After a spectacular July which helped catapult the Giants back into the National League wild card race following their MLB-best 19-6 record, the San Francisco ball club turned the calendar to August hoping to continue that success and push for a playoff spot. However, it was very evident in the first full week of the new month that duplicating that run would be easier said than done. Filled with a plethora of ups and downs, excitements and disappointments, the Giants would have as many losses in their first week of August as they had in all of July (6). And while facing such teams as the Phillies, Nationals, Diamondbacks and Cubs, all of whom are also vying for a wild card spot, the Giants could ill afford to hit the snooze button if they planned on keeping pace in the playoff hunt.
After dropping the third and final game in Philly to begin the month, the Giants wrapped up their 9-game road trip with a trio of games in the Mile High City against the Rockies. And after completing a rare four-game sweep at Coors Field during their recent meeting in July, the Rockies made sure their division rivals wouldn't leave town with another series victory as Colorado took two of three games behind the red-hot hitting of their All-Star shortstop Trevor Story who homered in each of the three games. Returning home to host the Washington Nationals in a pivotal 3-game series, the Giants went dormant and were swept after scoring a total of four runs in the series. Hoping to redeem themselves with another wild card hopeful team in town in the Phillies, Bruce Bochy's ballclub was able to bounce back and claim three of four from the Phils thanks to some fireworks on offense from the most unlikeliest of heroes. On a day the Giants celebrated the 30th anniversary of the 1989 World Series team and announced the retiring of No. 22 for Will Clark, another Will stepped up in a huge way and gave Giants fans a thrill.
With seven years in the big leagues and not a single plate appearance to his name, Giants All-Star closer Will Smith couldn't have picked a better time to log his first career hit, lacing a 2-run single to the opposite-field and giving his team a 9-6 lead that he would seal the following inning. Though they weren't as fortunate at the plate, relievers Jandel Gustave and Trevor Gott also logged their first career plate appearances earlier in the game as the Giants became the first team since September 21, 1934 to have three pitchers make their first career plate appearances in the same game. With a day off before their short two-game set against their cross-bay rivals in the Oakland Athletics, the Giants turned to their ace in the series-opener as Madison Bumgarner out-dueled Brett Anderson with seven stellar frames of 2-hit, 1-run baseball as the Giants won yet another game by one run with a 3-2 final. MadBum's stellar outing was his fifth in six games of at least seven innings. And though the A's would split the series with a win the following day, the Giants went into their final series in the desert under manager Bruce Bochy, liking their chances in a ballpark they've had plenty of success in this season. After opening the series with a dominant pitching performance from Dereck Rodriguez who was called back up to the Majors and placed back into the starting rotation, D-Rod had his best outing of the season, pitching seven shutout frames and allowing only four base runners on three hits and a walk as the Giants blanked the Diamondbacks, 7-0.
Game 2 of the series would feature one of the most wild back and forth affairs of the season for both teams as the Giants floundered a 7-2 lead in the 8th inning before the two teams exchanged punches in 11 nail-biting innings that eventually saw the Giants squeak away with a 10-9 victory. After the D-Backs erased a five-run lead in the bottom of the 8th inning, Kevin Pillar launched his second home run of the game with a 2-run shot in the 10th inning, but Arizona fought back with a pair of homers of their own to tie the game at 9-all. Stepping up to the plate in the 11th inning already with a pair of home runs, rookie Mike Yastrzemski crushed his third home run of the night to give the Giants a 10-9 lead that they would not relinquish. A game in which both teams combined to slug 12 home runs, Yaz led the way, becoming the first Giant with a three homer game since Jarrett Parker in 2015. Even more impressive, Yaz in his first big league season already has as many three home run games as his Hall of Fame grandfather Carl Yastrzemski who needed 2,294 games before logging his first and only.
Game 3 would witness the Major League debut of right-handed pitcher Logan Webb, the team's top pitching prospect and No. 5 prospect overall. Showing a bit of jitters early on, Webb who at the age of 22 became the youngest pitcher to start a game for the Giants since Madison Bumgarner debuted at the age of 20, eventually settled in and impressed with five solid frames of 1-run ball and striking out seven D-Backs hitters as he became the first Giants pitcher to record a win in his MLB debut in over 10 years (Ryan Sadowski vs Milwaukee). Aided by the second grand slam of Brandon Belt's career, the Giants won the game, 11-6. Heading into the series finale seeking their first four-game sweep of Arizona since 2016 and with ace Madison Bumgarner on the mound who entered the game unbeaten in his last 10 outings, the Giants would like their chances of pulling off the rare four-game sweep against the struggling Merrill Kelly. Instead, it was Kelly who out-pitched MadBum and stymied the Giants bats by giving up only one earned run as Arizona avoided the sweep with a 6-1 win. Making a stop in Chicago to take on the Cubs at the friendly confines of Wrigley Field, the Giants would have another golden opportunity against a team they were chasing in the Wild Card race, but failed to seize the opportunity as the Giants were swept. Aside from an exciting back and forth melee in Game 2 which saw the Giants crank out four homers and the Cubs another three in a grueling 12-11 win for Chicago, San Francisco had little to show for as their inconsistent August continued with Jeff Samardzija suffering a tough-luck 1-0 loss in the series finale.
Returning to the bay area but playing across the bay in Oakland, the Giants would cash in on a huge 8-run 8th inning to claim Game 1 against the A's, 10-5, before playing in the more common 1-run game we've grown accustomed to seeing the Giants win as they returned to the other side of the bay with a 5-4 victory and short two-game sweep. Taking three of four from the A's to take claim of the Battle of the Bay series and the Bridge Trophy which was introduced for the first time just a season ago, Will Smith recorded the final three outs to become the first Giants left-hander to record 30 saves in a season and the eighth reliever to do so in franchise history. Playing host to the Diamondbacks for the final time this season, San Francisco came into the series finale against Arizona having split the first 18 meetings and would see the Giants debut of infield prospect Mauricio Dubon who was acquired from the Brewers at the trade deadline as part of the Drew Pomeranz deal. And though Dubon would record his first big league hit in his second at-bat, the Giants would go on to lose the game and lose the season series to Arizona, 10 games to 9 following the two-game sweep.
Closing out the month of August, the Giants would welcome the Padres for a four-game set and closeout their season series against their division foe. After falling in the opener, the Giants rallied in Game 2 behind a dominant Madison Bumgarner who pitched seven frames and gave up only one run on four hits and two walks while striking out nine Padre hitters. By earning the win, MadBum logged his 60th career victory at San Francisco's Oracle Park, tying former teammate Matt Cain for the most home wins since the stadium's inception in 2000. In the win, outfielder Mike Yastrzemski clubbed his 9th homer in the month of August which tied him with Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda for the second-most home runs hit in a single month by a Giants rookie. Only Willie Mays and Bobby Thomson have hit more (10) in a Giants uniform during their rookie campaign. Another pair of Giants hitters who turned things up at the plate as of late were Evan Longoria and Brandon Belt.
Longoria finished the month strong and placed among the N.L. RBI leaders since Aug. 10, having drove in 20 RBI's which tied him with Starlin Castro of the Marlins for second-place, trailing only the Cincinnati Reds' Aristides Aquino's 22 RBI's. As for Belt, the Giants veteran first baseman logged 14 RBI's in 14 games since Aug. 15, the second-most among N.L. first baseman behind only Pete Alonso of the Mets who knocked in 16 RBI's in 15 games. Unfortunately for the Giants, the hot-hitting of Belt & Longoria wouldn't be enough to fend off the Padres who eventually took three of four from the Giants. In the series-finale against San Diego whom Giants skipper Bruce Bochy began his managerial career with, the Giants unveiled a new, "Thank you, Boch" placard out in left field during a pregame ceremony. The sign along with an emotional reception for Pablo Sandoval who pinch-hit in the 7th inning before coming out to a thunderous ovation, made for an unforgettable day for Giants fans, despite the 8-4 loss. Following what could be his final appearance in a Giants uniform as he's set to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery in the coming days, Sandoval will be a free-agent at the end of the season.
Finishing with an 11-16 record in August and falling to 66-70 on the season, the Giants have once again fallen on hard times as they've seen their Wild Card hopes slip to 7 games behind the Cubbies who currently hold the second Wild Card spot. Even worse than their sub-par record in August, were the injuries suffered by relievers Trevor Gott and Reyes Moronta. Gott was forced out of a game against Arizona after experiencing tightness in his forearm which was looked at and eventually came back as a grade 1 UCL sprain and flexor strain that is expected to sideline him for at least two weeks. Moronta, however, wasn't as lucky as the shoulder injury suffered against San Diego will put an end to his 2019 campaign. Finally, August also saw the end of Joe Panik's tenure with the Giants as the former first-round draft pick and All-Star second baseman was released by the Giants and signed by the hometown Mets. The Giants would also release second baseman Scooter Gennett as the failed experiment lasted less than a month after he was acquired from the Cincinnati Reds at the trade deadline.
With another tough schedule ahead in the month of September with series on the road against the Cardinals, Dodgers, Red Sox and Braves, the Giants will definitely have their backs against the wall as they'll be forced to pull off another incredible run like the one they put together in July if they plan on making the postseason. Needing all the help they can get, Bruce Bochy and company will see the return of Johnny Cueto who hasn't pitched in the Majors since July of last year after needing Tommy John surgery. With starting pitching being an issue over the last month outside of Bumgarner and Samardzija, the thought along of having a healthy Cueto on the mound is one the Giants will welcome with open arms as they look to put together one final miracle for Bochy during his final month at the helm.
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Closing out the month of July strong, the Giants kick started August with a win over the rival Diamondbacks to complete their three-game sweep in the desert. Slated to visit the Mile High City to conclude their six-game road trip with a trio of games against the Colorado Rockies, the Giants were hoping to keep that momentum rolling into Denver where the baseball gods have been none too kind lately to the team from San Francisco. Instead, Bruce Bochy's ball club would suffer much of the same fate that has recently hurt them in the past as the Giants were swept after scoring a measly three runs all series, a franchise-worst for a three-game series at the usually hitter-friendly Coors Field where the Giants have now lost 14 of 16 games. It would also mark the lowest output in a three-game series for the Giants since June 12-14, 2015, at Arizona. The series-finale, an 8-1 loss, was only the seventh game in franchise history in which the Giants failed to log a single extra-base hit at Coors Field and the first since May 19, 2013.
Looking forward to returning home to AT&T Park where the Giants had done most of their winning this year, Buster Posey and company would begin a 10-game home stand by hosting the visiting St. Louis Cardinals for a four-game series. Even more exciting would be the return of hurler Johnny Cueto who would return to a big league mound for the first time since April 28. But unlike his first five outings of the season as he dazzled to an MLB-best 0.84 ERA, Cueto who had allowed only three runs all year up to that point, would be forced to shake off the cobwebs since his elbow injury and would be welcomed back rather rudely as St. Louis scratched five runs across the board thru the first two innings. It would only get uglier from there as the Giants were trounced by a final of 11-2. After splitting each of the next two games, San Francisco would get a big game from backup third baseman Pablo Sandoval who logged his third career 5 RBI game and first since September 4, 2013, as the Giants pulled away with the 13-8 victory to split the four-game set. Boston fans have got to be scratching their heads as Sandoval who was acquired by the Giants after being released by the Red Sox a year ago, did not have more than 3 RBI in a single game during his 161-game stint in a Boston uniform. Not to mention the team is still paying him.
Following their series with St. Louis, the Giants would take part in a trade by shipping outfielder Austin Jackson who had been struggling since signing a two-year deal with the Giants in the offseason, as well as relief pitcher Cory Gearrin and Minor League pitcher Jason Bahr to the Texas Rangers in exchange for a player to be named or cash. Continuing their streak of 16 consecutive games without a day off, the Giants would welcome the Cubs for a three-game series as Pandamania continued with a 2-1 walk-off victory in the 11th inning. Pablo Sandoval aka the "Kung-Fu Panda" capped off a pitchers duel between Chicago's Kyle Hendricks and Giants rookie Andrew Suarez, with a bases-loaded, RBI single that plated McCutchen and dismissed Cubs manager Joe Maddon's decision to employee a five-man infield. The Cubbies would get revenge the very next day with a 2-0 shutout victory, but the Giants would get the last laugh with yet another walk-off victory in the rubber-match. Buster Posey would prove to be the hero in the 13th inning as he welcomed rookie pitcher James Norwood who making his MLB debut, would serve the deciding blow as Posey's game-winning knock kicked off the wall in right to seal the 5-4 win. The walk-off would be the fifth of Buster's career and would give the Giants a league-high eight on the year.
As soon as the Giants appeared to be righting the ship in time for the All-Star break, they would square off with their bay area rivals -- the Oakland A's. And with a new Battle of the Bay trophy debuting and on the line for the winner of the season series between the two clubs, Game 1 would go to the Giants without any issue by way of a 7-1 final. But with the Athletics entering the series with a 53-41 record on the year, the series would prove to be no easy task as Oakland took each of the next two games to hand San Francisco their first series loss at home since April. Making matters worse, pitcher Jeff Samardzija would be placed on the disabled-list for the second time of the season just before the All-Star break. As for the All-Star Game itself, the Giants would see two of their own named to the Mid-Summer Classic roster as shortstop Brandon Crawford made his second career All-Star appearance after being named a starter for the first time in his career. Crawford would be joined by Buster Posey who although he would elect to sit out from participating in any All-Star festivities while nursing an injured hip, would be named to the All-Star team for the sixth time in his career.
With the All-Star break coming to an end, the Giants would see the Battle of the Bay series shift to Oakland where the Giants would once again open the series on top thanks to another strong line from rookie pitcher Dereck Rodriguez who twirled 6.1 innings of 3-hit ball, allowing only one run in the Giants' 5-1 triumph. Game 2, however, which featured a record crowd of 56,310 fans in attendance, the largest crowd to ever witness a baseball game at the Oakland Coliseum and the largest crowd in MLB this season, would tilt in the Athletics favor. After getting the win in Game 1 of the series in San Francisco, Madison Bumgarner would see better days on the mound than the performance he put together in the rematch as he walked a career-high six batters, including two with the bases loaded. He would see his MLB-best streak of 89 consecutive outings of at least 5 innings pitched come to an end as MadBum was pulled after failing to get thru the fifth inning. And though the Giants would rally in the ninth inning to send the game into extras, they would eventually lose in 11 innings. Oakland would ultimately take the series, claiming 2 of 3 games with a 10-inning thriller in the finale.
A short two-game trip to Seattle's Safeco Field would see the Giants and Mariners split before the Giants returned home for a four-game series against the playoff hopeful Milwaukee Brewers. After dropping the first two to Milwaukee, the Giants would fall below the .500 mark for the first time in over a month. One guy doing most of the damage for the Brewers was outfielder Christian Yelich who went berserk against Giants pitching by going 9-for-17 in the series with a pair of homers, five RBI and six runs scored. And though he would collect two hits in the series finale, the Giants managed to bypass Yelich's hot hitting and avoid the four-game sweep by salvaging game 4. With the victory, Giants skipper Bruce Bochy logged his 1,906th career victory, helping him surpass Casey Stengel and move into 11th place on baseball's all-time wins list among managers. Oddly enough, Bochy wouldn't even be present as he moved up the list of all-time winningest managers as he was in Cooperstown, New York, attending the Hall of Fame enshrinement for his former player while managing the San Diego Padres -- Trevor Hoffman. Instead, bench coach Hensley Meulens would fill-in for the absent Bochy.
Speaking of the Padres, the Giants would pay a visit to sunny San Diego for a short two-game meeting with the Friars to closeout the month of July. Having been a thorn in the side of the Giants for the past several seasons, Bochy's club was able to solve the Padres at least this time around as they completed the two-game sweep with consecutive extra-inning wins. And though they would finish July by going 11-14, they did end the month strong and managed to stay within striking distance in the division by bringing their winning-streak to three games and currently stand 55-54, 5 games behind the first place Diamondbacks. With the July 31 trade deadline approaching, the Giants were on both sides of the fence as potential buyers and sellers as team brass claimed they were buyers, but rumors began to swirl of a possible trade involving outfielder Andrew McCutchen. Instead, the Giants decided not to make any deadline moves.
But before the Giants would even touch the field in August, their month would get off to a rocky start as it was confirmed on August 1, that Johnny Cueto would need season-ending Tommy John surgery which he'll undergo on Aug. 2, sidelining him for approximately one year. It would be an unfortunate end to what began as a stellar season for Cueto who looked like the best pitcher in all of baseball before the injury, pitching to the tune of a 3-0 record and 0.84 ERA in five starts. After the injury, Cueto looked like one of the worst, going 0-2 and posting an ERA of 6.86 in the four starts following his return. A day and night difference for the 32-year old Dominican pitcher who team officials were fearing may need to undergo the season-ending procedure before a follow up confirmed it.
Madison Bumgarner will kick things off in August when the Giants pay a visit to Arizona for a three-game series versus the Diamondbacks as the Giants ace enters the game needing only one win to notch the 109th victory of his career which would tie him with 2-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum for fourth most in the franchises SF era as he already holds the Giants record for most career wins among lefties after moving past Kirk Rueter with his win over the Cardinals on July 8. He would pass Woody with ease, needing 39 fewer starts to leap the fan favorite who spent a decade in the Giants rotation. The series versus Arizona will kick start a streak of four consecutive series against teams either leading their respected divisions or with playoff aspirations, including the Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Dodgers.
San Francisco will have a chance to gain some ground on Arizona as they pay Chase Field a visit for the first time since their sweep at the end of July. However, the D-Backs who have begun playing winning baseball again, having won 7 of their last 10, will look to exact revenge from the recent sweep. Pittsburgh is suddenly right back in the thick of things after pulling off an 11-game winning-streak and are now back in the Wild Card hunt, trailing by 3.5 games. Houston seems to be slumping after showing some ill-effects by playing without their star middle infield as both Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve are on the shelf with injuries, but still have an impressive record of 69-41 despite dropping 6 of their last 10 games. And then there's the Dodgers who will look to showoff their new toy in All-Star third baseman Manny Machado who was acquired from the Baltimore Orioles. August will also feature the number retirement of Barry Bonds when the Giants host Pittsburgh, the team the 7-time MVP burst onto the scene with before becoming baseball's all-time home run leader.
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The first calendar month of the 2018 baseball season if officially in the books and for the San Francisco Giants, it was a good one considering they would post their first plus .500 month since June 2016 with a 15-14 record. Despite opening the season without two of their five starting pitchers including ace Madison Bumgarner due to a fractured hand, as well as their expensive closer in Mark Melancon (elbow), the Giants would manage to stay afloat thanks to a resurgence from pitcher Johnny Cueto and a strong finish which included three consecutive series victories to close the book on April. And what better way to kickoff a season than with the game's greatest rivalry -- Giants and Dodgers.
While the Dodgers began the season at home with ace Clayton Kershaw on the mound, the reigning NL Champions entered the day tied with the Baltimore Orioles for the longest active winning streak on Opening Day with seven consecutive victories and seeking their eighth straight. However, Giants pitcher Ty Blach would have other plans as he out-dueled Kershaw for the second time in his career as San Francisco handed Los Angeles a 1-0 loss. Needing only one run of support, second baseman Joe Panik's solo home run off of Kershaw in the 5th inning would be the difference. Entering the game with a career record of 5-0 in seven Opening Day starts and an ERA of 0.99, the Giants would tag him for his first Opening Day defeat. With the win, the Giants who didn't spend a single day in first place in all of 2017, would sit tied for first place in the NL West for at least a day in 2018 and for the first time since August 20, 2016. Of Panik's 29 career home runs to begin the day, only two have come off of left-handed pitching, Kershaw becoming the third.
Oddly enough, Joe Panik and the Giants would repeat the process just a day later as Bruce Bochy's ball club once again handed the archrival Dodgers a 1-0 loss with Panik again supplying the lone run on a solo homer, this time in the 9th inning off of All-Star closer Kenley Jansen. Johnny Cueto would take a perfect game into the 7th inning before allowing a leadoff single, only to induce a double-play two pitches later as he logged 7 shutout frames while allowing just one base runner and facing the minimum in what would be the only Dodger hit of the ballgame. Panik's heroics would fuel only the fourth and fifth 1-0 road wins decided by solo shots by the Giants over the Dodgers. Hall of Famers Willie Mays in 1956 and Mel Ott in 1938 and 1935 supplied the others. With the win in Game 2, Joe Panik became the first player in MLB history to hit solo HR's in back-to-back 1-0 victories and doing so against arguably the two best pitchers at their respective positions to become only the second player in the MLB to homer off of both Kershaw and Jansen in the same season. San Francisco became only the second team in MLB history to win their first two games of the season by a score of 1-0, the 1943 Cincinnati Reds over the St. Louis Cardinals the other.
With the win in Game 2, skipper Bruce Bochy became the first visiting manager to win 100 career games at Dodger Stadium, while he witnessed his team log a pair of 1-0 wins in the first two games of the season. This after they failed to log a single 1-0 victory in all of 2017. But the positives in the opening series would stop there as the Dodgers pulled the good 'ol switcheroo in Games 3 and 4 by shutting out the Giants, 5-0 and 9-0, respectively. L.A. would allow the fewest runs through the first four games to start a season since 1914, yet only managed to split the four-game set as all four games would end in a shutout. The Giants would set a dubious feat by becoming the first team since the 1988 Baltimore Orioles to score two runs or fewer through the first four games of the season. Only the 1968 Dodgers (1) and 1937 Braves (1) scored fewer.
Getting the start in the Home Opener just like he did on Opening Day, Ty Blach wouldn't fair nearly as well in his first start at home as he did on the road as San Francisco hosted the visiting Seattle Mariners for the first of two games. After tossing five shutout frames in L.A., Blach was tagged for four runs in the first inning alone before suffering the loss as the Giants fell, 6-4. Panik would launch his third homer of the season in the fourth inning, snapping a streak of 21 consecutive scoreless innings by the Giants offense. It would mark only the second time in MLB history that the first three runs of the season were scored by one player. The Giants would get their revenge the following day as Johnny Cueto tossed another gem by allowing only 1 earned run in 6 innings and the Giants offense erupted for 10 runs, smacking a trio of home runs in the 5th inning, including back to back jacks by Pablo Sandoval and Brandon Crawford. It would mark the first time SF struck for three HR's in an inning since June 2, 2016 at Atlanta.
Meeting with the Dodgers again in what was supposed to be a 3-game series in San Francisco, turned into a short 2-game set due to the first rain delay at AT&T Park since 2006 and only the sixth in the stadium's history. Making up for the postponed Game 1, one of the newest member of the Giants would introduce himself to the rivalry in a huge way as newcomer Andrew McCutchen logged his first five-hit game since 2010 before connecting for his sixth, a 3-run walk-off home run in what would be one of the best at-bats by a Giant in recent years. Fouling off pitch after pitch in the 14th inning, McCutchen deposited the 12th pitch of the at-bat into the left field bleachers for his first career six-hit ballgame and the seventh walk-off home run of his career as the Giants won in extras, 7-5. And in case you're wondering, the only other player in MLB history since 1900 to record six-hits and a walk-off HR would be Jim Northrup of the Detroit Tigers who did so on August 28, 1969 vs the Oakland A's. Taking the Dodgers to extra innings the following day, the Giants would once again fail to log a series victory as L.A. escaped with the 2-1 victory.
While welcoming the red-hot Arizona Diamondbacks, the Giants would be forced to call up not one but two of their top pitching prospects as Cueto was placed on the 10-day disabled-list with a left ankle sprain suffered after pitching another 7 shutout innings. Tyler Beede, the Giants No. 4 propsect and 14th overall selection in the 2014 MLB Draft would make his Major League debut. Arizona would welcome the rookie pitcher by tagging him for two runs in the opening frame as walks proved to be an issue for the 24-year old. Though the two first inning runs would be all he'd allow, he would depart after only 4 innings of work. And while he wouldn't factor in the decision, the Giants would go on to win by a final of 4-3 thanks to another walk-off hit by McCutchen. Unfortunately, San Francisco would drop the series 2-games to 1 as pitcher Andrew Suarez made his MLB debut and was handed the loss. After retiring the first 10 batters he faced, Suarez ran into some trouble by surrendering the long ball as he was taken deep twice and eventually allowed four runs on 5 1/3 innings pitched.
The Giants wouldn't fair much better in their next two series' as San Francisco hit the road to face division rivals San Diego and then a trip to the desert to meet with the D-Backs. After a 7-0 victory over the Padres in which starter Chris Stratton threw 7 strong innings, the longest outing of his career, the Giants threw their second 1-hit shutout of the season, the only hit of the ballgame recorded by an opposing pitcher. The Friars would be sure avoid a repeat performance of Game 1 as they managed to take the next three games from the Giants who would then drop the series-opener against Arizona as San Francisco lost the fourth straight game. In a pitchers duel between Cueto and D-Backs hurler Patrick Corbin, both pitchers would be stingy in the hits column as Cueto allowed only two base runners in seven innings while striking out 11. But as good as he was, Corbin would do him one better as he took a no-hitter into the 8th inning before Brandon Belt's 2-out infield single prevented him from making history. It would be the Giants' only hit of the game as Corbin finished the complete-game shutout in Arizona's 1-0 victory. San Francisco would bounce back in Game 2 as Chris Stratton gave the Giants another solid performance, allowing only one run over 7 frames. Sadly, he would get a no-decision as closer Hunter Strickland blew the save in the 9th inning. The Giants would score two runs in the 10th on Brandon Belt's 100th career home run, a 2-run shot, before nearly blowing another lead as Corey Gearrin flirted with danger and gave up a run until finally sealing the 4-3 win. But Arizona would take the rubber-match in Game 3 with Zack Greinke on the mound, 3-1.
A trip to Anaheim to closeout the last of the Giants' 10-game road trip would appear to be the turning point as the G-Men finally claimed their first series victory of the young season. With a convincing 8-1 victory in Game 1 in what would be the 2018 debut of San Francisco starter Jeff Samardzija who had spent the first three weeks of the season on the disabled-list with a right pectoral strain, the Giants would set the tone in the series. After losing a close one in Game 2 by a final of 4-3 which saw the Giants strikeout 17 times, their highest total in a nine inning game since facing Sandy Koufax in August of 1959, SF would take the rubber-match, 4-2, behind another stellar outing by Cueto who logged another 6 scoreless innings. But the talk of the series would belong to Giants first baseman Brandon Belt who set an MLB record with a 21-pitch at-bat against Angles rookie Jaime Barria in the first inning. Belt worked the count full and fouled off 16-pitches with two strikes before flying out to right. The at-bat broke the previous record of 20-pitches held by Ricky Gutierrez of the Astros who had a 20-pitch battle with then-Indians pitcher Bartolo Colon, set on June 26, 1998. The record-setting at-bat by Belt lasted 12 minutes and 45 seconds long and though he would record an out, he would go on to collect two hits in the game including a home run in the 5th, his fourth in as many games to help him celebrate his birthday week. In an effort to chase Barria early, the lengthy at-bat would prove to be effective as Barria threw 49-pitches in the first inning alone, despite not allowing a run in the frame. He would be chased after allowing two runs and throwing 77-pitches in only 2+ innings.
As for his counterpart on the mound, Johnny Cueto would continue to dazzle, tossing another 6 shutout frames and allowing only two hits and two walks while striking out seven to become the first Giants pitcher to string together four consecutive starts while allowing a run or fewer to being a season since Noah Lowry in 2004. Giants great Juan Marichal did it twice in 1965 and again in 1966 with five. Keeping it rolling, Cueto's ERA of 0.35 (1 earned run in 26 innings pitched) would be the lowest by a Giants pitcher through their first four starts since 1968. As for Belt, the Giants first baseman became the first Giant to log four homers in four games since Hunter Pence in 2013. Belt would continue to swing a hot bat in their next series against the Nationals. Belt's hot swinging would be joined by outfielder Mac Williamson. After some minor tweaks to his batting approach, a newfound swing would help Williamson tear through the Minors and receive a promotion to the big club as Hunter Pence was placed on the disabled-list with a thumb injury. In his first game with the Giants after being called up from Sacramento, Williamson cranked a home run against the Angels. He would continue to reinvent himself the very next day in front of the home fans by launching a 464-foot home run to the opposite field against Washington. The 464-foot shot would be the longest homer to the opposite field this season and the fourth longest of any kind this season.
Still seeking their first series victory of the year with less than a week remaining in the month of April, the Giants would get their wish with a win in Game 2 against the Nats. After suffering from food poisoning while in Anaheim and losing 9 lbs. over three days, Ty Blach helped pitch the Giants to their first three-game winning-streak of the season as the Giants edged Washington, 4-3 to take the first two games of the three game set. Though Blach would not factor in the win as he fell victim to a 3-run homer that would tie the game in the 4th inning, Williamson's opposite-field HR would be the deciding blow. While Max Scherzer would keep the Giants at bey in Game 3, preventing the sweep in a 15-2 drubbing, the Giants would take a step in the right direction before another go around with the Dodgers.
After taking Game 1 on Friday night, the Giants would host a double-header on Saturday to makeup the game rained out on April 6. And while the Dodgers would tee off on Chris Stratton in the first of two Saturday games to the tune of a 15-6 final, the Giants would bounce back in Game 2 by winning 8-3. They would complete the three-game sweep with a 4-2 win on Sunday to make it three straight series victories in a row. Continuing to be a thorn in the side of the Dodgers, Ty Blach would pitch the Giants to victory as he improved his numbers against L.A. to 4-2 and an ERA of 2.03 in 10 career appearances. More importantly, the Giants' streak of three consecutive series wins would be their first since May of 2017. Hoping to continue the trend into the month of May, San Francisco finished April by defeating the San Diego Padres in walk-off fashion thanks to a 3-run 9th inning that was capped off by former Padre Nick Hundley who's 2-out knock drove in the tying and winning runs. It would be the third walk-off win of the season for the G-Men and the third of Hundley's Giants career, second against his former ball club. The walk-off victory would lift the Giants over the .500 mark, somewhere they hadn't been since the end of the 2016 regular season as they closed out the month of April on a winning note, by winning 8 of their last 10 games.
But just when the Giants began playing good baseball and things were looking up regarding pitcher Madison Bumgarner who's hand is healing well according to team doctors and is expected to begin throwing from a bullpen mound this weekend, the team announced that Johnny Cueto would be placed on the 10-day disabled-list for the second time this season with right elbow inflammation. The news comes as a surprise given how well Cueto pitched in his last outing and comes just before the Giants prepare to hit the road for a 10-game road trip out east with stops in Atlanta, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Stops in May also include trips to Houston to take on the reigning World Series champion Houston Astros and 2016 champion Chicago Cubs. Boasting the best ERA in baseball among starters, Cueto is the third Giants starter to hit the DL this season and will be on the shelf sporting a 3-0 record and 0.84 earned run average in 5 starts this season. Joining Cueto on the DL will be second baseman Joe Panik who is expected to miss six weeks after undergoing thumb surgery which will create quite a task for the Giants in the month of May if they plan to stay float in the competitive NL West.
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The nightmarish 2017 season took another step towards finally being over for the San Francisco Giants as the month of August came to a close. An even 40-games behind the division-leading Dodgers entering September has left the Giants officially mathematically eliminated from Postseason contention. And though the month of August was once again filled with more bad than good, the first two weeks looked rather promising.
After taking 2 of 3 against their Bay Area rivals in Oakland, the Giants would pull off a winning homestand by notching back-to-back series wins for the first time since May, doing so against two teams vying for a playoff spot no less in the Diamondbacks and Cubs. Unfortunately, they would follow up that homestand with a losing road trip by dropping two of three in both Washington and Miami, including a crushing defeat in the rubber-match of a double-header against the Nationals as Nats left fielder Howie Kendrick delivered a walk-off Grand Slam in the 11th inning to hand the Giants the series loss. In that Washington series, San Francisco's lone win would be recorded by right-handed starter and former first round pick Chris Stratton. In what would be a fine month of August for the Giants farmhand, the 27-year old would have his most impressive outing yet against the Nats as he struck out 10 Washington hitters over 6 2/3 shutout innings. Going 2-1 in the month with an earned run average of 1.52 in four August starts, Stratton would watch his season ERA dip from 6.63 to 3.82. And his only loss suffered would be a tough one as he allowed only two runs against Arizona but wasn't given a single run of support. With a solid September to finish off 2017, Stratton could make a strong case for a spot in the Giants' starting rotation next season.
Seeking their first winning month since June of last season when the Giants went 17-10, Bruce Bochy's ball club appeared to be headed in the right direction after a seven game homestand in which they split four games against the lowly Phillies and took two of three from the Brewers. But losses in 6 of their last 7 games including a sweep at the hands of the D-Backs in Arizona would put a dent in those hopes. Another pair of losses to the Padres and a series-opening loss at home on the final day of August would spell yet another losing month as the Giants fell to 13-16 in August and 53-83 overall. By losing two of three in San Diego, the Giants dropped their fifth consecutive series against the Padres who have owned their Bay Area counterparts to the tune of an 11-5 record this season. What stood out most in their lackluster series at Petco Park was the Giants' inability to deliver with runners in scoring position as they went a dismal 4-for-33 and were shutout in the series finale. As for the one game the Giants did prevail in, it would take one of the better pitching performances of the year from a Giants starters as Jeff Samardzija went the distance and tossed a complete-game shutout while allowing only three hits, no walks and striking out five. It would be the fourth shutout of Samardzija's career and only the second by a Giants hurler all year.
From one pitcher to another, staff ace Madison Bumgarner who was slated to start in the series-opener against St. Louis was scratched just hours before game time with flu-like symptoms. Making the spot start in MadBum's place was Matt Cain who suffered a career-high 10th consecutive loss. But it wasn't for a lack of trying as the Giants offense simply failed to back him as he gave up a pair of runs over five innings pitched. What started off as a rebound season for Cain who notched an impressive April, has now taken a nosedive as he suffered his worst calendar month of the season (7.90 ERA) and his streak of 10 consecutive losses is the longest active streak of its kind in the Majors.
For the final calendar month of the regular season, the Giants will try to fend off becoming the first team in franchise history since 1985 to record 100-losses. But with seven of the team's nine remaining series against teams jockeying for position in the pennant race, it's unlikely they'll be able to avoid that dubious feat. With 26 games remaining, the Giants must win at least 10 of those to avoid the dreadful 100-loss mark. Needing every bit of help they can get, San Francisco will open September with three more games against the Cardinals and for whatever reason the NL Central is the lone division the Giants have had success against this season having gone 17-14 against NL Central opponents. And next on the mound to face them will be Johnny Cueto who last pitched in a Giants uniform on July 14 after missing all of August with a strained right flexor tendon suffered while making a rehab start on July 31. The Giants will surely welcome him back with open arms as he looks to finish strong in what's been a disappointing 2017 campaign for Cueto who led the team in wins a season ago with 18.
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At the start of the 2017 MLB season, San Francisco Giants fans and team officials entered the year hopeful that they had a team that would compete with the best in the National League. Those fans would be sadly mistaken as a handful of injuries and a number of under-performers would spell the exact opposite as we would witness the franchise's worst record through the season's first 100 games since 1956 when the ball club still called New York its home. After entering the month on a 4-game win streak and starting July off by completing a sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates to give them six straight victories in the Steel City for the first time since 1953, the Giants would limp into the All-Star break after dropping two of three on the road in Detroit and being swept at home by Miami.
After being voted to his fifth career All-Star game, catcher Buster Posey would be the Giants' only representative as he became the first catcher to start in three consecutive Mid-Summer Classic's since the 1990's when Mike Piazza got the nod in six straight. Slotted to bat fourth in the lineup, it would also mark the first time a Giants hitter would bat cleanup in an All-Star Game since Barry Bonds did so in 2003. Posey would finish 0-for-1 in the game while also drawing a walk in what would eventually be a 2-1 victory in extra-innings for the American League. Following the All-Star break, the Giants would get back a key cog in their rotation that they've desperately missed since the opening month of the season, as ace Madison Bumgarner returned to the playing field after missing nearly three months due to a dirt-bike accident on April 20. Though he wouldn't factor in the decision in his first start since April 19, surrendering 3 earned runs over 7 innings, his return alone would mark the ultimate highlight of the month. And in his last two starts he would resemble the Bumgarner of old by notching his first win of the season and allowing only 1 earned run over 12 innings pitched, including 7 shutout innings in L.A. against the archrival Dodgers.
Unfortunately, the return of MadBum alone wouldn't sprout any signs of a comeback from the Giants this season as their struggles against division foes would only get worse. Losses in two of three in San Diego and in three of four at home to the Padres would give the Friars victories in 16 of the 22 meetings between the two clubs as San Diego has turned the tide against the Giants who've had the Padres number in the past. As for the division-leading Dodgers, a three-game sweep of the Giants would give them an MLB-leading 34.5 game advantage over San Francisco in the NL West, dropping the Giants to 17-30 against the division this season. Surprisingly, the Giants would claim series victories over the visiting Cleveland Indians and Pittsburgh Pirates during the club's 10 game homestand, their longest of 2017. The Giants' ugly display of baseball this season also resulted in the team's home sellout streak coming to an end as the series-opener against the visiting Indians marked the first non-sellout for the Giants in seven years, a streak of 555 consecutive games (including Postseason). The streak is the longest in National League history and is second-most all-time, behind only Boston's streak of 820 consecutive sellouts from 2003-2013.
But San Francisco's sellout streak wouldn't be the only thing that came to an end in July as the tenure of third baseman Eduardo Nunez also ended. After being acquired from the Minnesota Twins near the trade deadline almost a year ago, the 30-year old found himself on the move once again in a deadline deal that lands him with a team looking to make a Postseason push. Primarily a third baseman with the Giants while also spending time in the outfield, Nunez, who reached base safely in 40 of his last 42 games in a Giants uniform, looks to help the Red Sox any way he can in a crowded but banged up infield. Upon receiving news that he had been dealt mid-game, cameras caught Nunez heading to the clubhouse where he exchanged handshakes and hugs with his Giants teammates who he described as his, "family." While Nunez had nothing but kind words to say regarding his time with the Giants, manager Bruce Bochy felt the same way about his now former player and both sides mentioned a possible return to the Giants in the future. The move would come just days after Boston released Pablo Sandoval who would eventually end up signing a Minor League contract to return to the Giants organization.
One chip the Giants were at least hoping to kick the tires on as a possible trade candidate was right-handed pitcher Johnny Cueto who has a player option after 2017 and is likely to opt out of his contract. Any possibility of dealing Cueto before the July 31 trade deadline would be halted by an injury he sustained during a July 14 outing in which he exited after only four innings against the Padres. What would be labeled as "hot spots" or blisters in the three middle fingers of his throwing hand would ultimately result in Cueto heading to the disabled-list and down to Class A San Jose where he would pitch a rehab start on the final day of the month. In a season where everything that could go wrong for the Giants pretty much has, Cueto's outing would be added to that list as the former All-Star and team-leader in wins for the Giants a season ago (18-5) pitched just three innings and threw 34 of the targeted 70 pitches before departing the game with tightness in his forearm. Though Cueto will be evaluated in the coming days, it's likely he'll need more time to recover than initially expected before returning to the big club.
With the month of July coming to a close, the Giants who finished the month with 9-wins and 16-losses, currently stand at 40-67 on the season, dead last in the National League West. Though San Francisco has one more win than the Philadelphia Phillies (39-64), they own the worst winning percentage in all of baseball at .374 and are on pace to lose 100 games for only the second time in franchise history (1985). Hoping to finish the season strong and steer clear of that dubious mark of 100-losses will be a tough task, especially considering three of the Giants' first four opponents in August will be the Diamondbacks (60-45), Cubs (56-48) and Nationals (63-41), all of whom are either atop their respected division or leading the Wild Card race (Arizona).
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Entering the month of June, the Giants looked to continue their winning ways after a red-hot month of May. But they would be greeted rather rudely right out the gates as their All-Star outfielder and emotional voice and leader of the team -- Hunter Pence, was forced to leave a game against the Braves after straining his hamstring on a routine run to first base. The news would only get worse as an MRI the following day revealed Pence had torn the tendon in his left hamstring and would require surgery, putting him on the shelf for 8 weeks and further hampering a Giants outfield that was already without Angel Pagan. With Pence leading the team in RBI's and second in both home runs and batting average at the time of his injury, any panic of the Giants' continued dominance simply vanishing wasn't exactly far-fetched, but it wouldn't be the case as they would do just fine without him.
Needing to take advantage of a relatively easy schedule with the exception of a three game stop in St. Louis to face the Cardinals and hosting the Red Sox and Dodgers in five, the Giants would do just that. After splitting the final two games in Atlanta, the Giants would take the first of three in St. Louis before losing the next two and returning home to host visiting Boston and Los Angeles. In a short but exciting 2-game set against the Red Sox, the Giants would split the series before taking two of three from the archrival Dodgers. With a slow 3-5 start to the month, it wouldn't be long before the Giants once again caught fire and stringed together their second 8-game winning-streak of the season thanks to sweeps against the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays. Seeking their first 9-game win streak since 2004, the Giants seemed destined to win their ninth straight seeing as they had won 10 consecutive games started by ace Madison Bumgarner. But the streak would come to a halt after suffering a tough 1-0 loss in the series-opener against the Pirates in Pittsburgh. However, the Giants would avenge Bumgarner's tough-luck loss by winning the next three in the steel city to take the series, 3 games to 1. Despite suffering the loss, Bumgarner would set a career-best streak of allowing 2 earned runs or fewer in 12 consecutive starts, while also tying the longest streak in the MLB this season for the most consecutive outings allowing 1 earned run or fewer with six.
But with another road trip coming to an end, the Giants would once again return home shorthanded as the injury bug bit once more. Just days after second baseman Joe Panik sustained a concussion in Tampa Bay, third baseman Matt Duffy suffered a strained left Achilles during the series in Pittsburgh as both would join Pence on the DL. Not all injury news was bad, however, as Angel Pagan returned to the lineup as well as Sergio Romo who began his rehab stint with Triple-A Sacramento and is expected back in the coming days while recovering from a strained elbow flexor tendon in his throwing arm. He'll be welcomed back to the club with open arms as the Giants bullpen has struggled mightily this year as is likely to be addressed. While a power bat is also needed and on their list, adding a relief pitcher or two might be forthcoming as baseball's trade deadline looms exactly a month from today (July 1).
Playing host to the Phillies for three games, San Francisco and Philadelphia would split the first two games before the Giants took the series and won the finale in walk-off fashion with their MLB-leading 7th walk-off victory of the season. But they would fail to close out the month strong, losing three of four against the lowly Bay Area rival Oakland A's who took both games in San Francisco for the first time since 2008 and handed the Giants only their second loss in AT&T Park history when scoring 11 runs or more in a high-scoring 13-11 shootout. With the series shifting to Oakland for two, the Giants dropped game three before salvaging the fourth and final game with a 12-run outburst. In the win, the Giants became the first team since the 1976 Chicago White Sox to forego a designated-hitter and hit with the pitcher. But considering Madison Bumgarner doesn't hit like your typical pitcher and was rumored to be interested in participating in this year's Home Run Derby, it wasn't as questionable a move by manager Bruce Bochy as one would think. And considering it was Bumgarner who sparked a 6-run third inning with a lead-off double to center field, I'd say it was a good decision after all.
June also saw Giants skipper Bruce Bochy claim his his 800th win as manager of the team, joining Hall of Famer Sparky Anderson as the only managers in MLB history to win 800 games with two different ball clubs and just the fourth to reach 800 wins with the Giants. With his team currently 50-31 on the season after finishing 17 and 10 in June and sitting in first place 6 games ahead in the NL West, San Francisco has extended their division lead another game and a half in June and are only one win behind the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers for the most in baseball. After a dominant month of May, right-handed pitcher Johnny Cueto logged another stellar month in June, his only blemish being a 6-run, 6-inning outing against the Phillies in which he logged a no-decision to the tune of a 2.67 ERA in the month with 3-wins and no losses. One of those wins coming against the Milwaukee Brewers who he has now recorded eight straight victories against, the longest winning streak against any single opponent of his career. Cueto will also kickoff the month of July for the Giants who will make a pit-stop in Arizona to take on the D-Backs for three games before returning home for a 7-game homestand against the division-rival Rockies followed by another meeting with the Diamondbacks prior to the All-Star break. From there, Bochy and company will hit the road for eight games against the Padres, Red Sox and Yankees before returning home and closing out the month against the Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals. GO GIANTS!
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Entering the month of May in a tie with the archrival Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in NL Western division, the San Francisco Giants managed to separate themselves from their division foes by catching fire and winning an MLB-best 21-games in May. With temperatures starting to heat up across the country, so has the Giants pitching staff, led by ace Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija. And though the Giants finished off the month of May strong, they did struggle early on before leap-frogging their way up the power rankings.
After salvaging the third and final game of a three-game series against the reigning NL Champion New York Mets to begin the month, the Giants took two of three on the road in Cincinnati, including a Game 1 match-up which featured Giants newcomer Johnny Cueto toeing off against his former ball club. Though he wouldn't get the win and would be touched up for a season-high 6 earned runs in the outing, the Giants reigned victorious, 9-6. Next up, San Francisco would return home for a 4-game set against the Colorado Rockies where they would receive a rude awakening. A week after allowing the Mets to pile on a franchise-record 12 runs in a single inning, Giants pitching would be snake bitten for a second time as the Rockies set a club record by scoring 13 runs in a single inning. Colorado would go on to pummel the Giants, 17-7, tying a record for the most runs scored by an opposing team in the 17-year history of AT&T Park. Ultimately splitting the four-game series against the Rockies, the Toronto Blue Jays were next in line to pay the Giants a visit, taking the first two games before dropping the series finale as the Giants won in walk-off fashion thanks to a bases-loaded walk to Buster Posey in the 13th inning.
The walk-off win would be the start of an 8-game winning-streak for San Francisco as they pulled off back to back road sweeps against the Arizona Diamondbacks (4-games) and San Diego Padres (3-games), as the Giants completed their first undefeated road trip of 7 games or more since 1913. Also, the 4-game sweep of the D-Backs would be the first by the Giants in Arizona since 2010. In the first two games in San Diego, Bumgarner and Cueto registered back to back complete games with each pitcher allowing only one run. It would mark the first time the Giants have had consecutive complete-game wins by starting pitchers versus the same opponent since August of 1995 (Mark Leiter & Terry Mulholland). Following their successful road trip, the Giants would return home to face off against the Chicago Cubs and reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrietta who had not lost an outing in over 20 consecutive starts. And while the Giants were unable to find an answer for Chicago's ace as San Francisco had their 8-game winning streak snapped, they did bounce back by taking the series victory, winning two of three before pulling off another three-game sweep of the Padres. During their 8-game win-streak, the Giants never scored more than 5 runs as the starting rotation carried the load by logging a 1.34 ERA in 60 2/3 innings and limiting opposing hitters to a .189 batting average.
After struggling for much of the season and looking like a ghost of his former self, former ace and workhorse Matt Cain finally began to turn the corner and find his groove after stringing together three straight solid starts as he logged both his first win in nearly a year (6 innings, 1 earned run against the Cubs), ending a dry spell of 8 straight losing decisions, the longest streak by a Giants pitcher in three years, and his first hit in over two years (a 2-run double off of Jon Lester). But just when the Giants began getting steady production and gaining faith in their fifth starter, Cain was forced to hit the 15-day disabled-list after straining his hamstring in the second inning of a road outing against the Rockies which resulted in him being replaced in the rotation by rookie Albert Suarez. The Giants would eventually go on to lose the game before taking the next two in Denver, including a 10-5 victory in the second game of the series in which Buster Posey connected for a pair of 3-run home runs to tie a personal-best 6 RBI. The Giants rallied from a 5-4 deficit in the 8th by scoring six runs on eight hits in the frame, the most hits in a single inning by the Giants since August of 2012 against the Padres. The sizzling offense would continue on into the following day for the Giants as they tallied 8 doubles in the series finale, matching the most two-baggers in a game during the San Francisco era as they went on to win, 8-3.
With the month of May coming to a close, the Giants would make their final trip to Atlanta's Turner Field to take on the Braves who will be playing their home games in a new ballpark located in Cobb County come 2017. After dropping the first of four games by a final of 5-3, the Giants answered with a 4-0 shutout victory in a game started by pitcher Jake Peavy who celebrated his 35th birthday by tossing 7-shutout innings of 1-hit ball before the bullpen did the rest. Peavy and company held the Braves to just one hit for only the fifth time since Turner Field opened in 1997. As for the offense, Peavy also collected a hit and scored on an RBI triple by outfielder Denard Span who tallied three hits in the win and is beginning to heat up, having collected hits in 10 of his last 23 at-bats. The Giants finished the month of May winning 16 of their last 19 games while posting an overall record of 21-8 and are now 12 games over the .500 mark, having already surpassed their season-high of 11 games over .500 a season ago. Bruce Bochy's ball club currently stands 4.5 games above the Dodgers for first place at 33-21 on the year, good enough for the second best record in the National League behind only the Chicago Cubs (35-15) and third overall after the Boston Red Sox (32-20).
Highlighting San Francisco's dominance in May was the efforts by the Giants pitching staff led by Bumgarner who went 4-0 with an ERA of 1.05. But it would be Cueto who amassed an ERA of 2.08 in May and was awarded NL Player of the Week honors for the second time of his career and his first since August of 2014 after allowing only 1 earned run and 8 hits in his 15 innings of work against the Padres and Rockies. With only two complete games in all of last season, Cueto has already surpassed that total with three this year. His dominance against division foes has been exceptionally well as his 2.35 career ERA against Colorado is the lowest among active pitchers with at least 10 starts against the Rockies. And then there's the three straight complete games he's tossed against the Padres this season, a feat that hasn't been done in a single-season since Felix Hernandez did it against New York Yankees in 2009. Samardzija also finished with a strong month of May despite a hiccup in his last outing in Atlanta, compiling an ERA of 2.08 in six May outings. Cain and Peavy didn't share the same kind of dominance as their peers, but did pitch to the tone of a much better May than April as they both saw their ERA's nearly cut in half.
With the Giants kicking off the month of June by finishing the second half of their 10-game road trip with two more games in Atlanta before a 3-game set in St. Louis, the team will enjoy a day off before returning home to host the Boston Red Sox for a pair of games before welcoming the Dodgers and Brewers for three games each. The Rays, Pirates, Phillies and Athletics will round out the remaining list of opponents for Giants as they look to continue their winning ways on into June. GO GIANTS!
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With Baseball season in full swing and the month of April coming to a close, that's one month in the books already for the San Francisco Giants. Entering the season with high hopes following the acquisitions of two of the most coveted arms in free agency in starting pitchers Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija as well as outfielder Denard Span, Giants fans have had a lot to be excited about. Not to mention it's an even year. And while things got off to a great start for the G-Men, Bruce Bochy's ball club has also had their fair share of letdowns in the opening month of the season.
Opening the season on the road for a three-game set against the Milwaukee Brewers, one of the newest members on the Giants wasted little time to make his presence felt as Denard Span became the first Giant to record 5 RBI's on Opening Day since a guy named Barry Bonds did it in 2002 against the rival Dodgers. Span sparked a trio of home runs in the eighth inning as Joe Panik and Buster Posey joined him in hitting back to back to back home runs, the first time the Giants had connected for three consecutive home runs in a game since July 20, 2006 when Bonds, Ray Durham and Pedro Feliz did so versus the Padres. Not since 1997 had a team accomplished the feat on Opening Day, however, as the Padres recorded back to back to back jacks against the Mets. San Francisco would go on to win the season-opener by a final of 12-3, the most runs on Opening Day by a Giants team in over 30 years, as Matt Duffy who was in the running for NL Rookie of the Year a season ago, added a homer of his own to bring the Giants within one HR shy of tying an Opening Day franchise mark set back in 1964 against the Milwaukee Braves. The Giants would end up taking 2 of 3 in Milwaukee as they failed to complete the sweep by dropping the series finale.
The Giants would kickoff their Home Opener much like they did the season opener, by scoring 12 runs in a 12-6 win over their bitter rivals -- the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hunter Pence's 8th inning Grand Slam put a damper on L.A's comeback attempt. San Francisco would end up taking three of four against L.A. to improve to 5-2. The Giants would set a franchise record for the most games with a home run to start a season with seven. The streak would continue heading into a 3-game set at Coors Field where the Rockies served the Giants some more home runs to add to their streak, while also handing them a pair of losses as the Giants were only able to win one of three games in Denver. In the lone win against the Rockies, the Giants would get a great outing from newcomer Jeff Samardzija who went 8 strong innings, allowing only 2 runs. Rookie catcher Trevor Brown also shined, hitting a pair of home runs, making him the first Giants rookie to hit home runs in his first three games of the season since Bobby Thompson (1947).
The Giants' streak of consecutive games with a homer to start a season would eventually reach 10 before ending at Dodger Stadium. And just like they did in Colorado, the Giants would drop 2 of 3 in L.A. While the 6-game road trip would come to an end for the Giants, unfortunately, their struggles would continue. With four games against the Arizona Diamondbacks to begin a 10-game home stand, the Giants would fall victim to a rare four-game sweep at home, only the second of its kind since the Giants moved to AT&T Park in 2000. In one of those losses, the Giants met a familiar foe in a different uniform as San Francisco faced off with Zack Greinke who was targeted by the Giants before signing a massive contract with the D-Backs during the offseason. Owning a record of 7-0 in 10 career starts against the Giants entering the meeting, the former Cy Young Award winner who struggled in his first two outings of the year and was tagged with a pair of losses before receiving a no-decision against the Padres, bounced back and continued his dominance against SF. Out-dueling Giants ace Madison Bumgarner, Greinke picked up his first win of the year with a 2-1 victory over the Giants. In the finale, Johnny Cueto had a chance to become the first Giants pitcher since Bill Swift in 1992 to win his first four starts. And while he would allow only 3 runs in the outing against Arizona, he would still be handed the loss as the Diamondbacks completed the sweep, handing the Giants their fifth straight loss and 8 of their last 9.
Looking forward to putting the dreadful AZ series behind them, the Giants welcomed the Miami Marlins who brought with them a familiar face that Giants fans would never forget -- Barry Bonds. Bonds who was hired by Miami skipper Don Mattingly to be the Marlins hitting coach, was welcomed back to AT&T Park with a standing ovation as a video tribute was played on the jumbo screen out in center field. It's possible that Bonds' presence helped wake the Giants bats as they took two of three against the Miami. Finishing the homestand with three games against the San Diego Padres, the Giants would string together their first sweep of the season with a pair of 1-run wins before erupting for 13-runs in the series finale. In game 2 of the three-game set, Johnny Cueto would go the distance to pitch a complete-game shutout, striking out 11 Padres batters and out-dueling James Shields in the 1-0 victory. For Cueto, the win would also be the 100th victory of his career as he became only the 12th Dominican-born pitcher to log 100 career wins. Having gone at least 7 innings in each of his five starts this season, Cueto has fit in quite nicely with his new ball club and seems to be back on track after a disappointing second half to the season after being traded to the Royals in 2015.
With an off-day to travel across the country to visit the New York Mets, the Giants seemed to have left their bats at home as they were greeted by the reigning National League champs with a 13-1 shellacking in the series-opener. Coming off his best outing of the season after three rough starts, Giants pitcher Jake Peavy couldn't get past the third inning as the Mets erupted for a franchise-record 12 runs in the third inning. Cuban slugger Yoenis Cespedes highlighted the scoring spree with a Grand Slam after Peavy was chased, having allowed 6 runs in the frame himself. The Mets wouldn't need to add anymore runs in the game but they did anyway, answering the Giants' only run (a solo home run from Angel Pagan) in the 7th inning with a run of their own. Hoping to bounce back in Game 2, the Giants put up a better fight in their second go around but saw their starting pitching struggle once again. This time it would be starter Matt Cain who ran into early trouble and was tagged for 4-runs in the first two frames before departing having allowed six runs thru six innings. The Giants would threaten the Mets late in the game as the New York bullpen allowed a pair of runs in the 8th before hanging onto the 6-5 win to closeout the month of April riding an 8-game winning-streak as Cain fell to 0-3 on the year. The Giants will have a chance to salvage the third and final game of the series on Sunday when ace Madison Bumgarner faces Mets fire-baller Noah Syndergaard.
The Giants finished the month of April with a record of 12-13 and remain in a tie for first place of the NL West with the Dodgers who are enduring some struggles of their own having lost six straight. With the highlight of the Giants season thus far belonging to Johnny Cueto who's been nothing short of remarkable in his first five starts with the team, the former All-Star pitcher for the Reds will make his next start on the road in Cincinnati as the Giants continue their current road trip with a stop in the Queen City. The month of May will also see the Giants make trips to Arizona and San Diego for the first time this season before visiting the Braves at Turner Field for the final time as Atlanta plans to open their new stadium in Cobb County in 2017. As for their home games, the Giants will welcome the Rockies, Padres and Cubs as well as a rare visit from the Toronto Blue Jays. GO GIANTS!
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With the temperatures starting to heat up and baseball's Spring Training officially underway, it's time to dust off those ball caps and mark our calendars for Opening Day. And with it being another even year, who could be more excited for baseball than Giants fans? In what he's calling possibly the greatest starting rotation assembled during his tenure with the ball club, Giants skipper Bruce Bochy has to like his team's chances at making it yet another successful even numbered year.
With pitching being the formula in all three of the Giants' World Series runs, the team's front-office once again focused on making starting pitching a priority over the offseason. While it was the division-rival Arizona Diamondbacks who won the sweepstakes for the top free-agent on the market in Zack Greinke, the Giants went with the adage that two is better than one, signing two of the top five pitchers available in righties Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto. Samardzija was first to land with the G-Men after their failed attempt to add Greinke, making the former star receiver for the Notre Dame football team seem like a consolation prize, agreeing to a 5-year, $90 Million dollar deal. He would be joined by the coveted arm of Johnny Cueto just days later, who inked a 6-year, $130 Million dollar contract. The tandem of Cueto and Samardzija helps stabilize a Giants pitching staff that outside of ace Madison Bumgarner and rookie Chris Heston who showed flashes of brilliance, struggled mightily all season in 2015.
Samardzija struggled in his first full season in the American League last year while with the Chicago White Sox where he finished with an 11-13 record and an ERA of 4.96 in 32 starts. Having coined the nickname "Shark", AL hitters took a bite out of Samardzija in 2015 as he surrendered a league-high 29 home runs and allowed the most hits (228) and earned runs (118). All of which are numbers Samardzija should definitely rebound from in 2016 by simply playing his home games at the pitcher-friendly confines of AT&T Park alone. Not to mention he'll have one of the better pitch-framing catchers behind the dish in Buster Posey and a much improved defense fielding behind him to go along with the teachings of veteran pitching coach Dave Righetti. Since making the switch from a reliever to a starter in 2012, the 31-year old Samardzija has tossed the 10th-most innings in baseball with 822 and is one of only three pitchers to log at least 210 innings in each of his last three seasons, joining Max Scherzer and R.A. Dickey.
As for Cueto who turned down a deal worth a reported 6-year, $120 Million from the Diamondbacks earlier in the off-season which resulted in them breaking the bank for Greinke, the Dominican-born hurler lands with another team quite familiar with winning championships after helping the Kansas City Royals claim their first World Series title in over 30 years. The Giants are just happy he's on the same squad now as Cueto joins a team he's dominated throughout his career, having posted a 3-1 record and an ERA of 2.08 in six regular season starts against them. Also, his 1.69 ERA at AT&T Park is the best of any ballpark in which he's made multiple starts. Cueto's 2015 campaign was a tale of two halves which ultimately ended in him winning a World Series ring. After enduring a tremendous first half of the season with the Cincinnati Reds before landing in Kansas City at the trade deadline where he saw small sample sizes of success but mainly struggled and was unable to duplicate the kind of production and effectiveness he had in Cincy, Cueto came through and delivered when it mattered most -- during the postseason.
Boasting a career record of 96-70 with a 3.30 ERA, Cueto has done especially well against NL West opponents, having posted a stellar 2.87 ERA against them. Since 2010, Cueto's ERA of 2.87 ranks third among MLB starters who've pitched a minimum of 900 innings, behind only Clayton Kershaw and Adam Wainwright. The Giants will hope to see more of the Johnny Cueto that dominated the first half of 2015 but know they've got another workhorse on their hands as he trails only David Price and his new teammate Madison Bumgarner in innings pitched over the past two seasons with a whopping 480 2/3 innings (regular and postseason) to his credit. While the Giants became the first team in MLB history to sign two pitchers to free-agent contracts worth at least $90 Million in the same offseason, they also made a non-pitcher signing that fans are equally as excited about. Serving as the icing on the cake, the Giants put the finishing touches on their busy offseason with the acquisition of outfielder Denard Span who agreed to a 3-year, $31 Million dollar pact.
A true lead-off hitter who puts the ball in play and seldom strikes out, Span is coming off a 2015 season plagued by various injuries, most notably a hip ailment which required surgery and limited him to just 61 games. When healthy, however, Span has proven just how valuable he can be, both at the plate and in the field, having become a fixture on the highlight reel by making spectacular plays with his glove and even leading the National League in hits in 2014 with 184. Expected to shift to left field when not manning center field in place of fellow outfielder Angel Pagan who's been battling injuries of his own over the past several seasons, he should fit right at home with his newest ball club. A healthy season from Span who will now patrol the vast outfield of AT&T Park and even better -- hit in a yard that has plenty of gaps and dimensions that could cater nicely to his hitting ability (he's led each the AL in 2009 and NL in 2013 in triples), could play a vital role in San Francisco's 2016 success. Despite finishing 84-78 in 2015, eight games behind the division-winning L.A. Dodgers, the Giants did finish the year with a +69 run differential and were tops in the NL in batting average, thanks in large part to their All-Star shortstop Brandon Crawford. After slugging a team-high 21 home runs a season ago and winning a Gold Glove Award, the Giants rewarded their homegrown shortstop to a six-year, $75 Million dollar contract extension for the cherry on top of what was a successful offseason for the team that plays in the city by the bay.
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