San Francisco Giants Morning Minute: Moore Solid in Debut, 10th Inning Redemption

On this edition of the San Francisco Giants Morning Minute, we discuss a solid debut for the newest Giants’ starter, and 10th inning redemption for the heavily criticized.

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Good morning, San Francisco Giants’ fans, and welcome to another edition of the Giants Morning Minute. On Thursday, the Giants salvaged a win in their series finale with the Philadelphia Phillies, coming away with a 3-2 win in 10 innings. Sergio Romo (1-0) got the win, despite not actually officially facing a batter (a caught stealing was the lone out he recorded). Severino Gonzalez (0-2) took the loss, and Santiago Casilla finished things off for his 25th save.

The Los Angeles Dodgers finished off a series with the Colorado Rockies, taking a 4-2 decision. The Giants’ lead in the National League West remains two games. The Rockies, who have been red-hot since the All-Star break, have put themselves within shouting distance, sitting at 54-53 and eight games back after starting the second half 40-48 and 16 games back.

Let’s get to it.

1 – Moore’s Strong Debut

At the trade deadline on Monday, the Giants beat the proverbial buzzer by swooping in at the last minute and trading for left-handed pitcher Matt Moore from the Tampa Bay Rays. Thursday was Moore’s debut with the orange and black, and after a shaky start, he settled in and was very impressive.

The first three pitches Moore threw as a Giant couldn’t find the strike zone, and he issued a walk to Cesar Hernandez to start his San Francisco career. The next batter, Aaron Altherr, continued his impressive series, extending his arms and smashing a double off the right-center field wall, bringing home Hernandez. Moore caught his breath and found his footing fairly quickly.

After Altherr’s double, Moore retired nine of the next 10 he faced, including his first, second, and third strikeouts for his new club. A pair of walks came in the fourth inning, plus another in the fifth, but Moore got through that fifth inning with just one hit and one run allowed.

After stranding five runners in five innings, Moore’s luck changed in the sixth. He hurt himself with a leadoff walk, his sixth of the day, but was bit by a lot of bad luck immediately after. With one out, Jimmy Paredes nubbed a single that Joe Panik fielded, but could not make a play on. Tyler Goeddel followed with a bloop into very shallow left field that probably would have been caught, had shortstop Brandon Crawford not been momentarily blinded by the sun. From there, it was a groundball to Panik that turned into a fielder’s choice that scored the tying run. Moore struck out Taylor Featherston for his final out.

Overall, Moore went six innings, throwing 108 pitches (63 for strikes), and giving up just three hits, two runs, and striking out seven compared to six walks. The walks, obviously, don’t look good and Moore’s command was an issue at points, but it should be noted that home plate umpire Dan Iassogna had a very tight strike zone, and Moore was not the only pitcher to have an animated reaction to a call.

Moore’s stuff looked great. His fastball had strong velocity, averaging 94.5 miles per hour and topping out at 96. His knuckle curveball had a big, loopy break on it, and did very well to keep opposing hitters off balance. This was a welcome sign for the Giants, and if it is indeed a sign of things to come for Moore, the team should be plenty excited.

2 – Criticized Players Come Through Big in 10th

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The 10th inning was a showcase for a few Giants’ players that have been under a microscope in recent times, as they catapulted the Giants back into the win column. In the top of the inning, it was leadoff hitter Denard Span that showed off some power, launching a ball nearly at his shoe tops into the right field bleachers for his fifth home run of the season, putting the Giants ahead 3-2.

Santiago Casilla, the Giants’ closer that has been the focus of the majority of the scrutiny this season, came in to close things out. He needed a bit of help from his defense, when Altherr hit a ball towards the 5.5 hole to lead off the inning. New Giant Eduardo Nunez, who had made two costly errors so far, made a nice pick and spun 360 degrees to get off a strong throw, beating Altherr at first thanks to a nice pick by Brandon Belt at first. Casilla retired the next two with ease, finishing off a clean inning for save number 25.

Span has enjoyed a nice second half so far, but the Phillies series was his best yet. He picked up seven hits against Philadelphia pitching, including a pair of three-hit games. Since the second half opened on July 15th, Span is slashing .343/.387/.457, leading all Giants’ regulars in each category, and has more walks (five) than strikeouts (four). He’s looked more like the leadoff hitter the Giants thought they were getting when they inked him in the offseason.

Casilla has also been a brand new man since the embarrassing balk-off loss in San Diego. In his last 7.2 innings pitched over six appearances, Casilla has allowed just four baserunners (two via hit, two via walk) and a run, striking out seven batters. His focus has been renewed after rumors that the Giants would pick up a new closer, anchoring a bullpen that is still trying to find its way.

3 – Shoutout to an Old Friend

To finish this off, let’s give a quick shoutout to an old friend of the orange and black. Former Giants’ pitcher Ryan Vogelsong returned to the mound on Thursday, less than three months after being hit in the face by a pitch and nearly having his career ended. He was excellent for the Pittsburgh Pirates, throwing six innings of one-run ball, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out six. He left the game in a 1-1 tie, and didn’t figure in the decision.

Vogelsong has done it time and time again, coming back from dire straits. Never count out the man with the heart of a champion.

Next: Giants' Second-Half Roster Overhaul Continues

And that will do it for this edition of the Giants Morning Minute. Up next, the Giants start a three-game series with the Washington Nationals in the Nation’s Capital. In game one, Jeff Samardzija toes the slab for the Giants while Gio Gonzalez goes for the Nats.

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