Where the San Francisco Giants Stand at the All-Star Break

In what's been a roller coaster season filled with plenty of ups and downs, the San Francisco Giants ride into the MLB All-Star break with a record of 48-43 overall, with 7-wins in their last 9 games. And if not for a disaster by the bullpen on Thursday night, they would easily be coming off a four-game sweep of the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers. Instead, they took three of four from the Brew Crew with three big wins in three completely different ways. After dropping the opener on Thursday night by a final of 3-2, the Giants staved off another loss in game two by rallying from behind to complete one of the franchise's most wild comebacks in recent memory. 

Trailing 5-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning and facing arguably the most dominant closer in all of baseball since 2018 in All-Star Josh Hader, the Giants completed their most improbable comeback with three home runs in the inning, including a walk-off blast. Igniting the rally was a no-doubter from rookie catcher Joey Bart to lead off the frame. Darin Ruf then parked one in the bleachers with one out to bring the Giants within a run, before an Austin Slater single, Yermin Mercedes hit by pitch and Thiaro Estrada single helped load the bases for one Mike Yastrzemski who did the rest. Sending the first pitch he saw deep into the night and over the wall in centerfield, Yaz hit the Giants' first walk-off grand slam since Bobby Bonds in 1973, ending a drought by the Giants that had seen every other MLB team record a walk-off grand slam in the last 15 seasons. It also marked the first time in MLB history that a team hit three home runs in an inning including a walk-off grand slam. Game three against Milwaukee saw a pitchers-duel between starters Alex Cobb and Eric Lauer, with the Giants pulling off the 2-1 victory thanks to a bases-loaded balk in the 8th inning by Brewers reliever and former Giant Jandel Gustave. And in the finale, the Giants' bats woke up in a 9-5 win behind homers from LaMonte Wade Jr. and Brandon Belt, backing another stellar outing from starting pitcher and All-Star snub Logan Webb. 

Despite coming off one of their better series victories of the season, it wasn't long ago that Gabe Kapler and company were dropping game after game against inferior competition. On the cusp of being 10 games above .500 as recent as June 22 before a blown save by Jake McGee in Atlanta, the Giants have been nowhere near that mark ever since. Following their series against the defending World Series champion Braves, the Giants proceeded to drop two of three at home to the lowly Reds, split a short two-game set with the Detroit Tigers, and were swept at home by the White Sox who entered the series four games under .500. But the struggles didn't stop there as San Francisco took to the road and dropped two of three to the last-place Diamondbacks before needing a ninth inning rally to avoid being swept in the desert. The Giants then dropped the first two of four in San Diego before a pair of inspiring outings from starters Carlos Rodon and Alex Wood helped the Giants get some of their mojo back. Returning to Oracle Park, the Giants took two of three from Arizona before their strong showing against Milwaukee, which leads us to where we are now. 

Currently tied with the Philadelphia Phillies in the loss column for the third and final NL Wild Card spot, San Francisco is slated to open the second half of the season in L.A. for a three-game tilt with the archrival Dodgers whom they swept in San Francisco when they last battled in mid-June. Both teams have taken completely different turns since they last saw one another, as the Dodgers sit in first place in the NL West with an NL-best record of 60-30 and only seem to be getting stronger. Meanwhile the Giants hope to pick up after the All-Star break right where they left off while getting a few guys back along the way. With pitcher Jakob Junis activated just in time on Sunday to shake off some rust before the All-Star break after being out since June 10 with a hamstring injury, the Giants swingman pitcher who contributed both out of the bullpen and in the starting rotation before his stint on the IL, was arguably the club's best pitcher at the time he got hurt. The team also received third baseman Evan Longoria back from the IL after being out since July 6 with an oblique injury, giving the Giants much needed help in the infield at a critical time as shortstop Brandon Crawford hits the IL for the second time in less than two weeks with an injured knee. One player the Giants will not be seeing return from IL this season is starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani who recently announced the will miss the remainder of the 2022 season due to right ankle surgery. 

As for the MLB All-Star Game itself, Giants fans will be able to cheer on outfielder Joc Pederson (17 HR, 42 RBI) and pitcher Carlos Rodon (8-5, 131 K's, 2.66 ERA) as both players were named to their second Mid-Summer Classic. One guy who won't partake in this year's All-Star festivities is Giants ace Logan Webb (9-3, 2.83 ERA) who was snubbed after registering a 1.37 ERA over his last seven starts. Another Giant who has earned noteworthy recognition this season is outfielder Luis Gonzalez. In what's been another one of GM Farhan Zaidi's great finds is Gonzalez who was claimed off of waivers from the Chicago White Sox late last season. Capitalizing on an injury in the outfield to the recently traded Steven Duggar, Gonzo has been a nice add to the Giants this season and although he recently returned to the club after a stint on the Injured-List and has seen some struggles with a back injury, he was named the Rookie of the Month in the National League for the month of May. 

With ten fewer wins than they had at this point last year during their magical and historic run to a franchise-record 107 regular season wins, hopefully the All-Star break won't put a stop to their recent red-hot streak. Instead, hopefully this last string of success will kickstart a new streak for a Giants team likely to kick the tires on a few trades at the deadline if all continues to go well. 

Follow me on Twitter: @FraserKnowsBest 

San Francisco Giants Month in Review: September 2019 & Bochy's Goodbye

Entering the month of September which would be the final month of the 2019 MLB regular season, the San Francisco Giants would need a strong finish if they wanted to send their future Hall of Fame manager off with one final postseason run before his retirement. Still in the thick of things fighting for a shot at an NL Wild Card spot, things began to look rather gloomy the first two weeks into the month for Bruce Bochy's ballclub as they played baseball for 18 consecutive days before finally having a day off. And with several teams ranked ahead of them in that Wild Card chase, the Giants didn't exactly get off to the start they had hoped for. After dropping the finale at home to the division rival Padres which allowed San Diego to claim the series by taking three of four, the Giants took to the road to face two of the National League's best.

A four-game set against the Red Birds in St. Louis would serve as a punch in the gut as the Giants eventually dropped three of four, but lost much more than the series as lefty reliever Tony Watson was lost for the season following an injury he sustained while trying to make a tag at first base. X-rays later revealed he suffered a fractured wrist, confirming what the training staff had feared. Aside from the first home run of Mauricio Dubon's career in the series-opener and a four-hit game by Kevin Pillar which was his fourth of the season and eighth of his career in Game 3's 9-8 win for San Francisco, the Giants were left with little to cheer for following the series-finale in which the Cardinals ran away with by a final of 10-0. Turning their focus to the archrival Dodgers in what would be skipper Bruce Bochy's final series in L.A., the Giants would award their manager with a series victory by taking two of three and helping Boch improve his win total at Dodger Stadium to 107, the most ever by an opposing manager in what is now the third oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball. To put Bochy's Tinseltown success into perspective, Hall of Famer Bobby Cox is the next closest manager with 68-wins at Dodger Stadium. Helping his manager get there was Dubon who logged the first three-hit game of his career as he hit a home run off of Clayton Kershaw and finished a triple shy of the cycle.

Making his 48th career start against the Giants, Kershaw who has virtually made a career out of dominating Bruce Bochy's ballclub, would fail to go more than 4-innings in what would ultimately be the shortest outing of his career against San Francisco. Like Dubon, it was another rookie in Game 2 that would answer the call as pitcher Tyler Beede again saved his best stuff for the hated Dodgers. After logging his first career win on the road against L.A. back in June, Beede not only duplicated that performance, but did himself one better by tossing five shutout innings before handing the ball off to the Giants bullpen who took it from there to complete the shutout. San Francisco's 1-0 win would mark the first time the Dodgers were held scoreless in a game since the month of May. Returning home to Oracle Park, the Giants welcomed in the Pittsburgh Pirates for a four-game set and were rudely awakened in the opener as the Giant bullpen who was without their closer in Will Smith due to back tightness, failed to hold a 2-run lead in the 9th inning and let a gem by Madison Bumgarner go to waste when the Bucs scored 4-runs to steal a victory. It would end a streak of 55 consecutive wins for the Giants when entering the 9th inning with a lead.

The bullpen would nearly blow their second game in a row and put a damper on a gem by Johnny Cueto who made his triumphant return to the mound after missing 13 months due to Tommy John surgery, but San Francisco managed to hold on for a 5-4 win. With 5 shutout frames in his first outing in over a year, Cueto continued his career dominance over Pittsburgh which boasts a record of 10-0 and an ERA of 1.68 in his last 14 starts against the Pirates, dating back to his days in the NL Central with the Cincinnati Reds. In that win, Shaun Anderson who was a closer during his collegiate career at the University of Florida, would record his first career big league save after making the move from the rotation to the bullpen. Sadly, the Pirates would find an answer for the rest of San Francisco's pitching rotation as they took three of four from the Giants who again found themselves in dire straits. Thankfully, they'd have a series against the lowly Miami Marlins ahead, the worst team in the National League. And with stellar outings all across the board from the Giants starting pitching staff, San Francisco would take two of three from the Marlins. While Beede and Cueto tossed shutouts in Games 1 and 3 of the series, it was Madison Bumgarner (7 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 2 ER, 3 K) who got the short end of the stick as he received a no-decision despite notching his 15th consecutive outing of allowing three earned runs or less.

With a rare visit to the granddaddy of them all -- Fenway Park, we would get to witness one of the cooler moments in baseball this season when Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski not only had the privilege of taking the field against a Boston Red Sox franchise his Hall of Fame grandfather became a household name with, but also logged a milestone against them. In Game 1 of a 3 game series, little Yaz slugged his 20th homer of the season some 36 years after his grandpa Carl Yastrzemski hit his last homer while playing all 23 of his big league seasons in Boston. Holding such Fenway Park records as the most games played (1,676), RBI's (1,063), runs (994) and doubles (382), while finishing second in home runs (237) behind only the great Ted Williams, both Carl and his grandson Mike would get to share a memorable moment when the two participated in the ceremonial first-pitch prior to Game 2. In a 15-inning marathon that saw Bruce Bochy set a franchise record with 13 pitchers used in Game 1, outfielder Alex Dickerson supplied the game-winning run with a sacrifice-fly to give the G-Men a 7-6 win, the franchise's first regular season victory at the 107-year old ballpark. And with another 11 pitchers used by Boston, the two teams combined to use 24 pitchers, tying an MLB record set by the Rockies & Dodgers on Sept. 15, 2015.

Another milestone would come one day later when the Giants ran away with an 11-3 win in Game 2 to give their skipper 2,000 career managerial wins, becoming just the 11th big league manager to reach the illustrious mark. Helping Bochy reach that milestone was backup catcher Stephen Vogt who tied a mark for the shortest home run hit this season (excluding inside-the-park) with a 2-run shot in the top of the first inning that traveled 311-feet, hitting Peske's pole out in right field. Coincidentally enough, Andrew Benintendi and Christian Vazquez are the two players tied with Vogt tied for the shortest homer this season, both of whom play for the Red Sox. Though the Giants would fail to pull off the sweep, they would leave Beantown with a series victory and a happy skipper as the team headed to Atlanta in what would be Bochy's final series on the road. Getting pummeled 6-0 in the opener, the Giants wouldn't fair much better in Game 2 as the Braves got the better half of Johnny Cueto who suffered the loss in Atlanta's 8-1 victory. Salvaging the series-finale behind six stellar innings from rookie Logan Webb, the Giants staved off a sweep and returned home with a 4-1 win before their final homestand of the season.

Hosting the Colorado Rockies for three games, the two teams would partake in a 15-inning slugfest that saw the two teams combine to hit 8 home runs, the most home runs ever hit in a single game in Oracle Park history. Oh, and that record for the most combined pitchers used in a single game that the Giants and Red Sox set just a week earlier, would also come to an end as the Giants and Rockies combined to use 25-pitchers, setting a new record. And when it was all said and done, it was Colorado who walked away with an 8-5 victory as Charlie Blackmon delivered the deciding blow with a 3-run homer in the 15th inning. Stuck in another tie game entering the 9th inning in Game 2, a Giants rookie would put an end to any thoughts of a second consecutive extra-inning affair when outfielder Jaylin Davis made his first career homer a game-winner as his solo shot to dead center helped the Giants walk-off with a 2-1 win. Part of the Sam Dyson trade that brought Davis over from the Minnesota Twins, the home run was a long time coming for someone who had hit 35 HR's in the Minors this season. The 2-1 win would also be the 29th 1-run win of the season for the Giants, the most 1-run wins in a single season for Bochy which looking back, probably isn't the healthiest thing for a 64-year old manager. Luckily for Boch, his team would save him from the stress of a close game the very next day as the Giants won the series finale by a final of 8-3 to take two of three from the Rox.

As if emotions weren't already at an all-time high this season as San Francisco prepared for Bruce Bochy's final series at the helm of the Giants, the final series of the season would come against the archrival Dodgers. Having already clinched the division as well as the number one seed in the National League, the Dodgers had little to play for aside from crashing the party of their bitter rival and a skipper that has enjoyed success against them. And with the Giants' playoff hopes already out the window, San Francisco would also have little to play for with the exception of sending their beloved manager off with one final series victory against L.A. Unfortunately, the Giants would fail to win their skipper one final game in the series as the Dodgers completed the three-game sweep. The Giants would have plenty of opportunities in Game 1, but failed to capitalize as they stranded a season-high 17 runners on base, their most since 2017. With a 9-2 loss in the opener, the Giants failed to muster a single run in Games 2 and 3 as L.A. put the finishing touches on their historic regular season with victories of 2-0 and 9-0, respectively. But with the games rendered meaningless, Giants fans packed the house during Game 162 as the franchise honored their skipper of 13 years by bidding him a farewell fit for the legend he is.

With video tributes all day long between innings from celebrities, friends, former players and teammates alike, to gifts being given, the day would be one big celebration, regardless of the outcome on the field as not a single fan had left the ballpark despite the 9-0 score. And the plethora of Giants players that came out from center field to surprise and congratulate Bochy on his big day was truly special. From players like Barry Bonds, Omar Vizquel and Pedro Feliz, whom Bochy managed during his earlier years with the Giants, to players on each of the World Series champion teams in 2010, 2012 and 2014. Perhaps the most surprising appearance was that of fan favorite and 2-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum who made his first Oracle Park appearance since 2015 to bid his former skipper a final farewell. And the stories shared by many of those players and Bochy himself made it just as emotional as it was beautiful as an era came to an end, fittingly as Bochy rode around the ballpark in a classic vehicle, waving goodbye to the fans. With Bochy receiving a key to the city from San Francisco Mayor London Breed, the Giants organization will now be in search for a new manager to give the reigns to for the first time in 14 years. Finishing his 25-year managerial career with an overall record of 2,003 wins and 2,029 losses, Bochy is one of only nine managers to win three or more championships and all eight before him are enshrined in Cooperstown.

Finishing the year in third place in the NL West at 77-85, their third consecutive losing season, San Francisco struggled at home as their 35-46 record at Oracle Park was the franchises worst since 1984 dating back to their days at Candlestick. In comparison, the Giants were a much better ballclub on the road as they finished with the fourth best road record in the National League at 42-39. And some of the team's best highlights on the season came from players both new and old. While the starting pitching staff enjoyed a solid bounce back year from Jeff Samardzija who enjoyed his best season yet in a Giants uniform, finishing with an 11-12 record an an ERA of 3.52, his lowest in a season since 2014 when he split time between the Cubs and Athletics. Another Giants hurler that continued to set and break records was ace Madison Bumgarner who amassed over 200 strikeouts for the fourth time of his career, tying him for second-most in the SF-era history with Tim Lincecum and Gaylord Perry. And with another two home runs hit this year for MadBum, he and battery mate Buster Posey became the latest pitcher-catcher duo to homer in the same game three times since 1900, a mark only three other battery mates have reached.

But perhaps the biggest surprise this year, was that of Kevin Pillar who quickly became the heart and soul of this Giants team after being acquired from the Blue Jays a week into the season. When he wasn't dazzling in the outfield with his superb defense, Pillar was setting career-highs in home runs (21), extra-base hits (61), RBI (88) and runs (83), while also leading the team in hits (157), HR (21), RBI (87), XBH (60), runs (82) and steals (14). The winner of this year's Willie McCovey Award, Pillar would also become the first player since 1920 to lead his team in HR, RBI and stolen bases after beginning the season with another club. Pillar would also be one of three Giants to hit 20+ home runs this year as he was joined by Evan Longoria (20) and Mike Yastrzemski (21), their first trio to hit 20+ homers in a season since 2006 when they had four (Barry Bonds, Ray Durham, Moises Alou and Pedro Feliz). With another season in the books and vacancies in a number of positions outside of manager, questionmarks surrounding free-agent to-be players like Pillar, Will Smith and Madison Bumgarner come into play. Expected to be another busy offseason for GM Farhan Zaidi, Giants fans will surely have their ears to the ground as they anticipate those questions and more to be answered.


Follow me on Twitter: @FraserKnowsBest

San Francisco Giants Month in Review: August 2019

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.


Follow me on Twitter: @FraserKnowsBest

San Francisco Giants Month in Review: May 2019

After opening the month of May with a series-finale win over the archrival Dodgers to take the rubber-match, the San Francisco Giants took to the road to visit two of the more unforgiving ballparks in the league to a pitcher in Cincinnati's Great American Ballpark and Colorado's Coors Field. And after falling behind early to the Reds who jumped out to an eight-run lead by the third inning, the Giants appeared to be in store for a long evening in the Queen City. Instead, San Francisco managed to tie their largest comeback in franchise history after storming back to erase the eight-run deficit with crooked numbers in the 4th, 6th and 8th innings before a solo home run off the bat of Stephen Vogt with 2-outs in the 9th inning, tied things up at 11-all. In his first game in a Giants uniform and first game at the big league level since recovering from a right shoulder injury that kept him out of baseball for nearly two years, Vogt finished the game a triple shy of the cycle and was the hero of the game until Evan Longoria stole the spotlight with a solo home run that decided the outcome in the 11th inning. It would be a rather fitting win for San Francisco who had to pull a rabbit from their hat to log their first win in Cincy in three years, having previously lost seven straight at Great American Ballpark while being outscored by 43 runs.

The franchise-tying 8-run comeback that had happened on four other occasions, coincidentally, have all occurred on the road, with the last taking place on Sept. 4, 1989 also against the Reds. After notching a season-high 17-hits in the opener, the Giants were held to only 5-hits in Game 2 as the Reds avenged the series-opening loss with a 9-2 victory. Game 3 would witness another comeback for the Giants, but this time after being down only 4-runs as San Francisco matched Cincinnati's 4-run first inning with a 4-run 6th before Brandon Crawford's pinch-hit 2-run home run capped the win. The Giants would only manage a split of the four-game series as Cincinnati proved to be too much for the Giants in the first inning, outscoring San Francisco 13-0 in the opening frame as well as clubbing 15 home runs in the series which tied a club record for the most HR's hit in a single series. Another rare feat that was accomplished in Cincy was one by super utilityman Pablo Sandoval who's been used by skipper Bruce Bochy in a variety of roles this season, including off the bench and on the mound. In the series finale, Sandoval became the first player in 114 years to homer, steal a base and pitch a scoreless inning in a single game since Giants Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson achieved the feat against the Reds on May 23, 1905.

Off to Denver, the Giants would call-up the hot-hitting Mac Williamson who's red-hot bat at the Triple-A level would catch the attention of the Giants front-office in time for their series with the Rockies. After clubbing three homers the night before with Triple-A Sacramento, Williamson would continue his torrid streak by launching a home run in his second at-bat of the season to go along with 4 RBI's which helped propel the Giants to a 14-4 win in the opener. Unfortunately, it would be only Williamson's only shining moment after the call-up as he would be designated for assignment and later elect free agency following a 6-for-51 drought at the plate. With inclement weather postponing Game 2 to a makeup date in July, the Giants would partake in their coldest game since 1997 as snow flurries began in the 2nd inning of Game 3. The 39 degree temperature at first-pitch would be the lowest that the Giants would play in since an affair on the north side of Chicago on April 13, 2013 against the Cubs. Seeking his first home run of the season, Tyler Austin would record his fourth career multi-homer game with a pair of long balls, including a 441-foot tape-measure shot, the furthest by a Giant this year. Austin's powerful bat would help the Giants erase an early 7-run deficit, but the San Francisco bullpen would fail to contain the Rockies' formidable lineup which escaped with the 12-11 win.

Returning home to face the Reds again, the Giants would run into more of the same issues as Cincy continued to put up runs in the first inning. And after receiving a no-decision a week earlier in Cincinnati, Reds starter Luis Castillo was out for revenge. Having established himself as one of the better pitchers through the first month with a record of 4-1 and a 1.76 ERA to show for, Castillo backed his claim with another stellar outing by tossing six scoreless innings of 2-hit ball and striking-out 11 batters to tie a career-high. After allowing a combined 5-runs scored in the first inning of the next two games, the Giants were once again forced to play catch up, managing to do so after falling behind three different times before eventually salvaging the series-finale with a win on Mother's Day to avoid the sweep. Another short two-game set against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays would allow players and fans alike to see a team they're not used to seeing as the two clubs would square off in a rematch after the Giants completed the two-game sweep north of the border in Toronto a month earlier. Only this time, the Blue Jays would have reinforcements with them as baseball's top-hitting prospect in Vlad Guerrero Jr. was not yet with the club when the two clubs last met in late April. The son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero displayed his power by blasting the first two homers of his career to help give Toronto the 7-3 victory.

From one top prospect to another, the Giants would see the debut of their top pitching prospect as Shaun Anderson made his debut in Game 2 against the Jays. The 24-year old righty who was acquired from the Boston Red Sox in the trade that sent Eduardo Nunez to Bean Town in 2017, tossed 5 innings while allowing a pair of runs on 2 hits and 3 walks. Anderson who struck out five Blue Jays on the afternoon, wouldn't factor into the decision as the Giants won 4-3, but his manager and teammates liked what they saw in the young farmhand. He would also dazzle at the plate, connecting for a pair of hits to become the first Giants pitcher since 1908 to have a multi-hit game in his MLB debut. In a short three-game road trip to the desert to face the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Giants would be blanked by Dbacks pitching in the opener before ace Madison Bumgarner helped right the ship with an 8-5 win in Game 2. The Giants would need heroics on both offense and defense in order to return home with the series victory, as Brandon Crawford delivered with his glove to throw-out Adam Jones with a close play at first base that nearly sent the Dbacks home with a walk-off victory in the 9th. Meanwhile, Pablo Sandoval delivered at the plate as his opposite-field home run in the 10th helped the Giants take 2 of 3 from their division rivals.

Hoping their winning ways would follow them home to the Bay Area, the Giants would begin a 7-game homestand against the Braves and Dbacks that the team would much rather forget. After dropping Game 1 of 4 against Atlanta, the Giants went into the 9th inning of Game 2 trailing 3-1, but rallied with 3-runs in the inning to walk-off against the Braves, capped by Joe Panik's second career walk-off hit and the third by the Giants this season. But it would be the only highlight of the series as Atlanta won each of the next two to take three of four. After being swept in San Diego by the Padres in which the Dbacks mustered only five runs in the series, Arizona held a team meeting in hopes of putting an end to a slump that saw them lose 12 of their last 17 games entering their series versus San Francisco. Whatever was said in that meeting definitely worked as the Diamondbacks showed no mercy in the series-opener, tying a team record for the second-most runs scored in a game in franchise history as well as the most ever scored by a visiting team at Oracle Park as they ran away with the 18-2 victory. Believe it or not, the Giants would actually hold a 2-1 lead in the game before the Arizona bats really got going, smacking four homers in total. The offensive outburst would be no fluke as the Diamondbacks continued their run-scoring prowess in Games 2 & 3 by winning those meetings, 10-4 and 6-2 respectively, to complete the sweep. With 34 runs in the series, Arizona set a franchise record for the most runs in a three-game road series.

Hitting the road to face two of the three worst teams in all of baseball, the Giants would head to Miami and Baltimore to face the Marlins and Orioles to close out the month of May. But after dropping the first two in Miami, the Giants were on the verge of being swept by the only team in the National League with a worse record than their own. But after being called back up to the Majors to make his first appearance since May 14, pitcher Tyler Beede would help his team stave off the sweep by logging his best outing in the Majors yet. Though he would receive a no-decision, Beede held the Marlins to only 1 run on 5 hits, while waking 3 and striking out 4. With Beede still in search of his first win at the MLB level, one player who did record career firsts was outfielder Mike Yastrzemski who after logging his first hit in the previous series against the Dbacks, tallied his first big league RBI with a game-tying RBI single that scored Brandon Crawford in the 7th inning. Crawford would put his team ahead with a 2-run double as the Giants salvaged the finale to avoid being swept. Visiting Baltimore's Camden Yards for the first time since 2004, the Giants and Orioles would exchange in a rather odd first inning which saw the GMen jump out to an early 5-0 lead before the O's stormed back with a 6-spot of their own. The wild first inning would mark the first time since 2012 that two teams would score at least five first-inning runs in the same game.

Yastrzemski, grandson of Boston Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski, spent 703 games in the Minors prior to being called up last week, serving 663 of those games in Baltimore's farm system before being traded to San Francisco during the spring. Little Yaz is the latest Giant to join the revolving door that is left-field which has now seen ten different players man the position in 2019. And though he never got the chance to play a big league game in an Orioles uniform at Camden Yards, he certainly made up for it by homering in his second at-bat of the game to record his first career dinger which tied the game at 6 in the 2nd inning. But the O's would one-up San Francisco again in the bottom half of the inning by scoring a pair of runs and take a lead that they wouldn't relinquish a second time as Giants starter Drew Pomeranz was hit hard and failed to make it through the second inning even after his team gifted him with a 5-run first inning, their most runs scored in the opening frame all year. The Giants ended up dropping the game by a final of 9-6 which dropped them to 10-16 in the month of May and 22-34 overall, 15.5 games behind the first-place Dodgers.

It was a rough one for the Giants pitching staff in the month of May as their league-worst 7.32 ERA was the poorest combined earned-run average in a full month for any Giants team in the history of the franchise. And no pitcher has struggled more than the aforementioned Pomeranz who after allowing a career-high eight earned runs in Baltimore, has seen his ERA climb to 8.08 on the year over 10 starts as he's registered only one quality start this season. With what appears to be a resurgence from both Tyler Beede and Dereck Rodriguez who pitched in relief for Pomeranz in Baltimore after being sent down to the Minors following his own struggles, it's likely Pomeranz has seen his last start in the rotation at least for now. And things won't get any easier following their current road trip which concludes against the Mets in New York as the Giants return home to host the archrival Dodgers who own the best record in the National League at 39-19.


Follow me on Twitter: @FraserKnowsBest