This one was not nearly as close as the final score would indicate as Matt Cain got pummeled for 6 runs in 5 innings of pitching including 5 scored off home runs. The Giants mounted a nice rally in the 8'th inning, but it fell way short. Key Lines:
Andrew Susac- 1 for 2, 2B. BA= .236. Susac came into the game to spell Buster Posey in a blowout loss. He ended up making the final score respectable with a bases-loaded double that was absolutely crushed to straightaway CF. The ball came off the bat in a low trajectory and was past Dexter Fowler before he could even get turned around to go back on it. The ball eventually hit at the base of the fence as all 3 baserunners scored to make it 8-5. That was the end of the heroics for the Giants on this night, though.
Matt Cain- 5 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 8/1. ERA= 6.15. Put a dinger prone pitcher up against a home run hitting team like the Cubs and this is what you get. Ugly! I was encouraged early by the ground ball outs, but then Cain fell victim once again to the location mistake and you cannot make location mistakes to Kyle Schwarber! 3-run dinger and you knew it was over right there. I still have hope that Cainer will figure it out and help the Giants next year and the year after, but I'm quickly losing confidence that he's going to help them this season.
Brandon Crawford also came out of the game early with back and side stiffness. The team already is struggling with Pence and Panik out. Buster Posey is in a slump and may be feeling the pressure of carrying the team with the other killer P's out. It will be a challenge to stay in contention over the next 8 games against the Cubs, Cardinals and Dodgers in LA with those key players missing.
The Loss dropped the Giants to 2.5 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West and 7.5 games behind the Cubs in the final Wild Card race.
Jake Peavy tries to find some traction against Kyle Hendricks tonight at AT&T Park.
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Footnote to this game: Jaun Perez came in and played 2b, fulfilling the promise of IF/OF super-sub the organization seemed to ticket him fore in AAA a few seasons back before they started producing Panik, Duffy and Tomlinson.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you brought him up, Kenny. I've been a fan of Perez for a long while. I know some Giants fans like to lash out at our prospects when they aren't doing well. But we've gotta give them chances, that's what it takes. To find out who's got it. Maybe some think he should be the first to be sent down, to clear a roster spot? But I think he's shown tremendous value in his games. Beyond stealing a home run. Last night, I think he deeked Bryant into expecting he'd overthrow the cutoff to home with his big wind-up and throw. In fact, he went 1-for-1 in both of his recent PH appearances. And with the help of Kelby's great baserunning, he got a valuable RBI yesterday. I'm happy to see Juan Perez play!
DeleteI don't know what the future holds for Perez, I think he can become a 6-year minor league free agent. And I'm not sure why he'd stick around. This team hasn't shown much faith in him. He offers more than just defense, IMO. He's got base speed we don't seem to utilize. And I believe his offense would develop, given more opportunity. Okay, it might've been for the best that a ball wasn't hit to him in those 2 innings at 2B. He's quietly performed very well. Cheers.