Tag: San Francisco Giants

Giants strike with 5-run 7th inning to take Bay Bridge opener with 7-1 rout of A’s

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — Madison Bumgarner looked like his old self with the exception of one bad pitch, but it was the relief pitching of Reyes Moronta and Sam Dyson that was huge.

Moronta relieved Bumgarner with the bases loaded and nobody out in the top of the seventh inning, and he was able to get out of the jam and the San Francisco Giants took game one of the Bay Bridge Series with a 7-1 victory over the Oakland A’s before a sellout crowd of 41,751 at AT&T Park on Friday night.

“Bum threw a great game,” said manager Bruce Bochy.

The two other remaining members of the Giants’ run when they won three World Championships in five years also came up huge when the team needed it the most, as Buster Posey came through the hit of the night and Pablo Sandoval came up with the defensive play of the night.

Posey gave the Giants the lead for good in the bottom of the sixth inning, as he singled off of Edwin Jackson to score Steven Duggar, who led off the inning with a walk off of Jackson.

“Moronta, Pablo and Craw won the game for us,” said Bumgarner.

Duggar broke up Jackson’s no-hit bid, as he doubled to lead-off the bottom of the fourth inning and scored when Jackson balked with Brandon Crawford at the plate.

The rookie ended up going 2-for-4 at the plate with two doubles, a walk and two runs scored on the evening.

Posey also picked up two hits for the Giants, who reached the 50 win on July 13, last season, the Giants did not win their 50th game until August 18.

Bumgarner gave up a lead-off base hit to Marcus Semien in the top of the first inning, and then proceeded to retire the 14 A’s in a row until Chad Pinder tied up the game with his 10th home run of the season with two outs in the top of the fifth inning.

Pinder’s home run off of Bumgarner was the team’s major league leading 83rd home run on the road this season.

The play of the game came in the top of the seventh inning, as with one out and the bases loaded, Jonathan Lucroy hit a liner heading down the left field line; however, Sandoval made a great grab for the second out of the inning.

Bumgarner got into trouble in the top of the seventh inning, as he gave up a single to Stephen Piscotty, and then issued walks to Matt Olson and Matt Chapman and that was the end of the line for Bumgarner on the evening, as Bochy called on Moronta to get the Giants out of the bases loaded, nobody out jam.

Moronta got Pinder to strikeout for the first out of the inning, then Lucroy lined out to Sandoval, who just missed getting Piscotty at third base and Moronta ended the inning, as he got pinch-hitter Nick Martini to ground out to Crawford to end the inning and the threat.

In all, Bumgarner went six innings, allowing just one run on just three hits, walking three and striking out five. Bumgarner evened up his record at 3-3 on the season after his six-inning performance.

The win gave Bumgarner back-to-back wins at home for the first time since August 18, 2016 versus the New York Mets and 10 days later on August 28 against the Atlanta Braves.

On the other side of things, Jackson also went six innings, allowing two runs, scattering four hits, walking three, striking out one and that balk that gave the Giants their first run of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. With the loss, Jackson lost for the first time as a member of the A’s and is now 1-1 on the season.

Ryan Dull came on to replace Jackson, but after singles to Alen Hanson and Gorkys Hernandez, Chase d’Arnaud walked to load the bases and that was the end of the night for Dull.

Jeremy Bleich then replaced Dull, as he made his Major League debut and Duggar greeted him by smashing a two-run double to the right field wall that scored both Hanson and Hernandez. Bleich then hit Brandon Belt, and his MLB debut was a short one, as he was replaced by former Giants reliever Santiago Casilla.

Andrew McCutchen drove in the fourth run of the inning, as he hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield that scored Duggar easily from third base.

Casilla then uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Belt to go to second base, and Belt then went to third on a Crawford groundout for the second out of the inning. Unfortunately, Casilla was unable to get out of the inning, as Posey picked up his second hit in as many at-bats, as he lined a double down the left field line to score Belt.

Sam Dyson worked the eighth and ninth innings, as he struck out two and the Giants won for the fifth time in their last seven games. They are now 5-3 on this 10-game home stand that will end on Sunday.

NOTES: Jeff Samardzija looks for his second win of the season on Saturday night, as he takes the mounds against his former team. Brett Anderson will head to the mound for the A’s, as he also looks for his second win of the season.

A’s second baseman Jed Lowrie left the game with a left leg contusion after he collided with Piscotty in the bottom of the third inning. Pinder replaced Lowrie at second base, and Khris Davis came into the game in left field. Davis ended up going 0-for-2, and his 14-game hitting streak came to a halt.

UP NEXT: The Giants and A’s will return to the field on Saturday night at 7:05 pm PDT.

A’s Unlucky in Bay Bridge Opener, Fall to Giants 7-1

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

Photo credit: @957thegame

By Matthew Harrington

Friday the 13th is an unlucky day by superstition, something the Oakland Athletics can now vouch for after falling to the San Francisco Giants 7-1 at AT&T Park Friday night. After seeing the team MVP exit the game, the bad went to worse. The A’s must have had a black cat or two cross trans-Bay charter on the way to the park after mirroring situations saw the A’s score zero runs and the Giants five.

The A’s loaded the bases with no outs off starter Madison Bumgarner trailing 2-1, but failed to push across a single run after reliever Reyes Moronta punched out Chad Pinder, coaxed an infield lineout from Jonathan Lucroy and pinished off pinch hitter Nick Martini with a bouncer to the sure-handed Brandon Crawford to stymie the threat.

With starter Edwin Jackson lifted for reliever Ryan Dull in the bottom of the innings, the Giants also worked the bases loaded. Reliever Jeremy Bleich enterted the game, making his major league debut after 10 years in the minors. Steven Duggar welcomed him to the bigs with a double down the line in right that scored a pair, then pegged Brandon Belt to reload the bases with Oakland now trailing 4-1.

Former Giant closer Sanitago Casilla replaced Bleich and his infinite ERA, getting Andrew McCutchen out on a sacrifice fly. His wild pitch allowed Duggar to score for 6-1 lead. Buster Posey doubled in a run to add on to the lead.

Oakland starter Edwin Jackson finished his fourth start in as many outings with the A’s by allowing two runs or fewer. He departed the game after six innings with Oakland down 2-1 after he stumbled off the mound in the fourth inning for a run-scoring balk then gave up a Posey RBI single in the bottom of the sixth. He was bolstered briefly by a Chad Pinder solo homer in the top of the fifth of Giants starter Madison Bumgarner, the only run the A’s would score on the night.

Jackson scattered just four hits, while walking three and striking out the one Giant. He was out-dueled ever so slightly by Bumgarner, who allowed three hits, one run and struck out five with his trio of walks. The difference was the pen where Moronta provided the shutdown inning and Sam Dyson pitched two scoreless for San Francisco while Dull, Bleich and Casilla combined for five runs.

Jed Lowrie came out of the game for Oakland, getting pinch hit for by Khris Davis in the sixth inning. He was in a collision with right fielder Stephen Piscotty in the bottom of the third inning. Per the A’s, he exited the game with a leg contusion. It remains to be seen if he’ll appear in Saturday or Sunday’s Bay Bridge series contests.

The A’s will now need to win four of the remaining five contests between the two teams sandwiched around the All-Star break if they want to win the inaugural Bay Bridge series trophy made out of a reclaimed beam from the original Bay Bridge span. Brett Anderson will face Jeff Samardzija, a current trade target of the A’s, in Saturday’s contest. There’s still no word yet on any parade plans for the trophy’s eventual winner.

Giants and A’s prep for Battle of the Bay

Published on by jeremy2878Leave a comment

Photo credit: @athletics_fanly

By Jeremy Harness

The Giants and the A’s will see a lot of each other in this next week.

Both teams are enjoying seasons that have exceeded preseason expectations and both sport winning records heading into this weekend. This will be on a crash course right for each other for the next six regular-season games, with the annual All-Star Game sprinkled in between.

The Giants head into the Battle of the Bay with a bit of momentum on their side, which was especially needed after the thumping they took in Colorado a week ago, being swept in three games by the Rockies.

They have since turned it around, splitting a four-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals and then taking two of the three-game series with the Chicago Cubs, who disposed of them in the 2016 playoffs before going on to win the World Series.

The A’s, meanwhile, are riding a huge wave. They currently have a 53-41 mark after taking three out of a four-game series from the defending World Series champ Houston Astros and have won 19 of their past 24 games overall.

Madison Bumgarner (2-3) will take the hill for Friday’s opener against Oakland righty Edwin Jackson (1-0). Bumgarner has won two of his last three decisions and came out with a victory despite giving up four runs to the Cardinals in only 5 1/3 innings on Sunday.

Jackson won his only decision this year on June 30, when he surrendered only a pair of runs over 6 2/3 innings to the Cleveland Indians. He faced the Indians again on Saturday and surrendered three runs on five runs but ended up with a no-decision.

Jeff Samardzija (1-5) will try to turn his season around on Saturday when he takes the ball opposite Oakland’s Brett Anderson. Andrew Suarez (3-5) will look to continue his positive momentum on Sunday against A’s righty Sean Manaea (8-6), who has a no-hitter to his name this season.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Bay Bridge Series Set for Friday; Plus Other Rivalries

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @NBCSAuthentic

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — The San Francisco Giants will host the Oakland Athletics on July 13, 14 and 15 as the A’s end their last road trip previous to the first half of the season.

After the All-Star break, both teams will play in their first series at the Oakland Coliseum. The two Bay Area franchises have celebrated anniversaries in 2018–the Giants’ 60 years playing in San Francisco since they moved from New York in 1958, and the A’s 50 years in Oakland since they moved from Kansas City, Mo., in 1968.

Today, it is called The Bay Bridge Series or the Battle of the Bay, but it was called the BART Series in the past.

The Oakland Coliseum and AT&T Park are separated by a bridge and a bay 16.2 miles apart. The only two cities in America that have two MLB teams within their city limits are New York and Chicago.

The Yankees vs. Mets rivalry is still going strong after they met for the first time 56 years ago. Back in 2000, these two New York teams were in the World Series. I remember the arguments in the streets of New York, where you have to pick one or the other–because in the Big Apple, you cannot be a fan of both the Mets and Yankees.

Anyways, the Cubs and White Sox both have long, storied histories and a rivalry that spans 100-plus years. It all started in the 1906 World Series when they first met, and the Cubs lost in six games.

There are other rivalries, but are much more geographically apart, and also in different cities like the LA Dodgers and LA Angels, Washington Nationals and Baltimore, and vice versa. Notice these are all American League vs. National League teams. There are others, but they are much far apart inside the same states, like, say, Kansas City Royals and St Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros and Texas Rangers, Miami Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays, etc. It takes hours by land or minutes by air to commute to those series. Of these, the only rivalry with a head-to-head World Series history was in 1985 when the Royals defeated the Cardinals in seven games.

The A’s and Giants met in one World Series in 1989 when the A’s swept the Giants, despite the uncertainty after the Loma Prieta earthquake interrupted the rivalry with a 6.9 intensity prior to Game 3 at Candlestick Park.

For those who were there, that was one of the most unforgettable moments of our lives. Overall, the A’s have won four World Series during their 50-year history in Oakland, while the Giants have won three during their 60 years in San Francisco. Prior to the start of this 2018 season, the odds for these two teams to win the World Series this year where; 200-1 for the Giants and 300-1 for the A’s.

The Giants and A’s met for the first time in the regular season in June 1997 for their first year of inter-league play. For many years, they have played previous to the regular season, but those have been exhibition games as part of Spring Training.

The Giants and A’s will have something more to play for when the two teams meet this year in the Bay Bridge Series during the regular season–an 18-inch steel trophy salvaged from the original eastern span of the bridge. The first three games will be at AT&T Park on July 13, 14, and 15, and the last three at the Oakland Coliseum on July 20, 21, and 22.

Some folks describe the A’s as a small market team, yet they play in the same Bay Area with seven million people like the Giants, yet they do not call the Giants a small market team. It always makes me question their logic.

But, Louis D. Brandeis, an American lawyer and associate justice to the Supreme Court of the United States, once said, “The logic of words could yield to the logic of realities.” He was right. In other words, the reality is that the A’s are not a small market team, but they would be if they were still playing in Kansas City. That, my amigos, is a small market.

AT&T Park notes: First game(s) were played from April 11-13 vs. Dodgers, who swept the Giants. The last three games of 1999 and the final three in Candlestick Park history were also against the rival Dodgers.

It’s hard to believe it happened 18 years ago. I was there to call those games, including the first Splash Hit into McCovey Cove in right field by Barry Bonds on May 1, 2000. The Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company paid $50 million for the naming rights for 24 years, so it has been known as the PAC Bell Park and SBC Park before ATT Park.

Also, if you take a closer look at the Willie Mays statue by the main entrance on 2nd and King, there are inaugural bricks of Giants’ broadcasters who were there for the inaugural season in 2000.

Mine read, “For those who could not leave Cuba and enjoy big league beisbol.”

ATT Brick - short.PNG

Play Ball!

San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Holland and Quintana matched up well in Tuesday’s contest; Former Giants coach Flannery is Giant PA announcer for a day

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

mercurynews.com file photo: San Francisco Giants PA announcer Tim Flannery took the day off from his work at NBC Bay Area TV to work for Renel the regular Giants PA announcer who took the day off to M.C. Mayor London Breed’s  inauguration at San Francisco City Hall

On the SF Giants podcast with Marko:

Addison Russell of the Chicago Cubs hit a double off San Francisco Giants’ starter Derek Holland. Holland was lifted after Russell’s hit. Giant reliever Sam Dyson threw a wild pitch that allowed Russell to score. For Holland, it was a hard fought loss. Holland went 6.1 innings, one run, five hits, no walks and eight strikeouts.

The Cubs are a tough customer and their starter Tuesday Jose Quintana went six innings, three hits, two walks, three strike outs, Quintana improves his record to 8-6. The Cubs will be starting Mike Montgomery (3-3) going against Giants’ Johnny Cueto (3-1).

Cueto struggled in his last outing, giving up a combined five runs in the first two inning of his last start last Thursday at AT&T Park against the St Louis Cardinals.

Giants’ side note: Former San Francisco Giants third base coach Tim Flannery was the P.A. announcer for Wednesday’s Giants vs. Cubs game. Flannery was on NBC Bay Area Sports sitting in the P.A. booth practicing reading his notes in his P.A. voice on the live broadcast before the ball game.

Renel, who is the Giants regular P.A. announcer, missed her first two Giants games as announcer when her mother passed away and when Renel had a broken leg she was replaced by USF announcer Joey Hallisy both times. Renel was the announcer at the ceremony for Mayor London Breed’s inauguration at San Francisco City Hall on Wednesday. Renel will be back in the P.A. line up Friday when the Giants host the Oakland A’s.

Marko Ukalovic does the Giants podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Huge throwing error cost Giants in 2-0 shutout loss to Cubs

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — With the possibility of taking the series on the horizon, San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy switched his rotation up and Derek Holland got the start.

Holland pitched well, but it was his double to Addison Russell that proved to what the Chicago Cubs.

Russell doubled off of Holland with one out in the top of the seventh inning, and that was the end of the line for Holland, who pitched a great game.

Sam Dyson uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Russell, and on the play, Nick Hundley’s throw went past Pablo Sandoval that allowed Russell to score and the Cubs defeated the Giants 2-0 before a crowd of 39,113 at AT&T Park on Tuesday night.

Dyson then walked Kyle Schwarber, but Hundley threw Schwarber out at second base for the second out of the inning. It looked like the Giants might get out of the jam, but Dyson walked Ian Happ and then Victor Cartini doubled to right field that allowed Happ to score from first base.

It was a hard-fought loss for Holland, who went 6.1 innings, allowing just one run on five hits, not walking a batter and striking out eight, as he saw his record fall to 5-8 on the season.

The eight strikeouts by Holland tied his season-high, as he also struck out eight on June 26 against the Colorado Rockies in a 3-2 Giants victory.

The two-run seventh inning made a winner out of Jose Quintana, who went six innings, allowing just three hits, walking two and striking out three, as he improved to 8-6 on the season.

Double plays cost the Giants as well, as they hit into two inning-ending double plays that could have possibly given them the lead.

With runners on first and second with nobody out in the bottom of the third inning, Hundley grounded into the first Giants double play of the evening.

Gorkys Hernandez led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a walk, but was cut down at second base, when Andrew McCutchen grounded into a double play that ended that frame and the Cubs took the lead in the following inning.

Hernandez, who was retired on the McCutchen double play to end the bottom of the sixth inning was the Giants runner to reach base, as the Cubs bullpen trio of Carl Edwards, Justin Wilson and Steve Cishek retired the final nine Giants batters.

Ray Black made his second appearance on the mound for the Giants after an inauspicious major league debut, where he walked two and gave up a pinch-hit three-run home run to Matt Carpenter in the top of the eighth inning in the Giants’ 13-8 victory over the Cardinals on Sunday afternoon.

Black struck out National League All-Star starting catcher Wilson Contreras to begin the inning for his first Major League strikeout. Russell then made it two strikeouts in a row, as he struck out for the second out of the inning. After falling behind Schwarber 3-1, Black regrouped to get Schwarber to pop out to Brandon Crawford for the third out of the inning.

Steve Cishek pitched a perfect ninth inning to pick up his third save of the season, just one night after being the losing pitcher in a 2-1 Giants win in the opener of the three-game series.

Even though he committed the error that ultimately gave the Cubs the game, Hundley was able to throw two runners out at second base. Hundley got David Bote to end the top of the second inning, after Bote got the first hit of the game for the Cubs.

Hundley then got Schwarber just after he walked in the top of the seventh inning, where the Cubs scored all the only runs of the game.

Chase d’Arnaud made his first start as a Giant, and responded by getting a single in the bottom of the fifth inning.

NOTES: Johnny Cueto will take the mound on Wednesday afternoon, as the Giants look for the series win., while Mike Montgomery will take the hill for the Cubs.

Unless the two teams meet each other in the postseason, Wednesday afternoon will be the final time that the two teams will meet this season.

After not having a day off since June 25, the Giants will be off on Thursday before opening a three-game series against the Oakland Athletics on Friday night at AT&T Park.

During the 16-game stretch with one game remaining before the day off, the Giants are 8-7, as they faced the Rockies twice, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cubs.

Joe Panik could be back in about three weeks, instead of close to six weeks that was originally stated.

“It’s getting batter, still a lot of season left and the team is playing well,” said Panik.

Evan Longoria is increasing his baseball activity, and should be back around the first week of August.

“All hands are on deck, (meaning starters) for guys who need a break out of the bullpen,” said Bruce Bochy.

This was the first time that the Giants were shutout at home this season, and the first time since September 16, 2017 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

UP NEXT: The Giants conclude their series with the Cubs Wednesday afternoon at 12:45 pm PDT.

Feature: He Was a Giant? Former Giant Bill Bordley (1980)

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: alchetron.com

By: Tony The Tiger Hayes

HE WAS A GIANT?
BILL BORDLEY — LHP — 1980 — #34

It made national news in 1979 when the Giants won the rights to acquire this strapping, hard-throwing, uber blue-chipper out of USC. Bordley was viewed as a southpaw Tom Seaver with a brilliant college pedigree and a ceiling as high as the moon.

But like a lot of scenarios for the Giants in the early ’80s, Bordley turned out to be more Fools Gold than a Golden Ticket.

Despite all the fanfare he arrived with, Bordley ended pitching in just eight games for the Orange and Black and never made it back to the majors.

Why was he a Giant?
Before the secondary phase of the ’79 draft, Bordley–who had a family medical hardship–stated a desire to play on the West Coast. Cincinnati drafted him anyways. After some legal posturing, Bordley was eventually released from the Reds’ grips and the names of five teams that fit the pitcher’s criteria were dropped in a hat. The Giants won.

Before and after
Bordley was a super star all the way up to joining the Giants. At Bishop Montgomery High School in Torrance, the southpaw set school records across the board, leading to a scholarship to USC. Once there He set the college freshman strikeout high watermark – a record that stood until Tim Lincecum broke it in 2004. After two seasons as a Trojan, Bordley’s record stood at 26-2 and led USC to the 1978 College World Series title.

Bordley was signed to a Major League contract and fast tracked through the minors. Within a year he was with the Giants. Two years and two elbow surgeries later, he was out of pro ball.

Bordley went back to USC earned a degree in finance and then began a career with the Secret Service. He was on President Bill Clinton’s detail for several years and was called upon to testify in the Monica Lewinsky mess.

Eventually, Bordley made it back to the big leagues and is now MLB’s Vice President for security.

He was no Tom Seaver. But…
He beat Tom Seaver. In his Giants debut, Bordley out-dueled the Hall of Famer, allowing three runs over six innings in an 8-4 win over the Reds at Candlestick Park (6/30/80). He also collected his lone big league hit that day off Tom Terrific.

Giants’ footprint
As a baseball security chief, Bordley is not only in charge of keeping every MLB player safe from harms way but also every fan, he has visited AT&T Park several times during his time with the commissioner’s office.

Tony The Tiger Hayes does Giants features for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Posey to sit out All-Star game to rest hip will get cortisone Sun ; Can A’s win a series in Houston?

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

mercurynews.com file photo: Giants catcher Buster Posey slides in file photo will be out of the All Star game to rest hip and get a cortisone shot after Sunday’s game

On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey announced before Monday night’s game against the Chicago Cubs at AT&T Park in San Francisco that he will sit out next week’s All-Star game to rest his hip. The St. Louis Cardinals’ catcher Yadier Molina will be the National League’s signal-caller in place of Posey.

For the A’s-Astros series in Houston, the question is can the A’s break the spell and win a series at Minute Maid Field? The A’s have played some great ball of late with key hitting and great closer help from Blake Treinen, who has 22 saves, just might make a series out of it.

The Chicago White Sox’s Jose Abreu could be joining the Astros during this current Astros homestand. Abreu for the season is hitting .259 with 12 home runs and 50 RBIs. It would be ironic if he could join the Astros during this series against the A’s.

The Arizona Diamondbacks had an executive from the club scouting at Comerica Park last Sunday to watch pitcher Michael Fulmer 3-8 ERA 4.11. Last Sunday, Fulmer delivered seven strong innings. The Diamondbacks are looking to get some help in their quest to hold onto first place and the postseason and Fulmer is someone they feel that can help the club.

On Monday, there were possible trade possibilities between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Baltimore Orioles. The Brewers were very interested in obtaining Manny Machado’s services and sending Brett Phillips to the O’s. Phillips had a great minor league season last year, hitting .317; but has struggled in the Brewers’ triple-A system this year. The Yankees have also expressed interest in Machado, which actually is a very likely scenario for Machado.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez is the Oakland A’s Spanish radio play-by-play talent and goes through all the trade rumors and All-Star break news at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Playoff Atmosphere: Giants show well in 2-1, extra innings win over the Cubs

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO — Monday night’s tense, playoff-like meeting of the Cubs and Giants needed a hero. In the 11th inning, Pablo Sandoval emerged as that guy.

One day after Sandoval came up with five RBIs in the Giants’ 13-8 win over the Cardinals, the Panda delivered the game-winning hit against the Cubs. Never an insignificant feat, Sandoval gained difficulty points by delivering against a five-man infield while facing formidable reliever Pedro Strop.

“You can’t let that affect your at-bat, and I don’t think it affected Pablo at all,” said manager Bruce Bochy of the crowded infield and Sandoval’s cold-blooded approach.

When Sandoval delivered the two teams had been locked into a 1-1 duel for nearly six innings. While the Giants realized more run scoring opportunities, the Cubs and manager Joe Maddon had answers with starter Kyle Hendricks, who pitched into the ninth, and relievers Randy Rosario and Steve Cishek.

In the tenth inning, Cishek extricated the Cubs from a one-out, runner at third situation by striking out inexperienced hitters Chase d’Arnaud and Steven Duggar. That stranded would-be hero Hunter Pence, who tripled to put the Giants in position, prompting Maddon to move versatile outfielder Ben Zobrist to the infield the first time.

One inning later, the Giants were in the advantageous spot with Strop summoned to face the more dangerous Sandoval, after the Cubs elected to walk All-Star Brandon Crawford ahead of him.

“He’s our best hitter right now,” Sandoval said of Crawford. “I just dropped everything from my mind. I got the opportunity and I took advantage of it.”

Starter Andrew Suarez impressed again by allowing one run on three hits in six innings of work. Suarez struggled with his command, walking four, but got big outs when needed.

Five Giants relievers would follow Suarez, each pitching an inning without falling into stressful situations. Of the five, only closer Will Smith allowed a hit, Zobrist’s two-out double in the ninth. Smith recovered by retiring David Bote to end the inning.

The Giants improved to 3-2 on their lengthy, 10-game homestand, and moved within three games of the idle, first-place Arizona.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips and Michael Duca: The youth movement has begun; Giants get help from Suarez, Duggar and Hanson to hold off Cubs

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

@NBCSGiants photo: It was a pitchers duel as the San Francisco Giants came out ahead 2-1 with starters for the Chicago Cubs Kyle Hendricks left and for the Giants Andrew Suarez (right)

On the SF Giants podcast with Morris and Michael:

The youth movement at the San Francisco Giants has begun. They have a mix of veterans and youth. Steven Duggar started and led off on Monday night, Giants starter Andrew Suarez was consistent and has been more impressive than pitcher Chris Stratton.

Suarez went six innings, three hits, a run, earned, four walks and five strikeouts. Suarez was really on his game in beating the Chicago Cubs 2-1. It’s been a team of a cast of 1000s and guys are coming out of nowhere to make contributions.

Alen Hanson and Pablo Sandoval feel like starters. They don’t even feel like replacements at this point. At some point, you have to wonder if this is going to be a story of the Giants or individual achievements and we’re still waiting to see if this team can get hot.

Michael Duca and Morris Phillips do the SF Giants podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com