San Francisco Giants 3 Up, 3 Down: Beating the Cubs
1 – Moore of the Same
Matt Moore just can not put it together this season. Just when it seemed like he was making some forward progress toward the end of July, he’s right back to where he was before. In the series opener, the Cubs were able to string together hits and put together runs, scoring five times during Moore’s six innings.
Moore’s ERA has shot back up to 5.88, and is still the worst in baseball among qualified pitchers. Manager Bruce Bochy and his staff are putting their confidence in the lefty and not skipping his next start, and maybe that can help relieve some pressure between the ears. Until the results change, however, Moore has a lot to fix.
2 – Rough Span
After having such a hot stretch for a while, Denard Span is struggling at the plate again. He was out of the lineup on Tuesday with a lefty on the mound, but collected just one hit in eight at-bats when he was on the field. The hit was a big one, thought, with the deflected infield knock coming in the seventh inning on Wednesday and leading to the game-winning run on Parker’s hit.
August hasn’t been kind to the center fielder, as he has a measly .167 average (4-24) in six games. If Span can’t get back to hitting at the plate, some more Gorkys Hernandez starts in center field might be in order.
3 – Not Capitalizing on Opportunities
It’s been a running theme for the San Francisco Giants, and not just this season, that they can not capitalize on scoring opportunities. On Monday, they had plenty of chances in the early innings against Arrieta, but squandered just about every one. They stranded a pair of runners in the first, second, and fourth innings, and wasted a one-out double in the third. Jones’ home run in the sixth would finally put them on the board, but the missed chances hurt and they weren’t able to come all the way back from a five-run deficit.
Next: Jonah Arenado Cal League POTW
On Wednesday, Kyle Hendricks put himself in plenty of trouble with shoddy command, but the Giants left two runners on in both the third and fourth innings to keep the game tied at one. Luckily, San Francisco was able to capitalize against the bullpen, but if not for a stellar pitching performance it might have been too little, too late again.