San Francisco Giants Morning Minute: Well, At Least the Bats Woke Up

On this edition of the San Francisco Giants Morning Minute, we discuss another rough outing for the pitchers, and the bats coming alive. Plus, a quick update on injured Giants.

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Good morning, San Francisco Giants’ fans, and welcome to another edition of the Giants Morning Minute. On Wednesday, the Giants fell for the fifth straight game, as the Boston Red Sox slugged their way to an 11-7 victory. Matt Barnes was the winner out of the bullpen, getting his record to an even 3-3. Matt Cain suffered the loss in his return, falling to 1-6. Boston wins the season series with the Giants, three games to one.

The Los Angeles Dodgers fell again on Wednesday, losing to the Washington Nationals 8-1. The Giants’ lead in the National League West stays at 4.5 games. Since the All-Star break, the NL West as a whole is 10-17.

Here’s what went on Wednesday:

1 – The Pitching Falters Again

The starting pitching tandem of Cain and Albert Suarez didn’t have a great day on Wednesday. Fresh off the disabled list because of a recurring hamstring problem, Cain lasted just 2.1 innings, and like Jake Peavy the night before, was hurt by the long balls. He gave up three home runs in the 14 batters he faced, including a pair of two-run blasts to former Dodger nemesis, Hanley Ramirez.

Suarez relieved Cain in the third inning, and couldn’t stop the bleeding there. He gave up four hits (three doubles and a triple) in the third inning, putting three extra runs on the board for Boston. He would settle in somewhat, throwing scoreless frames in the fourth and fifth, but couldn’t continue that success in the sixth inning, which he probably shouldn’t have seen to begin with, considering the Giants’ bullpen is pretty well-rested.

Suarez allowed a single to David Ortiz, and Ramirez didn’t treat the Giants’ reliever any differently than the starter. His third home run of the game was another two-run shot, and it tripled the Red Sox lead from one run to three.

Sox catcher Sandy Leon, who has come out of nowhere to hit .448 in 23 games for Boston, came up with the coup de grâce, a solo home run off reliever Josh Osich in the seventh. Derek Law was the lone Giants’ pitcher to throw a scoreless outing, allowing a walk and single, but no runs in 1.2 frames.

It was more of the same for the post-All-Star break Giants. In the past five games, Giants’ starters have pitched to a 7.77 ERA and 1.480 WHIP. All five starters allowed at least two home runs in their respective starts.

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2 – The Offense Finds a Groove

Even with the Red Sox scoring eight runs in the first three innings, the Giants didn’t just roll over and die. They fought back, and made things very interesting before too long. Facing a guy they’ve seen a few times this year with San Diego, Drew Pomeranz, they made it a game.

Down 8-0 entering the fourth inning, the rally started with a Buster Posey leadoff walk. Brandon Crawford continued with a bloop, bringing rookie Mac Williamson to the plate. The young slugger worked his way ahead in the count, and on a 3-1 fastball down in the zone, he went with the pitch. That fastball screamed off the bat at 108 miles per hour, and landed 415 feet from its beginning point. After soaring over the right field bullpen, the Giants were finally on the board in Boston.

Grant Green slapped a single the other way to keep things moving. And on the very next pitch, a 90-mile-per-hour, get-me-in fastball, Trevor Brown outdid Williamson, blistering the ball over the Green Monster in left field. If not for the Selfeo banner atop the Monster, that ball would have landed in the parking lot.

The scoring continued in the fifth inning with a two-out rally. Green took a walk and Brown followed with a single to set things up for ninth-place hitter Ramiro Peña. Now fighting for a roster spot, Peña singled in a run to make it just a two-run game. Denard Span, who has come out of the break swinging a hot stick, blooped his own single into right field to bring home another run, cutting what was once an eight-run deficit to one.

Unfortunately, the Giants would get no closer. They had plenty of opportunities to scrape together some more runs. In the fourth, after Brown’s home run, Peña and Span followed with singles. The next three Giants would go down in order, but needed a great defensive play by Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia to do so. They loaded the bases with no one out in the sixth, but a double play grounder and pop up to first kept runs off the board.

On most nights, seven runs is going to win a ballgame. But the Giants haven’t had a game yet in the second half where both the hitting and pitching have worked together. With 67 games left, they have plenty of time to figure it out.

3 – Quick Rehab Update

• Joe Panik played his second game for Sacramento, picking up a double in four at-bats. He played all seven innings he was scheduled for. He looks to be on track for an activation in New York.
• Hunter Pence was out of the River Cats’ lineup again, although the team insists this is precautionary. Something to watch moving forward.
• Ehire Adrianza finished the San Jose portion of his rehab. He hit .357 (10-28) with three doubles and four home runs in eight games. In his last game with the Little Giants, he played a full nine innings at shortstop for the first time in his rehab. He didn’t play for Sacramento on Wednesday, presumably a day off after playing seven straight days for San Jose.
• Matt Duffy is not ready for rehab just yet, but the team feels he has turned a corner in his recovery. He should be starting a minor league assignment relatively soon.

Next: Giants Morning Minute: Slump Reaches Four

And that will do it for this edition of the Giants Morning Minute. Up next, the Giants have another off-day, this time in New York, before beginning a three-game set with the Yankees, hopefully with New York-native Panik at their disposal. Aces Madison Bumgarner and Masahiro Tanaka will do battle in game one.