San Francisco Giants Morning Minute: Urias Good, Peavy Better

By Sean Bialaszek | Jun 13, 2016

Jun 12, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt (9) is congratulated at home plate by second baseman Joe Panik (12) after Belt hit a two-run home run during the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers to put the Giants ahead, 2-0 at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kenny Karst-USA TODAY Sports /

On this edition of the San Francisco Giants Morning Minute, we discuss Peavy’s continued progress, Urias’ intro to the rivalry, and more.

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Good morning, San Francisco Giants’ fans, and welcome to another edition of the Giants Morning Minute. On Sunday, the Giants claimed another series win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, taking game three in a 2-1 victory. Jake Peavy earned the win, while Julio Urias took the loss. Santiago Casilla closed the door for his 13th save of the year.

The Giants’ lead in the National League West is back up to five games, stretching a game larger than when the series started. They are still the only teams with winning records in the division.

Here’s what went down on Sunday.

1 – Jake Peavy Stout Again

Peavy had pitched very well in his final two starts in the month of March, but there was still a caveat. The San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves, the two teams he was matched up against, are not very good teams. Then he had trouble getting through the sixth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals in his first June start. He faced the Dodgers on primetime, his second straight start on ESPN, and kept his personal momentum going.

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The Dodgers haven’t been an offensive juggernaut in recent weeks, but their lineup is still dangerous. It didn’t matter to Peavy, as he mowed through that lineup in six sparkling innings. He allowed just four hits, all singles, and walked one, again keeping the ball away from the barrel of the bat as he coaxed numerous weak flyballs and grounders.

The 35-year-old righty was the winning pitcher for the 150th time in his big league career, quite the milestone in today’s game. He didn’t look like a pitcher that age, hurling his body around the diamond attempting to make outs any way he could. Even with a sore neck that nearly kept him from starting, he had no qualms about diving into first base after coming off the mound late on a groundball to first baseman Brandon Belt. No one can question that Peavy wants to win at all costs.

In his last four starts, Peavy has gone 24.2 innings and allowed five runs and 20 baserunners. After allowing eight home runs in his first nine starts, there have been zero hit out of the park against Peavy in those four starts. His ERA has dipped from 8.21 to 5.83 in that span.

2 – Belt Gives Rookie Harsh Introduction to Rivalry

The Giants got their first look at 19-year-old phenom, sensation, super prospect (more adjectives can probably be used) Julio Urias, and the kid looked polished beyond his years. In five innings, the left-hander allowed just two hits and a walk, while striking out six batters. Things took a turn in the sixth, and Brandon Belt gave him a harsh introduction to this rivalry he’s sure to be a part of for a long time.

Urias struck out Denard Span to start the sixth inning, no easy feat, but Joe Panik followed with a base hit. Belt was next up, and after striking out in his first two at-bats, got his revenge. Urias hung a slider over the middle of the plate which Belt crushed, depositing it into the seats atop the wall in right-center field. AT&T Park can’t contain them all.

Besides that costly mistake, Urias lived up to the billing. Hitters couldn’t catch up to the hard fastball, the slider was live, and like Peavy didn’t look 35 on Sunday, Urias didn’t look 19. There’s certainly some room to improve. He lost command of his pitches on more than one occasion and had trouble putting guys away early, but there’s plenty of time to clean that up. He’ll be a load to handle for NL West teams for years to come.

3 – A Quietly Nice Day for Mac Williamson

Just looking at the box score, it wasn’t a great day for Giants’ left fielder Mac Williamson. But beyond the box score, it was a promising day for the rookie. In the first inning, he laid out in left field to make a tremendous diving catch, taking a hit off of Justin Turner‘s baseball card. After looking shaky in the outfield for the most part, that was a promising play should give him a lot more confidence.

And while he was hitless in three at-bats, he put on some good swings. In the fifth inning, he crushed a ball off Urias, sending it into the outfield with an exit velocity of 115 miles per hour, the hardest a Giant has hit a ball this season. But because karma can be cruel, left fielder Howie Kendrick took a hit off Williamson’s baseball card with a great leaping grab to keep Williamson away from second base.

He hit another line drive in the seventh inning with Brandon Crawford on third base, but Trayce Thompson made a nice play in right field and a strong throw home to keep Crawford stuck to third base. While the numbers don’t show it was a good day, they were promising at-bats as he looks to find his footing in the big leagues.

Next: Giants Morning Minute: Offense Snaps Out Just in Time

And that will do it for this edition of the Giants Morning Minute. Up next, the Giants start a three-game set with the Milwaukee Brewers, the last time those two teams will match up together this season. Matt Cain returns from the disabled list (on the fourth anniversary of his perfect game) to face Chase Anderson, a pitcher the Giants are familiar with from his days with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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