Not a full wrap this morning: Landon Roupp RHP battled shaky command while throwing over 90 pitches in less than 4 innings and the Cardinals bullpen shut down the Giants lineup over the final 4 innings.  Juan Encarnacion RF hit a mammoth 2-run HR for the Giants offensive highlight but also struck out twice on fastballs up around his shoulders.  Giants will finish the season at no better than .500. See you all on Friday Oct 4 ..read more

 Hey team!  Just letting you know I will be away from the blog for several days starting Saturday, Sept 28 and returning Friday, Oct 4.  That means I likely won't be able to post a comment on FZ's fate when it is announced which will likely be within 48 hours of end of the final game.  As I have already said in another post, there are reasons for moving on from FZ.  He's had 6 seasons to build a perennial postseason team which really was/is the minimal expectation for an organization with resources like the Giants.  While he has had his share of bad luck in attemp ..read more

Final games of road trips are tough and the Giants stayed true to form with a listless performance.  Key Lines:  Heliot Ramos LF- 2 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .273.  It looked like the Giants might have something going in the 8'th inning when Ramos double scored YtY with no outs, but his front foot came off the bag before his back foot hit it and he was ruled out on the replay.  Plays like that are probably the single biggest unintended consequence of instant replay. The Giants lineup managed just 6 other baserunners and struck out 17 times.  More on that later. Mason Bl ..read more

The Giants offense erupted for 5 home runs in support of shutout pitching from Logan Webb and bullpen.  Key Lines: Heliot Ramos DH- 4 for 5, HR(22).  BA= .270.  Ramos had an inconsistent second half but he also had a breakout season, fought through a league adjustment and successfully readjusted.  At age 25 he's now a guy you have to hope is part of your core going forward. Lamonte Wade Jr 1B- 1 for 3, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .264.  OBP- .386.  I see LMWJ as being what I think Joey Votto's numbers would look like if he played half his games in Oracle Park rather than ..read more

Big games from Matt Chapman and Michael Conforto supported another strong start by Hayden Birdsong as the Giants success on the road against playoff-bound teams continued.  Key Lines: Heliot Ramos RF/LF- 1 for 5.  BA= .264.  Sometimes it's not about how many hits you get but when you get your one hit.  Ramos singled with one out in the 3'rd inning.  Jerar Encarnacion DH then hit a booming double to RF.  Ramos was on the move and cruised home with the score from 1B and Jerar took 3B on the throw.  After Conforto lined out Matt Chapman hit one off the deepest p ..read more

AAA:  Sugarland Space Cowboys defeated the Sacramento River Cats 8-3: Andrew Knapp 1B- 2 for 4, HR(10).  BA= .285. Christian Koss SS- 2 for 3, HBP, SB(5).  BA= .257. Carson Whisenhunt LHP- 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 10 K's.  ERA= 5.42.   The River Cats missed the AAA playoffs so today's game ends their season.  Carson Whisenhunt finishes his season strong after a rough first half allowing 2 ER in 11 IP with 16 K's and 4 BB's over his final two starts.  Add his name to the Giants SP depth chart for next season. Considering he didn't pitch much his junior seas ..read more

A triple by Grant McCray keyed a 2-run rally in the second inning which was all the runs Blake Snell and 3 Giant relievers needed to complete the shutout win and sweep the Royals.  Key Lines: Grant McCray CF- 1 for 3, 3B.  BA= .212.  McCray followed a 1-out single by Jerar Encarnacion DH with a triple up the R-CF alley to drive in the Giants first run.  McCray then scored the second run on Brett Wisely's 2-out single.   McCray's triple was notable for him fighting back from a 0-2 count to get a pitch he could hit on a 2-2 count.   Blake Snell LHP- 6 IP ..read more

AAA:  Sacramento River Cats defeated the Sugarland Space Cowboys 3-1: Blake Sabol LF- 2 for 2, HR(11).  BA= .249. Thairo Estrada 2B- 2 for 3, Sac, SB(1).  BA= .333. John Bertrand LHP- 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 10/4.  ERA= 1.80. 40-man roster spots will be at a premium this winter.  Giants have a decision to make about Blake Sabol.  Weird situation for Thairo Estrada who is not on the 40-man roster but is arbitration eligible.  Hard to imagine offering arbitration to a player who is not even on the 40-man roster.  Do they just let become a free ..read more

The Giants erupted for five home runs including two each by Lamonte Wade Jr and Matt Chapman to support another promising start by Landon Roupp.  Key Lines: Mike Yastrzemski RF- 1 for 4, HR(18).  BA= .235.  The BA doesn't look like much but YtY has hit 9 HR's, all off RHP's, in his last 30 games.  That's tied with some guy named Shohei Ohtani for HR's off RHP's in that span(Ohtani has 13 HR total in his last 30 games). Lamonte Wade Jr 1B- 2 for 4, 2 HR(8).  BA= .267.  LMWJ will almost certainly be tendered a contract as a bridge to the Bryce Eldridge Era. Matt Cha ..read more

 AAA:  Sacramento River Cats 2  Sugarland Space Cowboys 1 Trevor McDonald RHP- 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 9/3.  ERA= 4.72 Kolton Ingram LHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.86. Tyler Myrick RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(7).  ERA= 3.18. The Cats got 4 consecutive 2-out singles in the 8'th inning to produce their only 2 runs of the game.  Trevor McDonald was added to the 40-man roster last season.  His season did not start until May 14 and he worked his way through 4 levels after starting a rehab assignment in the ACL.  His ERA i ..read more