San Francisco Giants 3 Up, 3 Down: Another Series Win
The San Francisco Giants took two of three from the Los Angeles Dodgers, so let’s look at some positives and negatives from the series.
For the start of the new season, this is something I will do after each San Francisco Giants’ series. These articles will take three positive things (3 Up) and three negative things (3 Down) from the games, this time from the Giants’ second series win, this one coming against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
3 UP
1 – They Beat Up on Kershaw
Clayton Kershaw facing the Giants is never supposed to go well for the orange and black, but they got to Kershaw pretty well during the series opener on Monday. Kershaw looked as human as he’s ever looked against the Giants, giving up four runs (three earned) on eight hits while the lineup made him throw 104 pitches in just six innings.
They even showed off a power stroke. Hunter Pence made Kershaw pay for a rare mistake, punishing a first-inning curveball that stayed a bit too high for a two-run home run. Buster Posey joined the party, making Kershaw scream on the mound when he hit a high fastball out of the park in the third inning. Christian Arroyo continued his impressive start by seeing 20 pitches in three at-bats against the Cy Young lefty, including a big run-scoring single that added a little insurance to the lead.
The four runs the Giants scored matched the most they’ve ever scored off Kershaw, and the eight hits matched the most they’ve ever collected off him. It was a great way to start the month of May.
2 – Samardzija Puts Together a Great Start
There have been times this season where Jeff Samardzija has looked fantastic, but he could never seem to keep it up over a full start. His last outing was his best of the year, when he allowed three runs (two earned) over seven innings, but he outdid himself on Wednesday. He was in complete command from the word “go”, and immediately set down 13 in a row after a leadoff single.
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The only run he allowed came after a leadoff, three-base error, but the offense did just enough to ensure that he wouldn’t be hung with another tough-luck loss. Samardzija recorded a season-high 11 strikeouts, matching his Giants’ career-high (September 28th last season), and showed that he still has some fancy feet from his wide receiver days by catching a high flip from Brandon Belt and beating Yasiel Puig to the bag for an out in the eighth inning.
Samardzija entered the day with a 6.30 ERA, one of the worst marks in the National League, but was able to ride his nasty offspeed offerings and cut that down to a 5.03 mark. If the Samardzija of the last two outings can stick around for a while, the Giants would certainly appreciate it.
3 – Okert Steps Up
In both victories, the Giants needed their bullpen. In both victories, Steven Okert stepped up big time. The Giants’ lefty recorded 10 outs over his two appearances against the Dodgers, both coming in huge spots. Okert recorded five outs on Monday in the eighth and ninth innings with a one-run lead, and recorded five more on Wednesday in extra innings to keep the game tied at one. He was rewarded with a win, the first of his big league career, in the latter game. Okert is still just 25 years old, and if he can continue to pitch like this, there’s a big spot in the bullpen for him for a long time.