Giants Month in Review - July 2016

Turning the page from June to July for the San Francisco Giants, only one win had separated the G-Men from the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers for tops in the league. But it wouldn't be long before Bruce Bochy saw his ball club climb atop the baseball ranks to capture baseball's top spot following a 7-2 start to the month before putting on the brakes in time for the All-Star break. Aside from Buster Posey and Johnny Cueto who started in the Mid-Summer Classic and Brandon Belt and Madison Bumgarner who made the trip to San Diego as reserves for the NL All-Star team, the rest of the Giants enjoyed their brief break from the game. Maybe a little too much as they appeared to still be on vacation after the All-Star festivities had concluded.

After cruising into the All-Star break with the best record in all of baseball (57-33) for only the second time since the franchise moved out west in 1958, and bested only by a 59-30 mark in 1993, San Francisco would hit a wall and begin to sputter by losing their first six games after the break, being swept on the road by both the Padres and Red Sox. The funk wouldn't end there, however, as they dropped two of three in the Bronx to the Yankees before returning home to lose two of three against the lowly Cincinnati Reds. Another pair of losses to the NL East-leading Washington Nationals would see the Giants' grasp on the NL Western division dwindle down to just a single game over the arch-rival Dodgers after a game in which the G-Men hit into the first ever 3-3-5 triple-play in baseball history and the Nationals' first triple-play since moving from Montreal to Washington in 2006. In need of a spark, the Giants welcomed back their emotional leader -- Hunter Pence (hamstring) off of the disabled-list as well as second baseman Joe Panik who had been battling a concussion, while also adding a bat by trading for Minnesota All-Star Eduardo Nunez. Leading the American League in steals with 26, the Giants went out and nabbed Nunez to fill the void at third base left by the injured Matt Duffy (Achilles) who's been out since mid-June. Nunez, 29 years old, comes in hitting .300 with 12 home runs and 47 RBI and serves as a utility man, playing just about anywhere along the infield.

The newest Giant would make a great first impression, as Nunez connected for a 2-run double in the fourth inning to tie the game in his first start with San Francisco. The Giants would utilize some small ball the rest of the way to seal the much needed win with a 5-3 victory. Though it would take them more than two weeks, the Giants would finally string together their first winning streak of the second half by taking the final two games against the Nats to split the four-game set and finish the month of July with their first pair of consecutive wins since the break. Before their second-half skid, the Giants had taken series victories against the Diamondbacks and Rockies by taking two of three against both clubs before sweeping Arizona at home to end the half. But while their July schedule was looked upon as rather easy, the month of August figures to be anything but, as they hit the road for a 9-game road trip to kickoff the month. After a three-game visit to Philadelphia to face the rebuilding but scrappy Phillies, the Giants will take on the Nationals once more before concluding their trip in Miami to square off with the wild card hopeful Marlins. And when returning to AT&T Park, San Francisco's first homestand won't be any easier as they welcome the Orioles, Pirates and Mets into town. A brief three-game stop in southern California to renew rivalries with the Dodgers will end the stretch of formidable opponents with the Braves and D-Backs rounding out the end of August. 

While you would think the Giants would have the edge in a favorable match-up to begin the month of August by facing the Phillies with Bumgarner on the mound, not so fast as the Giants have actually lost six of the last eight games started by MadBum, including a loss at home to these same Phillies back in late-June. This after they had won his previous ten starts. Bumgarner has logged consecutive strong outings after a disappointing start the first game after the All-Star break, but has suffered from a lack of run support. The Giants hope to get him back on track at the hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park as they currently lead the division by two games ahead of the Dodgers and stand at 61-44 on the year after posting an 11-13 record in July.

The Giants also had one of the more busier afternoon's during the August 1 non-waiver trade deadline on Monday, trading for two lefty arms to address their need for pitching. Even days before the deadline was looming, the Giants had been rumored to be among the teams interested in Rays starting pitcher Matt Moore, but with a starting infielder likely who Tampa Bay wanted in return, San Francisco wasn't expected to pull the trigger on the pitcher who was brought up to be the future of the Rays organization. But with third baseman Matt Duffy battling an injury for over a month now and Nunez on the team, the Giants saw Duffy as expendable and turned those doubts into reality just minutes before the deadline by shipping him to Tampa along with a pair of prospects, including the highly-rated Lucious Fox (infielder). While some Giants fans would disagree, Duffy might not have been the toughest piece to part with, however, as the Giants also dealt their top pitching prospect in Phil Bickford, the club's No.1 draft pick a year ago. Bickford was packaged with catcher Andrew Susac to Milwaukee in exchange for high-volume strikeout reliever Will Smith.

Having been in need of an arm to solidify the bullpen practically all season long, the Giants finally acquired the late-inning relief help they've so desperately needed, but paid a hefty price in doing so. Expected to be added into the mix to pitch the later innings right away, Smith went 1-3 with a 3.68 ERA in Milwaukee this year, striking out 22 batters in 22 innings while missing the first two months of the season due to a knee injury. As for Moore, it's unsure who the lefty starter will replace in the starting rotation out of Matt Cain and Jake Peavy. Boasting a record of 7-7 and an ERA of 4.08 in 21 starts this season, Moore has been pitching lights-out as of late as is riding a hot streak in his last six starts, pitching to the tone of a 1.99 ERA since June 29. With both Moore and Smith 27 years of age and under club control through 2019, both players will have more than just this season to prove the Giants made the right move in giving up top talent at the Minor League level. 

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