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San Francisco Giants 3 Up, 3 Down: The Debacle in Cincinnati

By Sean Bialaszek

May 6, 2017; Cincinnati, OH, USA; San Francisco Giants center fielder Gorkys Hernandez hits an RBI double against the Cincinnati Reds during the second inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
May 6, 2017; Cincinnati, OH, USA; San Francisco Giants center fielder Gorkys Hernandez hits an RBI double against the Cincinnati Reds during the second inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports /
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The San Francisco Giants were demolished in three games against the Cincinnati Reds, but somehow there were three things than can be called “positives” if you look hard enough.

May 6, 2017; Cincinnati, OH, USA; San Francisco Giants center fielder Gorks Hernandez hits an RBI double against the Cincinnati Reds during the second inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
May 6, 2017; Cincinnati, OH, USA; San Francisco Giants center fielder Gorks Hernandez hits an RBI double against the Cincinnati Reds during the second inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports /

3 UP

1 – Josh Osich

Giants’ pitching was so bad that Josh Osich, recently recalled from Triple-A to give the team a second lefty out of the bullpen, throwing 2.1 shutout innings is considered a highlight. On Friday, he was the only pitcher to keep the Reds off the board in an inning, working around a walk to finally put a zero on the board. On Saturday, he stranded to runners in the seventh before throwing another scoreless frame in the eighth.

These were about as far away from high-leverage spots as a pitcher could get, which as maybe why Osich was comfortable breaking out a breaking ball, a big slider that looks more like a curveball. He didn’t throw the pitch in his rookie season in 2015 and threw it just 1.9 percent of the time last year, but threw it up there a few times against the Reds. It looked like a legitimate weapon, as he got a few swing-and-misses, including for a strikeout of Scooter Gennett on Friday.

He also attacked the strike zone, which has been a big issue for Osich lately. Of the 36 pitches he threw, 25 were for strikes. The slurve also gives him a usable change of pace pitch, keeping hitters from sitting on his hard fastballs. That could be just what Osich needs to succeed, which would be a huge plus for the Giants looking to the future.

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2 – Rookie Keeps Impressing

Christian Arroyo hasd been somewhat up and down in the first 10 games of his big league career, which is to be expected, but he was the team’s best hitter in Cincinnati. He started the series with a home run in his first at-bat, coming off 40-year-old Bronson Arroyo who was someone the younger Arroyo looked up to during his days at Hernando High. He picked up another hit and drew a walk on Saturday before coming out after fouling a ball off his ankle, and he hit his first career double on Sunday.

3 – Gorkys Hernandez

The Giants’ center fielder picked up hits in all three ballgames, the only hitter besides Arroyo to do so, extending his career-best hitting streak to eight games. He also hit two doubles, joining Arroyo as the only Giants with multiple extra-base hits during the series. In the field, Hernandez recorded an outfield assist on Friday and made a nice diving catch in center field on Sunday.

Yeah, it was a really bad weekend.

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