Locked On Giants – Daily Podcast On The San Francisco Giants

On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick talks about the San Francisco Giants' 7-6 road win in 10 innings against the Houston Astros. Hunter Pence hit a huge three-run home run in the 7th inning that brought the Giants to within one run, and the Giants scored a run in the 9th to tie the game. The game went extra innings, and the Giants scored a run under the new rules with a runner on second to start the inning. In the bottom of the frame, with a runner on second to start the inning, Tyler Rogers induced a weak ground out, and then struck out two consecutive batters with the tying run on third base. It was a huge moment of redemption for Rogers, and his manager who put him in that spot, after Rogers gave up a late lead against the Dodgers just a few games ago. Gabe Kapler was heavily criticized by fans and media alike for the decision to pull starting pitcher Kevin Gausman in favor of Rogers, perhaps unfairly. Rogers showed why Kapler has shown confidence in him with his performance last night, his first career save.

Tyler Anderson got the start for the Giants, and he pitched better than his final line would suggest. He allowed a cheap home run to Alex Bregman that found its way into the Crawford boxes in left. Wilmer Flores homered, Evan Longoria turned a great double play with the bases loaded and no outs, stepping on third and throwing home and getting an out there as well. Pence was hitting for Alex Dickerson with a left-handed pitcher on the mound, so Kapler deserves credit for sticking with his struggling veteran in that spot. Austin Slater had two big hits, both against right-handed pitchers. He's continued to make the case that he should be playing everyday, and sure enough, he's in the lineup and batting third today against right-handed pitcher Zack Greinke.

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On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick talks about the San Francisco Giants' 6-4 loss to the Houston Astros on Monday night. Logan Webb was on the mound for the Giants, and he pitched much better than his final line would suggest. As has been a recurring theme this season, the Giants' defense collapsed in the third inning and cost Webb several runs that probably should not have scored. With one out and nobody on base, Jose Altuve hit a ground ball single that Donovan Solano probably should have handled. The next batter, Josh Reddick, hit what should have been a ground ball out, but catcher Chadwick Tromp was called for catcher's interference, the fourth one for the Giants this year. After a walk loaded the bases, Michael Brantley hit a bloop ground rule double, then with the infield in Solano fielded a ground ball and threw home, but his throw hit Alex Bregman in the back and the Giants did not record an out. Later in the inning, the Giants failed to turn a double play on a ground ball to Mauricio Dubón. By the time the inning was over, it was 5-0 Astros and the game was all but over.

Lance McCullers Jr. started for the Astros and was dominant over seven innings. Finally, in the 8th, the Giants got on the board with an Austin Slater solo home run against a right-handed pitcher. Slater has been playing great as of late, including against righties, and he's making a case to be an everyday player. He's now tied for 18th in all of baseball among position players with 0.8 FanGraphs WAR. The Giants staged a rally in the top of the 9th, which included big hits by Solano and Brandon Crawford. Solano had two doubles in the game, and he currently ranks fourth among position players in fWAR. Solano's excellence with the bat cannot be overstated and is a continuation of what he did last year. His projections now call for him to hit .310/.342/.419, which is an above-average line and one that's dramatically better than his projections entering the season. Ultimately, the Giants stranded the tying run on base as pinch-hitter Evan Longoria flew out to end the game. It was notable that Pablo Sandoval did not start against a right-handed pitcher, and was not selected to pinch hit in a big spot against a righty. If neither of those roles belong to him, he doesn't appear to have one on this team.

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On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick discusses the San Francisco Giants' weekend series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, in which the Giants lose two out of three. There was more controversy surrounding manager Gabe Kapler, as he made a couple of decisions regarding his starting pitchers that were heavily criticized in the media. On Sunday, Kapler elected to remove starting pitcher Kevin Gausman from the game in the 7th inning after he allowed a one-out single to Cody Bellinger. Up to that point, Gausman had shut down the Dodgers with a lethal combination of a high-90s fastball and a devastating splitter. Gausman had only thrown 80 pitches, and said after the game that he had "more in the tank." However, it's easy to justify Kapler's decision. Gausman had allowed consecutive line drives to Mookie Betts (who lined out) and Bellinger (who singled). Also, the numbers could not be clearer that outcomes for pitchers get worse the deeper they pitch in games. In Gausman's career, his numbers get sharply worse each time through the batting order. Last season, starting pitchers got sharply worse against the Dodgers each time through the batting order.

However, Kapler's decision to use Tyler Rogers for the second straight game, after he had thrown two innings the previous night, was questionable. It makes more sense in the context that the Giants do not have a lot of right-handed relievers they can trust right now. Rogers surrendered a single and a three-run home run that gave the Dodgers a lead they would not relinquish.

The previous night, Johnny Cueto carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning. Hunter Pence lost a ball in the twilight that went down as a triple. Cueto later issued a couple of walks in the inning, but also got two weakly hit outs. He was visited by trainers because he was hobbling a bit when going a after a popup. He clearly indicated to the trainers that he was fine to pitch, and he was allowed to face an additional hitter. Justin Turner hit a three-run home run that made the score 5-4 Giants. Kapler was heavily criticized for leaving Cueto in the game. This decision, and the one to pull Gausman, were pretty much opposite calls, and both were perfectly defensible, especially given that the score was close in the Gausman scenario and not close in the Cueto scenario. At the end of the day, the players play the game and not everything should be blamed on the manager.

Also in Saturday's game the Giants hit three home runs against Clayton Kershaw, including two by Austin Slater and one by Mike Yastrzemski—another one against a left-handed pitcher.

The Giants now head to Houston to play the Astros, who have surprisingly struggled so far this year. They're just 6-9 on the young season and have lost five in a row. They were involved in a benches-clearing incident yesterday with the Oakland A's, and suspensions could be handed down to their players in this series as close contact is strictly prohibited this season because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick talks about the San Francisco Giants' 6-4 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Thursday afternoon. Tyler Anderson was on the mound for the Giants, opposed by Kyle Freeland on the other side, and both lefty starters pitched beautifully. In a game that was very uncharacteristic of Coors Field, the score was 0-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning. Familiar critics questioned manager Gabe Kapler's decision to remove Anderson after five innings, as Wandy Peralta entered the game and allowed a home run that gave the Rockies a 1-0 lead. But Anderson may have been on a pitch count considering he hadn't been stretched out much in his previous outing this year.

In the top of the 7th, the Giants looked like they were going to go down quietly against Freeland again after two quick outs were recorded, but Pablo Sandoval dumped a single into the outfield and Chadwick Tromp singled up the middle. Rockies manager Bud Black came out to the mound, presumably to remove the starter Freeland, but he elected to leave in his starter to face Mauricio Dubón. On the very first pitch of the at-bat, Dubón launched an impressive three-run home run into the left field bleachers. He dropped the bat, started at the ball for a moment, and turned and yelled towards the Giants dugout. Then, after he rounded the bases, he put his index finger up to his mouth in a shushing motion. The Rockies evidently took offense to Dubón's actions, because when Daniel Murphy hit a go-ahead home run in the bottom of the inning, he glared at Dubón in center field as he rounded second.

In this instance, the Rockies were acting as the "fun police," even though Dubón may have broken baseball's archaic unwritten rules. In reality, Dubón's home run and exuberance was extremely refreshing on a Giants team that has been known for players who "keep their head down," "go about their business," and "play the game the right way." The game, however, is better when the players have fun, and Dubón is making a case to be in the lineup on a more consistent basis. He also made an incredible catch in center field, a position he hasn't played much at all in his professional career. That type of athleticism and passion Dubón showed on Thursday is exactly what the Giants will need in a brighter future.

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On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick talks about the San Francisco Giants' 4-3 win over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night. Logan Webb started for the Giants, and he pitched beautifully in five-plus innings. The game started off on a bad note, with Donovan Solano making a fielding error that would later come around to score. The Rockies took a 2-0 lead in the third inning, but the Giants answered in a big way in the top of the fourth. Mike Yastrzemski led off with a ground ball to shortstop Trevor Story, and he made an error that would prove to be costly. With Yastrzemski on first and one out, Donovan Solano singled to set it up for Brandon Belt, who launched a three-run home run to right field that would give the Giants a lead they would not relinquish.

Apparently there was some controversy about Gabe Kapler taking out Logan Webb when he did. Webb had only thrown 60-something pitches through five-plus, but he allowed a leadoff single to Tony Wolters in the bottom of the 6th, which flipped the lineup over for the third time. There is clear evidence that starting pitchers fare worse against lineups the third time through the order, and Webb had just given up a hit to one of the worst hitters in baseball. What's more, a lefty-heavy part of the Rockies lineup was due up. It was absolutely the right call to remove Webb at that point, considering the ballpark, the hit by Wolters, the fact that it was the third time through, and the fact that it was a lefty-heavy part of the lineup. Lefty Caleb Baragar came in and got the Rockies to go down in order.

Another non-controversy is also discussed on the show: Kapler's correct decision to go to Tony Watson in the bottom of the 7th even though righty Nolan Arenado was up first. Overall, the Giants' pitching was great last night and the offense, led by Belt, gave them just enough to win by one. Trevor Gott showed great stuff while shutting down the Rockies in the 9th to notch the save.

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On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick talks about the San Francisco Giants' 5-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night. Starter Kevin Gausman had great stuff, routinely touching 97 mph, but the Giants' bats went quietly against Rockies starter German Marquez. The Giants committed three more errors in this game, including catcher Tyler Heineman's third catcher's interference of the season, and an errant pickoff attempt by Conner Menez. Both of those errors directly contributed to runs scoring, which has been an all-too-familiar theme for the Giants this season. Additionally, Brandon Crawford made a fielding error on a routine ground ball.

Ben talks on today's show about how veterans like Crawford should have to earn their playing time moving forward. The Giants have several veterans on this team like Crawford, Brandon Belt, Evan Longoria, Hunter Pence, and Pablo Sandoval, who are not likely to be around on the next good Giants team. Therefore, they're only playing to try to help the Giants win in the present. So if they're not producing in the present, there's no reason for them to continue to take at-bats away from other players who might be a part of the future. In cases where there's not an obvious long-term replacement, it makes sense to keep playing the veterans, and it makes sense when they're helping the team win. But for someone like Crawford, a case could be made that the Giants could try to get at-bats for Mauricio Dubón or Donovan Solano at Crawford's expense. He should be feeling the pressure, as his defense has appeared to decline in recent seasons and he hasn't been able to get it going at the plate. Crawford and Sandoval are two of 10 hitters with at least 30 plate appearances who have yet to record an extra-base hit. There are 177 hitters with at least 30 plate appearances.

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On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick talks about the Giants' disappointing 7-6 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Monday night. Johnny Cueto was on the mound for the Giants, and he pitched well the first two times through the order. In the sixth inning, however, when he was facing the top of the Rockies lineup for the third time, he allowed a leadoff single to Charlie Blackmon and a two-run home run to Nolan Arenado. After the game, Cueto blamed the coaches in charge of defensive shifts for Blackmon's single, but it was hit over 104 mph, and similar batted balls are hits 54% of the time. It was a bad look for Cueto to blame his own poor results on his coaches.

The Giants' defense then fell apart later in the inning. Alex Dickerson dropped a deep fly ball as he was running back and to his right, and it was ruled a triple. That runner scored on a single, and later in the inning Dickerson made a bad throw after another single gave the Rockies a 5-4 lead. Dickerson's throw airmailed shortstop Brandon Crawford and went all the way towards the Giants dugout. Catcher Chadwick Tromp vacated home plate even though pitcher Wandy Peralta was backing up the throw, and this allowed another runner to score, making it 6-4 Rockies. They added another run in the bottom of the 8th on a Chris Ownings solo home run.

The Giants battled back for two runs in the top of the 9th, but Dickerson flew out to end the game with the tying run on third base. Earlier in the game, Dickerson, Yastrzemski, and Tromp blasted home runs that had given the Giants' a 4-1 lead. So the offense stayed hot, but the Giants' sloppy defense, which has been a theme so far this year, ultimately let them down.

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On today's Locked On Giants Podcast, host Ben Kaspick discusses the San Francisco Giants' series win against the Texas Rangers over the weekend. The Giants pounded the Rangers on Friday with their right-handed lineup. Donovan Solano continued to stay hot, and Wilmer Flores hit a big three-run home run with two outs. Logan Webb had a bit of a shaky start, but the bullpen was almost perfect the rest of the way and the Giants won 9-2. On Saturday, the Giants got a great start out of Drew Smyly, and the offense carried the load once again. The Giants drew 11 walks in this game, and came through with some big hits in key situations. Smyly had to leave the game in the 5th inning even though he was pitching well. He had struck out seven Rangers in four innings, but exited the game because of an index finger sprain on his pitching hand.

On Sunday, Jeff Samardzija got the start and got hit hard. His fastball velocity was down again, and he continued a troubling trend of not striking anybody out. On the season he has as many strikeouts (2) as home runs allowed. Samardzija became the first Giants starter to pitch at least five innings, but that accomplishment didn't mean great results. The Giants fell behind 5-1, but managed to come back in the 6th and 7th. Even Longoria hit a long home run to lead off the 7th, then Chadwick Tromp hit his first career homer, a two-run shot that tied the game. In the bottom of the 7th Andrew Triggs, called up after Smyly was placed on the 10-day injured list, couldn't find the strike zone. He threw just two strikes as he walked the bases loaded. Tyler Anderson came in to face a couple of lefties and ended up serving up a three-run homer to Joey Gallo after a run had already scored. The Rangers took a 9-5 lead that would be the final score.

Also discussed today was the Giants' trade of Billy Hamilton to the New York Mets for right-handed pitching prospect Jordan Humphreys. Humphreys was designated for assignment by the Mets a few days prior to the trade. On the surface, it looks like another solid trade for Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, who turned a one-year minor league signing who wasn't even on the team into a decent prospect.

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On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick talks about the Giants' disappointing extra-innings loss to the Padres on Thursday. Mike Yastrzemski and Donovan Solano once again fueled a big comeback late in the game, but the Giants surrendered six runs in the top of the 10th inning and ultimately lost 12-7. Yastrzemski now leads all position players in fWAR, essentially meaning that he has been the most productive position player in baseball thus far in 2020. Donovan Solano, despite not starting a few games, is 11th in baseball in fWAR. The numbers these two are putting up right now may not be sustainable, but they are starting to prove that their 2019 breakouts were not flukes. Especially in the case of Yastrzemski, who's now been 31% above average offensively in his major league career and has been one of baseball's best players since the 2019 All-Star break. Solano's batting average on balls in play looks clearly unsustainable, but the Statcast data backs up his strong production over the past two seasons.

Kevin Gausman got the start against Dinelson Lamet, and he pitched better than the results. He now has an ERA in the fives, but his strikeout and walk numbers indicate that he's in store for much better results moving forward. The Giants were behind 6-1 in the 7th before tying it up in the 8th, after which they brought in Tyler Rogers to get them to the bottom of the 9th. Rogers did his job with a clean inning, but the Giants failed to score in the bottom of the 9th and the Giants got their first look at the new extra innings rule. The Padres started the 10th with a runner on second, and Rogers, out for a second inning, could not record an out. He allowed three hits, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch in the inning. Gabe Kapler tried to remove Rogers after pitching coach Andrew Bailey had just visited the mound. The umpires overruled the pitching change, and Rogers was forced to throw to an additional hitter, who reached on a sacrifice bunt. The gaffe was inconsequential, as the Giants were already trailing 10-6 at the time, but local media reacted strongly with heavy criticism of Kapler. Ben explains why he thinks this is confirmation bias and a blatant overreaction.

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On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick talks about the Giants' thrilling 7-6 win over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday. Donovan Solano hit a three-run home run with two outs in the 8th inning that tied the game, and Mike Yastrzemski hit a leadoff home run in the bottom of the 9th to walk off the Padres. In both at-bats, the pitcher had the platoon advantage. This was a big theme in this game, as manager Gabe Kapler elected not to go with his normal platoon-heavy lineup at a few positions to start the game. Austin Slater started in right field instead of Joe McCarthy, and Donovan Solano started at third base instead of having Mauricio Dubón or Jaylin Davis in the lineup. Those moves proved to be instrumental in the Giants' comeback, as Slater and Solano had key performances in the win.

Johnny Cueto started on the mound for the Giants, and he wasn't particularly sharp. He issued three walks and allowed four hits, and he wasn't able to escape the 4th inning. Shaun Anderson allowed a three-run home after Cueto departed in the 4th, but Tyler Anderson tossed 3.2 scoreless innings in relief after that. Tyler Rogers pitched a scoreless top of the 9th against the heart of the Padres lineup before Yastrzemski hit his walkoff shot in the bottom of the inning. It was Yastrzemski's second home run of the game. Left fielder Alex Dickerson also hit a triple and a home run earlier, and he drew a key walk in the 8th inning that helped set up the game-tying home run by Solano.

The Giants will get reinforcements today, as first baseman Brandon Belt and third baseman Evan Longoria are expected to be activated from the injured list. McCarthy will likely be sent back to the alternate site, and the Giants must take someone else off the active roster as well. Additionally, according to The Athletic's Andrew Baggarly, those around the Giants organization expect top catching prospect Joey Bart to be added to the major league roster in the near future, possibly as soon as Friday. The additions of Bart, Belt, and Longoria could give the Giants lineup a real boost, when paired with upstart performers like Yastrzemski, Dickerson, Solano, Slater, and Wilmer Flores.

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