Struggling San Francisco Giants crush Phillies 10-0 behind Blach’s gem

The San Francisco Giants are coming off a brutal sweep at the hand of the Nationals at AT&T Park. Morale is near an all-time low, but a three game series against the Phillies could turn that around. The Giants best starter right now is Ty Blach, and he took the hill tonight in Philly against the young Jerad Eickhoff. 

In the very first inning, the Giants would score more runs than they did all of last game. Denard Span led off the game with a single, followed by an Eduardo Nunez double to put runners at second and third with no out. Belt would start the scoring off with a ground ball into the shift, misplayed by the second baseman, allowing Span to score. Buster Posey would strikeout, but Brandon Crawford would follow with a sac-fly, scoring Nunez and extending the lead to 2-0. The inning would continue with a Joe Panik double to right and an Orlando Calixte walk would load the bases for rookie Austin Slater, making his major league debut. Slater would ground out, ending the threat, but an impressive at bat nonetheless.

Ty Blach would set the Phillies down in order in the bottom of the first, and would come to bat in the the top of the second, starting the inning with a lead off walk. Denard Span would collect his second hit of the night, singling to right as Blach would advance to third. The bats just kept on producing as Eduardo Nunez singles in Blach and extends the lead to 3-0. Belt would ground into a fielders choice and Posey would walk to load the bases. A Crawford sac-fly would extend the Giants lead to 4-0 and thats all they would get in the top of the second.

Top of the third, Calixte will strike out and Slater would ground out, butting both rookies at 0-2 for the night. Giants would start a two out rally with another Ty Blach walk, who would move to third once again on another Denard Span hit to right. Runners on second and third, Nunez would walk and load the bases for Brandon Belt. Doing what he does best, Belt walks to bring in the Giants fifth run of the game. Posey up with the bases loaded would strikeout to end the threat, but more damage done for the hot Giants offense.

Ty Blach continues to cruise, as well as the offense. Crawford and Panik would both ground out to lead off the top of the fourth, but another two out rally allowed them to threaten once again. Calixte would single, Slater would walk and Blach would walk to load the bases, but this time no runs coming across.

Another inning, another rally for the Giants. Brandon Crawford would lead off the Giants half of the sixth with the Giants ninth walk of the game. Next batter Joe Panik would reach on a fielding error by the pitcher, as Crawford moves to second. Austin Slater would work a nice at bat and follow with his first major league hit, a run scoring single. And if you believe it, Ty Blach would finally record an out at the plate, after walking three times. Denard Span who is scorching hot in this game collects his fourth hit of the night which scores Crawford and extends the Giants lead to 7-0. This team has amazed us all year long, and for all the wrong reasons. But this game was like something we havent seen all year. Following Spans single, Nunez would come up and drill a ball in the gap, scoring two runs and making it a 9-0 Giants lead.

Giants bats would quiet down a bit, but would pick back up in the top of the ninth. Brandon Belt and Buster Posey would both single to start the inning. Brandon Crawford would ground out, but Joe Panik would follow with an RBI single, tacking on another run making it 10-0.

Ty Blach was absolutely masterful tonight and dominated the entire Phillies lineup. After a good night at the plate, Blach would go the distance, pitching his first career complete-game shut out. His command was on point, as he didnt walk a single batter. Final line for Ty Blach:

9.0 IP, 7H, 0 BB’s, 0 R’s 4 K’s on 112 pitches

Tonights game had lots of excitement, and many positive take-aways.

Ty Blach has been phenomenal. Since Bumgarner went down, Blach has pitched beautifully (other than that one game). Not only that, but he helps himself out at the plate with hits and walks almost every start. If your offense is struggling, helping yourself out as a pitcher can work wonders.

The Giants offense has been terrible lately, but a series like this against the Phillies could be what the teams needs to get rolling. After Philly, the Giants travel to Milwaukee and Minnesota, two teams off to surprisingly good starts.

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Eduardo Nunez is getting hot at just the right time. With the looming trade deadline about two months away, a red-hot Nunez could be an attractive piece to other teams, if the Giants decide to sell.

Production at the top of the lineup is huge. With both Span and Nunez swinging the bat well, the Giants offense can work wonders if they keep this up.

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A must-win game for the Giants propels them to a – victory over the Phillies. The second game of this three game series begins tomorrow at 1:05 PM PST. Johnny Cueto takes the mound against Ben Lively who makes his major league debut. Tune into KNBR 680 and NBCS, and check back in here for your source of all things Giants baseball.