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
As temperatures across the country begin to increase and offensive numbers begin to soar, the San Francisco Giants entered the month of June hoping the same could be said for their win total. Or at the very least, an improvement from their dismal May in which the team's pitching woes led to a sub-par record of 10-16. And with three-straight wins against the Baltimore Orioles and New York Mets to start the month, things finally began to look up for Bruce Bochy's ball club, even if it was short-lived. Making his fourth big league start, pitcher Shaun Anderson would kick things off with a stellar outing as he earned his first career win after pitching 7 innings of 2-run ball as the Giants beat the Orioles, 8-2. Needing 105-pitches to get the job done, Anderson who had never tossed more than 102-pitches in a game at any level of his career, college included, became the first Giants starter to go seven innings or more since Madison Bumgarner back on April 13. Anderson's seven frames ended an SF era record and snapped a streak of 40 consecutive games in which a Giants starter failed to go seven innings deep, the longest such streak in over 100 years for the Giants franchise and longest streak in the MLB this year.
But it would be a blessing and a curse as Buster Posey who hit his third homer of the season in the 8-2 win, left the game with a hamstring injury. Thanks to another strong outing the following day by Jeff Samardzija (6 innings pitched, 3 hits, 1 earned run, 0 walks and 6 strikeouts), the Giants managed to take 2 of 3 from the Orioles to claim their first series victory since May 17-19 at Arizona. And with a 9-3 extra-inning win over the New York Mets in their next ballgame, skipper Bruce Bochy in his 13th year with the club, etched his name into the record books by becoming just the second Giants manager in franchise history (138 years) to win 1,000 games. One of only 25 managers in MLB history to have won 1,000 games with one team, Bochy who had won another 951 games at the helm of the Padres, is the most winningest manager in SF Giants history. And even if you combined the two records from Bochy's time with the Giants and Padres, he would still fall shy of the Giants' all-time leader in wins held by John McGraw who owns the club record with 2,583 wins as skipper of the New York Giants from 1902-1932. Unfortunately, Bochy's milestone would be the only positive during the Giants' trip to Queens as the Mets claimed the next two games to take the series.
Looking to put a forgettable month of May behind him in which he boasted an ERA of 19.16, starter Drew Pomeranz bounced back with five shutout frames over the Dodgers. And though he didn't factor in the decision, the Giants were able to pull off the 2-1 win and hand ace Clayton Kershaw his first loss in nearly a year (July 21, 2018), a span of 22 starts and snapping L.A.'s streak of 17 consecutive wins in games started by Kershaw. However, for the second consecutive series, the Giants would take Game 1 only to lose the next two and drop the series. With a day off before their next series, a short two-gamer against the San Diego Padres, the Giants would pull off the two-game sweep of their division rivals to claim their first home series victory since May 1. And with saves in each game, closer Will Smith improved to a perfect 16-for-16 in save opportunities to start the year, surpassing former Giant Craig Lefferts for the most consecutive saves to start a season among left-handers in franchise history; a record Smith would only add to. And with the Milwaukee Brewers coming into town for a three-game set, the Giants would see their longest winning-streak of the season reach four-games as San Francisco took the first two against the Brew Crew before losing in the finale.
Hitting the road to renew rivalries with the Dodgers once again, San Francisco would see another one of their young hurlers record career win No. 1 as Tyler Beede was next to answer the call. Holding L.A.'s menacing lineup to only 1-run over 6 stout innings, Beede pitched around five walks and struck out seven Dodger hitters to become just the fourth Giants pitcher during the SF era to record career win No. 1 at Dodger Stadium and the first since Shawn Estes on July 13, 1996. But yet again, the Dodgers would drop the first game only to storm back the rest of the way to take the series, three games to one. But a visit to the desert for a three-game series against the Diamondbacks would help the Giants get back on track as they took two of three from the snakes. And in Game 1 of that series, an 11-5 win, the Giants received a big game from one of their newest members in outfielder Alex Dickerson. Acquired via trade just 11 days earlier from the San Diego Padres, Dickerson made his Giants debut a memorable one as he collected a career-high 6 RBI's after going 3-for-5 at the plate, one of those hits being a 458-foot grand slam, the longest home run hit by a Giants player this season. With the grand salami, Dickerson became one of only three players in franchise history to hit a grand slam in his Giants debut, joining only Bobby Bonds (June 25, 1968) and Brandon Crawford (May 27, 2011).
Returning home to begin a seven-game homestand, Pomeranz took the mound against the Colorado Rockies, logging a 5 inning, 11 strikeout performance to tie a career-high in K's. It would be the most punchouts by a Giants pitcher in an outing of five or fewer innings since the current mound distance was established in 1893 and the first double-digit strikeout performance by a Giants pitcher since April of last year (Johnny Cueto). But unfortunately for him, his offense failed to show up as the Giants were blanked, 2-0. The team would get another strong outing the following day, this time by Madison Bumgarner (6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 11 K) who rebounded from his worst start of the season after allowing six earned runs in just 3 2/3 innings against the Dodgers. But Colorado would dust off the loss with a 6-3 win in the rubber-match to take the series, two games to one. Hosting the Dbacks for a four-game stint before turning the calendar to July, the Giants would get a "vintage" performance from their ace as Bochy put it. Following his first double-digit strikeout performance since April 2, 2017 against the Rockies, MadBum dazzled again to the tune of seven strong innings in which he allowed only one run on four hits, no walks and struck out nine Arizona hitters to tie his old teammate Tim Lincecum to become the franchises second leading strikeout leader. With 1,704 career K's, all in a San Francisco uniform, Bumgarner trails only Hall of Famer Juan Marichal for the most strikeouts in San Francisco Giants history.
Fading deeper and deeper into the abyss that is the NL Western Division standings heading into July, the Giants find themselves 19 games behind the first-place Dodgers despite June being their first winning month of the season. At 14-wins and 13-losses to bring their overall record to 36-47 at the halfway point of the MLB season, San Francisco will look to gain some momentum before entering the All-Star break. With a chance for the team to rest for a few days in anticipation for the second part of the season, one Giant who won't be missing out on the festivities is closer Will Smith. Named to his first career All-Star Game after logging a perfect 21-for-21 in save opportunities, the most saves before the All-Star break by a Giants lefty, Smith is the franchises first southpaw reliever to be named to the Midsummer Classic since Gary Lavelle in 1983. And his 21 consecutive saves to start a season are the most since Rod Beck converted 28 straight back in 1994. Having held opposing batters to the second-lowest on-base percentage (.218) and fourth-lowest OPS (.494) in the league among relievers, the 29-year old closer ranks 3rd in the National League in saves. And since taking over as the team's full-time closer in June of 2018, a role Smith was none too familiar with prior to being traded from the Milwaukee Brewers in 2016 as he had only one career save prior, Smith has run away with the job since becoming Bochy's ninth inning guy. Along with Bumgarner who's helped raise his stock with consecutive strong outings, Smith, the Giants' lone representative in this year's All-Star Game, could also have his days with the ball club numbered as we inch closer to the trade deadline and both players begin gaining attention from playoff contenders.
June would also see the Giants enter their first MLB Draft under new general manager Farhan Zaidi. Owning the 10th overall pick, the Giants would select outfielder Hunter Bishop out of Arizona State University. With many MLB scouts and analysts calling him a perennial All-Star, something the Giants have long been in need of in the outfield, Bishop compared himself to a mix between Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich when asked who he'd most liken his skill set to. And we all remember the last time an ASU outfielder batted lefty and manned the outfield for the Giants, just some guy named Barry Bonds. Coincidentally, the Bay Area native even went to the same High School as Bonds. The last two times the Giants held the No. 10 overall pick, they selected a pair of guys named Tim Lincecum (2006) and Madison Bumgarner (2007). Giants brass and fans alike are hoping to complete the trifecta with the recent selection of Bishop.
Follow me on Twitter: @FraserKnowsBest
Turning the page from June to July for the San Francisco Giants, only one win had separated the G-Men from the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers for tops in the league. But it wouldn't be long before Bruce Bochy saw his ball club climb atop the baseball ranks to capture baseball's top spot following a 7-2 start to the month before putting on the brakes in time for the All-Star break. Aside from Buster Posey and Johnny Cueto who started in the Mid-Summer Classic and Brandon Belt and Madison Bumgarner who made the trip to San Diego as reserves for the NL All-Star team, the rest of the Giants enjoyed their brief break from the game. Maybe a little too much as they appeared to still be on vacation after the All-Star festivities had concluded.
After cruising into the All-Star break with the best record in all of baseball (57-33) for only the second time since the franchise moved out west in 1958, and bested only by a 59-30 mark in 1993, San Francisco would hit a wall and begin to sputter by losing their first six games after the break, being swept on the road by both the Padres and Red Sox. The funk wouldn't end there, however, as they dropped two of three in the Bronx to the Yankees before returning home to lose two of three against the lowly Cincinnati Reds. Another pair of losses to the NL East-leading Washington Nationals would see the Giants' grasp on the NL Western division dwindle down to just a single game over the arch-rival Dodgers after a game in which the G-Men hit into the first ever 3-3-5 triple-play in baseball history and the Nationals' first triple-play since moving from Montreal to Washington in 2006. In need of a spark, the Giants welcomed back their emotional leader -- Hunter Pence (hamstring) off of the disabled-list as well as second baseman Joe Panik who had been battling a concussion, while also adding a bat by trading for Minnesota All-Star Eduardo Nunez. Leading the American League in steals with 26, the Giants went out and nabbed Nunez to fill the void at third base left by the injured Matt Duffy (Achilles) who's been out since mid-June. Nunez, 29 years old, comes in hitting .300 with 12 home runs and 47 RBI and serves as a utility man, playing just about anywhere along the infield.
The newest Giant would make a great first impression, as Nunez connected for a 2-run double in the fourth inning to tie the game in his first start with San Francisco. The Giants would utilize some small ball the rest of the way to seal the much needed win with a 5-3 victory. Though it would take them more than two weeks, the Giants would finally string together their first winning streak of the second half by taking the final two games against the Nats to split the four-game set and finish the month of July with their first pair of consecutive wins since the break. Before their second-half skid, the Giants had taken series victories against the Diamondbacks and Rockies by taking two of three against both clubs before sweeping Arizona at home to end the half. But while their July schedule was looked upon as rather easy, the month of August figures to be anything but, as they hit the road for a 9-game road trip to kickoff the month. After a three-game visit to Philadelphia to face the rebuilding but scrappy Phillies, the Giants will take on the Nationals once more before concluding their trip in Miami to square off with the wild card hopeful Marlins. And when returning to AT&T Park, San Francisco's first homestand won't be any easier as they welcome the Orioles, Pirates and Mets into town. A brief three-game stop in southern California to renew rivalries with the Dodgers will end the stretch of formidable opponents with the Braves and D-Backs rounding out the end of August.
While you would think the Giants would have the edge in a favorable match-up to begin the month of August by facing the Phillies with Bumgarner on the mound, not so fast as the Giants have actually lost six of the last eight games started by MadBum, including a loss at home to these same Phillies back in late-June. This after they had won his previous ten starts. Bumgarner has logged consecutive strong outings after a disappointing start the first game after the All-Star break, but has suffered from a lack of run support. The Giants hope to get him back on track at the hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park as they currently lead the division by two games ahead of the Dodgers and stand at 61-44 on the year after posting an 11-13 record in July.
The Giants also had one of the more busier afternoon's during the August 1 non-waiver trade deadline on Monday, trading for two lefty arms to address their need for pitching. Even days before the deadline was looming, the Giants had been rumored to be among the teams interested in Rays starting pitcher Matt Moore, but with a starting infielder likely who Tampa Bay wanted in return, San Francisco wasn't expected to pull the trigger on the pitcher who was brought up to be the future of the Rays organization. But with third baseman Matt Duffy battling an injury for over a month now and Nunez on the team, the Giants saw Duffy as expendable and turned those doubts into reality just minutes before the deadline by shipping him to Tampa along with a pair of prospects, including the highly-rated Lucious Fox (infielder). While some Giants fans would disagree, Duffy might not have been the toughest piece to part with, however, as the Giants also dealt their top pitching prospect in Phil Bickford, the club's No.1 draft pick a year ago. Bickford was packaged with catcher Andrew Susac to Milwaukee in exchange for high-volume strikeout reliever Will Smith.
Having been in need of an arm to solidify the bullpen practically all season long, the Giants finally acquired the late-inning relief help they've so desperately needed, but paid a hefty price in doing so. Expected to be added into the mix to pitch the later innings right away, Smith went 1-3 with a 3.68 ERA in Milwaukee this year, striking out 22 batters in 22 innings while missing the first two months of the season due to a knee injury. As for Moore, it's unsure who the lefty starter will replace in the starting rotation out of Matt Cain and Jake Peavy. Boasting a record of 7-7 and an ERA of 4.08 in 21 starts this season, Moore has been pitching lights-out as of late as is riding a hot streak in his last six starts, pitching to the tone of a 1.99 ERA since June 29. With both Moore and Smith 27 years of age and under club control through 2019, both players will have more than just this season to prove the Giants made the right move in giving up top talent at the Minor League level.
Follow me on Twitter: @FraserKnowsBest
