San Francisco Giants Morning Minute: Bullpen Déjà vu, the Crawford Clinic

On this edition of the San Francisco Giants Morning Minute, we discuss a bit of bullpen déjà vu, Crawford’s clinic, and Peña’s strong roster spot case.

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Good morning, San Francisco Giants’ fans, and welcome to another edition of the Giants Morning Minute. On Sunday, the Giants needed 11 innings, but were able to come away with a 5-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, clinching the series victory and claiming their 20th one-run win of the season. Josh Osich earned the win, his first of the season, while Enrique Burgos took his first loss. Santiago Casilla shut the door for his 19th save.

The Los Angeles Dodgers extended their winning streak to four games on Sunday, beating the Colorado Rockies 4-1. The lead in the National League West remains at five games.

Here’s what went on Sunday.

1 – Bullpen Déjà vu

After six very strong innings from Albert Suarez, manager Bruce Bochy turned to the bullpen to get the final nine outs. George Kontos worked a quick seventh inning before turning the ball over to Cory Gearrin for the eighth.

Things started well enough for the side-winding righty. He got Michael Bourn to bounce out to first base on one pitch, and forced a chopping groundball off the bat of Paul Goldschmidt. It looked like there would be two quick outs, and slugger Jake Lamb would hit with the bases empty in a two-run game.

But something bad happened. The normally sure-handed Buster Posey, playing first base because of so many injuries, had the ball bounce off his glove and away from him, putting the tying run at the plate instead of the on-deck circle. And of course, Lamb followed with a laser beam home run that tied the game.

Like the night before, the home run was a killer, but the play that preceded made it sting that much more. A four-pitch walk made Welington Castillo‘s home run hurt even more than it already would have, and that error changed what could have been a solo home run into a game-tying, two-run blast.

The little things are what always seem to come back to bite a team in the butt. Luckily, the rest of the bullpen bounced back with three shutout innings in the ninth, 10th, and 11th.

2 – The Crawford Defensive Clinic

Over the years, it’s become quite clear that Brandon Crawford can pick it at shortstop like very few before him. Sunday was a master class in defensive wizardry, and the lecturer was none other than last year’s Gold Glove winner at shortstop.

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It started in the third inning when Goldschmidt chopped a ball in his direction, and Crawford decided he really didn’t need a glove. He got a nice bounce and fielded the ball cleanly barehanded. While he was fielding the ball, Crawford had already gone into his throwing motion, so all he had to do was square off to first base and fire on, retiring Goldschmidt by a rather wide margin. Lesson one, complete.

He continued in the fifth inning. To lead off, Tuffy Gosewisch smoked a line drive on the ground towards third baseman Ruben Tejada. Tejada went into a dive, but could only knock the ball down, and it trickled away behind him. Crawford was charging towards the hole in case that ball got past Tejada, so he stopped, re-set his feet, fielded the ball, and fired again, showing off his simply remarkable arm strength by gunning down Gosewisch. Lesson two, complete.

It went on like that through the entire series. Crawford showed, time and time again, that his arm is just about unmatched as he made long throws from deep in the hole look nothing more than routine. The Gold Glove just doesn’t seem like enough for him, sometimes.

3 – Ramiro Peña Staking Claim

The secret’s out, Peña has become a legitimate weapon for the Giants. After missing the last three games because of a sprained ankle, Peña returned to the field on Sunday in a big spot, and it seemed like he’d never gone away.

After a leadoff walk to Jarrett Parker in the top of the 11th, Peña was called upon for pinch-hitting duties. On the second pitch of the at-bat, Peña turned on a slider from Enrique Burgos and drove it into the right-field corner. Parker unwound his 6’4″ frame and made his way around the bases, scoring what would be the game-winning run.

Peña has been with the big league club for just a few weeks, but he’s quickly become a key factor with so many injuries taking regulars out of the lineup. There’s a big roster crunch coming soon, as Matt Duffy, Joe Panik, Ehire Adrianza, and Kelby Tomlinson are all expected back in the coming weeks. If Peña can continue to play anywhere close to the level he’s been at with the Giants, it will be nearly impossible to imagine him without a roster spot.

Next: Giants Morning Minute: Samardzija Bounces Back, Bullpen Falls Flat

And that will do it for another edition of the Giants Morning Minute. Up next, the Giants play a little Independence Day baseball, beginning a three-game series at home with the Colorado Rockies. Jake Peavy will match up with rookie Tyler Anderson in game one.