San Francisco Giants: Another Blown Save? You’re Kidding!
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, the San Francisco Giants’ bullpen blew another save. I know, it’s shocking, right?
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There was a time, not that long ago, when the San Francisco Giants’ bullpen would lock down a lead in the late innings like it was the easiest thing in the world. A one-run lead heading into the ninth would be nearly a foregone conclusion. You could write it down as a win on your scorecard without a second thought.
It’s pretty much the opposite right now. A one-run lead going into the bullpen? Well, that will just never hold. It doesn’t matter who gets the ball in the ninth inning. Santiago Casilla, Hunter Strickland, Javier Lopez, Derek Law, they just can’t get the final three outs.
The Giants blew their 30th save of the season last night. 30 times the bullpen has given a lead away. Last year, when the bullpen set a franchise record for appearances in a season, they only blew 15 saves. It’s almost unfathomable that a group can be this bad, but here we are, watching the bullpen actually be that bad.
Monday’s was a team effort blown save. Law started the ninth after getting the final out in the eighth, but he didn’t have his normal command. He fell behind to Andrew Toles before allowing a single. The left-hander Lopez came in to face left-handed Corey Seager, but couldn’t get him out. Seager snuck a single through the right side of the infield. Then it was Strickland.
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The big righty was clearly amped up, hitting 100 on the radar gun with his first pitch and some more afterwards. It didn’t matter, because as is too often the case, he couldn’t control it properly. Justin Turner slapped a 99 mile-per-hour fastball into right field, tying the game. Strickland went to a curveball against Adrian Gonzalez, but that went predictably bad. Gonzalez smashed it to right field.
Right fielder Hunter Pence had a play on the ball. He had a chance to make the catch for the first out, but knowing how things have gone for the Giants, that probably would have just delayed the inevitable. Seager would have moved over to third on the catch, giving Yasiel Puig his chance. So Pence did the nice thing and let us turn the television off right then. Thanks, buddy, you’re a good man.
Next: Giants Morning Minute 9-16-16
The record for most blown saves in a season is 39, set by the Colorado Rockies in 1996. The Giants have 12 games left to play. Can they blow 10 more saves to set the record? Let’s find out!