San Francisco Giants Notes from a Weird Month of May

The San Francisco Giants suffered through another losing month in May, but they were able to gain ground in an otherwise lackluster division.

May was another wild month for the San Francisco Giants. They went 11-16 on the month, and were terrible on the road (6-12, -35 run differential), but somehow managed to actually gain ground on the division lead. They are lucky to be playing in the National League West, which has collectively been bad, where they sat four games behind the division-leading Colorado Rockies entering the month’s final day. At the end of April, they were 5.5 games back.

It’s a minor miracle that the Giants gained ground with a rotation that’s held together with bubblegum and scotch tape, a bullpen that’s been overworked because of the patchwork rotation, a defense that has disappointed, and an offense that was hit or miss (quite literally). But here they are, entering the season’s third full month with the division still well within shouting distance.

Here are some notes from the month of May.

• Brandon Crawford made a great case for player of the month in May. His run-scoring single in the fifth inning on Wednesday was his 42nd hit of the month, which blasted past his previous career high (36 in May, 2015). Entering play on the last day of May, he led the NL in hits and was second in wRC+ (192) for the month. His 42 hits in a month represent the most by a Giant since Marco Scutaro also racked up 42 knocks in May of 2013.
• Crawford’s turnaround from the first month was incredible. In March and April, he hitting way too many flyballs and not enough line drives, and was not using the opposite field like he normally does so well. All of that changed in the second full month of the year. His flyball rate dropped from 40.3 percent in April to 24.7 percent in May, his line drive rate skyrocketed from 17.7 percent to 37.6 percent, and his opposite field rate increased from 25.4 percent to 32.6 percent. His slash-line took a major jump as a result, from .189/.237/.300 with five extra-base hits to .412/.446/.618 with 13 extra-base hits.

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• Another guy who had a big May was Gorkys Hernandez, who took over the everyday leadoff hitter and center fielder duties in the last few weeks of the month. It was by far the best month of his career by wRC+ (160), and he hit as many home runs (five) as he hit in his first three seasons combined (235 plate appearances). He might not retain the leadoff hitter role with Joe Panik’s return imminent, but his play lately will certainly keep him in center field for the foreseeable future.
• Here’s a sentence no one thought they’d hear this season: Derek Holland was the Giants’ best starter this month. That’s a low bar to clear, but Holland was surprisingly reliable throughout May. He pitched to a 4.32 ERA and 1.380 WHIP and the offense gave him enough support to earn three wins in six starts. It won’t earn him any awards, but considering the next lowest ERA belonged to Andrew Suarez at 5.46, Holland was the ace.

• Madison Bumgarner’s presence has clearly been sorely missed on the mound, but it’s also been missed at the plate. Giants’ pitchers rank 14th in the National League in average as hitters (.074), 14th in slugging percentage (.084), and tied for 13th in OBP (.111). Only the Miami Marlins are keeping the Giants out of the basement. Entering the final series of May, Giants’ pitchers had combined for zero RBI hits and zero extra-base hits (the only RBI came from a Chris Stratton groundout). Dereck Rodriguez’s RBI double on Tuesday got them off the schneid in both categories.
• Now for a couple minor league pitchers that have been gaining attention. In Triple-A, former Yankees’ farmhand Daniel Camarena has made two starts for the River Cats and been mighty impressive in both. He was released earlier in the month, picked up by the organization on May 24th, and made his debut the next day with Sacramento, throwing six innings of one run ball. He allowed three hits and two walks while striking out six. He made his second start on Wednesday, and threw six shutout innings. He only struck out two and walked three, but limited El Paso to just two hits. The southpaw was a 20th-round pick in the 2011 draft, and is 25 years old.

Next: 3 Up, 3 Down: First Series in Colorado

• Another guy making his mark in Sacramento is Ray Black, a reliever who has long been one of the team’s most-watched youngsters. The flame-throwing, oft-injured righty is healthy after making only three Rookie League appearances in 2017, and is getting his first taste of Triple-A action. He allowed five runs in his first two appearances at the level, but has been downright unhittable since. In five games (5.1 innings), Black has allowed one hit and one walk while striking out 11 of the 17 batters he’s faced. That all equals out to a .063/.118/.063 slash-line and 64.7 percent strikeout rate.