The San Francisco Giants defeated the Atlanta Braves by scoring a lot of runs, the day after sealing their title as the worst offensive team in baseball.
Not a lot of things have gone right this year. The San Francisco Giants are still nine games out of .500, but that’s just where we’re at. Normally with Buster Posey out of the lineup, it’s probably fair to anticipate a loss. However, the Giants channeled that chubby kid who put spoons over his eyes and “blocked out the haterz.”
Not only did they score six runs, without Posey in the lineup, but Brandon Belt hit his 10th home-run of the season. Both of those things have been subject of fans, talking (bald) heads alike. It was the ultimate silence the haters game. Even then, they’re still nine games out, so oh well.
But Nick Hundley finally broke the streak of solo-homers! FINALLY. SOMEONE PUT THE BALL OVER THE FENCE WHILE THERE WERE RUNNERS ON BASE. Ironically, it was the dude who replaced the guy that everyone said we would lose without that player in the lineup.
Ty Blach stepped up huge, like YUUUUGE, in the absence of Madison Bumgarner, and tonight was no blip in the trend. 7.2 innings with five strikeouts, only nine base-runners allowed, and two earned runs. Solid. Really solid. We (I) wrote a piece earlier this week about how Ty Blach has been the most impactful rookie, and WE WERE RIGHT.
Frankly, this isn’t the normal recap you would expect from us, mainly because the person scheduled to write this one was sitting right above the Giants’ dugout tonight. Instead, I, Daniel Sperry, a Site Expert here at Around the Foghorn, was privileged with writing the recap, my third game story in five hours (I do soccer writing elsewhere). Therefore I am tired, and really have no filter on what I’m writing in this. I have mixed some salt all throughout here, so enjoy if you pick up on what I’m saying. Anyways, here are three take-aways:
- The Giants are still nine games under .500. That is just not good. They’d also need to go 19-10 if they wanted to reach 40-40. They need to kick it into gear, and put themselves in a position to contend when they get healthy. Getting to .500 ASAP is imperative if they want to do that.
- Nick Hundley can actually hit. He hasn’t gotten regular at-bats like he has in the past. However he leads the team in doubles, and finally got his first big-fly of the season. The Giants could use his bat just a little bit more, but overall Hundley has been a solid signing, and that isn’t surprising.
- I already mentioned Ty Blach, but my word has been awesome. He’s not going to be a 10+ K/9 type pitcher. But he knows how to be effective in getting outs thanks to his quite superior command. He also became an innings eater that the Giants didn’t know they had. He went 7.2 innings, making that five out of seven starts with seven or more innings pitched.
Next: Five outfielders the Giants need to target
Tomorrow’s game will decide who wins the series. Johnny Cueto will take the mound against R.A. Dickey. First pitch will be at 1:15 pm. You can tune in on NBCSBA or KNBR 680.