Tag: Brandon Belt

Regroup Fast: Giants get pushed around by the Phillies, lose 10-2

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By Morris Phillips

Taking control of big games, winning series, and battling at least four other National League wild card hopefuls for the next nine weeks requires hard work, and heroic efforts churned out on a daily basis.

Knowing all that, the Giants took Thursday off, falling behind the Phillies 9-0 in the fourth inning in route to a 10-2 loss. J.P. Realmuto, Cesar Hernandez and Roman Quinn hit home runs for Philadelphia while Giants starter Dereck Rodriguez didn’t survive the third inning.

“We made some mistakes on the mound,” manager Bruce Bochy admitted.

The Phillies were in no mood to qualify their accomplishments. They’ve played losing baseball over their last 53 ballgames (24-29) and desperately needed to win a series, and stay in front of the Giants in the wild card hunt. They got that done Thursday afternoon.

“We’ve had guys that have had stretches that were really good, but we haven’t really clicked all together at the same time yet,” said Realmuto. “We feel like we have the guys in this clubhouse to get it done. We just have to come together and play well together and get things rolling.”

Philadelphia won a series against a team with a winning record for the first time since taking two of three at San Diego on June 3.

The Phillies joined the Nationals atop the wild card standings with the win, but they’re not alone. Whoever loses the Cubs-Cardinals game Thursday night will form a three-way tie for two playoff spots at 57-51. The Brewers are a game back, and the Giants (54-53) are 2 1/2 back.

The Giants surged after an encouraging outcome to the trade deadline that saw them keep Will Smith and Madison Bumgarner. They responded by whipping the Phillies 5-1 on Wednesday. That closed a miraculous July for the Giants with a 19-6 record.

But in the series finale, they appeared listless in the occasion of Alex Dickerson going on the disabled list with an oblique issue. Also, Brandon Crawford departed early when he injured his shoulder diving for a ball.

Heavy Trumps Hot: Streaking Giants cooled by the Cubs’ home run bats, 4-1

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO — Now that the Giants have achieved some level of competency by surpassing the .500 mark in 2019, know that these two statistical numbers weigh heavily on the mind of GM Farhan Zaidi as the July 31 trade deadline fast approaches.

The Giants have hit 108 home runs this season, 30 fewer than the Major League average, 65 fewer than the Dodgers, and 83 fewer than the Twins, who are threatening to smash the major league record for home runs in a season and become the first team to hit 300.

Entering play Wednesday afternoon, the Giants had won 17 of 20, becoming only the second team to win so frequently over a 20-game stretch in 2019 (Dodgers). And what has that hot stretch earned the scrappy, upwardly-mobile Giants?

According to Baseball-Reference.com, the Giants have just a 13 percent chance to qualify for the playoffs, despite passing six NL clubs during their hot streak.

Disbelieving of what you just read? Believe this: the Giants winning ways were interrupted Wednesday in a 4-1 loss to the Cubs, as Chicago sluggers went deep three times off San Francisco starter Tyler Beede in the first four innings.

And the Giants’ offense? You had to ask.

Leadoff batter Brandon Belt, who’s not really a leadoff batter, went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. Tuesday night’s hero, Pablo Sandoval was 0 for 3 with a walk, and the Giants managed just five hits, no home runs and one run against fill-in starter Tyler Chatwood and a pair of Cubs relievers. Alex Dickerson, the Giants’ preferred cleanup hitter was out of the starting lineup for the second time in three games, dealing with back issues.

“They’ve got to be running on fumes,” said manager Bruce Bochy, referencing his Giants’ grueling schedule that saw them conclude a stretch of 14 games in 13 days on Wednesday. “They were doing all they could to get this one. We just came up short but the fight was there.”

Throw all that information into your baseball diamond-calibrated computer, and what spits out?

Buy or sell?

Sell is the smart move.

Of course, it’s buy.

In reality, it’s complicated like a personal profile on Facebook. The Giants are red-hot, but it might not much matter if they don’t tear it up in San Diego over the weekend, then fill up on the Phillies next week in Philadelphia.

Simply, it’s an four-game schedule, and the 2019 Giants will be defined by what they do in the first half of the upcoming road swing. Lose, three of four, fall below .500 and it would be prudent for the club to sell. Win three of four, and the front office and the team put all their focus on catching the Cardinals, Brewers and Phillies.

“Everyone wants to win, whether it’s players, coaches or the front office,” said Stephen Vogt. “I think everybody in this building wants to win, and we’re going to do everything it takes.”

One last statistical snap shot of the completed home stand: the Giants won 5 of 7, but were outscored 27-22.

On Friday, Jeff Samardzija takes the hill for the Giants at Petco Park. At presstime, the Padres had not named a starter for any of the three games in the series.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Bochy says it’s the worst season he’s seen in awhile

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@BruceBochy file photo: San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy says this has been the worst season in awhile for the struggling Giants, who are on a five-game losing streak.

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips:

#1 Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong for the San Francisco Giants. The basics: no hitting and no pitching. Manager Bruce Bochy says its the worst season he’s seen in awhile.

#2 Up and down the lineup, they’re just not getting the hitting or run support from Joe Panik .245, Steve Duggar .242, Buster Posey .252,Brandon Belt .229, Evan Longoria .225, and Brandon Crawford .200.

#3 The Giants have also been lacking in their pitching help. For example, starters Drew Pomeranz, Andrew Suarez, and Shaun Anderson have pitched 11 2/3 innings and allowed 20 runs

#4 One item that has been discussed is local businesses have struggled near the ballpark. Merchants have said business has been down by half or worse and some say no one is coming into their business.

#5 Giants have a much-needed day off before heading to Florida. Starting for SF, Jeff Samardzija (2-3, 3.27 ERA) vs. the Marlins Trevor Richards (1-5, 4.14 ERA).

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

Giants use 11-hit attack to hold off Snakes

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, May 18, 2019

PHOENIX — In 24 hours, things changed for the better offensively for the San Francisco Giants.

On Friday, the Giants couldn’t get a key hit when needed. On Saturday, it was key hits to spare.

San Francisco’s 11-hit attack was backed a strong start from Madison Bumgarner, as the Giants defeated Arizona 8-5.

Seven different Giants drove in runs, led by Brandon Crawford with two. Steven Duggar, Buster Posey, Brandon Belt, Evan Longoria, Mac Williamson and Pablo Sandoval each knocked in a run.

“You could really see the difference tonight,” Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said. “The hitters were doing a nice job of getting on base. We had a lot of big hits, extra-base hits, and we did the little things well.”

Bumgarner (3-4) worked 61/3 innings, giving up three runs on five hits. He struck out six and walked three.

“I thought he threw real good,” Bochy said. “His stuff was good. And with that lineup in this ballpark, a really nice job. And he had good command of his pitches all night.

Longoria’s two-out hit in the first inning drove in Joe Panik, who led off the game with an infield single. The Giants rallied for three runs in the third, with Duggar’s RBI triple, Posey’s run-scoring single and a sacrifice fly to center by Crawford the key blows giving San Francisco a 4-0 lead.

Eduardo Escobar’s 10th home run of the season into the left field seats put the Diamondbacks on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Arizona cut the Giants’ lead to 4-2 in the fifth when Adam Jones singled in Blake Swihart, who led off the inning with a walk.

San Francisco pushed two more runs across in the sixth on an RBI triple by Crawford, who scored two batters later on a single by Williamson.

The Diamondbacks chased Bumgarner in the bottom of the seventh after Nick Ahmed walked and scored from second on pinch-hitter John Ryan Murphy’s double down the left field line.

Adam Jones drove in Carson Kelly (who walked) with a ground out off San Francisco reliever Sam Dyson, pulling Arizona to within 6-4. But with two out in the San Francisco eighth, Sandoval — pinch-hitting for Dyson — hit a solo home run, giving the Giants a 7-4 lead.

“How about Pablo, huh?” Bochy said. “It’s nice to start him, and it’s nice to bring him off the bench to pinch-hit. He’s been the silver lining through our struggles.”

San Francisco extended its lead in the ninth to 8-4 when Brandon Belt’s seventh home run of the season reached the swimming pool in right-center.

Arizona closed its deficit to three when Carson Kelly hit a solo home run in the ninth, but closer Will Smith struck out Alex Avila, Adam Jones and Ketel Marte in what became a non-save situation.

In Sunday afternoon’s series finale, Robbie Ray (3-1, 3.14) starts for the Diamondbacks. San Francisco has yet to announce its starter.

GIANT JOTTINGS: Sandoval’s pinch home run in the eighth inning was the second of his career. The first came on May 8, 2018, at Philadelphia. … Gi Belt’s ninth-inning homer into the Chase Field swimming pool was the second overall of the season. Ex-Giant Hunter Pence hit one earlier this season for Texas. … D-Backs OF Adam Jones has hit safely in his last seven games. … Giants 2B Joe Panik has a streak of reaching base safely in 16 straight games, by hit or walk. … The attendance at Chase Field on Saturday was 25,014; Friday’s attendance was 26,806.

TAGS: San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks, Madison Bumgarner, Pablo Sandoval, Brandon Belt, Steven Duggar, Sports Radio Service

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Belt, Posey expected back in the lineup tonight in Arizona

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Photo credit: @mercnews

On the Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 Giants manager Bruce Bochy said he kept first baseman Brandon Belt out of the lineup due to his inflamed knee Bochy says Belt is listed as day-to-day.

#2 Belt has had two knee surgeries. He went 0-3 with a walk on Tuesday night against the Toronto Blue Jays. Did his 0-for-3 have something to do with his knee being inflamed?

#3 The bobblehead for Pablo Sandoval reads “Let Pablo pitch” but someday the bobblehead for Giants pitcher Shaun Anderson will read “Let Shaun hit” because two hits in his first MLB game and some solid hitting would make only teammate Madison Bumgarner proud.

#4 Buster Posey is expected to be in the lineup on Friday night to open up the series with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was out with a concussion for seven days. How cautious will the Giants and Posey be about his return?

#5 Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto is doing a 40-pitch bullpen session as he catches up with the team in Arizona. Bochy said he’s not sure if Cueto will be back this season after having Tommy John surgery, but he wants to see how and where Cueto is at in these bullpen sessions.

Join Miguel for the Giants podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Giants home opener hopes to bring successful homestand today

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Photo credit: sfchronicle.com

On the Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 The Giants went 2-5 on their first road trip of 2019. Anything manager Bruce Bochy should be concerned about or is this something that will chalked up as experience?

#2 The Giants’ bright spot was when first baseman Brandon Belt hit a game-winning home run on Monday night for a win.

#3 Meanwhile, the Dodgers took their opening homestand, winning five of seven. Will the Dodgers be dominant much like the last two seasons this year?

#4 How important is it for Kevin Pillar to play for the Giants and be back in the Bay Area after playing most of his major league career in Toronto?

#5 In the Pillar deal, did the Giants make a good deal in sending Alen Hanson, Derek Law, and Juan De Paula to the Blue Jays?

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

Belt keys Giants’ late rally in 4-2 win over the Dodgers

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By Morris Phillips

Somehow, Dodgers’ home runs didn’t destroy the Giants. And Julio Urias couldn’t pitch the Giants into submission for a full nine innings.

Instead, Brandon Belt did the most with his final two at-bats of the evening, and the Giants rallied for an unlikely 4-2 win.

“We had a tough series in San Diego,” Belt said. “We wanted to change the tide when we came over here.”

Clearly, the tide was rising on the Giants by just entering the ballpark of the two-time National League champions on Monday. In just four games, the Dodgers hit 14 home runs and scored 42 runs in taking three of four from the Diamondbacks. Seven of those homers came in one game.

Then on Monday, Urias took control on the mound, and the Dodgers’ home run total swelled to 16 as they built a 2-0 lead after five innings.

The Giants–with just home run over their first, four-plus games–needed a response. Frankly, it wasn’t apparent that they had one.

Belt homered leading off the sixth to trim the Dodgers’ lead to 2-1. But Joe Kelly, on in relief of Urias, retired Evan Longoria, Buster Posey and Brandon Crawford in succession. The Giants have scored twice face five pitchers from the opposition in 26 1/3 innings and all were starters Urias although it wouldn’t happened pitched well enough to complete the game although he pitched his five innings, giving up three hits and seven strikeouts.

Meanwhile San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said that his pitching staff put his mind at ease with keeping the Dodgers line up off balance after the Giants came back from behind with relievers Trevor Gott, Mark Malancon, Tony Watson, and Will Smith closing.

Giants starter Drew Pomeranz pitched for five innings giving up six hits, two runs, two earned, one walk, and six strikeouts. The Dodgers scored all their runs in the bottom of the fifth.

The Giants face the Dodgers in game two of the series tonight Madison Bumgarner (0-1) goes for the Giants and for the Dodgers Hyun-Jin Ryu (1-0).

Washed Out: Giants’ offense looks familiar, creates concern

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO — The one thing the Giants’ offense can’t afford? Looking like they’re long in the tooth.

The transition envisioned by GM Farhan Zaidi hasn’t moved the needle yet with the team’s roster changes. The 2018 infield returns intact, Mac Williamson has another opportunity to capture the left field job and 32-year old Gerardo Parra could be the team’s most impactful addition.

That means a bunch of at-bats by hitters approaching or beyond 30-years of age, and a scouting report and approach to get them out that won’t change much regardless of opponent.

Simply, bring the heat and challenge the middle-aged lineup to succeed while facing a steady diet of 90’s and mid-90’s fastballs.

The Giants looked the part on Monday, ultimately going the first 15 innings of the Bay Bridge exhibition series without scoring a run. The Giants rallied in the seventh, but still fell short, losing 5-4.

The at-bats involving the regulars followed a pattern:

Brandon Belt batting in the first inning with two on and one out: struck out swinging on a 94-mph fastball, Liam Hendricks’ fastest pitch of the sequence.

Buster Posey in the third on a 3-1 count with two runners on, one out: rolls over on a 92-mph fastball, and is doubled up, third to first. The 92-mph, two-seam fastball from Fernando Rodney is his hardest offering of the at-bat.

In the fifth, A’s closer Blake Treinen threw five consecutive pitches–92 and above–to Joe Panik with a runner in scoring position: the fifth pitch was a cut fastball that inducted a ground out to first.

A small sample size with all three players leaving the game early, and before the four-run, seventh-inning rally, but the offense hasn’t had great numbers all spring. The 140 runs scored ranks the Giants’ third worst among Cactus League teams that played a full schedule. The Royals scored 72 more runs than the Giants, the Dodgers 10 more than the Giants despite a seven-game losing streak and an inferior won-loss record.

Last year? The Giants finished second-to-last in the National League in runs scored (603) and home runs (133).

NOTES: The A’s and Giants experienced a 84-minute rain delay on Monday, then played for 3 hours, 12 minutes without interruption. The drizzle continued throughout the evening but didn’t regain any intensity… The A’s used their bullpen approach and got nine, different hurlers into the game. The A’s improved to 4-0 against San Francisco this spring… Both teams scored four runs in the seventh inning. Erik Kratz delivered a two-run single in his Oracle Park debut.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Panda’s days as a Giant could be numbered; Around the horn with the infield; plus more

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Photo credit: @honkbalopzolder

On the SF Giants podcast with Morris:

#1  The San Francisco Giants have the most potent infield in baseball. Let’s start with Brandon Belt, who last year hit .253 last season and is one of the most established gloves at first base.

#2 Giants second baseman Joe Panik has been brilliant with his fielding at second and hit .254 last season.

#3 Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford is no stranger to All-Star selections and had an incredible offensive season last year hitting .254.

#4 At third base is Evan Longoria, Longoria was a key hitter in the Tampa Bay Rays lineup once upon a time and last year hit .244 for the Giants last season.

#5 San Francisco Giant third baseman Pablo Sandoval is on the bubble and could very well be cut from the team by the end of the current Bay Bridge Series. If so, he would play his last game as a Giant on Tuesday night against the Oakland A’s. The other scenario is the Giants could hold onto him instead of infielder Alen Hansen, who is out of minor league options. Could Panda be gone at the end of spring training?

How did we get here?: 11 consecutive losses bring the Giants to a new, unprecedented low

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO — Well, the Giants have never lost like this, and they probably haven’t struggled offensively to this extent either. Not since they’ve been in San Francisco.

Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves was not only tough to watch, it was unprecedentedly tough. The Giants dropped their 11th consecutive game, which hadn’t happened since 1951 when the club roamed New York’s Polo Grounds.

So much for 60 years of San Francisco Giants baseball.

“Everybody puts in the work, grinding daily, trying to do everything we can to win ballgames,” Brandon Belt said. “We just haven’t been doing good enough. So we’ve got to change something.”

Belt was involved in the game’s critical moment from the Giants’ perspective: In trying to retire pinch hitter Tyler Flowers in the ninth, Evan Longoria’s low throw ever-so-slightly pulled Belt off the first base bag, prompting first base umpire Jeremie Rehak to declare Flowers safe. Charlie Culberson scored on the play which was upheld after a brief video review.

“Blazing speed beat that one out,” said Braves’ Freddie Freeman in a moment of fun with not-so-speedy teammate Flowers.

The Giants hit into double plays to conclude the first and fourth innings, enough good fortune for starter Anibal Sanchez, who pitched six innings and picked up the win despite issuing five walks. The Giants failed to take advantage of Sanchez’s gifts, going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

That one dreadful stat explained how the Giants came up with one run on the afternoon despite six singles, a Longoria double and a Sanchez wild pitch to couple with seven walks issued.

But if a club scores a measily 26 runs during an 11-game slide, that statistical oddity becomes easier to explain.

The Giants previously lost 10 consecutive games in 1985 and again in 1996. This season, only the Tigers also suffered an 11-game slide.