Tag: Curt Casali

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Giants catcher Casali calls a great game for Webb in win over LA

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San Francisco Giants catcher Curt Casali (left) and reliever Camilo Doval (right) exchange congratulations after defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed May 16, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the SF Giants podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 It was the return of catcher Curt Casali who was in the Chicago Cubs Triple A Iowa system after being released by the Cincinnati Reds and the he quickly signed a one year deal with the Giants and started at catcher on Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers and did superb work behind the plate in calling pitcher Logan Webb’s pitches.

#2 Webb went six innings and gave up three hits and struck out five hitters. Casali when he was catching for the Giants in 2021 and parts of 2022 was noted for handling the pitchers well and after being away from San Francisco for two seasons looks like he hasn’t lost a step.

#3 The Giants made room for Casali putting catcher Tom Murphy on the 60 IL with the sprained left knee and Jackson Reetz was demoted to Triple A Sacramento. Do you see Casali getting most of the starts behind the plate until Patrick Bailey returns from his concussion protocols?

#4 Yes and we have to ask you about Webb’s performance on Wednesday night. He went six innings and gave up three hits. It was quite a performance keeping the Dodgers off balance in a 4-1 win.

#5 Giants and Colorado Rockies match up on Friday night at Oracle Park. For the Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (1-3, 5.20) and for the Giants LHP Kyle Harrison (3-1, 3.42 ERA) for a 7:15pm PT first pitch.

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

Home Run Giants: Long ball propels SF past the Phillies, 5-4 in 10 innings

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By Morris Phillips

The part of the Giants’ season where Evan Longoria hits the ball over the fence everyday is starting to gain some appeal.

Longoria’s ninth inning home run gave the Giants the lead for the first time all afternoon and they went on to beat the Phillies 5-4 in 10 innings at Citizens Bank Park on Memorial Day.

Manager Gabe Kapler suspended his National Anthem protest for a day, as the pressing issues for both clubs took center stage.

“While I believe strongly in the right to protest and the importance of doing so, I also believe strongly in honoring and mourning our country’s service men and women who fought and died for that right,” Kapler wrote in a statement issued before the game.

The Phillies came up short in the late innings for the second straight day, ratcheting up the pressure on manager Joe Girardi, who has seen his club drop 11 of their last 15 games. Longoria’s home run off Corey Knebel, then Curt Casali’s two-run homer off Andrew Bellatti in the tenth had the familiar Philly boo birds in full effect.

“Everyone in that room and in this room has gone through tough times in your life and you get to the other side,” Girardi said. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be in this room.”

The Giants’ rough times continued the first two days in Cincinnati, but Longoria’s exploits have the club on a modest two-game win streak after losses in 16 of their previous 27 games.

Longoria started the season on the injured list to recover from a surgically repaired finger. He made his debut on May 11 and went his first 11 appearances without a home run. But he’s homered five times in the last five games, with Giants winning three of the five.

Casali credited his home run to Giants’ starter Logan Webb, who had his very best stuff marred by a trio of home runs, including Kyle Schwarber’s that pushed the game to extras.

“I didn’t care who did it, honestly. You want to win every game, but I wanted to win that game so bad,” said Casali. “Just what (Webb) did and being able to come out for the ninth and have that heartbreak ending to his day. Man, he pitched well today. That’s vintage Logan Webb. He had everything going.”

Webb pitched eight plus allowing four hits and the three, solo homers. What stood out for Webb was his 10 strikeouts, no walks and a bundle of swings and misses.

“I had thrown the first eight,” Webb said. “We were up, and I wanted to win. It sucks I couldn’t finish it.”

Philadelphia’s Ranger Suarez and Jakob Junis are the announced pitchers for Tuesday’s second game of the series.

Yaz Strikes Late: Big home run in the ninth gets Giants past the Rockies, 7-6

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By Morris Phillips

Game deciding home runs look great and feel even better. Ask Mike Yastrzemski.

That felt really good,” said Yastrzemski of his ninth inning blast that broke a 6-6 tie in Denver on Monday night. “Just really trying to get a pitch to drive and elevate, and I got one.”

The Giants had an awful weekend in St. Louis, losing Saturday and Sunday without putting forth much resistance. The Rockies had an awful week, bringing their fast start to the season to a grinding halt. On Monday, both teams were desperate to change their storylines.

For the Rockies to be the club to rebound closer Daniel Bard would have needed a better executed pitch against Yastrzemski. It wasn’t and Bard was saddled with a blown save for the second, straight day after allowing two late runs to the Royals on Sunday.

“It was a breaking ball, probably middle-in, and probably not down enough,” Black said. “It looked to be middle-down, on the inside part of the plate and he kind of golfed it.”

Golf or baseball, Yaz looked good rounding the bases, part of his personal resurgence after he was infrequently in the lineup in last year’s postseason.

Neither starting pitcher lasted long on Monday, and the Rockies’ Antonio Senzatela departed with an injury in the second inning. Alex Wood didn’t survive a rough, fifth inning that saw the Rockies cut into the Giants 4-1 lead. That stuff happens at Coors Field, leaving the game decision up to both bullpen and whatever hitters can supply late-game dramatics. Yastrzemski, preceded by Curt Casali, who homered twice in the game, were the guys for San Francisco.

Casali homered in the third and the fifth innings to give the Giants their 4-1 lead. It marked just the third multi-homer game of his career that’s been built on catching and defense.

“It’s one of those stretches where I just feel good at the plate right now,” Casali said. “I work hard on defense, and that’s always a constant for me, and sprinkle in some offense here and there. It’s nice to drive in some runs and score some runs. It’s fun, that’s all I can say.”

John Brebbia and Camilo Doval closed the door for the Giants in the eighth and ninth after Tyler Rogers allowed a pair of game-tying runs in the seventh.

Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt had rough nights going hitless with a combined five strikeouts. Joc Pederson was 0 for 3 in the three spot in the batting order, and Tommy La Stella was hitless in his only at-bat before being lifted for a pinch-hitter. It was La Stella’s anticipated, season debut after injuries shelved him out of spring training.

Alex Cobb and Colorado’s Chad Kuhl are the announced starters for Tuesday’s game two of the three-game set.

Giant Adieu: SF not longing to see the D’Backs leave town after four-game sweep

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–The Diamondbacks came to town Monday in a bad way. Four days later, they’ll depart in a historically, poor fashion.

The Giants handed Arizona a fourth straight defeat on Thursday afternoon, 10-3, setting a dubious record for the D’Backs with their 23rd consecutive road defeat. Arizona broke the record set by the ’63 Mets and ’43 Philadelphia Athletics, and they haven’t won a road game since April 25.

The Giants piled up the hits for the fourth straight day–54 hits total in the series, but on Thursday, only one was a home run. Curt Casali had the homer, three hits total and four RBI, and Steven Duggar joined him in the three-hit club. Mike Yastrzemski, Brandon Belt and Mauricio Dubon each had two hits.

The Giants increased their lead in the NL West to 2 1/2 games over the Dodgers with the win, and six games over the Padres. The Giants (44-25) are a season-best 19 games above .500 and 22-9 at home.

Kevin Gausman logged eight innings to win for the eight time this season. He allowed four hits and two runs, while striking out six and walking just one batter.

After embarassing Arizona on Tuesday with a comeback from down 7-0, and beating them soundly on Wednesday, 13-7, the Giants rolled to a 6-0 lead after five innings on Thursday. The D’Backs contributed to the Giants largesse with a couple of defensive mistakes, and when they finally put up a couple of runs in the seventh, they gave them right back in the bottom of the frame.

The Giants host the Phillies on Friday night with Johnny Cueto facing Caleb Smith at 6:45pm.

Casali, Giants dial up another shutout, Giants open homestand with a 3-0 win over the Marlins

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Deceptive advertising, that’s what it is.

The Giants tout a cerebral hitting approach, a lineup of dangerous sluggers, and explosive offense delivered late in games, but when you get to the park they give you pitching, more pitching and shutouts.

Not that there have been complaints…

Curt Casali, the Giants previously unknown backup catcher signed as a free agent in January, grabbed a slice of big league history Thursday by being the starting catcher in a fifth, consecutive Giants’ shutout, 3-0 over the Marlins. The feat hadn’t been accomplished by any big league catcher since Francisco Cervelli did it in 2015, and it brings Casali within one of Ed Phelps’ (Pirates) major league record of catching six, consecutive shutouts. Only five catchers–including Casali–have achieved the feat since 1901.

But what sets Casali apart from the other notable catchers, says it all about the 2021 Giants: five different starting pitchers have participated in the streak, a first. And nine different relievers have participated in the streak, no record, but impressive nonetheless.

Simply, the Giants have quality pitching and a couple of capable engineers running the show behind the plate.

“Me and Buster have worked really, really hard behind the scenes,” Casali said. “It feels like, finally, it comes to the forefront. I’m pretty proud. Obviously l’m not the one throwing the pitches.”

The advertised offense simply needed a cameo appearance versus the Marlins, providing three runs in the first. All three runs came after the first two hitters were retired on a single, two doubles with a walk of Evan Longoria mixed in.

Donovan Solano was placed on the injured list before the game with a calf injury. Longoria departed Thursday’s game after one at-bat, due to tightness in his hamstring. And Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford are dealing with various physical issues that kept both out of the starting lineup.

That’s the entire, Opening Day infield lineup out, and everything else the Giants had to offer in, yet they still made it work. Anemic batting averages, lessened defense at the corners, a travel-weary bunch returning from Philadelphia, but fortified with a bunch of quality pitches. That was the formula Thursday and Aaron Sanchez set the tone.

Sanchez allowed two hits, no walks in five innings, and did so with the speed on his fastball noticeably lacking. It mattered little as he induced ground-based and weak contact during his stint while lowering his ERA across four starts and nearly 20 innings to 1.83.

“My velo is down, but it’s been down,” Sanchez said. “It’s about getting outs, so I don’t really (reflect on) how hard I’m throwing.”

Gregory Santos followed Sanchez with his Major League debut and 98 mph fastballs mixed with 90 mph sliders made the occasion special. Santos struck out pinch-hitter Magneuris Sierra and leadoff man Jazz Chisolm, Jr. before inducing a ground out from Miguel Rojas on a 2-2 pitch.

With Santos and Camilo Duval, who debuted last week, the Giants bullpen has two, dynamic new arms. The catch? Both are extremely inexperienced, but talented, a gap that isn’t always bridged. But in these cases, the team’s willing to try.

The Giants’ 12-7 record is second only to the Dodgers among the 30 ballclubs. Achieving that mark with only seven home dates thus far is impressive, given the Giants have only lost once at Oracle Park.

On Friday night, Alex Wood faces Miami’s Sandy Alcantara at 6:45pm.