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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Following a roller coaster ride in June which featured plenty of ups and downs for the San Francisco Giants, the G-Men opened up the month of July like a team asleep at the wheel, losing their first seven games after being swept on the road by the Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals before dropping two of three at home to the Mets. Having endured their second 7-game losing streak of the season, Giants manager Bruce Bochy called upon Matt Cain who pitched his team to victory in his second start of the season and first at home since August of last year as the former Giants ace hurled six shutout frames in a 3-0 win.
With a series against the visiting Phillies prior to baseball's Midsummer Classic, the Giants headed into the All-Star break with a bit of confidence and a three-game winning-streak following a three-game sweep of struggling Philadelphia. With a few days of rest and the return of Hunter Pence to the lineup, Bruce Bochy's ball club would begin playing their best ball of the season with a stretch of 13 wins in 15 games as the Giants turned up the heat in the NL Western Division standings and pulled within a 1/2 game of the rival Dodgers. Series wins against the D-Backs, Padres and Brewers as well as the first three-game sweep of their bay area rival Oakland A's for the first time at AT&T Park since 2011, would catapult the G-Men 11-games over .500 with a record of 56-45. In the series finale against the Athletics, Giants starter Tim Hudson joined an elite group of players by becoming only the 15th pitcher in MLB history to beat all 30 current teams following the 4-3 win, besting the team he broke onto the big league scene with in 1999 where he played six seasons.
Entering a weekend series against the Texas Rangers to close out the month of July and spring forward the month of August, the Giants headed into the lone star state as the hottest team in baseball before cooling down after splitting the first two games and eventually dropping the rubber match in the team's first visit to Arlington since the clinching Game 5 of the 2010 World Series. After allowing just 4 runs in his last three starts combined entering the weekend, Giants ace Madison Bumgarner was roughed up on the road in Texas. The Texas heat coupled with the power-driven offense of the Rangers made for a disastrous night on the mound as MadBum was touched for 6 earned runs in the contest. With the health of Tim Lincecum up in the air and the team unsure whether or not they'll see the 2-time Cy Young Award winner pitch again this season as he recovers from a degenerative condition in his hip which he was recently diagnosed with and has kept him on the shelf since June 27, Giants GM Brian Sabean was forced to dig into his bag of tricks.
Seeking some depth in the Giants rotation, the pitching staff got some much needed help from the front-office with the acquisition of right-handed pitcher Mike Leake from the Cincinnati Reds before Friday's trade deadline in exchange for Minor Leaguers Adam Duvall and Keury Mella. Making his Giants debut in the series finale against Texas, Leake, who becomes a free-agent following the season, pitched an impressive 6.1 innings while striking out 5 and yielding 8 hits, 2 walks and allowing only 2-runs on a home run by Josh Hamilton. However, Leake would suffer the loss as the Giants fell, 2-1. Leake came over in the trade owning a record of 9-5 on the year and an ERA of 3.56 in 21 starts as Cincy's no.2 man in the rotation, not bad for a guy pitching in Cincinnati's hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark.
Overall, San Francisco finished 14-10 in the month of July and currently stand 2.5 games back of the Dodgers with a record of 57-47 as they get set to pay the Atlanta Braves a visit for a three-game set before closing their current road trip with four meetings at the friendly confines of Wrigley Field versus the Cubs. August will serve as a major test for the orange and black as 8 of the 9 remaining series' this month will be against contending teams (@ Cubs, vs Astros, vs Nationals, @ Cardinals, @ Pirates, vs Cubs, vs Cardinals and @ Dodgers) with the lone exception of the Braves. Let's just hope the Giants' emotional leader in Hunter Pence can stay healthy as the team sports a record of 27-11 with him in the line-up this season opposed to 30-36 without him.
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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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Before their title defense could even begin with the start of Major League Baseball's regular season still a month away, the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants were dealt a sizable blow in just their third Spring Training outing of the year. Facing Corey Black of the Chicago Cubs, Giants outfielder and clubhouse ringleader Hunter Pence took a pitch high and in off of his left forearm in the sixth inning that caused him to exit the game. With everyone in the dugout from manager Bruce Bochy on down fearing for the worst, x-rays revealed a non-displaced fracture in the ulna bone which will keep Pence on the shelf for 6-8 weeks.
Although the timing of the incident is somewhat fortunate given the injury occurred prior to the regular season, Pence will be without the benefit of working on his timing at the plate and everything else that Spring Training allows you to prep for. And while Pence expressed no ill will towards Black and even replied to his tweet which Black issued to wish the Giants outfielder a speedy recovery to which Pence replied, "It happens my friend. Thanks for the concern, it's part of the game we love." With the timetable for Pence's return out of his favor given he currently owns the longest active streak in baseball having played 383 consecutive games which will now be in jeopardy, life without their iron man won't be long for the Giants but it'll still take some getting used to, granted Pence has appeared in every single game since San Francisco acquired him midway through the 2012 season.
Since his arrival to the ball club, Pence leads the team in home runs, runs batted in and extra-base hits. But he's meant more to the team than just a statistical leader and everyday gamer, he's been the voice and soul of the ball club during two of their three title runs. The injury to Pence opens the door to a number of outfielders looking to get some playing time including Gregor Blanco, Juan Perez and non-roster invitee Justin Maxwell. The resilient Hunter Pence has plans of returning sooner than team doctors have ruled him out for but waiting out the full 6-8 weeks might be best as the Giants look to win their fourth World Series title in 6 years and put an end to the curse (if you wanna call it that) of the even numbered years.
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In a season full of disappointment for the 2013 San Francisco Giants who displayed a bit of a World Series hangover by finishing 76-86 and tied for third in the division, one of the few bright spots came on July 13 when starting pitcher Tim Lincecum threw his first career no-hitter against the San Diego Padres. It would also be the highlight of Lincecum's season as his 2013 campaign ended with the right-hander finishing under .500 for the third consecutive season (10-14) and an ERA north of 4. But none of that stopped us Giants fans or the front-office from expressing how much we'd love to see him return to the orange and black in 2014 and beyond.
Expected to test the waters of the free-agent market following the conclusion of the World Series, we made signs for Lincecum's final home start of the season that read: 'Don't leave, Tim' and 'San Francisco loves you' as it was unsure whether or not we'd see Timmy in a Giants uniform again. That question was answered much sooner than expected on Monday when news broke regarding both sides reaching a deal pending a physical worth $35 Million over 2-years. The deal includes a full no-trade clause and is $5.5 Million fewer than the 2-year, $40.5 Million contract he signed in 2012. Entering his age 30 season, the former first round pick of the Giants in 2006 owns an overall record of 89-70 and an ERA of 3.46 through seven Major League seasons. Though his fastball velocity isn't quite where it used to be in the 95 mph range, his popularity hasn't lost a beat. Better known around AT&T Park as "The Freak", Lincecum's teammates as well as manager Bruce Bochy will be every bit as happy as the fans are now that the 4-time All-Star and 2-time Cy Young Award winner is staying put.
While there are those who are saying the Giants are overpaying for his services, the market for pitchers heading into the offseason isn't very appealing to start. Bronson Arroyo, Hiroki Kuroda, Matt Garza, Ervin Santana and Ubaldo Jimenez round up this offseason's top pitching free-agents and with the exception of Arroyo, they'll all likely sign for a larger sum than Lincecum. Not to mention they're all older than the Giants right-hander. Other than the Giants, the Seattle Mariners who play just a stones throw away from where Timmy is from in Bellevue, Washington, were likely to offer him a contract had he hit the market.
The re-signing of Lincecum comes three weeks after the Giants locked up their biggest offseason priority in outfielder Hunter Pence who GM Brian Sabean inked to a new deal one day prior to the end of the 2013 regular season, preventing him from stepping foot in the free-agent market. Pence who made a spectacular diving catch with 2-outs in the 8th inning to preserve Lincecum's no-hitter, hit a career-high 27 home runs in 2013 and logged a personal-best 22 stolen bases to go with 99 RBI's while starting in all 162 games this season, further demonstrating his durability. Pence has missed just 24 games in six full big league seasons and was an integral part in the team's World Series success last season as he delivered a motivational pre-game speech prior to game 3 of last year's NLDS vs the Cincinnati Reds. The signings of Lincecum and Pence leave only left-handed reliever Javier Lopez as the last name to be marked off of Sabean's list of top priorities for returning players entering 2014.
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