After a historic month of May for the San Francisco Giants which briefly saw the team make the jump from worst to first, the reigning World Series champions got off to a sluggish start in the month of June by getting swept at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates at AT&T Park. With the three game sweep, the Giants would endure their second five-game losing-streak of the season before hitting the road and winning four of six versus the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets respectively, failing to complete the sweep both times in the series finale. But just as their impressive mark while on the road continued which ranked tops in the NL, their woes at home also showed no signs of slowing.
Following a three-game series versus the Arizona Diamondbacks which ended in a sweep, the Giants saw their first 8-game skid at home sine September of 1993. With a loss the following day to the visiting Seattle Mariners, the Giants' home losing skid hit nine games. It would be the franchise's first losing streak of its kind since 1940, long before they began calling San Francisco home. Thankfully, they would put an end to the dry spell the following day with a win over the Mariners to split the two-game set. The win also halted their third five-game losing streak of 2015. After splitting another pair of games on the road in Seattle, the Giants would claim three straight series victories against division rivals with the first coming in L.A. against the Dodgers and the latter two at home versus the Padres and Rockies, taking two of three in each series.
With rookie pitcher Chris Heston hurling a no-hitter on the road against the Mets and the team paying a visit to the White House where they were congratulated for a third time during President Obama's presidency, June was without a doubt a busy month for the ball club. It wasn't all parties and celebrations in the month, however, as both Hunter Pence (wrist) and Nori Aoki (ankle) hit the disabled list with injuries, sapping the team's offensive production. While the outfield duo isn't expected to be on the shelf for much longer, they'll likely be joined on the DL by pitcher Tim Lincecum who was hit hard both figuratively and literally in his last outing against Colorado after allowing 3 earned runs in 1.2 innings and taking a line drive to the forearm which caused him to exit the game. Lincecum missing a period of time does however open the window for Matt Cain and Jake Peavy who will both be called up from Triple-A before the weekend.
Cain, who hasn't pitched since last August while dealing with a flexor tendon injury, will make his season debut Thursday on the road in Miami against Marlins ace Jose Fernandez who will also be making his 2015 debut. As for Peavy, he'll be making his first start since April 17 when he takes the mound in Washington against the red-hot Nationals who have won 9 of their last 10 games. Giants skipper Bruce Bochy is hoping the duo of Cain and Peavy can both be effective enough to the point where the team can approach July's trade deadline without needing another starting pitcher. With a record of 12-14 in June, the G-Men currently stand 1.5 games behind the archrival Dodgers in the NL West at 42-36 overall, thanks in large part to the sizzling numbers put up by catcher Buster Posey as of late. The All-Star hopeful who currently leads all NL catchers in All-Star voting, tallied 28 RBI's in the month of June alone, giving him 54 on the year. He also clubbed five Home Runs in the month, including a pair of Grand Slams. With Posey swinging a hot stick at the perfect time and the team less than two weeks away from the All-Star break, the Giants could very well find themselves atop the division at the midway point.
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They don't call him Hesto Presto for nothing - So far in 2015, Giants rookie pitcher Chris Heston has been hit or miss. Tonight, he was all miss for the opposition. In only his 13th career start, the 27-year old would pitch his way into the history books with a dominant performance against the New York Mets. With injuries to pitchers Matt Cain and Jake Peavy prior to the start of the 2015 season, the Giants were left with a hole in their pitching rotation and question marks as to who would fill the void. With only 5.1 career innings pitched under his belt entering the season, the Giants went with Heston to solve their pitching woes for the time being. Heston was given the opportunity and has simply ran with it ever since.
After a stellar month of April, Bruce Bochy and company appeared to have made the perfect decision. But an up and down month of May caused many to wonder if Heston's star had begun to fade. Prior to Tuesday's game, Heston had allowed 16 earned runs in his last 18 innings pitched as his ERA on the year spiked to 4.29. With all that in his rear-view, Heston came out guns blazing at Citi Field as the Giants looked to improve to their NL-best 17th win on the road this season. Though they would end up winning the game, 5-0, it was Heston who stole the show as he twirled the 17th no-hitter in Giants franchise history. One way to describe Heston's feat -- pure dominance. Just how on was Heston you ask? Of the 27 outs recorded, only two came through he air and left the infield as Heston threw first-pitch strikes to 16 of the batters he faced and surrendered only four three-ball counts as he tallied 11 strikeouts and didn't allow a single walk. Heston's only blemish would come in the hit batsman department as he allowed only three men to reach base, all of which were hit by a pitch including back-to-back batters in the fourth inning. The last of which to leadoff the ninth.
He would follow that up by striking out the side in the ninth as all three batters were caught looking, the first time a no-hitter had ended in three consecutive strikeouts since Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax of the Dodgers did it back in the 1960's, only Koufax's were of the swinging variety. After recording the final out, catcher Buster Posey met Heston halfway and had a big hug waiting for his pitcher. Heston needed only 110-pitches in the feat and became the first rookie to toss a no-hitter since Boston's Clay Buccholtz in 2007. Of the 17 no-no's in Giants franchise history, only two others were thrown by rookies as Christy Mathewson (1901) and Jeff Tesreau (1912) accomplished the others. Heston's bid for history made it four consecutive seasons in which a Giants pitcher has threw a no-hitter with Tim Lincecum accomplishing the feat in each of the past two seasons and Matt Cain doing so back in 2012 when he completed a perfect game. The Giants join only the archrival Dodgers to have accomplished four consecutive seasons with a no-hitter as Koufax repeated the feat from 1962 to 1965. Something Heston can say he did that Koufax can't, however, is that he became the first pitcher since 1914 to have two of his first 15 career starts be complete games with at least 10 K's and no more than two hits allowed.
Just how good of a day was it for Heston? He also helped his own cause in the batters box, collecting two hits and driving in the first two runs of his career. With the win, Heston improved to 6-4 on the year and saw his ERA dip under four as it currently sits at a respectable 3.77. While Heston's improbable journey continues, here's to hoping those ugly outings that usually follow up the good ones are a thing of the past. Congratulations, Heston & Go Giants!
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With the San Francisco Giants off to a slow start in the opening month of April, the G-Men finally resembled a reigning World Series champion team in the month of May. Baseball's second calendar month saw the Giants win the first five games of the month, including a 3-game sweep of the Angels before taking 2 of 3 versus the San Diego Padres as San Francisco finally returned to and eventually surpassed the .500 mark for the first time since the team got off to their 3-1 start to the season. With the Miami Marlins in town for a four-game set at AT&T Park where they've fared well as the visiting team, boasting a record of 14-4 on the road vs SF since 2010 entering the series, the two teams would split by taking two games apiece.
Following a successful 10-game home stand in which the Giants went 7-3, Bruce Bochy's ball club took to the road where they met with the hottest team in the American League -- the Houston Astros. In town for only two games, the Giants and 'Stros would split the series as San Francisco took the series opener by a Final of 8-1 behind rookie hurler Chris Heston. Heston, who was without a doubt the highlight of April for the orange and black, had a more pedestrian month of May, but still performed well in a number of starts, including a gem versus Houston in which he allowed only 1 run on 2 hits and no walks while going the distance. Heston became just one of two Giants rookies since 1900 to pitch a complete-game while striking out 10 and allowing two or fewer base runners. Though Heston's ERA ballooned from 2.77 in the month of April to 4.58 in May, translating to a respectable 3.82 ERA overall, he did improve his record to 5-3 after logging 3 wins and 1 loss. For the month of May, it was pitcher Ryan Vogelsong who shined brightest as he compiled 4 wins in the month while logging a minuscule 1.14 ERA.
The road trip would conclude with a 4-game stop in Cincinnati where the bats would awaken just in time for the arrival of Hunter Pence. After dropping the series-opener, the Giants would account for their first double-digit performance of the season with a 10-2 shellacking in Game 2. The Giants would then put up double-digit runs in consecutive games for the first time since 2012 with an 11-run outburst the following day, tagging Reds starter Mike Leake for a career-high 9 earned runs in route to an 11-2 victory. The series finale would be a much closer ballgame but still ended with a familiar result as the Giants came away with the 9-8 win to take 3 of 4 at the site of this year's MLB All-Star Game. It would be a memorable series for two Giants in particular as both Brandon Belt and Hunter Pence were most likely sad to leave the hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark when it was time to head home. With Hunter Pence making his season debut in Game 3 of the series, recording a single, double and a walk while scoring three runs, he fared just as well at the plate in the series finale by going 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs and logging his first home run of the season. As for Brandon Belt, the Giants first baseman saw his batting average jump from .271 to .321 by collecting 9 hits, 8 runs, 7 RBI and homering in three consecutive games after entering the series without a single homer on the year.
With San Francisco returning Home for a brief three-game series with the Dodgers, the Giants were given an opportunity to chip away at their archrivals grasp on the division lead. And with a three-game sweep for the second time in as many series' at Home this season vs. L.A., the Giants were able to do just that, with all three wins coming in shutout fashion. Despite the many meetings between both clubs throughout their storied history, it would mark only the second time in franchise history that the G-Men swept a series versus their bitter rivals without allowing a single run. The other occurrence was in June 25-27 of 2012. The series finale would feature a match up between two of the game's best pitchers as Madison Bumgarner squared off against Clayton Kershaw for a second time this season with Kershaw being outdueled both times. The second time around, however, Bumgarner would help his own cause, launching a solo homer to left. It would be the first home run allowed by Kershaw to an opposing pitcher in his career.
After hitting the road to play four games in Colorado which included a makeup game that was rained out on April 26, the Giants took Games 1 and 2 to improve their season-best winning-streak to 8 games. They would go on to lose the next two games, however, splitting the series and snapping their win streak before paying the Milwaukee Brewers a visit whom they swept in a three-game set to cap off their road trip. With a chance to finish the month strong at Home, the G-Men welcomed the visiting Atlanta Braves for a four game set. With a 7-0 victory in the series opener, the Giants pitched their fourth straight shutout at AT&T Park and improved their consecutive Home scoreless innings streak to 37 innings. Though the streak would come to an end in the 3rd inning of Game 2, the Giants were able to tally 39 consecutive scoreless innings at Home which matched a franchise record. And though they would go on to take the first two games against the Braves before falling in Game 3, they would head into the 9th inning of the series finale with a 5-3 lead and a chance to take three of four from visiting Atlanta. Prior to Sunday, in the 25 games the Giants entered the 9th inning while holding a lead, they came out victorious in all 25 meetings. But on this day, they wouldn't be so lucky.
And had it not been for an error by Brandon Crawford with 1-out in the 9th on a routine play that we've seen him make a thousand times with a chance to seal the win with an inning-ending double play ball, the Giants would be sitting atop the division in first place at the start of June. Instead, the Braves tagged closer Santiago Casilla for four runs in the frame (3 earned), taking a 7-5 lead which they would go on to win by. But that's nothing to scoff at considering Crawford leads the team in RBI's with 37, seven more than the next closest player in Buster Posey and is a key reason in the Giants' resurgence. He also has 7 home runs which only trails Posey's 8. Despite the disappointing loss, the Giants finished the month of May by going 21-9 to improve their overall record to 30-22 as they currently sit a 1/2 game behind the Dodgers. The Giants' 21-9 record in May marks the franchise's best month since a 21-10 finish in August of 1968. With Hunter Pence healthy once again and Brandon Belt contributing at the plate, things have finally begun to click for a Giants team that hopes to continue their winning ways into the month of June. The reigning World Series champs will be tested early on in the new month as they get set to host the hottest team in the National League when the (26-24) Pittsburgh Pirates, winners of 8 of their last 10 games, stop in for a three game series.
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With baseball season officially in full swing as the San Francisco Giants kiss the opening month of April goodbye, the reigning World Series champs haven't quite resembled a team that had just won it all several months prior. Last year the Giants got off to one of the hottest starts in franchise history through the first two months when they won 32 of their first 50 games. And while the G-Men still have another month to go to determine whether or not they can match last year's blazing start, duplicating or surpassing that mark is unlikely given the slow start they got off to in April.
Following a 3-1 start to the season after taking two of three in Arizona and the first of four games in San Diego, the Giants ran into a brick wall, dropping 8 straight including a three game sweep at the hands of the Colorado Rockies in San Francisco's home opening series. They wouldn't fair much better in their second series at AT&T as the D-Backs came in to take three of four in the city by the bay. The Giants would finally see their 8-game skid come to an end as the team celebrated their 2014 Championship run with a victory on the night in which the team was awarded their championship bling prior the team's Ring Ceremony game, only to lose the following day. The homestand wasn't all negative, however, as the Giants benefited from a much needed day off with a three-game sweep of the archrival Los Angeles Dodgers at Home which included walk-off wins in games two and three.
The Giants then took to the road where they split two games in Denver before the series finale at Coors Field was postponed due to inclement weather. A three game set at Dodger Stadium would witness one of the classic pitchers duels between the two hated rivals when World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner out-dueled 2014 NL MVP Clayton Kershaw in a 2-1 victory. However, the Dodgers would wind up winning the series finale the following day to take the series win, two games to one. The highlight of the month, though, has to be the surprising contribution of rookie pitcher Chris Heston who has done everything and then some since being asked to fill in for the injured Matt Cain. Called up from Triple-A Sacramento prior to his start on April 8, to fill the void of Cain who was placed on the DL with a flexor tendon strain in his right forearm, Heston dazzled in his season debut, pitching six innings in which he gave up 2 runs (both unearned), while allowing three hits, walking a pair and striking out five to earn the win. Aside from a minor bump in the road at the hitter-friendly Coors Field in Denver in which he was tagged for 11 hits and 6 earned runs in 5.1 innings pitched, Heston hasn't skipped a beat, allowing 1 or 0 runs in each of his other four starts.
Despite the lone shaky outing, the 27-year old has been a glowing bright spot for the Giants in the early going, boasting an ERA of 2.51 in 5 starts and a record of 2-2. With Matt Cain and Jake Peavy serving time on the disabled-list, manager Bruce Bochy is going to have a difficult decision to make regarding his pitching rotation if Heston's success continues. With little help from the injury bug in April as Brandon Belt, Casey McGehee and the aforementioned Matt Cain and Jake Peavy all saw time missed, the month of May figures to be bit brighter for the Giants as their offense looks to get a boost from 2014 All-Star outfielder Hunter Pence. The Giants' lanky outfielder suffered a left forearm fracture during Spring Training which has caused him to watch from the dugout. With Pence absent from the lineup, it's been shortstop Brandon Crawford who's led the team in home runs (5) and RBI's (14) thus far, two categories Pence will surely help out in when he makes his return later this month following a Minor League rehab assignment.
With a 9-13 record in the month of April, things are already looking up for the Giants in the month of May as they flipped the page on their calendar with a three game sweep of the visiting Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim over the weekend to improve to 12-13 on the year, inching closer to the .500 mark. San Francisco completed the sweep thanks to a superb outing from hurler Tim Lincecum who registered his best performance of the season by scattering three hits (all singles) over 8 scoreless frames as the Giants awarded him with the 5-0 victory. The home team wasted no time to back their starting pitcher with some run support as Nori Aoki and Joe Panik led the game off with back-to-back home runs in the first inning, something the Giants haven't done since 1964. Next up, the Giants will host the San Diego Padres for a three game set before closing out their 10-game home stand with a four-game series versus Giancarlo Stanton and the Miami Marlins.
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