San Francisco Giants Morning Minute: Suarez Another Diamond in the Rough?
On this edition of the San Francisco Giants Morning Minute, we discuss the continued excellence of Suarez, and more miscues and missed opportunities.
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Good morning, San Francisco Giants’ fans, and welcome to another edition of the Giants Morning Minute. On Tuesday, the Giants lost another heartbreaker that they had every chance to win, dropping the first game of a two-game set to the Boston Red Sox, 5-3, in 10 innings. Junichi Tazawa was the winner, Santiago Casilla the loser, and Craig Kimbrel saved his 14th game.
The Giants have watched their division lead dwindle in the past few days, and the deficit in the National League West is down to three games, as the Los Angeles Dodgers won on a walk-off.
Here’s what went on Tuesday.
1 – Albert Suarez Becoming Another Diamond in the Rough
Albert Suarez made his second career start on Tuesday in place of the injured Matt Cain, and pitched another fantastic game. He allowed five hits and three runs (two of which were earned, and the unearned run scored when he was already out of the game) in a career-high 6.1 innings. He was a groundball machine, getting 13 of the 19 outs he recorded, including a double play, via balls hit on the ground.
The first few innings were a little shaky for the 26-year-old, as he allowed two runs on four hits in the second and third innings following a clean first. He settled in again, facing the minimum in the next three innings and getting the first out in the seventh. His 86th pitch of the evening was ball four to Jackie Bradley, Jr., and would be the last he’d throw.
With Cain close to a return, maybe next week, Suarez doesn’t seem to be long for the rotation. But these two spot starts, as well as his previous impressive outings coming from the bullpen, have proven that Suarez has a definite place on the big league staff. The consistent inconsistencies from the pitchers in the bullpen are just another reason for Suarez to hang around.
Suarez is quickly becoming another one of those “diamond in the rough” pitchers that the Giants have been so good at uncovering in recent years. From a non-roster invitee to a key part in the pitching staff, Suarez certainly doesn’t look like a 26-year-old rookie getting his first taste of big league action.
2 – Miscues and Missed Opportunities
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The Giants had their chances against Rick Porcello on Tuesday, but couldn’t capitalize. In the fourth inning, Joe Panik, Matt Duffy, and Brandon Belt all hit singles to start the inning, and after a bases-loaded walk to Brandon Crawford, Gregor Blanco had an opportunity to really blow the door open on the inning.
Instead, with the bases loaded and no one out, Blanco grounded into a double play. Jarrett Parker‘s groundout would end the inning, very disappointingly. The Giants scored twice in the fourth, but could have had so much more. That’s been the story of the season for the lineup.
In the seventh inning, Bradley took the walk, and took third base after stealing second when Trevor Brown threw a two-seam fastball in to center field. Two batters later, David Ortiz hit a groundball to the right side that could have been an inning-ending double play. Crawford fielded the groundball, and attempted to tag runner Chris Young to start the double play.
It’s hard to fault Crawford for what happened, because Young made a tremendous baserunnning play. He slumped to the ground to avoid the tag, and did so successfully, allowing Crawford to only get the one out.
These are small things that can derail a club, and they certainly pushed the Giants off track on Tuesday. When the offense is scuffling as it has been, those little things need to be almost perfect.
Next: Giants Morning Minute: Williamson, the Bullpen
And that will do it for this edition of the Giants Morning Minute. Up next, the Giants and Red Sox wrap up their mini-series by sending their respective aces, Madison Bumgarner and David Price, to the mound.