Tag: San Francisco Giants

MLB The Show podcast with Matt Harrington: Kuiper brothers will fly home for father’s funeral; Tatis will miss the rest of season with back injury; plus more

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sportingnews.com photo file: San Francisco Giant broadcaster Duane Kuiper (in photo) along with brothers Giants TV producer Jeff Kuiper and Oakland A’s TV broadcaster Glenn Kuiper (not in photo) will attend their father’s funeral this weekend and will be on bereavement from their broadcasting work.

On the MLB The Show podcast with Matt:

#1 Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper, A’s broadcaster Glenn Kuiper, and Giants TV producer Jeff Kuiper will all fly to Racine, Wisconsin in preparation of the funeral for their father Henry, who passed away at age 94. Henry was a auctioneer and a farmer locally in Racine and allowed a restaurant to be built on his property. He also was involved in fast pitch baseball and would not let Duane drive the tractor on the family farm because Duane could not drive the tractor straight, leaving ziz zags embarrassing the farming community.

#2 San Diego Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. will sit out the rest of the 2019 season with a back injury. Tatis was a candidate for the 2019 Rookie of the Year award, hitting .317, 13 doubles, 22 home runs, and 53 RBIs in 84 games.

#3 The Boston Red Sox, like much of the American League, crushed the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night with a 9-1 win. Andrew Benintendi and Mitch Moreland got RBI triples and Sox pitcher Rick Porchello pitched six innings, giving up only one run in the victory. For the O’s, it was their fifth straight loss.

#4 Big win for the Minnesota Twins on Friday night with a narrow 4-3 victory over the Texas Rangers. The Twins maintain a 1.5 game lead in the AL Central over the second place Cleveland Indians. The Twins’ Max Kepler and Jonathan Schoop got two-run homers in Arlington Texas.

#5 The Los Angeles Dodgers are just simply running away with it in the NL West. They picked up another victory over the Atlanta Braves 8-3 at Sun Trust Stadium. LA’s Cody Bellinger hit for home run number 41. The Dodgers’ Max Muncy and Justin Turner both hit home runs in the victory Friday night.

Join Matt each Saturday for the MLB podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Yastrzemski hits 3 HRs in Giants’ 10-9 win in 11 innings

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Photo credit: @ESPNStatsInfo

By Jeremy Kahn

Usually, the home run derby takes place at the All-Star Game, but there was one in the desert between the San Francisco Giants and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Mike Yastrzemski hit his third home run of the game in the top of the 11th inning, helping the Giants to a 10-9 victory over the Diamondbacks at Chase Field.

This was the first time in Yastrzemskis career that he hit three home runs in the same game, as the Giants have taken the first two games of this four-game series.

Yastrzemski ended up going 3-for-6 with those three home runs, and drove in four runs. His 16 home runs are the most by a Giants rookie since Buster Posey hit 18 in 2010, when the Giants won their first World Series since 1954.

Jarrett Parker was the last Giants player to hit three home runs in a game on September 26, 2015 against the Oakland As at the Coliseum.

Kevin Pillar hit two home runs for the Giants, who passed the Diamondbacks in the hunt for the Wild Card spot.

With the Giants leading 7-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Diamondbacks, as they scored five runs in the inning to tie up the game.

Eduardo Escobar hit a solo home run, then Wilmer Flores also hit a solo home run and then Adam Jones tied up the game with a three-run home run off of Tony Watson.

Pillar then gave the Giants the lead again in the top of the 10th inning, as he hit his second home run of the game and his 17th of the season.

Lost in the fact that the Giants won the game in extra innings was the fact that Jeff Samardzija pitched a great game, as he went five and a third innings, allowing two runs on five hits, walking two and striking out four.

Former Giants pitcher Mike Leake went six innings, allowing four runs on eight hits, not walking a batter and striking out three. Leake was in line for the loss until Jones hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning that tied up the game.

Both the Giants and the Diamondbacks hit a combined 12 home runs in the game, as Pillar, Yastrzemski and Flores each hit at least two home runs in the game.

The usual Giants bullpen was not up to par, as seven Giants relievers went six and two-thirds innings, allowing seven runs on eight hits, walking one and striking out five. Fernando Abad, Reyes Moronta, Watson, Sam Coonrod, Jandel Gustave, Will Smith and Trevor Gott ended up in the game.

Smith gave up a game-tying home run to Nick Ahmed in the bottom of the 10th inning, as he was able to regroup to get the victory, his fifth win of the season without a loss.

Trevor Gott retired Christian Walker on a ground ball to Donovan Solano for the final out of the game. It was the first save of the season for Gott.

NOTES: Yastrzemskis grandfather Carl hit three home runs in the same game one time in his career, as he did it on May 19,1976 at Tiger Stadium against the Detroit Tigers.

Kyle Barraclough cleared waivers and was outrighted by the team to Triple-A Sacramento.

Johnny Cueto made his third start during his rehab, as he pitched for Class A San Jose at Visalia. Cueto went two and two-third innings, allowing a run on four hits with two strikeouts.

UP NEXT: Logan Webb will make his major-league debut on Saturday night, as he takes the mound for the Giants. Merrill Kelly will take the mound for the Diamondbacks, as he looks for ninth win of the season.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Jerry Feitelberg for Michael Duca: Pillar’s bat helps Giants in month of August; Dickerson back in the lineup; plus more

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Photo credit: jweekly.com

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Jerry for Michael:

#1 Kevin Pillar has had a good month of August for the Giants, hitting .255, 115 hits, 15 homers and 63 RBIs. He has been clutch. How impressed is Jerry about Pillar?

#2 How important is it to have Alex Dickerson back in the lineup? He suffered an oblique strain and is doing a reduced workout now.

#3 How impactful is it that Pablo Sandoval being out of the line up with the inflamed right elbow and how much will they miss Pablo being around as he will be out at least 10 days on the injured list? Sandoval was hitting .269, 14 home runs and 41 RBIs before the injury.

#4 Manager Bruce Bochy said he wasn’t sure how long Sandoval will be out, but the team will have to see how Sandoval responds to treatment.

#5 The Giants are in Arizona for a four-game series with the Diamondbacks. It’s an important series just being 4.5 out of first place for the NL wild card.

Jerry is filling in for Michael Duca catch Michael who does the Giants podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Rodriguez fires 3-hitter as Giants blank Snakes 7-0

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Photo credit: @KNBR

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Thursday, August 15, 2019

PHOENIX — In its quest for a National League Wild Card berth, San Francisco needed a strong start from Dereck Rodriguez, and got one on Thursday night at Chase Field.

The Giants’ offense — Evan Longoria and Austin Slater in particular — gave Rodriguez plenty of support in a 7-0 win over Arizona.

“I felt good, and I just wanted to attack,” Rodriguez said. “I know we’re close to them in the Wild Card and we’ve got a playoff atmosphere here. It was a lot of fun.”

Rodriguez (5-6), called up Thursday from Triple-A Sacramento, struck out four, walked one and scattered three hits in his 11th start of the season. He retired the first 11 Arizona batters until Eduardo Escobar singled to right with two out in the fourth inning.

“He was throwing strikes. We’ve seen him do that before,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of Rodriguez, who came into the game with a 5.14 earned run average. “That’s what it was — quality strikes all night. He had all four pitches going and good command of them. He worked both sides of the plate very efficiently too. A great job of pitching.

“He had a very determined look on his face. It’s been an up-and-down year for him. Tonight, he showed what he can do, and we needed it. That was a real shot in the arm for us.”

Rodriguez said he addressed some mechanical issues during his stint with the River Cats.

“I was just trying to get back to what I know I can do — throw strikes,” Rodriguez said. “I notice that when I throw strikes, I’m a different pitcher. It’s just attacking the hitters and the rest takes care of itself. Today, I had a lot of first-pitch swings and a lot of quick outs.”

Longoria was 3-for-5 with a home run and four runs batted in. Slater was 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored, Buster Posey was 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored, and leadoff hitter Donovan Solano singled, doubled and scored twice.

“Evan’s been swinging good. Not just tonight, he’s been getting some good at-bats,” Bochy said. “It looks like he’s got his timing and he’s in synch now.”

The four-game weekend set involves two teams in the thick of the National League Wild Card race. Arizona and the Giants are both 3 ½ games in back of Washington and the Chicago Cubs. Both the D-Backs and Giants must pass Philadelphia, Milwaukee and the New York Mets to catch the Nats or Cubs.

San Francisco has won five of its last seven games, while the Diamondbacks have won seven of their last 12 contests.

San Francisco manufactured a pair of runs in the top of the first inning off D-Backs starter Alex Young. The Giants loaded the bases with a leadoff base hit by Solano, followed by a walk to Slater and an infield hit by Posey.

Posey’s slow roller hit the third base bag, after Diamondbacks third baseman Jake Lamb waited for the ball to possibly roll foul. Longoria singled to left, driving in Solano and Slater.

Kevin Pillar grounded into a force out, moving Posey to third, but he was picked off during Scooter Gennett’s at-bat.

“That (first inning) gave me a lot of confidence,” Rodriguez said. “It gives you a lot of room for error. I felt good, even without those two runs. I’m with it.”

Back-to-back one-out doubles by Slater and Posey put the Giants up 3-0 in the fifth. Longoria followed with his 15th home run of the season, scoring Posey.

Belt’s RBI double, drove in Joey Rickard (who walked) to score the sixth Giants run in the sixth. In the eighth, Solano doubled and scored on Slater’s base hit, putting the Giants up 7-0.

Fernando Abad, whose contract was selected Thursday from Sacramento, threw a scoreless ninth inning for the Giants. It was his first MLB appearance since 2017 with Boston.

San Francisco has yet to name a starting pitcher for Friday. Arizona will go with right-hander Merrill Kelly (8-12, 4.75 ERA).

GIANT JOTTINGS: Following Thursday’s game, along with recalling Rodriguez, the Giants optioned LHP Williams Jerez and C Aramis Garcia to Triple-A Sacramento. To make room for LHP Fernando Abad on the 40-man roster, San Francisco designated RHP Kyle Barraclough for assignment. … Game time temperatures: outside – 107 degrees, inside – 77. … Attendance: 19,037.

TAGS: San Francisco Giants, Dereck Rodriguez, Evan Longoria, Austin Slater, Arizona Diamondbacks, NL Wild Card

Spinning Their Wheels: Giants fail to seize momentum in 9-5 loss to Oakland

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO — Whatever momentum the Giants were attempting to seize Wednesday flew over the centerfield wall on the 14th pitch of the ballgame.

Matt Chapman homered off Tyler Beede–the first of his two home runs on the day–and the A’s were off to the races in their 9-5 win that gained them a split of the brief, two-game Bay Bridge Series.

The A’s scored in six of the nine innings, establishing a 7-0 lead in the eight before the Giants rallied with five runs to temporarily make things interesting. Beede surrendered the first eight of Oakland’s 15 hits in a performance that proved there’s currently an imbalance in the abilities of the two Bay Area clubs.

Beede’s struggles put the microscope on the Giants’ rotation that has youthful inexperience in three of the five spots at this critical juncture of the season. Beede is last of the three to win a start, and that was back on July 14. Since then, Beede lost four of his six starts, allowing at least eight hits four times. Manager Bruce Bochy conceded the performances of Shaun Anderson, Connor Menez and Beede are a concern.

“It’s up to me to try to get this figured out,” Bochy said. “You know when you bring up young pitchers you’re going to have some growing pains, and that’s the case.”

Beede’s inability to get ahead in counts played right into the hands of the patient A’s lineup. Matt Olson singled, doubled and was hit by a pitch with Beede in the game, and A’s starting pitcher Homer Bailey fouled off a couple of offerings, then got lucky with a dribbler that turned into an RBI single that made it 2-0. Olson’s double scored two more runs, and Beede was done, one batter into the fifth inning.

“He’s really good at times and then it gets away from him a little bit,” Bochy said of Beede.

Travis Bergen, one of the relievers getting an extended look after the Giants reconfigured their bullpen at the trade deadline, allowed a two-run shot to Robbie Grossman in the sixth to make it 6-0.

Down 7-0, the Giants rallied for five runs in the eighth with Mike Yasztremski’s three-run shot the centerpiece. But Chapman’s second home run in the ninth restored the A’s cushion to three runs.

Alex Dickerson was activated from the injured list but was not in the Giants’ starting lineup. The valuable outfielder pinch hit in the eighth, his ground ball out allowed Evan Longoria to score from third.

The Giants fell below .500 with the loss, which took on more significance when combined with the results on the out-of-town scoreboard. The Phillies, Brewers and Nationals all won, leaving the Giants four games behind the pace of the Cardinals, the current holder of the second wild card spot.

The Giants start another big series in Phoenix on Thursday, the first of four games against the team immediately above in the playoff hunt. Dereck Rodriguez appears to be the likely starter in that one, opposed by Arizona’s Alex Young.

Pillar comes through in the clutch in Giants’ 3-2 win

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Photo credit: @KNBR

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — Night in and night out, the San Francisco Giants are finding ways to win ballgames when it is needed the most.

Kevin Pillar doubled in the bottom of the sixth inning to score Evan Longoria, as the Giants came back to defeat the Oakland As 3-2 before a crowd of 36,663 at Oracle Park.

The double by Pillar was the third double in a row off of As starter Brett Anderson, who was cruising until that fateful sixth inning.

Buster Posey got the rally started, as his two-out double went all out to the 421 in right-center field. Longoria then tied up the game, as he lashed a double of his own and then Pillar picked up his 16th go-ahead run batted in and 11th game-winning RBI. Both total lead the Giants.

Jake Diekmann got into trouble in the bottom of the seventh inning, as he walked Aramis Garcia and Brandon Crawford to bring Madison Bumgarner, who laid down the most perfect sacrifice bunt to advance Garcia and Crawford an additional 90 feet. Scooter Gennett then came off the bench to pinch-hit for Donovan Solano, and hit a sacrifice fly that easily scored Garcia from third base.

That sacrifice fly from Gennett was huge, as the As came back to score one run in the top of the ninth inning.

Dustin Garneau and Chris Davis each singled off of Giants closer Will Smith, but then Smith struck out Marcus Semien for the first out of the inning.

Matt Chapman narrowly missed tying the game, as his ball down the left field line went just foul. Chapman then singled to load the bases; however, Smith then struck out Matt Olson for the second out.

Mark Canha then got the As within one run, as he walked on a 3-2 pitch that scored Garneau from third base.

Smith then struck out Chad Pinder to end the game, as he picked up his 29th save of the season in 32 opportunities.

Stephen Piscotty hit a solo home run on a 1-2 pitch that gave the As a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth inning.

It was the 12th home run of the season that stopped a streak of 13 in a row retired by Bumgarner since he gave up a leadoff single to Semien that curved into fair territory just out of the reach of Garcia at first base in the top of the first inning.

Anderson pitched a solid game for the As, as he went six innings, allowing two runs on six hits, walking no one and striking out four; however, that sixth inning did him in and his record fell to 10-8 on the season.

Despite allowing the home run to Piscotty in the fifth inning, Bumgarner was lights out for the Giants, as he went seven innings, allowing one run on two hits, walking no one and striking out nine.

This was the 17th quality start of the season for Bumgarner, trailing Hyun- Jin Ryu of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who leads the league with 19.

NOTES: With the win, the Giants are now 28-11 this season in one-run games and their 28 wins along with .718 winning percentage lead the major leagues.

The Giants have also won three games in a row for the first time since July 21-23 against the New York Mets and the Chicago Cubs.

It was the Giants 34th come-from-behind win of the season, and their 12th since the All-Star break.

UP NEXT: Tyler Beede closes out the home stand on Wednesday afternoon, as he takes the hill for the Giants, while Homer Bailey closes out the As road trip with a trip to the Oracle Park mound.

Giants nip A’s 3-2, take Game 1 of Bay Bridge Series

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Photo credit: @NBCSAthletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

SAN FRANCISCO–The Oakland A’s and the San Francisco Giants played a very entertaining game Tuesday night in the Battle of the Bay. The Giants’ Madison Bumgarner was on the top of his game as he went seven innings and allowed just two hits. The only mistake he made was a gopher ball to Stephen Piscotty in the fifth inning. Bumgarner looked like he has regained the form that made him an All-Star. The A’s starter lefty Brett Anderson pitched well enough to win. He went six innings and allowed two runs and six hits. The Giants had to hang on in the ninth as the A’s scored a run and left the bases loaded as they fell 3-2 to the Giants at Oracle Park.

Both teams played well, and the outcome was in doubt right up to the last out in the ninth. Both teams are in the hunt for a playoff berth, and it felt like it was a playoff game. The Giants evened their record at 60-60, and the A’s fell to 67-52

The A’s drew first blood in the top of the fifth. Madison Bumgarner, who gave up a bloop single to Marcus Semien to start the game, had retired 14 in a row before Stephen Piscotty unloaded his 12th dinger of the year to give the A’s the lead 1-0 midway through the fifth. The Giants failed to score in the bottom of the fifth.

The Giants broke through in the bottom of the second to score two runs. With two out, Anderson gave up three consecutive double to Buster Posey, Evan Longoria, and Kevin Pillar. The Giants lead 2-1 heading into the seventh.

The A’s went down in order in the seventh. A’s manager Bob Melvin, brought in left Jake Diekman to pitch. Anderson’s line was six innings pitched, and he allowed six hits and two runs. The Giants scored a run without the benefit of a hit. Diekman walked Aramis Garcia and Brandon Crawford to start the frame. Bumgarner laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to advance the runners to second and third. Garcia scored when pinch-hitter Scooter Gennett hit a sacrifice fly to center. A’s centerfielder Mark Canha made a sensational catch to rob Joey Rickard to end the inning. The Giants lead 3-1 after seven.

In the top of the ninth, the A’s loaded the bases with one out. Giants reliever Will Smith struck out Matt Olson for the second out, With the crowd on their feet and screaming, Smith walked Canha to force in a run. The A’s now trail 3-2. Smith struck out Chad Pinder to end the game.

Game Notes: The A’s Brett Anderson dropped to 10-8 for the year, and the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner improved to 8-7. Bumgarner has looked like the pitcher of old in his last ten starts. Will Smith earned is 29th save of the season. The Giants are 46-6 when Smith appears in a game.

Up Next: The A’s will conclude the two-game set with the Giants on Wednesday. Homer Bailey will go for Oakland, and Tyler Beede will be on the hill for the Giants. Game time is at 12:30 pm.

Headline Sports podcast with Barbara Mason: Giants to hoist Clark’s retired #22; Raiders’ Brown agrees to wearing new helmet; plus more

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photo from sfgate.com: Former San Francisco Giants player Will Clark gestures to fans during a ceremony honoring the 1989 World Series team prior to a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2019, in San Francisco.

On Headline Sports with Barbara:

#1 From that 1989 San Francisco Giants reunion on Sunday night at Oracle Park in San Francisco, former Giants first baseman Will Clark’s number 22 is being retired, Clark hit .303, 2,176 hits, 284 home runs, with 1,205 RBIs in his MLB career.

#2 The Oakland Raiders’ Antonio Brown said he will wear the NFL issued helmet losing the grievance wanted to continue wearing the old helmet that he wore when he was with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The NFL is insisting that all players wear the newly designed helmet that help prevent concussions. Brown said that if he is required to wear the new issued helmet he was going to retire. Brown has had limited play with his frostbite feet holding him back.

#3 Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden said that the Raiders wide receiving depth is as good as it’s ever been with Hunter Renfrow, Tyrell Williams, JJ Nelson, and Antonio Brown. Raider quarterbacks Mike Glennon and Nathan Peterman in preseason are impressed with the receiving core.

#4 The Oakland A’s keep on rolling. They are now 1.5 back of first place for the American League wild card. On Sunday, the A’s kept up their winning ways with a 2-0 win over the Chicago White Sox. A’s pitcher Chris Bassitt started the game and went seven innings, four hits, two walks and seven strikeouts.

#5 While the San Francisco Giants might be out a whopping 19.5 games in the NL West race, their wild card chance improved a whole lot on Sunday with their comeback win over the Philadelphia Phillies at Oracle Park with a 9-6 win. The Giants are now 3.5 games back and had the day off on Monday night.

Join Barbara for Headline Sports each Tuesday night at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Preview of the Bay Bridge series between the A’s and Giants

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Photo credit: youtube.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s have an off-day on Monday. They finish the eight-game road trip by visiting the San Francisco Giants to play two starting on Tuesday at Oracle Park in San Francisco. Since the game will be played in a National League Park, the A’s will not be able to use a designated hitter.

Tuesday night’s game will feature a battle between two left-handed pitchers. The A’s will send Brett Anderson to the hill to face the Giants. Anderson is 10-7 and has an ERA of 3.99. Anderson earned a win over the Chicago Cubs last week when he went seven innings and allowed just two runs. The Giants will counter with their ace, Madison Bumgarner. Bumgarner is 7-7, and his ERA is 3.74. Most people felt that Bumgarner would not be with the Giants at this point in the season, has pitched well lately. He has an ERA of 2.78 over his last nine starts. Bumgarner has started seven games against the A’s and own a record of 4-2.

The A’s and Giants finish the short two-game series on Wednesday. It will be a day game, and Homer Bailey will go for Oakland, and he will be opposed by Tyler Beede. This will be Bailey’s sixth start since coming to Oakland from the Kansas City Royals. His record is 9-8, and his ERA is 5.54. Baily had a bad outing against the Cubs last week. He went 4 2/3 innings and was tagged for seven runs. Beede’s record is 3-6, and his ERA is 5.61. Beede, in his last start, went five innings and allowed five runs. His ERA over his previous four outings is 8.38

The A’s will be seeing a lot of familiar faces in the Giants’ lineup. The Giants’ infield will be Brandon Belt at first base, Brandon Crawford at shortstop, Evan Longoria at third, and newcomer Scooter Gennett at second. Pablo Sandoval is day-to-day with inflammation in his right elbow. Donovan Solano is the backup utility man. The Giants have remade their outfield. They acquired Kevin Pillar from the Toronto Blue Jays. Pillar is an excellent defensive centerfielder. Also, Pillar can steal a base, and he has a lot of pop in his bat. He has hit 15 homers and driven in 62. Austin Slater will probably be in right field, and Mike Yastrzemski will be in left. Mike’s grandfather, Carl Yastrzemski, is in the MLB Hall of Fame.

The catching chores will be handled by Buster Posey and Stephen Vogt. Vogt, who was designated for assignment by the A’s in 2017, would love nothing better than beating his old team. It would be a reminder that they made a huge mistake cutting him loose. Vogt was a huge fan favorite when he was with the A’s.

Bruce Bochy, who is in his final year managing the Giants, has a strong bullpen. The Giants did trade away three relievers at the trade deadline, but they still have standouts such as righties Trevor, Gott, Sam Coonrod, Jandal Gustave, and Reyes Moronta. They will use lefties Williams Jerez, Andrew Suarez, Tony Watson, and Will Smith. Smith has 26 saves and represented the Giants at the All-Star Game.

Both teams have a lot to play for. The A’s are in a dogfight with the Tampa Bay Rays for the second Wild Card. The A’s trail Tampa by just 1 and 1/2 games. The A’s are also in second place in the AL West with a record of 67-51. The Giants had a beautiful month of baseball in July. Their record was 17-3, and that propelled them into the race for the second Wild Card in the National League. They have been struggling a bit in August, but they are 59-60 and are 3 1/2 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals.

The A’s would like to sweep the Giants. They return home to face the two best teams in the American League. They start a four-game set with the rampaging Houston Astros. The Astros have improved their starting rotation and have tormented the A’s this year. Following the Astros series, the A’s meet the New York Yankees for three starting a week from Tuesday. The Yankees, even though they have had so many injuries, sport a potent lineup. Their starting pitching has been suspect, but they have an outstanding bullpen. The A’s pitchers will have their work cut out for them as they try to shut down the Yankees offense. After the Yankee’s series, the A’s finish the homestand with two more games against the Giants. The next 11 games should be terrific baseball. It is what the players live for.

Pillar wins it late to give Giants the series; SF defeats Phillies 9-6

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photo from sfgate.com:  San Francisco Giants’ Kevin Pillar swings for an RBI triple off Philadelphia Phillies’ Nick Pivetta in the eighth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 11, 2019, in San Francisco.

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — When the San Francisco Giants they knew that were getting a hitter with power and potential, and this season, Kevin Pillar has done just that.

Pillar went 2-for-4, including the go-ahead triple in the bottom of the eighth inning and the Giants defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 9-6 before a crowd of 36,637 at Oracle Park.

The win by the Giants gave them the series, their first series win since winning two out of three against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.

Evan Longoria led off the inning with a single, and then after both Stephen Vogt and Scooter Gennett were retired by Jose Alvarez, Nick Pivetta came on to face Pillar and he put into the right-center field alley that easily scored Longoria from first base.

Brandon Crawford was then intentionally walked, so that Pivetta could face Will Smith, who was making his first ever plate appearance. With Smith at the plate, Crawford stole second and then Smith shocked everyone, as he lashed an opposite field single that scored both Pillar and Crawford; however, Bryce Harper nearly ruined it, as his throw just missed getting Smith at first base.

Joey Rickard then doubled Smith to third base, where he shared a laugh with Ron Wotus and after a Brandon Belt walk, Pivetta finally got out of the inning, as he got Mike Yastrzemski to ground out to end the inning.

This was a wild game that saw everything, as the Giants took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, as Belt led off the inning with a walk, Yastrzemski then doubled off the left field wall and then Longoria gave the Giants the lead, when he singled up the middle off of Phillies starter Jake Arrieta.

Vogt then singled off of Arrieta that sent Longoria to third base; however, Arrieta regrouped to get Gennett to strike out and then Pillar grounded into a double play that ended the inning.

That 2-0 lead by the Giants was gone by the top of the second inning, as the Phillies erupted for three runs and that was end of the night for Giants starter Conner Menez.

J.T. Realmuto and Scott Kingery each walked, and after Sean Rodriguez struck out, Cesar Hernandez singled to load the bases. Arrieta then struck out for the second out of the inning, but the Phillies got on the board, when Roman Quinn walked and then Harper hit a two-run single that gave the Phillies the lead and that was it for Menez.

Jandel Gustave ended the inning, as he got Rhys Hoskins to fly out to Austin Slater and stop any further damage.

In all, Menez lasted just 1.2 innings, allowing three runs on just two hits, walking three and striking out four.

The Phillies attacked the Giants again in the top of the third inning, as Hernandez hit a two-run single off of the Giants third pitcher of the game and second reliever, Andrew Suarez, who came on to replace Gustave, when Corey Dickerson came on to pinch hit for Rodriguez.

Unfortunately for the Phillies that was the score for just one-half inning, as the Giants came all the way back to tie up the game, as Yastrzemski hit his 12th home run of the season. Longoria then picked up his second hit in as many at-bats, and after a Vogt fly out, Gennett doubled in Longoria to cut the Phillies lead down to one. Pillar then singled in Gennett to tie up the game.

Menez, who went from being on the hook for the loss, ended up getting a no-decision and Arrieta also did not fare in the decision, as he went three innings, allowing five runs on seven hits, walking just one and striking out five.

Gennett gave the Giants once again in the bottom of the sixth inning, as he hit his second home run of the season and first at home. His home run landed in McCovey Cove, the 80th Splash Hit by a Giants batter since the ballpark opened on April 11, 2000.

Dickerson tied up the game in the top of the eighth inning, as his sacrifice fly that took Yastrzemski to the wall easily scored Realmuto from third base. Realmuto led off the inning with a single, then went to third on a Kingery double.

Smith, who came on to replace Tony Watson prior to the Dickerson sacrifice fly then walked Hernandez intentionally and Brad Miller flew out to Yastrzemski to end the inning.

In all, the Giants pitched the final 7.1 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits, walking eight and striking out six.

Smith, who was unable to save the game for just the third time this season ended up with the victory, as he went the final 1.2 innings, allowing just two walks and a strikeout to improve his record to 4-0 on the season.

As a staff, the Giants walked 11 batters and this was the first time since September 20,2006 against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field where they won a game like that. It was the 11th time since moving to San Francisco in 1958 that the Giants (2019 J.G. Spink Award Jayson Stark gets credit for that stat).

NOTES: Gustave, Trevor Gott and Smith each made their first ever plate appearances during the game, and this was the first time since September 21, 1934 that three pitchers made their first ever appearances at the plate in the same game. Sherman Edwards, Whitey Wistert and Lee Grissom each went to the plate for the first time for the Cincinnati Reds in a 16-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field. That is the only other time since 1913 that this occurred in a game, according to STATS, INC.

The 11 walks by the Phillies are a season high, and the first time they turned the trick since April 26, 2009 against the Florida Marlins at Sun Life Stadium in a 13-2 Phillies victory.

Prior to the game, the Giants honored their 1989 National League Championship team, as Will Clark, Don Robinson, Bill Bathe, Chris Speier, Ernie Camacho, Brett Butler, Terry Kennedy, Craig Lefferts, Ernest Riles, Donell Nixon, Atlee Hammaker, Dave Dravecky, Greg Litton, Kelly Downs, Robby Thompson and Mike Krukow were joined on the field by coaches Bill Fahey, Dusty Baker, Norm Sherry and manager Roger Craig.

They also memorialized Jose Uribe, Wendell Kim, Hank Greenwald and General Manager Al Rosen.

Giants President then announced the surprise of the night, The Thrill of the Night, as the Number 22, worn by Will Clark will be retired during the 2020 season.

Clark will join Bill Terry, Mel Ott, Carl Hubbell, Monte Irvin, Willie Mays, Barry Bonds, Juan Marichal, Orlando Cepeda, Gaylord Perry and Willie McCovey in that elusive club.

Christy Mathewson and John McGraw are honored by the team with the letters NY, as they never wore numbers for the Giants.

Jackie Robinsons number 42 is retired throughout Major League Baseball and is also on the façade on the Club Level at Oracle Park.

Ford Frick Award Winners Jon Miller, Lon Simmons and Russ Hodges are honored on the Club Level.

UP NEXT: Madison Bumgarner takes on the mound on Tuesday evening, as the Oakland As make their only trip to San Francisco this season. The As return to the Bay Area after splitting six games in Chicago will send Brett Anderson to the mound in the opener.