Game Wrap 5/22/2013: Nationals 2 Giants 1

Madison Bumgarner and Gio Gonzalez hooked up in another pitcher's duel that ended in a draw, but this time it was the Nationals who won the bullpen game in extra innings.  Key Lines:

Marco Scutaro- 0 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .331.  Scutaro gets on base twice but ends his hit streak at 19.  For the second game in a row, came close to hitting one out late in the game.

Madison Bumgarner- 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.89.  Bumgarner's line was identical to Gio's except Gio retired 1 more batter.  Nice matchup.

Rafael Soriano(Nationals)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K's, Save(13).  ERA= 3.00.  Soriano got the Save in this one.  He called out Bryce Harper for not playing deep enough on Blanco's triple last night.  Alex Pavlovic commented over on Giants Extra that Harper should have made the catch implying that Harper gave up on the ball too early.  I disagree with both Soriano and Pavs.  Harper was playing plenty deep.  What does Soriano want, for him to play on the warning track?  That ball was scorched and just went over his head before any player could have reasonably reacted.  As for giving up on it, it was not catchable, IMO after seeing multiple replays.  Even if Soriano was right, it is bush league for him to call out Harper publicly like that:  1. Harper is a 20 year old kid who is learning the game at the MLB level because he is so talented, he's still better than any savvy vet you could put out there.  2.  Harper already publicly took responsibility for the play.  3.  If it wasn't for Bryce Harper, the Nationals would have lost today's game 1-0 and Soriano wouldn't have gotten a chance to save this game.  Talk about picking yourself up!  

The Loss put the Giants in a 3 way tie for first place in the NL West with the D'Backs and Rockies after the Rockies topped the D'Backs 4-1.  The Padres lost to the Cardinals 5-3 to remain 4.5 games behind in 4'th place. The Dodgers responded to Donnie Baseball's callout with a 9-2 drubbing of the BrewCrew.  Things are getting mighty inneresting down in Dodgerland with Donnie not only calling out his players but upper management at the same time.  It was so pointed that there is some speculation out there that Donnie might be trying to get himself fired, which is actually the first thing I thought of when I read the comments.  Ironically, the player who got sat down was with the team before the new ownership took over.  Gotta say while I don't think much of Donnie as a manager, I agree with his assessment of the team.  As for Ethier, I've thought for a long time that Ethier was more interested in posing for GQ photo shoots and preening for the TV cameras than he was in actually, you know, playing baseball!

The Giants get tomorrow off then get a chance at payback of the Rockies in AT&T Park with a weekend series.  First matchup is Tim Lincecum vs Tyler Chatwood.

Great series with the Nats.  An NLCS matchup of these two teams would be a real treat to watch!

Down on the Farm: 5/21/2013

AAA  Oklahoma City Redhawks crushed the Fresno Grizzlies 15-2:

Chris Dominguez(1B)- 1 for 4, 2B.  BA= .271.
Hector Sanchez(DH)- 3 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .308.
Chris Heston(RHP)- 5.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 5.59.
Jake Dunning(RHP)- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.63.
Dan Runzler(LHP)- 0 IP, 1 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 4.80.

The Hector is reportedly still being bothered by shoulder soreness.  Heston gave up all 5 runs in the first inning.

AA  Trenton Thunder blanked the Richmond Flying Squirrels 3-0:

Carlos Teller(LHP)- 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

So far, Teller has been an organizational guy playing wherever he is needed.  He's had stops in SJ, Fresno and now Richmond.  He is 26 yo and last played affiliated ball in 2008.

High A  San Jose Giants dominated the Inland Empire 66'ers 8-0:

Brock Bond(2B)- 1 for 4, 2B, BB.  BA= .286.
Mac Williamson(RF)- 2 for 5.  BA= .258.
Angel Villalona(1B)- 1 for 5, 2B.  BA= .213.
Jeff Arnold(C)- 1 for 4, HR(7).  BA= .266.
Chris Lofton(LF)- 3 for 4.  BA= .270.
Elliott Blair(CF)- 1 for 1, 2 BB, HBP.  BA= .236.
Ty Blach(LHP)- 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11 K's!  ERA= 1.89.
Bryce Bandilla(LHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.67.

Wow!  Ty Blach has taken on some serious helium!  His numbers just get more dominating with each start.

Low A Augusta Greenjackets defeated the Rome Braves 7-4:

Jesus Galindo(CF)- 3 for 5, 2B, SB(25).  BA= .309.
Shayne Houck(DH)- 2 for 5, 2 2B.  BA= .312.
Joseph Rapp(1B)- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .190.
Trevor Brown(2B)- 2 for 4, 3B.  BA= .232.
Andrew Cain(LF)- 3 for 4, 2B. 2 SB(5).  BA= .225.
Chris Stratton(RHP)- 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.59.
Derek Law(RHP)- 3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 2.61.
Tyler Mizenko(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, Save(12).  ERA= 0.00.

Disappointing numbers from Stratton.  Mizenko keeps his scoreless innings streak alive.

Game Wrap 5/21/2013: Giants 4 Nationals 2

Matt Cain battled Stephen Strasburg in an exciting pitching duel, but neither starter was around to finish this one as Pablo Sandoval won it with a walkoff 2 run dinger in the bottom of the 10'th inning.  Key Lines:

Marco Scutaro- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .337.  Scutaro got to late in the game still needing a hit to extend his hittin streak to 19 games.  He ended up with his 20'th 2-hit game as he singled in the 10'th to set up Pablo's game winner.

Pablo Sandoval- 2 for 5, HR(8).  BA= .308.  It was almost like Davey Johnson gave up on this game when he brought in Yuniesky Maya for the 10'th.  The guy's AAA numbers did not look good and he did not disappoint Giants fans who were licking their chops at the thought of Pablo getting to bat against him.

Buster Posey- 2 for 4.  BA= .303.  Buster had a clutch single up the middle in the 9'th to get the game tying rally started.  Boch made a great move pinch-running Torres who came all the way home on Blanco's drive to the wall up Triples Alley.  Buster probably would have scored on that hit too, but it's not a slam dunk that he would have.

Gregor Blanco- 3 for 4, 3B, SB(5).  BA= .293.  How great is Blanco playing right now?  He was a thorn in Strasburg's side all night and he had The Stras giving him stare downs and stankeyes all night for some reason.  He then smoked a triple over the head of Harper in right-center that got to the wall faster than any hit I can remember out there.  It just rocketed over Harper's head before he had a chance to take more than 2 steps back and Harper was playing deep.

Matt Cain- 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 5.12.  Cain actually had a better statistical line than Strasburg allowing 1 less hit and 1 less walk.  Cainer gave up both his runs in the first inning then was nails after that.  He actually appeared to be getting stronger as the game went along.

Bruce Bochy- Boch outmanaged Davy Johnson in this one with deft use of his bullpen.  Of course, you really can't blame Davy for Soriano not executing, but Bochy's use of his bullpen was masterful.  Boch gets some extra points for pinch running Torres for Posey and then not risking getting Torres thrown out by running him.

With the Win, the Giants moved into a first place tie with the D'Backs who lost their game with the Rockies 5-4.  The Rockies cut their deficit in third place to 1 game.  The Padres lost to the Card 10-2 to remain 4.5 games behind while the last place Dodgers(man, I really love writing that) remain 7 games back with a 5-2 loss to the BrewCrew.

Madison Bumgarner goes for the sweep facing Gio Gonzalez tomorrow afternoon.

Down on the Farm: 5/20/2013

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies pounded the Oklahoma City Redhawks 10-3:

Gary Brown(CF)- 2 for 5, HR(2).  BA= .206.
Brett Pill(1B)- 3 for 4, BB.  BA= .368.
Roger Kieschnick(RF)- 1 for 4, HR(6), BB.  BA= .311.
Tony Abreu(DH)- 2 for 3, HR(1), HBP.  BA= .667.
Johnny Monell(C)- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(6).  BA= .272.

A Tony Abreu sighting!

AA  Trenton Thunder defeated the Richmond Flying Squirrels 7-3:

Javier Herrera(DH)- 2 for 4, SB(12).  BA= .282.
Mark Minicozzi(3B)- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .312.

High A  San Jose Giants beat the Inland Empire 66'ers 5-1:

Brock Bond(2B)- 2 for 4, 3B, BB.  BA= .294.
Mac WIlliamson(RF)- 2 for 5, 3B, Assist(home).  BA= .253.
Angel Villalona(1B)- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .213.
Austin Fleet(RHP)- 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.45.
Josh Osich(LHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.82.
Cody Hall(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.63.
Hunter Strickland(RHP)- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.90.

Nice recovery from yesterday's 4 K collar by Angel V.  I wonder if Josh Osich would consider trying starting again?  He has 22 IP in 18 games but has only gone over 1 inning once in his last 10 appearances, a 1.2 inning stint on May 2 vs Bakersfield.  Seems like a waste of talent for him to be a 1 inning at at time reliever, unless he's going to eventually be a closer.

Low A  Rome Braves blanked the Augusta Greenjackets 6-0:

Really, nothing to see here.  'Jackets managed just 2 hits and the pitching was meh.  Farley pitched 3 shutout innings.  That's it.

Game Wrap 5/20/2013: Giants 8 Nationals 0

The Giants dominated the Nationals at AT&T Park, but lost their starter, Ryan Vogelsong, for at least 6 weeks with fractures in his right hand.  Key Lines:

Angel Pagan- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .260.  Pagan drove in 3 runs and scored 1 with a strong effort at leadoff.

Marco Scutaro- 2 fo4 5.  BA= .333.  Scutaro now has 19 two-hit games on the season, one less than league leader Jean Segura.

Brandon Belt- 4 for 5, HR(6).  BA= .261.  Yeah, I'd say Belt bought himself a much longer leash with this game.  Gotta be a huge confidence builder.  The lone out was a drive to the warning track in left-center.  Belt is 12 for 30, an even .400 over his last 10 games with 3 dingers and 4 walks.  He looks like he's having fun out there for maybe the first time in his MLB career.  He looks like he's eager to come to the plate.

Andres Torres- 3 for 5. 2B.  BA= .247.  Nice night for Torres who needed a confidence booster.

Ryan Vogelsong- 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 7.19.  Vogey was pitching a fine game when he came to the plate in the 5'th inning and swung at a pitch that bored in on him and caught the 5'th finger and metacarpal on his right hand. You knew it was broken the instant you saw the impact.  Dave Groeschner took one look and escorted him to the clubhouse.  The report is his hand is fractured in 2 places with a dislocated joint.  Owieeee!  He is reportedly scheduled for surgery tomorrow and will likely miss at least 6 weeks.  I think that is quite optimistic for this type of injury on his throwing hand.

Javier Lopez- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.31.  Tremendous outing by Lopez.  He got a standing O when he walked off field after striking out Adam LaRoche.

With the Win, the Giants remained 1 game behind the D'Backs, who topped the Rockies 5-1, in the NL West.  The Rockies slipped to 3'rd place 2 games off the pace.  The Pesky Padres beat the Cards 4-2 to rmain 4.5 games back in 4'th place.  The last place Dodgers defeated the BrewCrew 3-1 behind Clayton Kershaw to remain 7 games behind the leaders.

Matt Cain takes the mound tomorrow night facing Stephen Strasburg.

I suppose the speculation about Vogie's replacement can shift into high gear.  One possibility is to make Chad Gaudin a starter and bring up a reliever like Sandy Rosario, who has been going 2 and 3 innings at a time in Fresno.  Chris Heston is the only starter at Fresno currently on the 40 man roster.  Heston has an inflated ERA, but has nice looking peripheral numbers.  Of non-roster pitchers, LHP Mike Kickham has better numbers than Heston and ultimately has a higher ceiling, but might not be quite ready for the show.  Boof Bonser is coming off his best start since signing with the Giants and could be a consideration.  The Giants have some time before Vogies spot in the rotation comes up again.  They could pursue a trade.  Other teams will try to extract a premium return if they sense the Giants are desperate, though.

Down on the Farm: 5/19/2013

AAA  Fresno Grizzlies defeated the New Orleans Zephyrs 4-2:

Francisco Peguero(LF)- 2 for 4, HR(3), SB(1). BA= .378.
Brett Pill(3B)- 2 for 4.  BA= .353.
Roger Kieschnick(RF)- 2 for 4, 3B.  BA= .313.
Juan Perez(SS)- 2 for 4.  BA= .311.
Boof Bonser(RHP)- 7 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.89.
Sandy Rosario(RHP)- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(3).  ERA= 3.33.

I LOVE seeing SS after Juan Perez' name, LOVE IT!  This was statistically Bonser's best game of the season, possibly since signing with the Giants.

AA  Richmond Flying Squirrels blanked the Altoona Curve 3-0:

Jarrett Parker(RF)- 2 for 4, SB(5).  BA= .265.
Joe Panik(2B)- 2 for 3, 2B, BB, SB(4).  BA= .295.
Ryan Lollis(CF)- 2 for 4.  BA= .257.
Ehire Adrianza(SS)- 1 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .242.
Jack Snodgrass(LHP)- 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K"s.  ERA= 2.27.
Fabio Castillo(RHP)- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.38.

Lollis is hitting .333/.394/.467 over his last 10 games.  Parker is hitting .333/.391/.619 in May.  Not sure why Snodgrass came out of this one early.

High A  Inland Empire 66'ers beat the San Jose Giants 3-1:

Angel Villalona(1B)- 0 for 4, 4 K's.  BA= .207.
Edwin Escobar(LHP)- 6 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.53.
Jose Casilla(RHP)- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.13.

After I've raved about Angel V's bat, he goes and takes a 4 K collar.

Low A  Savannah Sand Gnats outslugged the Augusta Greenjackets 12-10:

Jesus Galindo(CF)- 3 for 6, 2B.  BA= .298.
Mitch Delfino(3B)- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(4).  BA= .261.
Chuckie Jones(RF)- 3 for 4, 2B, HR(2), BB.  BA= .202.
Andrew Cain(LF)- 2 for 4, HR(1), BB.  BA= .205.
Martin Agosta(RHP)- 3.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 5 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.88.

Mitch Delfino is hitting .325/.364/.525 over his last 10 games. This was Chuckie Jones' best game in recent memory.  Not a good start by Agosta.

Game Wrap 5/19/2013: Rockies 5 Giants 0

Barry Zito pitched gamely, but got no help from a sleepwalking offense or from his bullpen as the Giants appeared to want to just get out of Dodge ASAP.  Key Lines:

Brandon Crawford- 2 for 4.  BA= .288.  Crawford's fine hitting continued.

Gregor Blanco- 2 for 4.  BA= .279.  Crawford and Blanco combined for 4 of the Giants 5 hits.  Too bad they were separated by 4 and 3 batters in the lineup.

Barry Zito- 5.2 IP, 11 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.91.  Zito gave up a lot of baserunners but pitched tough and had a chance for a QS going to the 6'th.  Unfortunately, he couldn't get that last out and neither did Mijares until 2 runs had scored giving Zeets his final line.

Juan Nicasio(Rockies)- 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.47.  Before last year, there was an article in Fangraphs that I found persuasive correlating high velocity and low walk rates with future success by pitchers.  The pitchers who fit this description were Nicasio, Angels RHP Garrett Richards and Toronto RHP Henderson Alvarez.  Hasn't really worked out, but I think the jury may still be out on Nicasio and Richards.

The D'Backs lost to the lowly Marlins so the Giants remained 1 game behind the NL West leaders.  The Rockies gained a game to move into a tie for 2'nd place with the Giants.  The Pesky Padres pounded the Nationals 13-4 to move within 4.5 games of the D'Backs while the Dodgers lost to the Braves 5-2 to remain 7 games off the pace.

Ryan Vogelsong tries to right his and the Giants ship in the first game of a homestand tomorrow evening against Zach Duke.  This becomes a potentially pivotal homestand for the Giants.  If they can bounce back with a winning record, they might be in decent shape going forward.  If the losing continues, they then face a brutal June schedule in which they only have 9 home games.