Tag Archives: San Francisco Giants

Phillies visit San Francisco for a season-defining long weekend

2019-08-08 Matt Veasey Leave a comment

The Philadelphia Phillies (59-55) will continue their roller-coaster ride of a 2019 regular season out west with a long weekend visit to face the host San Francisco Giants (56-59) at Oracle Park.

The Giants, who stormed back into the National League Wildcard playoff picture with a scorching hot July, have stumbled backwards in August. Since flipping the page over on the calendar, San Francisco has gone just 1-6.

Wins in just four of their last 13 contests, including dropped two of three to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, have dropped the Giants 3.5 out in that Wildcard race with four teams now standing between them and a spot in the postseason.

For the Phillies, losses in three of their last four games leave them tied for one of the two NL Wildcard berths. However, there are now five teams within 1.5 games of one another in what looks like it is shaping up to be a wild sprint (stumble?) down the stretch.

The biggest problem for both of these teams of late has been an inability to score runs. The Giants enter the series having put just 17 runs up on the scoreboard across their seven August games. That is an average of just 2.43 runs per game. Meanwhile, the Phillies have crossed the plate just 23 times over their own last half-dozen, or an average of 3.83 runs per contest.

The Giants have averaged just 4.24 runs per game over the entire 2019 season, the second-lowest per-game output in the National League. They also have registered the league’s second-lowest OPS, and have the second-lowest home run total in the NL, ahead of only the rebuilding Miami Marlins in each of those categories.

Things aren’t much better statistically on the mound for San Francisco. The pitching staff ranks just 10th of the 15 NL ball clubs in batting average against (.254) and OPS against (.754) as well as strikeouts. The Giants came in at 18th of the 30 teams in Major League Baseball in our latest MLB Power Rankings released one week ago, with the Phillies ranking in the No. 14 position.

With so many teams between them and a postseason berth, this is now a pivotal series for the host Giants. If the Phillies manage to somehow take three of four here, that would probably sound the death knell for the 2019 season by the bay.

For their part, the Phillies need to come out of this with at least a split. That would allow the club to return home next week having gone no worse than 3-4 in a two-city western swing.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

TOP LINEUP THREATS

Kevin Pillar (30/CF): .252/.281/.420, 13 HR, 42 XBH, 56 RBIs, 55 runs, 9 steals

Brandon Belt (31/1B): .233/.347/.390, 12 HR, 33 XBH, 39 RBIx, 57 runs

Evan Longoria (33/3B): .239/.314/.439, 13 HR, 30 XBH, 39 RBIx, 38 runs

Pablo Sandoval (32/3B): .267/.312/.507, 14 HR, 37 XBH, 41 RBIs, 42 runs

Mike Yastrzemski (28/LF): .264/.316/.477, 10 HR, 24 XBH, 34 RBIs, 37 runs

Scooter Gennett (29/2B): .218/.233/.310, 1 HR, 6 XBH, 7 RBIs, 5 runs (90 plate appearances with CIN/SFG)

Gennett arrived in a trade deadline deal from the Cincinnati Reds, leading to the release of longtime Giants second baseman Joe Panik.

SPOTLIGHT PLAYER

Buster Posey: A Georgia native now in his 11th big-league season, Posey was the first round pick of the Giants at 5th overall in the 2008 MLB Draft out of Florida State University.

After receiving a cup of coffee in September 2009, Posey became the Giants starting catcher in the 2010 season. He won the NL Rookie of the Year Award and finished 11th in NL MVP voting, then led the Giants past the Phillies in five games in the NLCS enroute to the first World Series championship for the franchise in 56 years.

Two years later, Posey made his first of six NL All-Star teams, won his first of four NL Silver Sluggers, and won that NL MVP Award. He also once again helped the Giants to a World Series crown.

Posey and the Giants would add a third World Series championship to their franchise trophy case in the 2014 season. In 2016, Posey won his long career NL Gold Glove Award at catcher.

The wear and tear of catching more than 900 games at the big-league level have taken their toll on Posey, who is now 32-year-old. Still, he has been behind the plate in 74 of the team’s 115 games this season.

He received a nine-year contract at $167+ million which runs through the 2021 season with a 2022 team option. It will be interesting to see whether the Giants can remain a playoff contender over the next year or two, and if not, whether he could end up moving on to another team. For all the world, Posey feels like a one-team player to me, and he will make an interesting Hall of Fame case one day late in the 2020’s.

GIANTS SHEDULED STARTING PITCHERS

Thursday – Madison Bumgarner (29/LH): 6-7, 3.92 ERA, 3.82 FIP, 1.175 WHIP, 140 hits over 144.2 IP across 24 starts with a 142/30 K:BB

Friday – Tyler Beede (26/RH): 3-6, 5.38 ERA, 5.50 FIP, 1.602 WHIP, 84 hits over 73.2 IP across 15 games (13 starts) with a 69/34 K:BB

Saturday – Jeff Samardzija (34/RH): 8-9, 3.70 ERA, 4.43 FIP, 1.164 WHIP, 111 hits over 126.1 IP across 23 starts with a 110/36 K:BB

Sunday – Conner Menez (24/LH): 0-1, 5.73 ERA, 7.49 FIP, 1.273 WHIP, 9 hits over 11 IP across 2 starts with a 10/5 K:BB

THE SKIPPER

Bruce Bochy – (reprinted from CBP series 7.30.19)

Now 64 years of age, Bochy was actually born in Landes de Bussac, France while his father was serving in the U.S. Army. His family ultimately moved to Florida, and he became the first round draft choice at 23rd overall in the 1975 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros.

Bochy reached the big-leagues with Houston in 1978, beginning what would become a nine-season career as a player in Major League Baseball. A catcher, he was famously plowed into by Pete Rose, who was scoring what would prove to be the winning run in the top of the 10th inning as the Phillies rallied to tie up the 1980 NLCS at two games apiece. He was the backup catcher with the San Diego Padres team that won a National League pennant in 1984.

After his retirements as a player, Bochy was hired to manage in the San Diego minor league system. In 1993 he was moved up to the big club, taking over as the third base coach. Then for the 1995 season, Bochy was finally hired as manager of the Padres. Over 12 years as skipper in southern California, Bochy amassed a 951-975 record, guiding the Friars to four division crowns and a 1998 NL pennant.

Let go following the 2006 season, Bochy immediately caught on as manager with the division-rival Giants, and has been the skipper in San Francisco ever since. Over 13 years by the bay, Bochy has a 1,029-1,021 record and has led the Giants to three World Series titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014. His 2016 team went to the postseason as a Wildcard team.

Overall, Bochy is now in his 25th consecutive season as a manager in Major League Baseball. He has a combined record of 1,980-1,996 between his work with the Padres and Giants organizations. He is just 28 wins behind Leo Durocher for 10th place on the all-time MLB managerial wins list, 60 behind Walter Alston for 9th place on that list. That top ten spot is his goal, as Bochy has battled health issues and has already announced that this will be his final season as manager.

THE BALLPARK

Oracle Park: Originally opened for the 2000 season as “Pac Bell Park” and having undergone two prior name changes, most recently to “AT&T Park”, this gorgeous facility took on the “Oracle Park” name this season.

Lying off the San Francisco Bay, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is visible from the right field bleachers, beyond which lies China Basin, now nicknamed “McCovey Cove” after Hall of Famer Willie McCovey. The Cove is a hangout via kayack and small water craft for souvenir hunters hoping to snare a home run ball flying entirely out of the yard.

To hit a ball into that cove, batters have to lift one over the 24-foot high right field wall, that number in feet chosen to honor Willie Mays, the Hall of Famer who wore that number with the Giants.

Behind the left field bleachers is a giant Coca-Cola bottle, which lights up after any Giants home run. Playground slides can be found inside the bottle, which is located in a park-like area. Next to the bottle is the “Giant 1927 Old-Time Four-Fingered Baseball Glove” art work.

It is 309 feet down the right field line to that wall, out to 365 feet in right field and 421 to right-center, the deepest part of the ballpark. Around to dead center field it is 399 feet, then 404 in left-center, 364 in left field, and finally 339 feet down the left field line.

Though the Giants have won three World Series titles earlier in this decade – 2010, 2012 and 2014 – all of those championships were clinched on the road. The ballpark has been the site of three no-hitters, including a 2012 ‘Perfect Game’ thrown by Matt Cain.

The semi-finals and championship round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic were held here, and the park was an official sellout for Giants games over 794 consecutive games between October 2010 and July 2017.

SERIES WEATHER REPORT

Thursday: Partly cloudy with temps dropping from the lower-60’s at the 9:45 pm EDT first pitch into the upper-50’s during the series opener with winds moderate off the bay and just the slightest chance of precipitation.

Friday: Partly cloudy with temps in the lower-60’s at the 10:15 pm EDT first pitch and remaining consistent all evening with winds moderate off the bay and a 20% chance of precipitation during the game.

Saturday: Sun breaking out for the 4:05 pm EDT first pitch with winds moderate off the bay and a 20% chance of precipitation during the game.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, gorgeous afternoon for what will be a 7:05 pm EDT first pitch. Winds moderate off the bay and a 20% chance of precipitation during this ESPN Game of the Week.

San Francisco area forecast from The Weather Channel

Originally published at Phillies Nation as “Phillies opposition preview: San Francisco Giants“

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Phillies host Giants in series finale at Citizens Bank Park

2019-08-01 Matt Veasey Leave a comment

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Fans flock to Citizens Bank Park for Phillies day baseball

The Philadelphia Phillies (56-51) host the San Francisco Giants (55-53) in the rubber match of a three-game series on Thursday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.

For both the Phillies and Giants, this is yet another key match-up as both clubs continue to remain in contention for a National League Wildcard playoff berth.

The Phillies enter the game tied with the Washington Nationals in the loss column for the second of two postseason Wildcard spots, one game behind the Chicago Cubs and Saint Louis Cardinals. Those two are tied for the NL Central lead and the first Wildcard spot.

Unable to get any momentum going in either direction, the Phillies continue to tread water in the standings. They have not lost more than two straight since the middle of June. The Phillies have also won as many as three in a row just once in that same span.

In exactly one week from now, these same two teams will be opening a four-game long weekend series at Oracle Park in San Francisco. So, if familiarity breeds contempt, expect some hot match-ups over the next ten days as Gabe Kapler and Bruce Bochy try to separate their clubs from one another and the rest of the Wildcard pack during the dog days of August.

THURSDAY STARTING LINEUPS

PHILLIES

GIANTS

SHIBE VINTAGE SPORTS STARTING PITCHING MATCHUP

Phillies – Jake Arrieta: 8-8, 4.51 ERA, 4.99 FIP, 1.456 WHIP, 133 hits over 123.2 IP with a 95/47 K: BB

Giants – Dereck Rodriguez (27/RH): 4-5, 4.99 ERA, 5.19 FIP, 1.386 WHIP, 62 hits over 61.1 IP with a 42/23 K:BB

PHILLIES NUGGETS PREGAME NOTES

Rodriguez has one previous career appearance against the Phillies. On June 3 of last season, he allowed just one run on five hits over six innings, striking out six and walking two in a 6-1 Giants victory.
Hernandez leads the Phillies and is 2nd among all NL second baseman in hits (113) this year. His 34 multi-hit games also leads the team.
Realmuto leads all MLB catchers with 24 attempted base stealers thrown out this season.
Franco is the only National League hitter this season with at least 15 HR and fewer than 50 strikeouts

TICKET IQ PROGRAMMING INFORMATION

Thursday July 31 at 7:05 pm EDT vs. the San Francisco Giants at Citizens Bank Park
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia; MLB Network (out-of-market only)
Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP; WTTM 1680 (Spanish)

Originally published at Phillies Nation as “Phillies and Giants square off in Thursday series finale matinee“

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Phillies will try to take series over Giants on Wednesday night

2019-07-31 Matt Veasey Leave a comment

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Phillies welcome the Giants back in to Citizens Bank Park

The Philadelphia Phillies (56-50) and San Francisco Giants (54-53) continue their series on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park in South Philly.

As a result of their 4-2 victory in the series opener on Tuesday night, the Phillies have moved into a tie for the second National League Wildcard playoff berth with the Chicago Cubs, trailing the Washington Nationals by just a half-game and tied with the Nats in the loss column.

The loss dropped the Giants three games back in that loss column. San Francisco entered the series as the hottest team in Major League Baseball over the last six weeks, having won 23 of their previous 33 games to get back into the postseason picture.

Just prior to the MLB trade deadline, which passed at 4:00 pm this afternoon, both clubs swung deals. The Phillies added veteran outfielder Corey Dickerson from the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Giants sent relievers Sam Dyson, Drew Pomeranz, Mark Melancon and Ray Black away, with Melancon going to the Atlanta Braves. San Francisco also acquired second baseman Scooter Gennett from the Cincinnati Reds.

After coming with what appeared to be a very weak, inexperienced lineup on Tuesday night, Giants manager Bruce Bochy, who will be retiring after this season, has loaded the batting order with veterans for this Wednesday night tilt.

With scattered showers and thunderstorms in the forecast, tonight’s game could prove a challenge for the pitching staffs of both clubs. Storms have already been rolling through Philly on and off during the afternoon. There is a 60% chance at the scheduled first pitch, dropping to 40% throughout the remainder of the ball game.

WEDNESDAY STARTING LINEUPS

PHILLIES

GIANTS

SHIBE VINTAGE SPORTS STARTING PITCHING MATCHUP

Phillies – Vince Velasquez: 3-5, 4.46 ERA, 65 hits over 66.2 IP across 22 games (12 starts) with a 79/26 K:BB. Velasquez has made three career starts vs the Giants: 1-1, 3.12 ERA, 13 hits over 17.1 IP with a 27/5 K:BB

Giants – Jeff Samardzija (34/RH): 7-8, 3.95 ERA, 4.58 FIP, 1.178 WHIP, 105 hits over 116.1 IP across 21 starts with a 102/32 K:BB. Samardizja is in his 12th year in the big-leagues and is signed through the 2020 season.

PHILLIES NUGGETS PREGAME NOTES

Since their season-long seven-game losing streak ended on June 24, the Phillies have won 17 of their last 29 games and their .586 winning percentage in that stretch ranks tied for third among all National League teams.
After Tuesday night’s victory, the Phillies are now 35-13 when scoring first, 49-13 when scoring four or more runs, 45-6 when leading into the late innings (after six), 36-5 win outhitting their opposition, 50-27 when hitting at least one home run.
The Phillies have now won seven straight games against the Giants at Citizens Bank Park. It is the club’s longest win streak against San Francisco since winning eight in a row over the 1990-91 seasons at Veteran’s Stadium.
Since June 24, the Phillies are averaging 5.07 runs per game, nearly a half-run improvement over their performance across the season’s first 77 games.
Rhys Hoskins (79) and Bryce Harper (71) rank 1-2 in the National League in Walks. The Phillies have not had a pair of teammates lead the league at 1-2 in free passes since Gavvy Cravath and Dave Bancroft with the 1915 NL pennant winners.
Phillies three southpaw relievers have been hot. Adam Morgan has allowed 1 unearned run on 3 hits with 10 K’s in 8.2 IP during July and has held opponents to a .165/.259/.272 slash line this season, with lefty hitters just 2-30 (.067) with 11 SO against him since May 13. Jose Alvarez has not allowed a run in his last 10.1 IP across 9 appearances, has a 1.62 ERA over 33.1 IP since April 19, and lefty batters are hitting just 4-for-25 (.160) against him since June 22, including 1 for the last 15. Ranger Suarez had a 0.68 ERA for more than a month, allowing just 1 earned run over 13.1 IP across 10 appearances between June 23 and July 24.

TICKET IQ PROGRAMMING INFORMATION

Wednesday July 31 at 7:05 pm EDT vs. the San Francisco Giants at Citizens Bank Park
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP; WTTM 1680 (Spanish)

Originally published at Phillies Nation as “Phillies go for series win in battle of Wildcard contenders“

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Drew Smyly strong again on mound in series opener vs Giants

2019-07-31 Matt Veasey Leave a comment

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Phillies get second straight strong outing from Drew Smyly

The Philadelphia Phillies left tons of base runners in scoring position, 10 left on base total, on a steaming hot Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park, but still came away with a 4-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants.

With the win, the Phillies (56-50) moved three games up on the Giants (54-53) in the overall National League Wildcard race standings. Based on the results of other games involving that race, the Phillies will end the night tied for one of the two available Wildcard postseason berths.

The two teams battled through the first three innings scoreless, with the Phillies leaving a runner out at second base in each frame. But it would be the home side getting on the board first, finally pushing two runs across in the bottom of the 4th inning.

J.T. Realmuto and Cesar Hernandez started that inning with singles, with Realmuto rolling around to third base on the Hernandez base hit. Maikel Franco then hit into a 4-3 ground out, but Realmuto raced home with the game’s first run. Adam Haseley then ripped a double to right, with Hernandez racing around to make it a 2-0 game.

In the bottom of the 5th inning, the Phillies powered up with the longball to double their lead. After Bryce Harper drew a one-out walk, Rhys Hoskins crushed his 23rd home run of the season out to center field, pushing the Phillies out on top by a 4-0 margin.

The real story on this night for the home side was the pitching of newcomer Drew Smyly. The southpaw was brilliant, allowing just four hits and a walk over seven shutout frames, striking out five Giants batters.

In the 8th, manager Gabe Kapler went to Nick Pivetta out of the bullpen. Pivetta promptly surrendered a pair of solo home runs, to Brandon Belt with one out and Stephen Vogt with two outs, cutting the Phillies lead in half.

Hector Neris then came on for the 9th inning, and the closer set the Giants down in order to clinch the victory. The Phillies and Giants will try to go at it again on Wednesday evening in South Philly with showers and thunderstorms looming in the weather forecast.

SHIBE VINTAGE SPORTS STARTING PITCHING PERFORMANCE

Phillies – Drew Smyly: 7 IP, 4 hits, no runs, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts. 103 pitches, 71 for strikes.

Giants – Tyler Beede: 5 IP, 10 hits (1 HR), 4 earned, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts. 86 pitches, 58 for strikes.

PHILLIES NUGGETS PLAYER OF THE GAME: DREW SMYLY

For the second straight start since being signed as a free agent, the southpaw gave the Phillies a strong outing. He used key strikeouts, a pair of big double play balls, and a nice caught stealing to keep the Giants off the scoreboard.

Over 13 innings with the Phillies, Smyly has now allowed just one run on eight hits, walked three, and struck out 13 opposing batters. Who knows how it will go over the longer haul, even just down the stretch this season. But right now, Smyly is giving the beleaguered Phillies starting rotation an incredible shot in the arm at just the right time.

TICKET IQ NEXT GAME

Wednesday July 31 at 7:05 pm EDT vs. the San Francisco Giants at Citizens Bank Park
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP; WTTM 1680 (Spanish)

Originally published at Phillies Nation as “Phillies all smiles as Drew Smyly provides another stellar outing”

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Giants stomp into South Philly as surprise Wildcard contenders

2019-07-30 Matt Veasey Leave a comment

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Bruce Bochy is in his final season as Giants skipper

The Philadelphia Phillies (55-50) and San Francisco Giants (54-52) are each squarely in the hunt for a National League Wildcard playoff berth with just nine weeks remaining in the 2019 MLB regular season.

However, the two teams came to that race in very different ways. The Phillies bolted out to a hot start over the season’s first two months, leading the NL East Division into late May before stumbling.

The Giants, on the other hand, stumbled out of the gate. As late as June 29, San Francisco found themselves a dozen games below the .500 mark. With the second-worst record in the National League, they sat 8.5 back of a Wildcard berth, 19.5 out and in last place in the NL West.

But the Giants suddenly and unexpectedly turned their season around, and turned the playoff race on its head. They have won 19 of their last 24, moved to second place in their division, and are just 2.5 back in the Wildcard hunt, 1.5 back of the Phillies.

The franchise has won three World Series titles in this decade: 2010, 2012 and 2014. They also reached the playoffs in 2016, the last postseason appearance for the team. With an aging ball club that has finished a collective 60 games below .500 over the last two seaons, this winning burst has shocked most in the game. Can it continue? Can this team possibly sustain their recent hot streak?

On Wednesday, the MLB trade deadline arrives. It was expected that the Giants were going to be a seller. That was the general consensus as recently as three weeks ago. Now, could Farhan Zaidi instead become a buyer, hoping to inject just enough talent to push the Giants back to the postseason for another run?

The Giants offense has averaged just 4.37 runs per game this season, 25th of the 30 teams in baseball. Their 109 home runs are next-to-last in the NL, as is their .698 OPS. Their combined .237 batting average is the lowest mark in the league, and their 28 steals are tied for last. In other words, this is a team that even Phillies pitching without Aaron Nola getting a start should be able to contain.

On the mound, Giants pitching is middle-of-the-road with a .251 batting average against, and ranks 13th in strikeouts and 14th in OPS against. In other words, they should not be a major challenge for the Phillies inconsistent offense.

These two teams have played one another tough over the last three seasons, with the Phillies holding an 11-9 edge in those head-to-head meetings. They will meet again by the bay at Oracle Park in San Francisco in a four-game series during the second week of August.

This is a veteran Giants team that has suddenly remembered what it was like to win 7-8-9 years ago. Many of the position players were around with those title teams. That makes them tough while they are hot. But frankly, this is a team that the Phillies ought to be able to handle. This needs to be a series win, preferably a sweep for the home team.