San Francisco Giants Morning Minute: Things Were Great Until They Weren’t

On this edition of the San Francisco Giants Morning Minute, we discuss how things were going great until they weren’t anymore.

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Good morning, San Francisco Giants’ fans, and welcome to the Giants Morning Minute. On Sunday, the Giants dropped a heartbreaker in the series finale to the Baltimore Orioles, 8-7. Brad Brach (7-1) earned the win in relief, while Santiago Casilla (2-4) earned a loss. Zach Britton, unsurprisingly, closed the game for his 37th save.

The Los Angeles Dodgers also lost on Sunday, dropping their series finale to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 11-3. The Giants’ lead in the National League West remains at one game, and the race to see which team can be the most mediocre on their way to the division title is still on.

Here’s what went on yesterday.

1 – Things Were Going Well Until They Weren’t

Things were going so well entering the seventh inning. The Giants were ahead 7-1, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and it was just an all-around beautiful day. The Orioles got two runs off starter Johnny Cueto in that seventh inning, but the birds kept on singing their songs while bathing in the bright sun.

The birds’ songs became a little quieter in the eighth inning. Against reliever Hunter Strickland, Mark Trumbo crushed his major-league leading 34th home run, and Jonathan Schoop and Matt Wieters followed with consecutive singles. Derek Law entered the game and allowed an inherited runner to score, turning that once-comfortable lead into two runs.

In the ninth inning, the birds retreated to their nests, no longer singing their happy songs. A dark cloud passed in front of the sun. The doom and gloom returned. Manny Machado singled. Trumbo was given an “unintentional intentional walk”. Schoop blasted a three-run home run into the left field stands, completely erasing the six-run deficit and turning it into a one-run lead.

It was one of those days were the bullpen couldn’t get it right, and it’s surprising after seeing how much they’ve improved in recent weeks. Even worse, it was the three pitchers that had been going the best since the All-Star break that coughed it up.

Strickland owned a 1.32 ERA, 0.658 WHIP, and .152/.188/.239 opponent slash-line in the second half. He gave up three hits and a pair of runs, including a big home run, in .2 innings.

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Law had posted a 0.00 ERA and 0.500 WHIP, and had stranded 100 percent of inherited runners in the half. He gave up a single to the first batter he saw and allowed an inherited runner to score.

Casilla had allowed one run in 11 innings since the balk-off monstrosity, giving up just six baserunners and a .114 opponent average. He gave up three runs on three hits and a walk, finishing off the collective effort to let that lead slip away.

Those three combined had a 1.16 ERA, 0.646 WHIP, and 94 percent inherited runner strand rate in the second half. It’s one of those things where the team’s best were beat. It will happen from time to time. That doesn’t make it sting any less.

It also looks a lot worse when the guy in the other dugout is having one of the best reliever seasons in baseball history. Orioles’ closer Britton owns a 0.54 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, and is a perfect 37-for-37 in save chances.

2 – The Offensive Slumps Appears Over

The good news is that the Giants’ offense showed up for the second straight day on Sunday, the first time in a long time that the lineup was able to compound consecutive solid days. Their 13 runs over the past two games in the most in a two-game stretch since they scored 18 times between June 30th and July 1st.

After collecting three hits with runners in scoring position on Saturday (two coming from Denard Span with two outs), the Giants went 6-17 on Sunday. Trevor Brown had a pair of hits to drive in three runs. Brandon Belt and Joe Panik each picked up run-scoring singles. Even Cueto helped his own cause, collecting two hits, one of which brought a run home.

Hunter Pence also hit his first home run since May 18th, crushing a ball to center field that just kept carrying over the wall. That’s a great sign from a guy that the Giants really need to get hot. Panik also extended his hitting streak to four games, looking more and more like himself following his earlier concussion woes. And speaking of hitting streaks, Angel Pagan extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a pair of doubles, keeping the team’s longest streak of the year alive.

Next: Giants Morning Minute: Panik's Big Game

And that will do it for this edition of the Giants Morning Minute. Up next, the Giants start a three-game series with an NL central opponent, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Matt Moore will make his third start for the Giants, while Ryan Vogelsong makes his return to San Francisco. It will be an emotional day no matter the outcome.