Catcher Patrick Bailey, infielder Casey Schmitt, outfielder Luis Matos, and pitchers Tristan Beck and Keaton Winn all got the call to the Big Leagues to make their debuts in the first half, with Bailey and Schmitt producing right out of the gates for the Giants. While Schmitt has come down to earth a bit after a blazing hot start at the plate, Bailey on the other hand has relished in his role behind home, throwing guys out on the base paths at an alarming rate (38%) and also producing with his bat (.293 avg, 5 HR's and 26 RBIs in 40 games). Not long after Bailey made his MLB debut in May, San Francisco became one of the hottest teams in the league after stringing together their first 10-game winning-streak since 2004. Amid that winning streak, the Giants saw a few firsts, including their first time sweeping three straight series on the road since 1952, and just their fifth undefeated road trip of 6 or more games in franchise history. One of those sweeps came at Dodger Stadium which saw San Francisco clean house with their first 3-game sweep in L.A. since 2012, and a whopping 29 runs scored in the series, an SF-record for a 3-game series at Dodger Stadium. The second game of the series also saw the Giants pull off a 15-0 drubbing of the Dodgers, the team's worst home shutout loss since 1898.
Having played as well as 11 games above .500 back on June 24 to pull within 1.5 games behind first place Arizona, the Giants have since hit a bit of a speedbump towards the end on their way to the All-Star break, dropping 7 of their last 11 games. Luckily, they managed to avoid hitting complete rock bottom by taking the final two of three games from the lowly Colorado Rockies in their last series before the All-Star festivities. In their last game, a 1-0 win at home, Giants ace Logan Webb twirled his first career complete-game shutout. Striking out the side in the ninth inning to end the game in dominant fashion, Webb tallied 10 K's and walked none as he hit a Major League-leading 126 innings pitched on the season. After a rocky start to the season, the 26-year old Webb has again begun to resemble the ace that Giants brass envision him being for years to come after signing a 5-year, $90 Million extension back in April. But as good as Webb has been over the last few weeks, dropping his ERA back down to 3.14, he did not make the National League All-Star team. However, a few fellow members of his pitching staff did.
Representing for the Giants in Tuesday's MLB All-Star Game was fellow starting pitcher Alex Cobb (6-2 record, 2.91 ERA) and closer Camilo Doval (2.63 ERA) who is tied for the league lead with 26 saves. The pair helped contribute to the NL's first victory since 2012, each pitching a shutout inning, with Doval earning the win. Coincidentally, former Giants ace Matt Cain also earned the win in 2012 when the Senior Circuit last defeated the American League.
Kicking off an 11-game, four-city road trip out of the All-Star break to begin the unofficial second half of the season, the Giants will try to get back to resembling the red-hot team that blazed through most of June as one of the best teams in baseball, before a daunting challenge in August when Gabe Kapler's squad faces five first place teams, including the D-Backs, Texas Rangers, Tampa Bay Rays, Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds. By then we should get a better gauge on what this Giants team, which is currently sitting in the third and final NL Wild Card spot, really has in them when they hit the dog days of summer. With injuries and inconsistencies hindering the Giants' starting pitching rotation outside of Webb and Cobb, look for them to possibly add a starting pitcher or two before the August 1 trade deadline as the team ramps up for a playoff push.
MLB Draft - While teams begin lining up their chips for current Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani who may or may not be on the trading block but is a forgone conclusion to sign the most lucrative contract of all-time this offseason, other teams are hoping to find the next Ohtani in the MLB Draft. A year after selecting two-way talent Reggie Crawford out of UConn with the 30th overall pick in the 1st round of the 2022 MLB Draft, the Giants followed suit by taking another two-way player with the 16th overall pick in the first round of last week's Draft, this time from the High School ranks. Earning high praise for having one of the most solid draft classes overall, the Giants opted to select Virginia prep Bryce Eldridge who at 6ft, 7in. has dazzled both as a pitcher and at first base on his way to be named the 2022-23 Gatorade Virginia Baseball Player of the Year. Among others, the Giants also selected High School shortstop Walker Martin No. 52 overall who was also named 2023 Gatorade Player of the Year in Colorado, left-handed pitcher Joe Whitman taken at No. 69 overall out of Kent State, and Tennessee shortstop Maui Ahuna taken No. 117 overall. With Eldridge, Martin, Whitman and Ahuna all ranked in the Top 50 of MLB Pipeline's Draft rankings, San Francisco is the only team to make out with four players on the list.
Noteworthy - Shortstop Brandon Crawford moved into 13th place on the Giants all-time franchise RBI list, surpassing future Hall of Fame catcher and former teammate Buster Posey with 730 RBI.
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