San Francisco Giants Morning Minute: Second-Half Span in Full Effect

On this edition of the San Francisco Giants Morning Minute, we discuss a red-hot hitter coming into his own in his first season with the Giants.

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Good morning, San Francisco Giants’ fans, and welcome to another edition of the Giants Morning Minute. On Saturday, the Giants fell to the New York Mets in game three of their series, 8-5. Bartolo Colon (11-7) earned the 229th win of his career, while Matt Moore (0-3) is still in search of his first Giants’ win.

The Los Angeles Dodgers lost for the second straight day on Saturday, dropping an 11-1 decision to the scalding-hot Cincinnati Reds. The Giants’ lead in the National League West remains the same, one half game.

1 – Span Following A Familiar Pattern

In a word, Denard Span‘s first three months or so with the Giants were disappointing. April and May were okay, but nothing to really write home about, while June was downright awful. When the All-Star break rolled around, he was slashing .248/.328/.343, and was striking out in 13.5 percent of his plate appearances (not a bad number by any means, but well above his norm).

Those four days off in the middle of July worked wonders for the 32-year-old center fielder. In 32 games back from break, Span is slashing .336/.362/.470, bringing his numbers back closer to what is usual for him. His strikeout rate in those 32 games is eight percent, the lowest on the team. He also has six games with three or more hits in the second half, while the rest of the team has 11.

August has been his best month by far, with a .354 average and eight extra-base hits. This series against the Mets has been his best series, with nine hits (two doubles and a home run) in the first three games. On Saturday, he hit his second splash hit of the season, and added a ninth-inning double.

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Every aspect of Span’s game has looked better in recent weeks. He’s spraying the ball all around the field a lot better, slapping balls to left field to get base hits. He’s driving the ball with more authority, shooting gaps and lining balls to the outfield. His lucky is even better, as grounders are finding more holes and bloopers are falling in front of outfielders. And of course, he’s making more contact, with a strikeout rate over five percent lower from the first half to the second.

If you’re familiar with Span from his days with the Minnesota Twins or Washington Nationals, you know this is a normal pattern. He himself has said in recent days that he’s always been a better hitter later in the season, and the numbers back that up. In his career, he owns a .276/.345/.379 first-half slash-line, while that ticks up to .300/.359/.411 in the second.

The 2014 season, Span’s last full season in Washington, is a prime example of Span heating up while the weather does. He slashed .269/.319/.385 in the first half, and .346/.403/.459 in the second half en route to leading the National League with 184 hits.

The offense has picked up their game in the past week or so, and that’s due in no small part to the leadoff hitter and the second hitter setting the table. Angel Pagan himself is working on an 18-game hitting streak, but a strained groin will keep him out for at least one game. Hopefully it’s no longer than that, because the two at the top of the order are taking care of business.

Next: Giants Morning Minute: An Unlikely Hero

And that will do it for this edition of the Giants Morning Minute. Up next, the Giants and Mets finish their four-game series on Sunday Night Baseball, with the Giants looking to take the series. Jeff Samardzija takes the mound against Noah Syndergaard.

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