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San Francisco Giants 3 Up, 3 Down: Rivals in Town

By Sean Bialaszek

Apr 26, 2017; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants third baseman Christian Arroyo (22) is congratulated by third base coach Phil Nevin (16) as he rounds the bases against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the seventh inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 26, 2017; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants third baseman Christian Arroyo (22) is congratulated by third base coach Phil Nevin (16) as he rounds the bases against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the seventh inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports /
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San Francisco Giants
Apr 21, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Johnny Cueto (47) reacts on the mound after giving up scoring plays to the Colorado Rockies in the fourth inning at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

3 DOWN

1 – More Injuries

The injuries continue to pile up for the Giants. Denard Span was hurt in the series finale against the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, but it initially seemed like a minor shoulder ailment. Despite early thoughts that Span might be able to avoid the disabled list, the injury got worse back at home and he had to hit the shelf.

Brandon Crawford was going to miss time anyway as he needed to go on the bereavement list to attend his sister-in-law’s funeral, but a groin injury suffered on Tuesday night halted thoughts that he would only be out for three days. Crawford hasn’t able to get an MRI before leaving the team, so no one’s really sure how much time he’ll miss. Losing Crawford for any extended amount of time (extended, in this case, meaning more than the three-day bereavement requirement) would be a big, big loss.

2 – More Offensive Woes

The Giants only put together eight runs in the four-game series, with half coming in Wednesday’s extra-inning win. It worked this time for a split because of some good pitching, but it won’t always work. They had plenty of chances to put together a higher output, especially on Thursday, but they continue to come up small in big spots.

They hit into three double plays on Thursday, and two of those double plays came with a runner on second base. Kelby Tomlinson wasn’t able to come through in the second inning, and Buster Posey bounced into a pair for the second time in the eighth with the go-ahead run 180 feet away.

Something has to give for the Giants. Getting Crawford back in the lineup would certainly help, but the lineup construction remains more than a bit questionable at this point. Maybe a lineup shakeup would work like the roster shakeup.

3 – Johnny Cueto

Johnny Cueto is now the team ace with Madison Bumgarner sidelined, but he just hasn’t quite yet been able to put together that masterful performance like he did so often last season. He was working on a gem against the Dodgers on Wednesday, putting up zeroes through five innings, but the sixth got away from him and he gave up three runs to break the scoreless tie.

Next: Morse and Arroyo Lead the Comeback Charge

The offense was able to back him up on that day, but Cueto is sporting a 5.10 ERA and 1.400 WHIP five starts in to the year. If the Giants are going to right this ship, Cueto’s arm is going to be a big reason why.

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