8/11/10, Julian Levine: "Tomorrow: Matt Cain pitches against Randy Wells. Giants hit a collective .571 (8 for 14) against him: tomorrow is going to be a goooooooooood day." and so it was...
Buckle up, folks, because this is a long ride:
There is so much that can be said about this Giants team after an 8-7 walkoff win against the Cubs, and the vast majority of it is positive.
Matt Cain was not his best on Thursday, but he got the job done: 6 IP, 3 ER. The number that does stick out is his pitch count which was 121 - not super-efficient. In the summer, it takes a toll on defense when they're out working for long innings. This start was by no means bad, though. Did I mention he struck out nine in his 6 innings of work?
The Giants fell to an early deficit on a 1st inning 2-run double by Xavier Nady, but answered it in the 2nd when Uribe followed a Sandoval triple with an RBI single.
Randy Wells, the Cubs' starter, hit an RBI double in the 4th to bring the Cubs' lead back to 2.
The Giants' offense was not even close to done, though. The 2 hottest Giants, Pat Burrell and Pablo Sandoval, answered in the bottom of the 4th with back-to-back solo home runs. In the 5th, they added on. Aaron Rowand reached on an error, then stole 2nd base. The throw to 2nd was early enough to nail Aaron Rowand, but he did a fantastic maneuver to avoid the tag. Freddy Sanchez laid down a sacrifice bunt, which I'll take over a non-productive out any day. Aubrey Huff and Buster Posey then walked, to load the bases for none other than Pat Burrell (aka Pat the Bat). And boy did he ever deliver. He hammered the ball down the left field line for a grand slam. Giants 7 Cubs 3.
The bullpen, however, was not so inclined to maintain the lead. Chris Ray allowed 1 ER in 1 inning of work. Javier Lopez walked Blake DeWitt to start off the 8th, and Mota took over from there. He gave up a single and a double before he was lifted. Giants 7 Cubs 5
Romo came in with the tying run on 2nd and gave up an RBI groundout and an RBI single. Giants 7 Cubs 7.
Wilson pitched the 9th, and got the Cubs to fly out three times.
In the bottom of the 9th, Aaron Rowand singled, Freddy Sanchez laid down yet another sac bunt, then Huff and Posey were walked to load the bases for none other than Pat Burrell....'s replacement, Andres Torres. He crushed the ball to deep center on a 2-0 count to secure the Giants' win. It was a walk-off single, but would've been a ground-rule double in any other situation.
There are many things to take from this game, as I said:
- Pat Burrell is on fire. His 2 for 4 with 2 HR and 5 RBIs sums up his potential to contribute greatly to this Giants team, as he has in this game and many others (2-R HR off Jonathan Broxton, Sac fly vs. Braves, Sac fly vs. Cubs game 1, Solo HR vs. Cubs game 3)
- Aaron Rowand's slide was impressive. He deserves props for it. He's quietly been playing better baseball, raising his average from the .230 range to where he is now, on the cusp of .250...His HR in game 3 of the Cubs series was pretty clutch, too.
- Buster Posey caught Starlin Castro stealing and absolutely nailed him at 2nd base. This has to be a metaphor for the outcome of 2010 Rookie of the Year voting.
- Pablo Sandoval broke out with a triple and a HR into McCovey Cove. His biggest struggle this year has been power (46 game HR drought) but he crushed the ball twice here. These are promising signs, as is the fact that he is 10 for his last 23. I've been saying all along that he would come back. He clearly has something special (Look at his '08 and '09 stats). Imagine what kind of a player he could be if he dedicated himself to health and fitness this offseason. I don't know if he will, but I do know that he has more motivation this year than last year. Much, much more.
- Torres' walkoff was his 3rd of the year (Giants have 5 on the year, now). His ability to come off the bench and perform like that (he crushed the ball) speaks volumes about his talent. He truly is a 5-tool player: he can hit for contact and power, he's got a good arm, he's got great speed, and he's a great defensive outfielder. It's scary to imagine where the Giants would be without him.
- It's easy to get mad at the bullpen for blowing this game; but they've been so great recently that I don't think it's necessary. Guillermo Mota himself, however, is a different story. On the anniversary of the walk off home run that he served up to Juan Uribe, he gave up 2 ER in 0 IP. That's right, he didn't record a single out. His ERA is respectable (3.50), but that is merely the product of luck. He is enjoying the lowest HR/9 of his career, largely due to the fact that he pitches in AT&T park, among many other factors. His xFIP is 4.64, which is not so impressive.
- The Padres series begins tomorrow. Jonathan Sanchez will have to live up to his words, and I think he will do just that. He has had success against the Padres this year (2.57 ERA in 3 starts) and is pitching on Orange Friday. The Giants are a perfect 9-0 on Orange Fridays. Don't underestimate the power of the support of 40,000 orange fans.
- I was listening to KNBR 680, and a fan called in with a very important statistic, what he called the most drastic difference between the Padres and the Giants: The Giants have grounded into 116 double plays, 2nd highest in the majors. The Padres, however, have grounded into a major-league-low 67 double plays. As the caller said, and I'm paraphrasing here, "For teams that don't rely on the home run to score runs, a double play will really kill a rally."
Tomorrow: Giants face Clayton Richard. He's had success against the Giants this year with a 1.77 ERA, but he might not be the same pitcher they faced earlier. In his last 10 starts, his ERA has shot up from 2.93 to 3.83. The Giants do, however, bat a collective .328 against him with 22 hits in 67 AB. Huff owns him (5 for 12), as does Uribe (5 for 9). Tomorrow, although I know it's rather presumptuous, is going to be a GOOD game.
"We're going to play San Diego, and we're going to beat them three times. If we get to first place, we're not going to look back." - Jonathan Sanchez
"All right, cool. We're going to get swept. Well, I swept my garage this morning. I like it. Add a little fuel to the fire. I'm ready to play. If I'm pitching the next three days, I'm pretty sure it's not going to be a sweep." - Heath Bell, Padres closerOh, and here is a treat for those of you that hate the Dodgers. This is what it looks like to blow a game you should have won:
One final note: Jose Guillen does not deserve to be a Giant. At this point, he has little to offer the Giants. They have put together a great group of personalities who get together well. Their clubhouse chemistry is top-notch at this point, with such bubbly personalities as Huff, Torres, and Sandoval. Why ruin it by bringing in a guy who is known to be bad in the clubhouse? There's a reason he's moved around from team to team. Here's a list of the teams he's played for in his 14-year career:
- Pirates
- Devil Rays
- Diamondbacks
- Reds
- A's
- Angels
- Nationals
- Mariners
- Royals
