Category: San Francisco Giants

Estrada’s 8th inning RBI basehit gives Giants leg up on Phils in 7-4 win

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San Francisco Giants’ Joey Bart, right, bunts for a single in front of Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto during the eighth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed May 17, 2023 (AP News photo)

Philadelphia (20-23). 000 310 000. – 4. 8. 1

San Francisco (20-23) 400 000 03x. – 7 11. 0

Time: 2:55.

Attendance: 25,303

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–Sometimes the hassles attendant on day games after nights games pile up until you never again want to see baseball played in broad daylight. But there are afternoons when it’s 59º and the sun is shining on McCovey Cove with just enough haze to soften the outlines of the east bay hills and remind you of a Japanese woodblock print.

It’s days like that, days like today, that let you forget about the standings, about aging veterans and rookie mistakes, blown saves and other missed opportunities and just sit back and enjoy the sunshine and the action on the field. It was a good day to watch San Francisco beat the Phils by the score of 7-4.

It didn’t hurt that the Giants jumped all over Philadelphia’s starter, Taijuan Walker, from the get go combining singles by Wilmer Flores, Casey Schmitt, Blake Sable, and Brandon Crawford with walks to LaMonte Wade, Jr and Mike Yastrzemski to put four runs on the board and two men on the base paths when Walker was yanked in favor of Matt Strahm with two out in the bottom of the first.

He had thrown 40 pitches, 21 for strikes. He escaped with a no decision, which left him with a record of 3-2, 6.53. Incidentally, Strahm got Joey Bart out to end the inning and pitched strongly until Connor Brogdon relieved him in the fourth. Andrew Vasquez took over for him in the fifth. and Andrew Bellatti with one on and one out in the sixth.

It was a strong start for San Francisco, but there was trouble to come.

San Francisco’s starter, Ross Stripling, didn’t experience any serious difficulties until the top of the fourth, when Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos singled, Kyle Schwarber walked, and JT Reamuto sent a double down the left field line that brought the first two runners home and sent Stripling to the showers, replaced by Sean Manaea, who yielded a sacrifice fly to Alec Bohm that scored Schwarber and allowed Realmuto to take third. That and a called third strike to Marsh brought the frame to a close.

Stripling had gone 3-1/3 innings and allowed three runs, all earned although one was posthumous. The Phillies touched him for four hits, and he walked one and struck out two. His ERA inched up to 7.24. Like Walker, he got a no decision.

Manaea coughed up the lead in the visitors’ sixth, when Stott got a hold of an 85.9mph slider and sent it travelling 101.7 mph over the Levi’s Landing sign, It probably didn’t make it to McCovey Cove, but visitors’ homers don’t count as splash hits anyway.

Jakob Junis pitched a splendid sixth for San Francisco, striking out the side in the old sense of the expression: three batters, three Ks. After allowing a lead off single to Bohm in the seventh, Junis departed, replaced by Scott Alexander. This made sense; Alexander is left handed, the next three batters in Philadelphia’s lineup were, too. The first, Marsh, laid down a sacrifice bunt. Junis fielded it and threw to second, but not in time.

Now there were runners on first and second no one out and the right handed Josh Harrison pinch hitting for Clemens. Junis struck him out. Stott hit a broken bat bouncer to Estrada at second, which became a 4-6-3 double play, but not. before Philadelphia challenged the call. The review showed that Harrison was well and truly out.

Seranthony Domínguez took over pitching duties for the Phillies in the whole seventh and immediately was helped by a spectacular diving catch by Schwarber in left of a dying liner by Flores.

In the eighth, John Brebbia relieved for the second time in as many games. He did his job, and we still we tied at four going into the bottom of the eighth. Gregory Soto now was pitching for the Phillies. JD Davis pinch hit to Sabal and singled to right. Mitch Haniger pinch hit for Crawford and singled to center.

Brett Wisely pinch ran for Davis, who had gone to second. Bart got. a bunt single to load the bases. Wade hit a grounder to second that forced Wisely out at home. Estrada’s single to center scored Haniger. Conforto to third that forced Bart out at. home but advanced the other two runners. Flores smacked a two run center to left. Mike Yastrzemski struck out, but we went into the ninth with the Giants ahead, 7-4.

That was Duval time. He was looking for his 11 th save, the second in two days. It wasn’t easy, a wild pitch and hit batter combined with Realmuto’s lead off single and walk to Stott loading the bases with one out and Trea Turner at bat. Duval got. ahead of him, 0-2. There was a conference at the mound. The count went to 1-2. Duval got him swinging.

Brebbia was the winning pitcher. He’s now 2-0, 4.67. Soto (1-3, 4.95) took the loss. And Camilo Doval got the save His ERA stands at 2.29.

The Giants. have tomorrow off and will face the Marlins here on Friday night. Starting pitcher for the Marlins on Friday Sandy Alcantara (1-4 ERA 4.91) and for the Giants Anthony DeSclafani (3-3 ERA 3.06) a 7:15 pm PT first pitch.

Giants hold off Phils in 4-3 win at Oracle

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San Francisco Giants’ Joey Bart, left, scores against Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto during the fourth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Tue May 16, 2023 (AP News photo)

Philadelphia (20-22). 000 200 001. – 3. 10. 1

San Francisco (19-23). 002 200 00x. – 4. 10. 0

Time: 2:42

Attendance: 24,304

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–In tonight’s battle of underperforming teams, the Philadelphia Phillies fell the San Francisco Giants, 4-3 in a wild a wooly affair.

32 year old Zach Wheeler, who started for the Phillies had been very effective in his last outing, a 2-1 ten inning win over Toronto in Rogers Centre last Wednesday,. On that occasion, he held the Blue Jays to one run, earned, on three hits over seven innings, coming away with a no decision.

He and the Giants share some history. When he was still a prospect, back in 2011, San Francisco traded him to the Mets for Carlos Beltrán. In spite of missing the 2015 and ’16 seasons after undergoing Tommy Johns surgery, the right handed pitcher went on to go 77-59, 3.43 from 2013 through last week’s tidy performance north of the border. He entered tonight’s contest at 3-2, 3.80 for the season..

The one time Giant prospect was up against the current ace of the San Francisco rotation, Alex Cobb took the mound at 3-3, 1.70 and almost immediately found himself in hot water surrendering a lead off walk and a single. He then almost immediately got out of the troublesome situation, inducing a double play and fly to right.

Cobb needed to pull off another Houdini trick in the top of the second after a double, a pair of walks, and a couple of stolen bases loaded the sacks with two down and the top of the order in the person of Bryson Stott at bat. Cobb got him to fly out to left. It had taken 44 pitches for Cobb to get through those two frames. Control problems continued to plague Cobb in the third, in which he issued another pair of passports while still managing to keep the Phils off the board.

Yet it was the Giants who scored first. Blake Sabol led off the bottom of the third with a single to right. After Joey Bart flew out to center, LaMonte Wade, Jr. also sent the ball to center field, this time for a single that Brandon Marsh dropped for a moment, allowing Wade to take second on the error. Sabol reached third on the hit. Estrada singled to center, plating Sabol, and Michael Conforto drove Wade in with a single to left that made it 2-0, Giants.

The Phillies kept on threatening. With one out in the fourth, Marsh singled to left center, and Kody Clemens rattled a single off the fencing in front of Levi’s Landing in right to put runners on the corners. Stott singled solidly to right center, and it was 2-1 with runners still on the corners.

First base umpire Rob Drake called a balk on Cobb, moving Stott to second. The Cobb went to pieces. He unleashed two wild pitches to Trea Turner, one of then on a third strike, and, before you knew what was happening, the game was tied at two, Turner was on first, Stott was on third, and Taylor Rogers was on the mound. He preserved the tie.

Then the Giants got lucky. With one out, Casey Schmitt hit a hard infield single single to third. With two down, Bart’s up the right field line fell off the glove of diving second baseman Stott for a Texas League double that drove in Schmitt. Wade proceeded to smack a double to left, and Bart just beat the throw home. Philadelphia disputed the call, which stood, and the Phillies lost their challenge.

Cobb had gone a precarious 3-1/3 innings in which he allowed two runs, both earned, on five hits, five walks, two wild pitches, and a balk. His ERA rose to a still outstanding 1.94, and he escaped with a no decision. He threw 86 pitches, 52 for strikes.

Then the Giants got lucky. With one out in the fourth, Casey Schmitt hit a hard infield single single to third. With two down, Bart’s pop up near the right field line fell off the glove of diving second baseman Stott for a Texas League double that drove in Schmitt. Wade proceeded to smack a double to left, and Bart just beat the throw home. Philadelphia disputed the call, which stood, and the Phillies lost their challenge. San Francisco now was ahead, 4-2.

Rogers struck out Kyle Schwarber to open the top of the fifth and then passed the ball to John Brebbia. The good John Brebbia was on display tonight, and he shut Philadelphia out for 1–2/3 innings. The submarining Rogers, Tyler, held off the Phils in the seventh and eighth.

Camilo Duval made his expected appearance in the top of the ninth. He fanned Harper. Castellanos flew out to Mike Yastrzemski in right center. The crowd rose to its feet. Schwarber rose to the occasion and sent a home run over the 391 foot sign in center field, bringing the Fightin’ Phils from the City of Brotherly Love to within a run of the representatives of the City of St. Francis. Duval also rose to the occasion and struck Realmuto out swinging.

Tomorrow’s encounter will be a Wednesday afternoon matinee. The game is scheduled to begin at 12:45 with Taijuan Walker (3-2, 5.75) going for the visitors. San Francisco’s starter hasn’t yet been named..

Giants Six Run Second Inning Rally Too Much Heat For Philly in 6-3 SF win

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San Francisco Giants’ Michael Conforto hits a three-run home run during the second inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Mon May 15, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Troy Ewers

SAN FRANCISCO–In front of 23,819 baseball fans, the Philadelphia Phillies (20-21) played the San Francisco Giants (18-23) for the first game of this three game series. On the hill was Alex Wood (SF) and Conor Brogdon (PHI) and it wasn’t long before the bats came alive for both teams. The Giants didn’t waste anytime getting run support scoring six runs in the bottom of the second inning at Oracle Park for a 6-3 win over the Phils.

It was a heavy load of offense that came and went like a shooting star. In the first inning both teams combined for three hits, but no runs were scored. The second inning was where everything came alive. It started with the Phillies getting two runs off an Alec Bohm home run which scored Kyle Schwarber.

The park was’nt too happy about this, but they knew it was still an early game with a whole lot of baseball left and when it was Giants turn at bat, the orange and black didn’t disappoint. Casey Schmitt who came into this game hitting .458 started the rally off with a single and even though he’d come out due to Joey Bart’s fielder’s choice, there was no looking back for San Francisco.

Bryce Johnson would hit a single that brought in Bart 2-1 Phillies. After an error got Thairo Estrada on base, Michael Conforto would hit a huge three run home run to give the Giants the lead 4-2 and the bleeding wouldn’t stop there. A J.D. Davis double, Mitch Haniger single (which brought in Davis), and Brandon Crawford single (which brought in Haniger) made the game 6-2 and Oracle Park was louder than a Bad Bunny concert.

Even though it was early, the win probability was high for the Giants, but the question in the park was can the bullpen hold this together for another seven innings. The answer to that question was yes, but it wasn’t without a little drama. Jacob Junis would replace Wood after four innings and would only give an inning after giving up a run making the game 6-3.

Scott Alexander would come out of the bullpen and pitch one inning, but gave up no hits, so he did his job. In the eighth inning the Giants brought in Taylor Rogers and even though he secured two outs, Giants manager Gabe Kapler took him out and put in closer Camilo Doval to finish it off and he did close the door in the 9th inning it was a 1-2-3 quick getaway. The highlight was a beautiful Sportscenter top ten catch from J.D. Davis at third and after Lamonte Wade Jr. catches a foul ball at first, which ended the game. Giants win and Alex Wood leaves with the W.

Tuesday’s game of the series will see Zack Wheeler (3-2, 3.80 ERA) for the Phillies and Alex Cobb (3-1,1.70 ERA) for the Giants on the hill with a 6:40pm PT first pitch. SRS reporters Lewis Rubman will have the game recap and Tony the Tiger Hayes will have a “He was a Giant” feature.

Giants drop third straight game to Diamondbacks 2-1

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San Francisco Giants second baseman Thairo Estrada, left, turns a double play while avoiding Arizona Diamondbacks’ Christian Walker, right, on a ball hit by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in the first inning  at Chase Field in Phoenix on Sun May 14, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Sunday, May 14, 2023

PHOENIX, Ariz. – The Mother’s Day crowd at Chase Field was treated to a new age pitching duel that involved a combined total of seven hits surrendered by six pitchers. In the end, it was Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s run-scoring double in the bottom of the ninth that gave Arizona its third win in a row over the San Francisco Giants Sunday.

The win pulled the Diamondbacks (24-18) to within 2 ½ games of the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West, while fourth-place San Francisco (17-23) is 8 ½ games off the pace.

In the Diamondbacks ninth, Christian Walker drew a walk from Giants reliever Tyler Walker (0-3) to lead off the inning, then Gurriel doubled down the left-field line, and, as the ball rattled around by the bullpen, a hustling Walker scored the game-winning run from first base.

“We generally play our defenders to the most likely spot the ball is going to be hit, based on spray charts,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “Sabol did everything he could to hit the cutoff man and have a play at the plate, but we weren’t able to convert.”

Gurriel’s 21st run batted in of the season made Miguel Castro (2-1) the winning pitcher. Castro, the fourth Diamondbacks hurler, retired the Giants in order in the top of the ninth, striking out Blake Sabol and Casey Schmitt in the process.

Diamondbacks starter Brandon Pfaadt struck out the side in the first inning and retired 11 of the first 12 hitters he faced until surrendering a solo home run to Michael Conforto in the fourth inning. It was Conforto’s seventh home run of the season.

Pfaadt, a fifth-round pick from Bellarmine University in 2020, struck out five, walked three and gave up only one hit – the home run by Conforto – in his five innings. Jose Ruiz worked the next two innings, striking out four without a walk, and Scott McGough threw a scoreless eighth.

“I just wanted to go out there and trust myself,” Pfaadt said. “That’s what we did today. Hopefully, we can get rolling after this.”

Arizona tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the fifth on a two-out RBI double down the right field line by Josh Rojas. Geraldo Perdomo, who reached on a fielder’s choice, scored from first.

Logan Webb gave the Giants a quality start, giving uo one earned run on three hits and three walks with three strikeouts in seven innings, while throwing 98 pitches. Tyler Rogers retired Arizona in order in the eighth before facing Walker and Gurriel in the ninth.

Webb worked out of an early jam in the first inning. After Ketel Marte was hit by a pitch with one out, walks to Corbin Carroll and Christian Walker loaded the bases. But Gurriel hit into an inning-ending double play.

The Giants return home Monday to start a three-game series with Philadelphia. Alex Wood (0-0, 2.45) will start Monday’s game for the Giants and Alex Cobb (3-1, 1.70) starts on Tuesday. No probable starter has been announced for the Wednesday contest.

GIANTS JOTTINGS: INF Brandon Crawford was activated from the 10-day injured list following Saturday’s game; INF David Villar was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento and RHP Luke Jackson was placed on a rehab assignment with Single-A San Jose. … Beofre going 0-for-4 on Sunday, INF Casey Schmitt hit safely in his first five games in MLB, batting .550 (two home runs, five runs batted in, 1.550 OPS). Schmitt’s 11 hits in his first five games is second-best in Giants history (since 1901), trailing only Jim Davenport with 12 in 1958, the Giants’ first season in San Francisco. … The Giants can become the first MLB franchise to reach 11,500 wins (including playoffs) with their next win. .,. San Francisco has hit 61 home runs through its first 38 games, third-best in MLB behind Tampa Bay (80) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (67). … The roof was closed on Sunday at Chase Field. Game time temperature was 97 degrees outside, 74 degrees inside. … The announced attendance was 26,267; time of game was 2 hours and 24 minutes.

Fletcher continues to swing sizzling bat as Snakes down Giants 7-2

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Arizona Diamondbacks’ Dominic Fletcher watches his three-run triple against the San Francisco Giants in the sixth inning at Chase Field in Phoenix on Sat May 13, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Saturday, May 13, 2023

PHOENIX, Ariz. – The hits just keep on coming for Arizona rookie Dominic Fletcher. Literally.

The 25-year-old rightfielder continued the torrid pace he’s set since he was called up from Triple-A Reno on April 30. Fletcher drove in five of Arizona’s seven runs Saturday with a triple and a home run in the Diamondbacks’ 7-2 win over the San Francisco Giants.

Fletcher is hitting .486 in his first 12 major league games. He was 2-for-4 on Saturday.

“I’m going to be aggressive on pitches in the zone and try to do damage,” Fletcher said. “If there’s a pitch through the zone that I can drive, I’m going to swing.

“There’s a comfort level here with my teammates and the coaching staff, and everyone here has done a great job of welcoming me. I just go out there, play hard and play to win.”

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said, “And, don’t forget that defensive play he made in the first inning to keep (the Giants) to just one run, At the plate, he’s making the most of this opportunity with every at-bat. That’s what we love about him.

“He’s an engaged player, and does it on both sides of the ball.”

Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen (6-1) worked 7 2/3 innings – his longest start of the season – logging six strikeouts while giving up two earned runs on five hits and two walks. Andrew Chafin retired one batter to snuff out a potential rally in the eighth, Anthony Misiewicz gave up a two-out double to Michael Conforto and a single to Casey Schmitt in the ninth before Kyle Nelson struck out Blake Sabol to end the game.

“It was a grind,’ Gallen said of his performance. “I didn’t have the greatest feel for my curveball. I was just trying to make pitches and keep us in the game. Our defense made a lot of great plays that kept it close and bailed me out of some spots.”

Anthony DeSclafani (3-3) was cruising along until he ran into trouble in the sixth, when he was pulled after Arizona loaded the bases with nobody out. The D-Backs’ three go-ahead runs were charged to DeSclafani, who struck out two, walked one and gave up five hits.

“Several weeks ago, he dropped a piano bench on his toe, his toenail took the brunt of it,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “He felt good enough to keep going, but he’s been in quite a bit of pain. So we’ve monitored it and decided it was good enough to play.

“Tony’s pretty tough. He battled pretty hard out there tonight and I know he’s battling though some pain. He was cruising for a couple of innings, but when he covered first base, and you could see how he came off the mound, that was enough.”

Kapler commended DeSclafini’s fastball and slider, saying, “He was able to get some weak swings. I thought he performed well.”

The Diamondbacks broke up DeSclafani’s bid for a shutout and took a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. Jose Herrera started the rally with a single and moved to second on a single by Josh Rojas. After Ketel Marte reached on an infield single to load the bases, Scott Alexander replaced DeSclafani.

During Corbin Carroll’s at-bat, Alexander threw a wild pitch that allowed Herrera to score the tying run. After Christian Walker was intentionally walked, Alexander struck out pinch-hitter Evan Longoria before Fletcher drilled a three-RBI triple to the right-center field gap.

“Their whole lineup is pretty dangerous from top to bottom,” Kapler said of the Diamondbacks. “You have one batter swinging the bat really well (Fletcher) and another one right behind him. It’s a challenge to get through their lineup right now.”

San Francisco got a run back in the top of the eighth when Wilmer Flores doubled with two out, driving in Brett Wisely, who reached on a fielder’s choice.

The Diamondbacks added three runs in the bottom of the eighth off San Francisco reliever Tristan Beck, two of them on Fletcher’s second home run of the year. Fletcher’s drive to right was originally ruled a triple, but was changed to a home run following a video review.

“Initially, I thought (centerfielder Wisely) dropped it or it popped out of his glove,’ Fletcher said. “Then, I did all that hard work and I could have been jogging the whole time!”

San Francisco took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Thairo Estrada struck out and reached on a wild pitch, then scored on a J.D. Davis sacrifice fly that started a double play (retiring baserunner LaMonte Wade Jr.) to end the inning.

Schmitt and Conforto each went 2-for-4 for the Giants. Schmitt has a .550 average (11-for-20) in his first four major league games.

The series wraps up on Sunday, with a matchup of righthanders – Logan Webb (3-5, 3.46) for San Francisco against the Diamondbacks’ Brandon Pfaadt (0-1, 12.10). First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m.

GIANTS JOTTINGS: The largest crowd of the weekend series at Chase Field was an announced attendance of 25,147. … The roof was closed after being open on Thursday and Friday.

Fletcher shines as Snakes outlast Giants 7-5

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San Francisco Giants’ Joc Pederson is hit by a pitch from Arizona Diamondbacks’ Scott McGough during the eighth inning at Chase Field in Phoenix on Fri May 12, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Friday, May 12, 2023

PHOENIX, Ariz. – On Fireworks Night at Chase Field on Friday, Arizona’s Dominic Fletcher gave the fans a preview to the postgame festivities with a home run and a run-scoring double to help the Diamondbacks defeat San Francisco 7-5.

Fletcher, hitting in the No. 9 slot, was 3-for-4 with four runs batted in.

“(Fletcher) swung the bat well,” Diamondbacks interim manager Jeff Banister said. “He’s put together some terrific at-bats, great power, has a really good plan up there. In my opinion, he doesn’t really get overwhelmed by the situation. He looks very confident in the box. He gets quality at-bats for us every night he’s in there for us.”

Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker added, “He’s been great. He’s a hard worker, has a feel for the game, plays with a lot of energy and intensity. He’s in every at-bat and puts together competitive at-bats.”

Arizona scored twice in the sixth to regain the lead at 6-4. Ahmed drew a one-out walk, followed by a Gabriel Moreno single. Fletcher doubled to center, driving in Ahmed. While Emmanuel Rivera was batting, Giants catcher Blake Sabol was charged with a passed ball, allowing Moreno to score and Fletcher to advance to third.

Gurriel’s RBI double in the bottom of the seventh extended Arizona’s lead to 7-4. Gurriel’s line drive to left-center plated Josh Rojas, who led off the inning with a double after replacing Walker, who was ejected in the sixth inning.

“I think it was a carryover from the check-swing at-bat,” Banister said. “He’s just a very competitive player for us. Obviously, that’s not what he wanted in that situation.

“That was a decision the umpires made, and it’s a decision we have to live with.”

Walker said, “I’m assuming my body language from the half-inning before had (the umpires’) attention on me. But there was no words said. I thought I could have avoided it, but I feel like I have to stand up for myself.”

The Giants cut their deficit to 7-5 in the eighth when Joc Pederson was hit by a Scott McGough pitch and scored on Casey Schmitt’s double to right off Diamondbacks reliever Andrew Chafin.

Earlier, Pederson’s fifth home run of the year, a two-run drive to left, gave the Giants a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. LaMonte Wade Jr., who led off the game with a base hit, also scored.

The Giants extended their early lead to 3-0 when Michael Conforto led off the second with his sixth home run of the season.

Arizona came back in the bottom of the first to tie the game at 3-3 on Dominic Fletcher’s three-run home run. After Lourdes Guriel Jr. singled and Nick Ahmed walked, Fletcher sent his first home run of the season to deep left off Giants reliever Ross Stripling.

The Diamondbacks surged ahead 4-3 in the bottom of the third when Evan Longoria sent a drive to deep left for his fifth round-tripper of the season. But San Francisco tied the game at 4-4 in the top of the fifth when Wade doubled and scored on a single by Pederson.

San Francisco opted for a bullpen game. Opener John Brebbia struck out two, walked one and gave up one hit in a scoreless first. Brebbia was followed by Stripling, who gave up four earned runs in 3 1/3 innings; Jakob Junis (2-2), who surrendered the go-ahead runs in 1 2/3; Alex Wood, and Scott Alexander.

Giants manager Gabe Kapler said, “Brebbia has done a real nice job for us in the past and got us through the first inning. Then we had to get through the game with support guys. Woody is going to start the game for us on Monday, so we couldn’t really extend him at all.”

Diamondbacks starter Ryne Nelson worked 4 2/3 innings, striking out four and issuing one walk. He also gave up four earned runs on seven hits. Anthony Misiewicz (1-0) picked up the win, throwing 1 1/3 shutout innings. Kyle Nelson, McGough and Chafin each were credited with a hold, and Miguel Castro got two out in the ninth to earn his second save.

On Saturday, Anthony DeSclafani (3-2, 2.80) faces the Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen (5-1, 2.36) in a battle of righthanders. Game time is 5:10 p.m.

GIANTS JOTTINGS: D-Backs coach Jeff Banister filled in as manager as Torey Lovullo was attending his son’s graduation from Northern Arizona University. Banister was the American League Manager of the Year at Texas in 2015. … Going into Friday’s game, Fletcher was hitting .419 in his first 10 big league games. … Giants LHP Alex Wood returned from his rehab assignment and was reinstated from the 15-day IL. RHP Cole Waites was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento after Thursday’s game. … INF Casey Schmitt joined Hall-of-Famer Willie McCovey (1959) as the only Giants to get eight hits in their first three career games. … Announced attendance was 19,266; time of game was 2:56.

Red-hot Schmitt, Cobb lead Giants past Diamondbacks 6-2

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San Francisco Giants’ Casey Schmitt (6) is congratulated for his two-run home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the second inning at Chase Field in Phoenix on Thu May 11, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Thursday, May 11, 2023

PHOENIX, Ariz. – With his teammates cheering him on in the San Francisco Giants’ clubhouse, rookie shortstop Casey Schmitt was trying to sink some golf putts into a paper cup following the Giants’ 6-2 win over Arizona on Thursday.

The impromptu putting competition didn’t go so well. Baseball, apparently, comes easier to Schmitt than golf

“I’m not a good putter,” Schmitt said. “There’s something about golf, I can’t get it. I’m going to have to practice!”

Putting might be the only thing Schmitt isn’t doing well of late. He played a solid shortstop while continuing to swing a hot bat on Thursday, going 4-for-4 with three runs batted in, raising his batting average to .667 after three games.

“I think he’s done really well since he’s come up,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “His shortstop play has been really impressive. Arm strength, big hits, and extreme power, like that ball he hit to left field, A lot of timely moments for Casey so far.”

The 24-year-old Schmitt admitted that he never envisioned a start like this for his major league career.

“I’m just going out there and playing baseball,” Schmitt said. “This is just amazing. I’m just taking it all in and enjoying it. Right now, I’m just having fun and whatever happens, happens.”

San Francisco jumped to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second on Schmitt’s second home run of the season, a two-run shot measured at 443 feet to left following a one-out walk to Michael Conforto.

“I watched it and I was hoping it would stay fair, then I saw it get to the upper deck,” Schmitt said of his second home run since being called up from Triple-A Sacramento on Tuesday.

“It’s not so much the home run, but that he just keeps on producing,” Kapler said. “I know it’s been just a couple of games, but he’s made a significant impact. We’re lucky to have his production and I’m sure he’s enjoying every minute of this.

“He provides a lot of momentum in the clubhouse, and the players in the clubhouse are feeding off of his energy right now. … He’s loose, he’s young, and he takes things as they come. He has a simple approach to the game, doesn’t overthink things, and has an easygoing demeanor that has served him well so far.”

Giants starter Alex Cobb (3-1) worked 7 1/3 shutout innings with three strikeouts and two walks, throwing 104 pitches. Cobb lowered his ERA to 1.70.

“This is what we saw from him most of the time last season,” Kapler said of Cobb. “He was one of the best pitchers in baseball when he was on the field, and when we need plays behind him, it made him better.

“I think what we’re seeing is, the defense is allowing him to go deeper into games. You use fewer relievers, you tax your bullpen less, and you put less pressure on the offense when you make plays like that behind a pitcher like Cobb.”

The Giants added four more runs in the top of the ninth. After J.D. Davis led off with a single and Conforto walked, Schmitt drove a double to left-center, scoring Davis. Joey Bart followed with an RBI single, and, when LaMonte Wade Jr. reached on a fielder’s choice, a throwing error by D-Backs second baseman Ketel Marte allowed Schmitt to score.

Bryce Johnson’s sacrifice fly to left gave San Francisco a 6-0 lead.

The Diamondbacks threatened in the bottom of the ninth. Pavin Smith singled and Christian Walker walked, both scoring on a one-out single by Dominic Fletcher, chasing Giants reliever Cole Waites.

Camilo Doval struck out Gabriel Moreno and Alex Thomas in a non-save situation to end the game.

Arizona starter Tommy Henry (1-1) gave up five hits, two earned runs and two walks while striking out two. Fletcher went 3-for-4.

Righthander Ryne Nelson (1-2, 6.00) will start for the Diamondbacks on Friday. Kapler said the Giants have decided on a starter for Friday, but wasn’t ready to announce who it is.

GIANTS JOTTINGS: With mild temperatures for early May, the roof was open at Chase Field – 88 degrees at game time with a slight breeze blowing toward right. … OF Austin Slater was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring, OF Bryce Johnson was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento … The Giants are currently in a stretch of playing 12 of 16 games at home, the exception being this weekend’s four-game series in Phoenix. It’s also San Francisco’s first road trip this season that doesn’t require adjusting to a different time zone. Most of Arizona does not observe Daylight Saving Time. … The Diamondbacks have spent 23 total days this season either in or tied for first place in the NL West. … The announced attendance was 15,582, with competition from the Phoenix Suns hosting the Denver Nuggets in the NBA West semifinals next door.

Manaea’s 2nd Inning Collapse Too Much For Giants To Comeback From in 11-6 loss to Nats

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San Francisco Giants starter Sean Manaea (52) surrenders a three run homer in the top of the second to the Washington Nationals Riley Adams (left) at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed May 10, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Troy Ewers

SAN FRANCISCO–Day game here in San Francisco and it’s the final game of this three game series with the San Francisco Giants (16-20) and Washington Nationals (16-21), series at 1-1. Tuesday night Logan Webb got the W and the debut of Casey Schmitt was the topic of conversation. Wednesday though, was a different conversation as the Nationals came away in an 11-6 laugher at Oracle Park.

On the mound was Sean Manaea and a quick 1-2-3 inning provided some hope from Giants fans, but that would change the very next inning. A four run inning, three of those runs came off a Riley Adams home run and the wheels would fall off for Manaea from there.

The third inning was an avalanche, two walks, an error, two hits would force a pitching change and Tristan Beck would replace Sean Manaea, but at that point the damage was already felt, 8-0 in the third inning. Tristan Beck’s outing would hold it down for the next five innings, even though he allowed another two runs, but was still the bandage to lessen the bleeding.

On the offensive side for the Giants, the ball just wasn’t finding any gaps, in the beginning, but they weren’t being struck out. The final two innings seemed like the canteen in the middle of the desert with Conforto and Lamonte getting big late game home runs making the game 11-6, but the canteen was a mirage and the hole they dug themselves was too deep to climb out of.

Nationals take the game and the series and the Giants see the Diamondbacks next series.The starters Josiah Gray and Sean Manaea leave here with a different confidence level and some changes on the stat sheet. Josaiah Gray leaves with a 3-5 record and Manaea leaves with a 1-2 record.

As for Casey Schmitt, his debut has two games in the bag were the positives you want to see as a manager and it creates a “good” problem when Crawford comes back and hopefully once Mike Yastrzemski comes back this lineup catches his stride.

The Giants open a four game series at Chase Field in Arizona starting Thu May 11 starting pitcher for the Giants not announced and for the Arizona Diamondbacks lefthander Tommy Henry (1-0 ERA 5.17) first pitch at 6:40 pm PT.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Webb pitching lights out; Manaea tough outing; Schmitt can hit

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San Francisco Giants third base coach Mark Hallberg (91) congratulates Casey Schmitt (6) on his solo home run off Washington Nationals starting pitcher Patrick Corbin during the fourth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, May 9, 2023, in San Francisco.

On the Giants podcast with Michael:

On Tuesday night the San Francisco Giant starter Logan Webb delivered giving up only one Washington National run in a 4-1 victory. Going seven plus, nine hits, one run and striking out seven hitters. Webb has great control and good mix to keep the National hitters off balance.

Webb had help from rookie shortstop Giants Casey Schmitt whose been all the rage the last two games of the series on Tuesday hitting his first career home run and a single and belting a single on Wednesday afternoon and later scoring a run which happened to be the Giant first run of the game after going down 8-1 by the third inning.

San Francisco starter Sean Manaea was rocked on Wednesday at Oracle by the Nat’s bats going 2.2 innings, five hits and four earned runs. Manaea dropped his win-loss record to 1-2.

Join Michael for the Giant podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giant’s Casey at the Bat rips first career home run defeat Nats 4-1 at Oracle

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The San Francisco Giants Casey Schmitt waits to take his place at shortstop in the Giants dugout against the Washington Nationals at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Tue May 9, 2023 (@SFGiants photo)

Washington (15-21). 000 001 000. – 1 10 1

San Francisco (16-19). 200 100 10x. – 4 10.1

Time: 2:22

Attendance: 22,028

Tuesday, May 9, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–It’s tempting to blame last night’s disappointing Giants loss to Washington to the poor quality of the home plate umpire, MiLB call up Emil Jiménez. After all, Ump Scorecard gave him an overall accuracy rating of 84%. Breaking down those figures, 8% of the balls he called should have been called strikes, and a whopping 30% of his called strikes really were balls.

Perhaps even more troubling was his overall consistency rating of 87%. (The average is 94%). One measurement, however, undercuts that unkind temptation. Jiménez’s errors had the overall effect of — and this figure also comes from Ump Scorecards— favoring the Giants by 1.56 runs.

San Francisco turned to Logan Webb, who, at 2-5,3.80, had not been living up to expectations so far this season. He lived up to them tonight, holding the Nats to one run, earned, in seven innings in spite of allowing nine hitsl and a walk. 82 of his 105 offerings were strikes in the Giants 4-1 victory over Washington.

What the expectations for his opponent, left hander Patrick Corbin, are is an interesting question. Here’s what the Washington Posts’ Barry Syrluge had to say about them in that paper on April 29:

When the Washington Nationals took the field under cloudy skies Saturday afternoon, Patrick Corbin led them onto the grass at Nationals Park, cranked his left arm like a windmill and climbed the mound for his 112th regular season start wearing a Nats uniform.

He pitched brilliantly and won a World Series in that uniform. He has stunk to high heaven in that uniform. And fairly or not, each of his starts has become something of a referendum on the six-year, $140 million contract that put him in that uniform in the first place.

(By the way, Washington lost the game Syrluge was writing about, 6-3. Corbin surrendered three runs, all earned, on seven hits, and was charged with the loss).

In tonight’s encounter, we had a chance to test a few more expectations. Casey Schmitt, heralded as San Francisco’s possible shortstop of the future, made his big league debut. It was a successful one (keep reading to see why), and it came in a hard fought game that San Francisco won, 4-1.

This evening’s first inning was in stark contrast to last night’s debacle. Logan wiggled out of trouble in the top half, and San Francisco put two men across the plate in their half. Slater reached first on shortstop CJ Abrams’ errant throw to first. Thairo Estrada’s single to right sent him to third, and both of them scored on Mitch Haniger’s double to right center.

Schmitt showed his big league mettle in the field in the top of the third by starting an inning ending double play and confirmed it at the plate in the bottom of the fourth, by luaunching a 420 foot, 103.8 mph blast three or four rows into the center field bleachers for his first home run and RBI in the show. That put San Francisco up, 3-0.

Haniger provided a bit of unwanted excitement in the home fifth when his line drive bounced off Corbin (it looked like his shoulder took the hit). After a few minutes’ delay, Corbin pronounced himself ready to resume pitching, which he did, successfully and scorelessly.

Joey Menenses opened the visitors’ sixth with a liner down the third bae line, to hot for Davis t0 handle. It went past him for a leadoff double. The Curse wasn’t in effect that frame, and Menenses scored on Dominic Smith’s single to left to close the gap to 3-1. The Nats managed to put runners on second and third with two down before a gutsy Logan fanned Jake Alu to close the door on the threat.

Corbin’s night was over after six frames over with the Giants scored three runs, two of which were earned. He yielded eight hits, one of which went out of the park. He struck out three and threw 96 pitches, 66 for strikes. Mason Thompson relieved him and allowed San Francisco to add a run to its lead on. a single by Davis that drove Estrada in from third.

Tyler Rogers brought his submarine into the game, launching its torpedoes in the visitors’ eighth, in which he surrendered a hit and a walk but no runs.

Hobie Harris did the same in. the Giants’ half of the eighth.

Camilo Duval came on in the ninth to join Joey Bart in a game of Beat The Clock. (If you noticed how close the Giants’ closer gets to clock rule violations you’ll know what I mean). He fanned Alu. He fanned Thomas. He got two strikes on Luis García. The count went to 1-2. García gr0unded out to second. And that was it.

Webb got win. He’s now 3-5, 1.46. Corbin (1-5, 4.87) took the loss. Duval earned his eighth save.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, at 12:45, the Giants’ Sean Manaea (1-1,7.33) will face Josiah Gray (2-5, 3.03) in the rubber game of this series