Tag: Mike Yastrzemski

Giants’ Seven-Game Winning Streak Ends With 3-2 Loss to Reds

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Photo credit: @Reds

By: Mary Anne

The San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds squared off Wednesday at Great American Ball Park. The Giants lost 3-2 to the Reds in the third game of their series. San Francisco fell to 54-42, while Cincinnati improved to 51-46.

The Giants’ starting lineup featured Joc Pederson, Mike Yastrzemski, Wilmer Flores, Michael Conforto, Luis Matos, Blake Sabol, David Villar, Brett Wisely, Casey Schmitt, and Ross Stripling. Stripling pitched for six innings and gave up four hits, three earned runs, two strikeouts, and one home run. Stripling’s now 0-3 with a 5.92 ERA.

After two scoreless innings, Cincinnati took the first lead of the game in the bottom of the third inning. Will Benson homered on a fly ball to left center field. Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Tyler Stephenson scored for a 3-0 lead.

The Giants finally scored in the top of the fifth inning. Joc Pederson grounded into a double play to Christian Encarnacion-Strand to Elly De La Cruz to Graham Ashcraft. David Villar scored to cut the Reds’ lead to 3-1. Brett Wisely went to third base, Casey Schmitt was out at second base, and Pederson was out at first base with two outs.

The Giants made it a one-run game in the top of the seventh inning. Blake Sabol homered on a fly ball to left field to cut the Reds’ lead to 3-2.

Notes
Giants infielder Brandon Crawford was put on the ten-day injured list with left knee inflammation, which was retroactive to July 17.

The Giants recalled infielder David Villar from Triple-A Sacramento. Moreover, outfielder Bryce Johnson was returned to Triple-A Sacramento.

Former Giants infielder Eddie Bressoud passed away peacefully last Thursday at age 91. Bressoud played for the New York and San Francisco Giants from 1956 to 1961.

Up Next
The Giants and Reds will wrap up their series on Thursday at 9:35 am Pacific.

Giants Sweep Pirates With 8-4 Win in Pittsburgh

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Photo credit: post-gazette.com

By: Mary Anne

The San Francisco Giants wrapped up their three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates on a positive note, a sweep on the road — and their fifth win in a row. The Giants defeated the Pirates 8-4 at PNC Park on Sunday.

The Giants improved to 52-41, while the Pirates fell to 41-52. Giants pitcher Ryan Walker picked up the win for a 3-0 record after pitching one inning and giving up one strikeout.

The Giants’ starting lineup featured LaMonte Wade Jr., Joc Pederson, J.D. Davis, Michael Conforto, Mike Yastrzemski, Luis Matos, Blake Sabol, Brandon Crawford, Brett Wisely, and Alex Wood. Wood pitched five innings and gave up one earned run, three walks, and one strikeout.

The Pirates got on the board first in the bottom of the second inning. Bryan Reynolds singled on a soft ground ball to Brandon Crawford. Jared Triolo scored for a 1-0 lead. Jason Delay went to third base, while Connor Joe went to second base.

The Giants took the lead in the top of the third inning. J.D. Davis singled on a line drive to Henry Davis. Brett Wisely and LaMonte Wade Jr. scored for a 2-1 lead. Joc Pederson went to second base as a fielding error was made by Henry Davis. Luis Matos grounded out softly to Nick Gonzales to Osvaldo Bido. Joc Pederson scored for a 3-1 lead. J.D. Davis went to third base, while Mike Yastrzemski went to second base with two outs.

The Pirates tied the game in the bottom of the sixth and eighth innings, respectively. Jared Triolo grounded out to Brandon Crawford to LaMonte Wade Jr. Henry Davis scored to cut the Giants’ lead to 3-2 with one out. Triolo was out on a sacrifice fly to Michael Conforto. Andrew McCutchen scored to tie the game 3-3. Josh Palacios went to third base with one out.

The game went to extra innings.

The Giants poured in the runs in the top of the tenth inning. Joc Pederson was out on a sacrifice fly to Josh Palacios. Casey Schmitt scored for a 4-3 Giants lead with one out. Michael Conforto doubled on a sharp fly ball to Henry Davis. Wilmer Flores and J.D. Davis scored for a 6-3 Giants lead. Patrick Bailey doubled on a sharp fly ball to Josh Palacios. Michael Conforto and Mike Yastrzemski scored for an 8-3 Giants lead.

The Pirates cut the Giants’ lead in half in the bottom of the tenth inning. Henry Davis singled on a ground ball to Luis Matos, deflected by Casey Schmitt. Andrew McCutchen scored to pull the Pirates within four, 8-4, but that’s all she wrote.

The Giants will take on the Cincinnati Reds on Monday at 4:10 pm Pacific.

Keaton Winn Wins in MLB Debut as Giants Blow out Cardinals 11-3

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By: Mary Anne

The San Francisco Giants looked to win two straight games against the St. Louis Cardinals Tuesday night. The Giants defeated the Cardinals 11-3 at Busch Stadium. San Francisco improved to 35-32, while St. Louis dropped to 27-41.

Before the game, San Francisco wished their assistant coach, Alyssa Nakken, a Happy 33rd Birthday. Nakken’s a boundary-breaking coach who became the first woman to coach in an MLB regular season game in April 2022.

The Giants’ starting lineup featured LaMonte Wade Jr., Thairo Estrada, Joc Pederson, J.D. Davis, Michael Conforto, Mitch Haniger, Mike Yastrzemski, Patrick Bailey, Brandon Crawford, and Alex Cobb. Cobb pitched four innings and gave up five hits, two earned runs, two walks, and five strikeouts.

The first inning ended in a 2-2 tie.

The Giants got on the board in the top of the first inning. Michael Conforto doubled on a sharp fly ball to Tommy Edman. Thairo Estrada and Joc Pederson scored for a 2-0 lead.

The Cardinals tied the ballgame in the bottom of the first inning. Paul Goldschmidt singled on a ground ball to Conforto but deflected by LaMonte Wade Jr. Brenden Donovan scored to cut the Giants’ lead in half, 2-1. Dylan Carlson grounded to a force-out, and Thairo Estrada went to Brandon Crawford. Goldschmidt tied the game 2-2 as Nolan Gorman went to third base, Nolan Arenado was out at second base, and Carlson went to first base with two outs.

The Giants regained their lead in the top of the third inning, but they had to overcome some adversity. The Cardinals challenged Michael Conforto’s play for a tag play, but their call was overturned. Conforto singled on a line drive to Jordan Walker. Joc Pederson scored for a 3-2 lead as J.D. Davis was out at third base on the throw, and Walker went to Nolan Arenado with two outs.

The Giants poured in the runs in the top of the fifth inning. Casey Schmitt singled on a ground ball to Dylan Carlson. Blake Sabol scored for a 4-2 lead as Michael Conforto went to third base. Patrick Bailey singled on a line drive to Carlson. Schmitt scored to make it 5-2, as Mike Yastrzemski went to third base. Brandon Crawford was out on a sacrifice bunt as Genesis Cabrera went to Paul Goldschmidt. Yastrzemski scored to extend the Giants’ lead to 6-2 as Bailey went to second base with two outs.

The Giants extended their lead in the top of the sixth inning. Mike Yastrzemski homered on a line drive to left-center field. Michael Conforto scored for an 8-2 lead. Patrick Bailey homered on a line drive to left field to expand the lead to 9-2.

The Cardinals scored in the bottom of the eighth inning, but it was “too little, too late.” Jordan Walker doubled on a ground ball to Blake Sabol. Willson Contreras scored to cut the Giants’ lead to 9-3 as Dylan Carlson went to third base.

The Giants expanded their lead to double digits in the top of the ninth inning. Thairo Estrada singled on a soft ground ball to Tommy Edman. Brandon Crawford scored for a 10-3 lead as LaMonte Wade Jr. went to third base. Blake Sabol was out on a sacrifice fly to Dylan Carlson. Wade Jr. scored for an 11-3 lead as Thairo Estrada went to third base with one out.

The Giants and Cardinals will close their series on Wednesday, June 14, at 10:15 am Pacific.

Cubs Provide Help, Giants Win: Post ASG slide ends with 4-2 win over Chicago

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Things get so bad that sometimes… you need a little help.

The Giants’ seven-game losing streak exposed a club that needs to pitch, hit and defend a lot better to win games. In a stretch this poor, a team with holes can get exposed.

A 4-2 over the Cubs to snap the skid on Thursday didn’t find the Giants miraculously better, but definitely more fortunate after riding a three-run third inning that was fueled by Cubs’ mistakes and decisions.

Patrick Wisdom fanned on an infield pop and gave Mike Yastrzemski a life on second base to start the rally. Yermin Mercedes in the at-bat of the evening–11 pitches, six fouled off–delivered a two-run single after Wilmer Flores was hit by a pitch, a call that was lobbied for by the Cubs. Thairo Estrada knocked in Flores when shortstop Nico Hoerner couldn’t turn Estrada’s well-place grounder into an out.

Alex Wood took a 3-0 lead at that point, and did something with it, pitching into the seventh while allowing just two hits. Wisdom, in an atonement swing, knocked Wood out of the game with a two-run homer that narrowed the Giants’ lead to 4-2. Wood retired 15 in a row at one point, a streak that ended in the sixth when he walked Nelson Velazquez. Wood flirtation with a no-no lasted into the seventh, and was aided by Yastrzemski’s highlight, leaping catch in the right field alley in the sixth.

“The biggest difference in today’s game was we played crisp defense and made some very difficult plays,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “We’re going to be fine if we play strong defense behind our pitchers. That’s probably the most important thing we can do.”

Justin Steele took the loss for the Cubs. Steele was lifted in the fourth after allowing Austin Slater’s RBI double that gave the Giants a 4-0 lead.

The series continues Friday with Marcus Stroman facing Alex Cobb.

Bludgeoned By The Brewers: Giants led early, then go cold offensively in 3-2 loss to Milwaukee

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Well that Gabe Kapler-inspired time of possession in baseball thing didn’t lean toward the hosts on Thursday.

The Brewers played with base traffic all night, bundling 13 hits and four walks, but just two runs until the 10th when they got an infield single from Jonathan Davis to push across the winning run. The Giants led 2-0 early, but got just one hit after the fifth inning as the visitors pitching proved as good as advertised.

The Brewers increased their lead in the NL Central to three games with the win and the Cardinals’ loss to the Dodgers. The Giants fell to 45-43 which is 13 games off the pace of the Dodgers.

The Giants scored twice in the third, first on a passed ball charged to catcher Victor Caratini, which was followed by Joc Pederson’s RBI single. Outside of that burst, Milwaukee starter Corbin Burnes pitched in character, striking out 10, scattering all four Giants hits and keeping his club within reach.

The Brewers rallied with single runs in the fourth and sixth. Andrew McCutchen’s sacrfice fly chased home the first run, Wily Adames’ base hit scoring Rowdy Tellez tied the game in the sixth.

Carlos Rodon found himself in another tight ballgame and couldn’t win it, lowering his ERA to 2.66 but gaining a no-decision. Rodon allowed the first Milwaukee run and departed before John Brebbia gave up the second run in the sixth.

The teams are back at it on Friday with starters Alex Wood and Brandon Woodruff scheduled at 7:15pm.

Rally Wreckers: Giants do the same stuff in latest loss, 3-2 to the visiting Tigers

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–If the Giants were to find a way not to win a third, consecutive series, this wasn’t the way.

More of the same. When the Giants’ offense fails to get the key hit, and knock in some runs, they often lose. Wednesday afternoon’s loss to the Tigers, 3-2, was just another example in a less than lengthy stretch of games.

“I think it’s as simple as getting one more big at-bat,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “We’ve talked about that for a while now.”

The Giants rallied in the third–leading 1-0, then loading the bases with one out–but came up empty. In the seventh–now trailing 3-1–the Giants had the same, advantageous setup, but scored just once, on Mike Yastrzemski’s fielder’s choice ground ball. A run in each inning, and the hosts are likely winners, and building on a 41-33 record. Instead, they’re stuck in a 3-6 stretch against beatable opponents.

The Giants finished 2 of 9 with runners in scoring position, intriguing, in that the two successes were from guys that could pick it up and change things. Evan Longoria homered in the first inning, and his infield single loaded the bases in the third. Lamonte Wade Jr. returned to action–after missing 61 of the first 73 games–and singled in the seventh. Wade was put in a tough spot, hitting against a tough lefty Gregory Soto in the ninth, when the Giants normally would have pinch-hit, but at that point in the game on Wednesday, Kapler had expended all his hitting options.

Alex Wood–who started, and gave up the decisive two-run homer to Detroit’s Eric Haase in the sixth–best expressed the agony of his own shortcomings and the teams saying “these are the days that are just extremely frustrating. I felt really good. I thought it was the best my slider’s been in a long time, if not (this entire season). So to have that (home run) happen at the end really sucked, to be honest. Just really frustrating.”

“It starts with our staff. Webby and ‘Los have put up their lines. The rest of us have to step our s— up,” Wood said, applauding his staff mates Logan Webb and Carlos Rodón. “Start having the lines match up with how we’re feeling and putting up some zeroes and finishing some starts with zero or one run on the board. A lot of those one-run games are on us.”

There’s some truth to Wood saying this is not all on the offense. And, once again, this is a team with a winning record and a clear-path to the newly, expanded playoffs. But off a 107-win campaign, something missing or somethings are missing. To Wood’s point, the Giants ERA of 3.99 puts them just above the league average. Last season, their staff had a National League top-three ERA virtually the entire season. Defensively, the Giants have committed 41 errors, also a league average number, but reflective of how poor the defense has been, the Giants defensive efficiency, as defined by baseball-reference.com is in the bottom four in all of baseball. What’s that last bit really mean? The Giants could suffer even worse defensively going forward, so far, they’ve made defensive mistakes, but in a lot of cases, not suffered run scored against them.

The Giants open a three-game set with the White Sox on Friday at Oracle Park. Lance Lynn of Chicago and Alex Cobb will get the starting assignments.

Bullpen Blues: Relief effort spoils another strong outing by Rodon in 4-3 Giants loss to the Braves

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By Morris Phillips

Nothing typifies the Giants these days like a close game. They play a lot of them–36 of 68 so far this season–and they’re used to being in close games, winning close games.

Just hasn’t quite been their thing yet this season, and definitely not on this road trip. The Giants fell to 17-19 in games decided by two runs or less on Wednesday, allowing a three-run, bottom of the ninth rally by the host Braves in a 4-3 loss.

Jake McGee was given an opportunity to reignite his closer duties, and he belied his recent successes and got hit hard. The 35-year old gave up a leadoff home run to Darby Swanson, two more hits and was relieved by Trevor Rogers who allowed the game-winning base hit to Adam Duvall. Camilio Doval wasn’t available, he pitched in nine of the previous 12 games and was given a night to rest.

“We want to win every game, but at the end of the day, these are going to happen,” said McGee, who hadn’t allowed a run since May 10, a stretch of 10 appearances. “That’s why they’ve been really hot lately and they’ve been swinging the bat well. So you’ve just got to tip your cap sometimes.”

The Giants also tipped their cap on Monday when Camilo Doval failed to get through the ninth in a 2-1 loss. Last season’s 107-win campaign included a 31-17 record in one-run games, and the Giants locked in big moments offensively. This year, the record in two-run games is another reminder that the team’s offense has struggled. The bullpen–in spots–as well. But the subject arises in a series–not yet completed–where a team’s two best starters sprinkle magic dust for seven innings, only to see their work squandered in the game’s final inning.

“I’m not one to say one loss was better or worse than others. It’s just not my style,” said Kapler, who just doesn’t show raw emotion in postgame pressers.

Rodon was on point, capping a three-start stretch in which he allowed one run in 21 innings. He struck out 10, and walked one in his first appearance against the Braves. Matt Olson’s seventh inning, RBI double broke up Rodon’s scoreless stretch.

Darin Ruf and Mike Yastrzemski homered to back Rodon, and Tommy LaStella’s RBI single in the ninth provided insurance, giving the Giants a 3-1 lead.

And the news wasn’t bad off the diamond, as Brandon Crawford found out he suffered no structural damage to his knee, and he’s a candidate to start Thursday’s series finale.

Luis Gonzales would have been a viable, pinch-hit option on Wednesday after being declared out with back tightness, but that wasn’t all that he needed. The Braves followed right-handed starter Charlie Morton with two left-handed relievers, leaving Kapler with better options. Kapler said Gonzales should be okay, his back issues are considered serious.

Alex Wood and Atlanta’s Kyle Wright are the announced starters for the series finale at 12:20pm EST.

Shut Out On South Beach: Giants can’t solve Alcantara in 3-0 loss to the Marlins

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By Morris Phillips

The Marlins with their sub .500 records overall and at home haven’t moved the meter thus far in 2022, but the Miami pitching has. Pablo Lopez and Sandy Alcantara are the headliners with near-100 mph four-seam fastballs, and Alcantara got his chance to make an impression on the reigning NL West champion Giants on Thursday.

Let’s just say mission accomplished.

The 26-year old right hander was electric, throwing 111 pitches with the best of those coming late, in a 3-0 shutout win over the Giants. Alcantara allowed three hits, walked two, struck out eight and kept the Giants off balance by starting 17 of the 25 batters he faced with strikes, and inducing 24 swings and misses. Knowing they were entering a battle, Giants’ hitters got the majority of Alcantara’s pitches out early with several, lengthy at-bats. But the response was simple: as the game wore on, Alcantara became highly efficient, dispatching Giants’ hitters quickly and quietly.

“If it were up to me, I would have stayed until the ninth, but I respect the manager’s decision,” Alcantara said through an interpreter.

Marlins manager Don Mattingly lifted his ace after seven innings, but rightfully termed the process of Alcantara finishing better than he starts by saying, “he finally got that groove that we talk about where it’s like he’s going 75 mph on the highway.”

So ingrained is the process, Mattingly actually delivered the previous quote after Alcantara’s previous start in Atlanta in which he struck out a career-best 14 in eight innings of work.

The timing of Alcantara’s start couldn’t have been better for the Marlins, who played two games in Denver against the Rockies on Thursday before returning home. The Giants, who got an early start in Philadelphia to conclude their series with the Phillies looked like the far more sluggish team as the hosts got RBI hits from Jacob Stallings (second inning), Jesus Aguilar and Miguel Rojas (both in the sixth) to create breathing room for Alcantara.

The Giants dropped their second straight after a pair of wins in Philadelphia. Their lineup was thin with Brandon Crawford, Evan Longoria dealing with bumps and bruises along with Darin Ruf away on the bereavement list following the death of his father. The Giants are also missing Lamonte Wade Jr., Brandon Belt and Austin Slater, who took batting practice and could make his way into the lineup on Friday night.

The poorly-situationed Alex Wood didn’t pitch poorly for the Giants. Wood worked into the sixth inning, allowing two runs on four hits. Wood has dropped three, consecutive starts and his record is 3-5.

“Any time you face a guy like Sandy, he’s pretty good, so there’s no going to be a whole lot of room for error,” Wood said afterwards.

The announced pitchers for the second game of the series are the Giants’ Alex Cobb and Miami’s Elieser Hernandez.

Giants Good Again in 2022, Just Not In the Manner They Were Good in 2021

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by Morris Phillips

Expanded playoffs, universal designated hitters, shrinking batting averages and greater reliance on relief pitchers. Seemingly, all of baseball’s newest machinations favor the Giants and their preferred methods of competing.

Currently the Giants are bundled with three other NL clubs (Dodgers, Mets, Brewers) at the top of the standings in the first season in which six teams will qualify for postseason play in both leagues. No more roll of the dice in a Wild Card game means no one goes home after an initial, bad playoff game. When you’ve got a great shot to be in, it’s even better if you can’t all of a sudden be out.

Throughout baseball, batting averages are down, as is scoring. Trying to buck that trend are the Giants with their .248 team batting average, well above the .235 number that this season is considered average among the 30 teams. The Giants also are averaging 5.11 runs per game, which trails only the Dodgers. But those key metrics don’t mean that individual sluggers on the team haven’t had their struggles. Benefitting the Giants of course, is their philosophy to seek game-altering extra-base hits and homers at the expense of on-base percentage and playing the old-school, station-to-station game.

Given that, the Giants still draw their walks (ranking second with 144 free passes), utilize the sacrifice fly (they rank first with 20), and steal bases consistently, if not frequently with 21 steals and only six caught stealing situations. Those numbers weigh heavier given that the Giants aren’t a record-breaking, home run-hitting club this season with only 40 hit so far.

What they do is hit more than their opponent by a nice margin augmented by their league-low 26 home runs allowed. And when those home runs are hit, it’s usually in a close, low-scoring game. That combination, as it was in 2021, is a real weapon for the Giants: they win close games.

A major piece of that formula is the team’s bullpen which is currently loaded with standouts from closer Camilo Doval with seven saves to Taylor Rogers, John Brebbia and Jarlin Garcia as the key, setup options. With so many returners from last season in the team’s bullpen, comparisons are easy. And so far, this year’s group’s been that much better than last’s.

The Giants have won 8 of 11 leading into Friday night’s meeting with the Padres. In the coming weeks the Giants will see the Padres, Mets and the Dodgers, teams they need to measure themselves against in preparation for a possible, postseason appearance.

On Friday, Jakob Junis gets the starting nod in a matchup with San Diego’s Sean Manaea.

Giants, Webb run out of steam and blow their lead in a 5-3 loss to the Rockies

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By Morris Phillips

As often happens, the decision to lift an effective, but laboring starting pitcher can be agonizing.

The decision to remove Logan Webb in the eighth inning on Wednesday was a no-win for the Giants and manager Gabe Kapler. Literally.

Trailing 3-2 to the Giants, and facing the likelihood of a record, 13th consecutive loss to their division rivals, the host Rockies rallied with three runs to gain a critical 5-3 win.

Connor Joe drew a leadoff walk against Webb, ending his streak of 16 consecutive, retired hitters, and that opened the door for Colorado. With Webb at 100 pitches, Kapler decided to remove his starter for reliever Jose Alvarez.

“After the second, which I thought was the more challenging inning, (Webb) was as good as we saw last year,” Kapler said. “This is a very, very challenging place to pitch into the eighth inning. I thought it was one of the better performances in recent memory for Logan.”

It also wasn’t the spot to lean heavily on his ace, thought Kapler. This early in the season, and with an effective bullpen cast ready to go. A two-run lead also provided Alvarez, who hadn’t given up a home run in more than 56 innings of work, a nice cushion.

But Charlie Blackmon sacrificed Joe to second, Yonathan Daza followed with an RBI single and C.J. Cron gave the Rockies a two-run lead with his long home run off Alvarez.

“We’d done a nice job up until that point with Cron,” Kapler said. “He hasn’t taken his best swings against us, which I think is a positive for our pitching staff. It’s really tough to fall behind him. He then is able to sit on a pitch like he did right there, and look, he’s one of the better right-handed hitters in baseball.”

Tyler Kinley retired the Giants in the eighth, and Daniel Bard recovered from a blown save on Monday to get the visitors out in the ninth, ending an agonizing slide for the Rockies, who were also trying to avoid a fourth straight loss overall.

The Giants concluded their road swing with a 3-3 record through Denver and St. Louis. They open a homestand on Friday night against the Padres.

Mike Yastrzemski had an RBI single on Wednesday and Austin Slater and Darin Ruf contributed run scoring, sacrifice flies. Ruf put the Giants in front in the fourth, and Webb cruised into the eighth. But it wasn’t enough to earn the Giants a sweep.

Sean Manaea gets the start for San Diego on Friday, and Jakob Junis goes for the Giants as they continue to utilize a bullpen strategy in the absence of injured starter Anthony DeSclafani.