season at AT&T Park.

This was the first time in Panik’s that he hit two home runs in the same game, as it helped the Giants win the series over the Braves.

Madison Bumgarner went seven innings, allowing three runs on five hits, walking two and striking out five on his way to his 13th win of the season.

Bumgarner allowed a triple to Ender Inciarte in the top of the first inning, then walked Adonis García and then the Braves scored their first run on a Matt Kemp sacrifice fly to Jarrett Parker in right field.

Panik then gave the Giants the lead for good in the bottom of the second inning, as he hit a two-run home run that scored Brandon Belt, who led off the inning with a triple.

After Parker led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a single, Panik put a 3-1 pitch from Aaron Blair and put it on the arcade for his 10th home run of the season.

Denard Span got in on the act just three batters later, as he hit his ninth home run of the season.

Blair lasted just four innings, allowing five runs on eight hits and struck out three, as he fell to 0-6 on the season.

The Giants added seven runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Buster Posey walked with one out and then scored on a Brandon Crawford triple to the right-center field gap. Then after a Brandon Belt walked, Parker added a two-run triple.

Panik got in on the act in the inning, as he hit a sacrifice fly to Inciarte, who made a diving catch to rob Panik of his fourth hit of the afternoon to score Parker. Eduardo Nunez then hit the Giants fourth home run of the game, as he hit his 14th home run of the season.

Conor Gillaspie came up to pinch hit for Bumgarner, and hit a triple just out of the reach of Matt Kemp in left field and after Span was hit by a pitch, Gorkys Hernandez hit a two-run double.

Gordon Beckham hit a home run off of Cory Gearrin in the top of the ninth inning on a 1-2 pitch.

Giants lose at home to the NL-worst Braves, fall two games behind the Dodgers

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–The Giants’ opportunity to post a three-game win streak for the first time in six weeks disappeared Saturday night in one swing of the bat.

Matt Kemp, the former Dodger and still a nemesis of the Giants, delivered a three-run homer off Albert Suarez in the fourth inning, and it stood up in the Braves 3-1 win. The Giants lost for the 26th time in 39 games, and fell two games off the pace of the Dodgers in the NL West.

“It’s good to quiet the crowd a little bit,” Kemp said. “They get riled up when they’re up. But if you can get on the board and get them down, they’ll back off you a little bit.”

Kemp homered for the 23rd time against the Giants, and ruined Suarez’ return to the big leagues after he was demoted to make room for the newly acquired Matt Moore on August 2. Suarez replaced Jake Peavy, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a lower back issue. Suarez breezed through three innings, extending the Giants’ pitching staff’s scoreless streak to 25 innings, then ran into trouble in the fourth.

Adonis Garcia singled and Freddy Freeman doubled ahead of Kemp’s homer to center field. That wiped out the Giants’ early 1-0 lead courtesy of Brandon Crawford’s solo shot in the second inning. Braves’ starter Mike Foltynewicz took it from there, pitching into the eighth inning without allowing the Giants another run.

The Braves have split six games with the Giants this season, despite being saddled with the National League’s worst record. Foltynewicz has beaten the Giants twice, also shutting them down May 30, allowing three hits and a run in six innings.

Hunter Pence, Buster Posey and Brandon Belt were all out of the Giants’ lineup, and only Belt made a pinch-hitting appearance, striking out in the eighth. After Belt’s strikeout, a pair of Giants reached base, chasing Foltynewicz. But reliever Mauricio Cabrera came on to retire Joe Panik to end the inning, and preserve the Braves’ two-run lead.

“We just couldn’t get a key hit,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “That’s how you win ballgames, and that was missing tonight.”

The Giants haven’t captured a series since winning two of three in Miami three weeks ago. On Sunday, they’ll look to capture this series with Madison Bumgarner scheduled to start. Aaron Blair will get the ball for the Braves after spending the previous two months with AAA Gwinett. Blair pitched against the Giants on June 2, allowing three two-run homers in the Braves’ 6-5 loss.

The Giants did receive some good new Saturday. The Marlins and Cardinals, their closest pursuers in the wide-open wild card race both lost at home, allowing the Giants to remain three games ahead of the Marlins and Pirates.

 

 

San Francisco Giants Friday game wrap: Samardzija does the job in Giants win

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By Jeremy Kahn

AP photo: San Francisco Giants pitcher Jeff Samardjiza throws to the Atlanta Braves in the seventh inning of Friday night’s game at AT&T Park

SAN FRANCISCO-Maybe Matt Moore’s outstanding performance for the San Francisco Giants on Thursday night brought some morale back to the team.

Jeff Samardzjia went seven innings, allowing zero runs on hits, while walking three and striking out six, as the Giants defeated the Atlanta Braves 7-0 before a crowd of 41,283, the 472nd consecutive regular season sellout at AT&T Park.

With the win, coupled with the Chicago Cubs dramatic ninth inning comeback over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, the Giants move within one game of the Dodgers in the National League Western Division.

Giants pitchers have not allowed a run in 22-straight innings, the last time that they allowed a run was in the fourth inning on a Justin Turner of the Los Angeles Dodgers home run on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.

This was the second time this season that the Giants have thrown back-to-back shutouts, the last time was against the Chicago Cubs on May 22 and then on May 23 against the San Diego Padres.

On the other hand, this was the 12th time this season that the Braves have been shutout, with the last time coming against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on August 5.

Samardzjia helped out his cause in the bottom of the fourth inning, as he lined a double off the left field wall and then scored on a Denard Span single.

The Giants offense began to click with two outs in the bottom of the first inning, as they scored three runs off of Braves starter Joel De La Cruz. Brandon Belt singled in Buster Posey, then Brandon Crawford hit an infield single and Posey advanced to third on a Dansby Swanson throwing error.

Both Belt and Crawford then scored on a Joe Panik two-run double to give the Giants a commanding 3-0 lead.

This was the first time since May 28 against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field that the Giants have scored three or more runs in an inning.

Angel Pagan got in the hit parade, as he launched his ninth home run onto the arcade in the bottom of the second inning. Gorkys Hernandez also scored on the home run, as he reach on a Jace Peterson error.

Belt drove in his second run of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning, as he singled in Posey, who led off the inning with a single, went to second on a wild pitch and then onto third on Crawford flyout to right field and Posey scored Belt doubled.

De La Cruz lasted just four innings, allowing six runs (three of them earned) on seven hits and striking out two.

In five of his eight starts in the major leagues, De La Cruz has received zero run support and has received 1.32 runs as a starter.

San Francisco Giants Thursday game wrap: Moore two outs away from no hitter; Seager’s blooper ends bid

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by Jessica Kwong

AP photo: Los Angeles Dodger Corey Seager’s hit gets down to break up no hit bid with two outs in the ninth runs past San Francisco Giant pitcher Matt Moore towards first Thursday night at Dodgers Stadium

 LOS ANGELES San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Matt Moore was one out away from no-hitting the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night, but any disappointment in missing history there was overshadowed by the much-needed 4-0 win.

 The series finale kept the Giants from being swept by their rivals after two games at Dodger Stadium that built on their slump since the All-Star break.

 “He had a great delivery,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of Moore. “He had everything working tonight and really saved us from getting swept – that’s the last thing we wanted to happen here so if you look at a game, this is as big as any game we’ve had this year. We had to win today.”

 The Giants got off to their best start in the series, with Brandon Belt singling on a ground ball to left fielder Howie Kendrick and allowing Brandon Crawford scored and put San Francisco up 2-0 in the fourth inning. Then Joe Panik hit a home run on a fly ball to right field and Belt scored, lifting the Giants to a 3-0 lead.

 It was around then that Moore said he started to think about a no-no.

 “I think I looked up to see where I was hitting, where the order was at and I think it was probably the fourth inning or something,” he said.

 In the sixth inning, Denard Span singled on a line drive to right fielder Enrique Hernandez and Panik scored, putting San Francisco up 4-0.

 Bochy had a couple of players lined up in the eighth inning to relieve Moore, but didn’t.

 “I talked to him and said, ‘Listen, I know what a great opportunity you have here,’ and he said, ‘I’m telling you, I couldn’t feel better,’ so I gave him that ninth inning,” Bochy said.

 Moore took the no-hitter into the ninth and got two outs before the Dodgers’ Corey Seager – who had his bobblehead night – lifted singled to right field.

 It would have been the Giants’ first no-hitter over the Dodgers in 101 years.

 Moore walked three and struck out seven in 8 2/3 innings in his first win since joining San Francisco at the trade deadline. “I’m happy,” he said.

 “No-hitter, it’s a personal milestone, it’s the personal achievement,” Moore said. “I think that just in general being out there in a ninth inning and have the opportunity for a complete game, those are what starting pitchers want.”

 Giants center fielder Denard Span made two big catches, one of them from Kike Hernandez in the ninth that he slid to get.

 “That fired up everybody. What a catch with what was at stake,” Bochy said. “I thought it was a base hit … and he made a great catch and the play like that, it fires up everybody. I’m sure it did for Moore.”

Dodgers’ starting pitcher Ross Stripling allowed three runs on seven hits in 5 innings.

 The Giants, pulling within two games of the Dodgers in the NL West, return to AT&T Park on Friday to face the Atlanta Braves at 7:15 p.m.

 “Hopefully something like this – it can be anything – the come from behind win or a walk or hopefully a shutout like this here can spark something,” Moore said, “And get the ball rolling and get on a good streak.”

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Loyalty only goes so far in baseball

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez
file photo: San Francisco Giants pitcher Jeff Samardjiza was cruising to a no hitter until the New York Mets Yoenis Cespedes took him deep for a two run homer in his last outing. Samardjiza like the rest of the rotation has had some tough outings since the All Star break
SAN FRANCISCO–For the San Francisco Giants, the second half of the season has been anything but pretty. At the end of the first half they were looking like the best team next to the Chicago Cubs (who may I say were picked 4 to 1 to win the World Series by the odds-makers in Las Vegas). When Hunter Pence was hurt they lost a lot of intensity and offensive tenacity, they also had Joe Panik out for a while. Manager Bruce Bochy loves his veterans, especially pitchers Jake Peavy and Matt Cain, both of them are at the very end of their careers and they are hanging-on at the end of that rotation. Results in the second half of the season are no good for the Giants.
Since the first game right after the All Star Break, on July 15th they were swept in three games at San Diego and then went to Boston and got swept there also in another  three game series. Since then the Giants has gone down in a big way. They have lost seven series and won one, while splitting a four-game series against the Nationals.
They just lost a series against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium and are in danger of getting swept again,
The news from La-La-Land is not much better for the Giants, as reports confirmed that lefty Clayton Kershaw is on the mend and might be back pitching very soon. The Dodgers traded some prospects to the Oakland A’s for lefty Rich Hill and left fielder Josh Reddick, Hill won the second game of the recent series in Los Angeles, he had the best record among Athletics pitchers and exhibits a nasty cruveball that he can deliver from different angles making hitting a headache even for right handed hitters.
Reddick has not produced so far, but he is a much better player than his numbers indicated so far in LA, so chances are he will do much better the rest of the way. Meanwhile Yasiel Puig is hovering around .500 bating average while playing for AAA Oklahoma City. The Giants must find a way of returning soon into this fight or the dreams of another World Series(one every two years since 2010) will be going Adios.
I never liked the signing of Jeff Samardzija, he won 11 games last season for the Chicago White Sox, and that was his best year. Cueto has been very good and Bumgarner his usual, although he has lost twice to the Dodgers so far this season. Recently arrived lefty Mike Moore has yet to win as a Giants yet, and sorry I do not have much faith in Peavy and Cain, who (like I said before) are hanging-on that rotation with the loyalty of their manager Bruce Bochy.
The Giants are not assured of a postseason spot, there is also a fierce competition for the wild card, teams like St Louis and most improved Miami, are also fighting for a playoff berth.
Please listen to Amaury’s podcast late Thursday night from Buca Di Beppo Restaurant in San Francisco on line all the time at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants Wednesday game wrap: Cueto can’t get run support as Giants shutout in one run loss to Dodgers 1-0

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By Jessica Kwong

AP photo: San Francisco Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto throws to the Los Angeles Dodgers took a tough loss giving up just one run to lose at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday night

 LOS ANGELES The San Francisco Giants hit a new low in their post-All-Star break slump with a 1-0 loss on Wednesday night to the Los Angeles Dodgers that solidifies they’ll leave Dodger Stadium in second place, behind their rival now three games back in the NL West.

 Though the Giants got off to what seemed to be a good start, failed to get runs. In the fourth inning, the Dodgers’ Justin Turner hit a home run on a fly ball to left center field in the fourth inning, lifting Los Angeles 1-0.

 “Early, we were the ones getting hits and putting pressure on them and they got the big hit and we didn’t,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.

 Giants starting pitcher Johnny Cueto had a good game, allowing only Turner’s homer and four hits in six innings.

 “He threw a terrific game, and unfortunately, we were down a run and trying to score, or else he could have kept going,” Bochy said.

 Asked if it was particularly hard to pitch a great game and lose to the Dodgers, of all teams, Cueto said, “It’s part of the game.”

 “You win one-nothing, you lose one-nothing, there’s nothing you can do,” Cueto said in Spanish. “You’ve just got to keep on grinding and keep your head up.”

 Former Oakland Athletics pitcher Rich Hill won his Dodger debut, scattering five hits and striking out three in six scoreless innings. Acquired by Los Angeles on Aug. 1, Hill is unbeaten in his last nine starts.

 Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford said he wasn’t surprised.

 “I’ve watched the film – he’s a good pitcher,” Crawford said of Hill. “He’s got a really good curve ball, I noticed at my first at bat, and then he worked his last ball there on the outside corner, that’s tough … He’s done well this year he definitely was effective.”

 In the eighth inning, the Giants’ Brandon Crawford almost gave his team the lead when he yanked Joe Blanton’s 0-2 pitch to deep right field with runners on the corners and two out. But Dodgers right fielder Josh Reddick caught it in front of the barrier.

 “I thought I might have had enough,” Crawford said. “It got in on me a little bit, so I didn’t square it up quite as well as I would have wanted.”

 San Francisco has lost four straight games and eight of their last 10, and own a Major League-worst 11-25 record since the All-Star break.

 “We’ve had the experience that we’ve gone through tough stretches before and end up winning the World Series,” Crawford said. “We have guys here that do a good job of taking it one game at a time. I think that’s how we do it.”

 First pitch for the final contest in the three-game series is 7:10 p.m. on Thursday Matt Moore (7-10) starts for San Francisco and Matt Stripling (3-4) starts for Los Angeles. Brett Anderson originally got the call for the Dodgers for Thursday night’s game but was placed on the disabled list due to blister on his left index finger. The Dodgers also placed pitcher Scott Kazmir on the DL for neck inflammation. The Dodgers tie the Red Sox for the most players on the DL with 27.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Bochy a little concerned for Bumgarner when facing Dodgers

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On the Giants podcast with Michael the Giants have to be  little bit concerned about what they’ve seen from their starter Madison Bumgarner he has lost to the Dodgers twice this year they’ve lost their last five games he started to the Dodgers. Maybe you can say oh well except they haven’t lost that many games to the Dodgers over that time period. The Dodgers seemed to have his number right now.

Which means in the future Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kernshaw when he comes back the Giants will have to make sure they do everything they can to see if Bumgarner matches up against Kernshaw because they’ve never beat Kernshaw either.  It would be criminal to have an opponent that you have never beat next to a guy who never beats them.

Michael has much more on the Giants podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

San Francisco Giants Tuesday game wrap: Bummed-Dodgers five runs most surrendered this season by Mad Bum in 9-5 loss

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by Jessica Kwong

AP photo: Starter Mandison Bumgarner of the San Francisco Giants delivers a pitch to the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium during Tuesday night’s series opener

 LOS ANGELES – Things didn’t go the way the San Francisco Giants wanted Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, as they lost 9-4 and allowed their rival to gain a two-game lead over them to top the NL West.

 The runaway game for the Los Angeles Dodgers came unexpected with Madison Bumgarner starting on the mound. He allowed a season-high five runs on nine hits in 5 innings while striking out seven and issuing one walk.

 “Nobody’s tougher than Bum and they just did a good job tonight,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “We lost the first game, we’ll put this behind us and I always encourage the guys to battle back and someone bats well and we’ll get back in the game.”

 The Dodgers took the lead early on. Justin Turner singled on a ground ball to left fielder Angel Pagan allowing Corey Seager to score and give Los Angeles a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

 Then Rob Segedin hit a home run on a line drive to left center field in the second inning, bringing the Dodgers up 2-0.

 In the third inning, the Giants’ Angel Pagan singled on a line drive to center fielder Enrique Hernandez and Joe Panik scored, cutting the Dodgers’ lead to 2-1. Buster Posey also singled on a line drive to Hernandez and Denard Span scored, tying the game at 2-2.

 But Los Angeles gained a 3-2 lead later in the inning when Adrian Gonzalez hit a sacrifice fly to left fielder Pagan, allowing Seager to score. Bumgarner, who has gone 0-3 with a 5.40 ERA in his last four starts against the Dodgers, said he didn’t think Gonzalez and Seager

 “I feel like I made some pretty good pitches to them. The first one to Seager wasn’t very good but I don’t know, sometimes you’ve just got to give those guys credit,” Bumgarner said. “They get paid to hit the same way we get paid to pitch, so sometimes it’s just not going to go your way.”

 The Giants again tied the game, at 3-3, in the fifth inning when Brandon Belt doubled on a line drive to right fielder Segedin and Pagan scored.

 The Dodgers fought back right away. Gonzalez singled on a line drive to center fielder Span and Howie Kendrick and Seager scored, bringing Los Angeles up 5-3.

 Dodgers starting pitcher Kenta Maeda allowed three runs on six hits in five innings, while striking out four and issuing a season-high typing four walks.

 The Giants inched closer in the sixth inning when Ehire Adrianza singled on a line drive to second baseman Charile Culberson and Eduardo Nunez scored, cutting the Dodgers lead to 5-4.

 “We missed a lot of opportunities with guys on base and this happens,” Nunez said. “I think they are a really good team and they played really good baseball. We’re not playing the best we can right now.”

 But the Dodgers ran away with the game when Andrew Toles doubled on a line drive to center fielder Span and Chase Utley scored, and Hernandez singled on a ground ball to left fielder Pagan and put Los Angeles up 7-4.

 Toles extended Los Angeles’ lead in the eight inning with a homer on a line drive to right field that let Josh Reddick score.

 The Giants efforts to cut their rivals’ 9-4 lead came up short, as Span homered on a line drive to right field but Pagan popped out to shortstop Seager, sealing the game.

 San Francisco, in a slump since the All-Star break, has dropped seven of their last nine games and lost three in a row. They are 1-3 at Dodger Stadium this year.

 “Every series you go in, you hope you take the series, you hope to take the game you’re playing that day,” Bochy said. “It’s never going to change and it’s what we did  today and we got beat.”

 First pitch for the second in the three-game is Wednesday at 7:10 p.m starting for San Francisco Johnny Cueto (14-3) and for Los Angeles Rich Hill (9-3)

 

San Francisco Giants-Los Angeles Dodgers series preview: Giants look to redeem themselves against Dodgers in NL West standings

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Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

By: Eric He

LOS ANGELES–The tables have surely turned in the NL West since the second half began.

Entering the All-Star break, the Giants had the best record in the major leagues at 57-33 and a 6.5 game lead in the division over the Dodgers, while Los Angeles was scuffling, battling an injury to Clayton Kershaw and the Yasiel Puig saga.

Since then, the tide has switched. The Giants have the worst record in baseball since the All-Star break, giving up the division lead while the Dodgers pounced. Now, it’s LA holding a one-game lead heading into a three-game set between the rivals at Chavez Ravine that starts on Tuesday.

The Giants just wrapped up a 10-game homestand with a 3-7 record. They dropped two of three games to the Orioles, were swept by the Pirates and split a four-game set with the Mets. Now, they head into a pivotal series against a division rival that could either end with them back atop the NL West or falling behind by even more games.

They will have the benefit of sending their best pitchers to the mound. Ace Madison Bumgarner will toe the rubber on Tuesday against Kenta Maeda. Bumgarner is 8-5 with a 2.40 ERA in his career at Dodger Stadium and will look to get the Giants off on the right foot.

Johnny Cueto follows on Wednesday. The All-Star Game starter has struggled in the second half, but hopes to get things going against the Dodgers’ Rich Hill, who will make his Dodgers’ debut after being traded from the A’s at the deadline. Hill has been dealing with a blister on his finger that has prevented him from pitching.

And Matt Moore, one of the Giants’ trade-deadline acquisitions, will get in on the NorCal-SoCal rivalry on Thursday. Moore has had issues with his command since coming over to San Francisco; perhaps a little extra added pressure will serve as a jump-start.

This is just the start of what will be a sprint for first in the division; the Giants and Dodgers will play each other nine times in the remaining month or so of the season, including a regular season finale three-game set at AT&T Park.

First pitch at Dodger Stadium for all three games this week will be 7:10 pm PST.

San Francisco Giants Monday day off report: Giants look to key series in LA to stop skids

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By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Monday, August 22, 2016

AP photo: Madison Bumgarner pitcher of he San Francisco Giants gets the call to face the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night at Dodgers Stadium seen here hitting a two run shot off New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom at AT&T Park in the fourth inning of August 18th’s game

LOS ANGELES–The San Francisco Giants will try to get their ship headed in the right direction Tuesday when they open a critical three-game set in Los Angeles against the Dodgers.

While the Dodgers maintained their one-game lead atop the NL West, the Giants have struggled over the last 19 games with a 4-5 road trip, followed by a disastrous 3-7 home stand.

Los Angeles goes into the series on the heels of a 18-9 rout of Cincinnati, while the Giants had the day off on Monday.

The good news for the Giants is that they’ve had a 6-4 edge over LA in their 10 previous meetings. San Francisco will have its ace, Madison Bumgarner, on the hill for Tuesday’s game.

Bumgarner has started to bounce back from a rough stretch with two consecutive wins, improving his record to 12-7 with a 2.25 ERA. On the road, Bumgarner is 5-4 with a 2.85 ERA. Against the Dodgers this season, MadBum is 0-1, 4.09.

Facing Bumgarner on Tuesday is Kenta Maeda (12=7, 3.29). The Dodgers have won each of his last five starts. The good news for San Francisco is that Maeda has a 4-5 record at Dodger Stadium. He beat the Giants 3-1 back in April.

This season, the Giants are 31-18 against NL West opponents, but since the All-Star break, have gone 11-23 after a 57-33 start.