San Francisco Giants 3 Up, 3 Down: Still Can’t Beat San Diego
The San Francisco Giants dropped yet another series to the San Diego Padres, losing the final three games after a promising win on Thursday.
3 UP
1 – Evan Longoria
Whatever video Evan Longoria studied during this series, it worked. The new Giants’ third baseman had the best series of his short tenure with the team over the weekend series against San Diego.
Longoria picked up two hits in the series opener on Thursday, and added an RBI on a fielder’s choice groundout. He pulled down on 0-4 on Friday, but came back with another pair of hits the next day, including a monster home run. The second-deck blast left Longoria’s bat at 110.4 miles per hour, and travelled an estimated 433 feet. His second Saturday hit was a double to left field. On Sunday, he collected two more hits, adding his fifth double of the year on another barreled ball to center field.
The overall numbers still aren’t that pretty, with Longoria owning a .204/.218/.407 slash-line through his first 14 games as a Giant. But considering he came into the Padres series at .132/.154/.289, this is a great start to getting back to normalcy.
2 – Chris Stratton
With the Giants’ top three starters taking up space on the disabled list, Chris Stratton basically became the de facto number one starter for a short time. In the series opener on Thursday, Stratton pitched like the ace.
More from Golden Gate Sports
- Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
- 49ers sign new long snapper amidst a flurry of roster moves
- Oakland Athletics win Game 2 of Wild Card round with late-inning drama
- 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice
- 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve
For the first time in his big league career, Stratton was able to complete seven full innings, and did so while allowing just one hit. He found himself in trouble only once, when he gave up back-to-back one-out walks in the fifth inning, but was able to escape the jam and keep San Diego scoreless.
Stratton finished strong, throwing perfect innings in the sixth and seventh before giving way to the bullpen. He threw 101 pitches, becoming the first Giants’ starter this season to eclipse the century mark. Through three starts, the former first-round pick owns a 2.60 ERA and 0.981 WHIP.
3 – Cueto to Return
The Giants did get some good news despite dropping three straight games to San Diego over the weekend. Johnny Cueto came through his tests and bullpen sessions well, and is set to come off the disabled list to open the series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday.
Cueto made two starts before an ankle injury put him on the shelf, but pitched very well both times. He’s given up one run in 13 innings, and allowed only 11 baserunners (nine hits, two walks). Luckily, Cueto didn’t need a rehab start since he missed the minimum of 10 days, and hopefully, the time away doesn’t impact his performance.