San Francisco Giants Morning Minute: Mac Giveth, Mac Taketh Away

By Sean Bialaszek | Jul 24, 2016

Jul 23, 2016; Bronx, NY, USA; San Francisco Giants third baseman Ramiro Pena (1) gives San Francisco Giants catcher Trevor Brown (14) a high five after scoring the game winning run in the twelfth inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports /

On this edition of the San Francisco Giants Morning Minute, we discuss Williamson giving and taking, a solid bullpen day, and even more injury updates.

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Good morning, San Francisco Giants’ fans, and welcome to another edition of the Giants Morning Minute. On Saturday, the Giants snapped a six-game skid, winning their first game of the second half over the New York Yankees, 2-1, in 12 innings. Santiago Casilla earned a win, Anthony Swarzak took the loss, and Hunter Strickland finished it off for the save.

The Los Angeles Dodgers also won, beating the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-2. The Giants’ four-game lead in the National League West remained unchanged for the day.

Here’s what went on Saturday.

1 – Mac Giveth, Mac Taketh Away

Sometimes it can seem like Mac Williamson is locked in a broom closet when the opposing team starts a right-handed pitcher. But the rookie got his chance to play against a righty on Saturday, when the Yankees started Ivan Nova.

The day didn’t start well for the young outfielder. In the second inning, he was gunned down at the plate on a perfect relay from Yankees’ shortstop Didi Gregorius, making a painful road trip sting just a bit more. In the fourth inning, a run scored for New York when Williamson bobbled a ball in right field. Rather than hiding in that broom closet again, Williamson made up for the mistake.

Williamson led off the fifth inning, and on a 1-0 pitch, roped a game-tying home run into the left-center field bullpen, marking his sixth home run of the season, and third in 11 at-bats (to that point) on the road trip. Two of those home runs have come off right-handers (Nova on Saturday and Carlos Villanueva in San Diego), the first two home runs of his career against righties.

The Williamson personal showcase continued, when he used his glove to make a potentially game-saving catch. With the bases loaded and two outs in the 10th inning, Starlin Castro lifted a flyball into foul territory, right near the stands down the line. Williamson came over into hostile territory, reaching up and grabbing the ball out of the sky before any fans could get their own mitts on it. That kept the game tied, and allowed Williamson to do what he did in the 12th.

Facing the first Yankees’ reliever that isn’t part of the super trio of No-Runs DMC, Trevor Brown led off the inning with a double off Anthony Swarzak. Two batters later, it was Williamson that lined a single up the middle, just out of reach of Gregorius, to bring Brown home for what turned out to the game-winning run.

Williamson continues to make his case for more consistent playing time. Since the second half started, he has six hits in 14 at-bats, with a double, three home runs, and seven RBI. His .506 slugging percentage is the best among active Giants. It’ll be hard for him to go back to Sacramento, but it will be tough for him to get playing time, with the Giants’ normal everyday right fielder getting closer.

2 – The Bullpen Comes Up Big

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With the Yankees’ daunting triplets, Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, and Aroldis Chapman, on the other side, the Giants’ bullpen did their own work on Saturday, first keeping the opposing offense at bay and then holding the lead.

After Johnny Cueto miraculously worked his way through six innings after throwing 69 pitches in the first three innings, Derek Law, Javier Lopez, and Sergio Romo combined for two scoreless innings. Josh Osich worked a scoreless ninth, but got into trouble with consecutive walks to open the 10th. Santiago Casilla relieved him, and wiggled through the jam with no damage, helped out by Williamson’s catch near the stands.

Casilla continued into the 11th, working another scoreless frame. After the Giants took the lead in the top of the 12th, it was up to Hunter Strickland. The flamethrower worked a perfect 12th, including a strikeout, closing the door for his second save of the year.

A trade might be on the horizon to bolster that much-maligned bullpen, but on Saturday, the guys already wearing orange and black showed that they are capable of big things as well.

3 – More Injury Updates, Yayyyyyyy

Buster Posey was just fine on Saturday after fouling a ball off his foot and leaving early on Friday. He started behind the plate, and actually looked faster than normal trying to beat out an infield hit. He might not catch Sunday after being in the squat for 12 innings, though.
Ehire Adrianza did it again. He went deep on the first pitch he saw as a River Cat, his sixth home run of the rehab stint. He added another pair of hits later, finishing 3-5 while completing nine innings on the field for the third straight game. He certainly appears to be ready, but has about a week and a half on his rehab clock. Maybe they will consider cutting it short.
Hunter Pence played his scheduled six innings, and picked up a line drive double in four at-bats. He also went full bore trying to beat out a chopper to third base, and came out of that fine. He’s on pace to go seven innings on Sunday.
Joe Panik was out of the lineup again as the team continues to do the whole “slow-play” thing with him. Manager Bruce Bochy expects him to resume playing in a couple days. Even with their insistence that this isn’t health related, it’s hard not to be a bit concerned.
Steven Okert left Friday night’s game with the River Cats with an apparent leg injury, and on Saturday he was placed on the seven-day disabled list because of his knee.

Next: Giants Morning Minute: Missed Opportunities, Shaky Defense

And that will do it for another edition of the Giants Morning Minute. Up next, the Giants and Yankees close out their three-game set with a rubber game. Jeff Samardzija and Nathan Eovaldi will take the mound, looking to clinch the season series for their respective teams.

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