San Francisco Giants: Matt Moore Gave up Less Runs, Received More of Same Result

Matt Moore sat 93, threw seven innings, only issued one walk, throws souvenir to stands mid-play and misses fan, hits an RBI and still loses.  Andrew Miller graces us with his presence and the San Francisco Giants finally announce what fans knew since April, the sell out streak is over.

Matt Moore’s quality start was refreshing but not enough as the San Francisco Giants fell to the Cleveland Indians by a score of 5-3 at AT&T Park on Monday night.

Moore knew that he needed to start this second half strong and find his mechanics. He may have been a tad erratic and he did miss some spots, but he competed all game and ended up going seven innings while walking just one batter.

Another positive in Moore’s game was a slight bump in his velocity. Moore has struggled to even sit at 90 MPH this season, so seeing him sit at 93 comfortably was a step in the right direction. However, it still isn’t the 94-97 MPH pitcher the San Francisco Giants thought they traded for.

The scoring started in the top of the third inning for the Indians as Yan Gomes homered to left for his sixth of the year giving the Tribe a 1-0 lead.

More from Around the Foghorn

• SF Giants: Brandon Belt’s surge has powered winning streak
• SF Giants hitting prospects week in review (8/28-9/10)
• SF Giants: Pitching depth bolstered with waiver claim
• SF Giants: How Steven Duggar fits into playoff picture
• SF Giants: Veteran starter poised to get one more opportunity

San Francisco Giants’ offense responded quickly and scored two runs in the bottom half of the third on a double by Gorkys Hernandez that scored Joe Panik from first. The play was originally ruled out at the plate, but Bochy challenged the play and it was overturned scoring the run.

Matt Moore would redeem himself for giving up more runs, and cashed in Hernandez with a RBI single of his own, his fourth RBI of the season.

San Francisco Giants’ offense would continue to add on in the fourth inning as Brandon Crawford doubled off the bricks in Triple’s Alley to score Buster Posey from first. Yes, you read that correct, Buster Posey scored from first on a double and he didn’t even injure himself, or require an air tank after. Without question the highlight of the game and with how this season is going probably the week.

Cleveland responded in the fifth inning by scoring on a throwing error by Matt Moore, when he fielded a comebacker and instead of flipping to first base, he surprised a fan and basically tossed a souvenir toward the stands. Of course, with Matt Moore’s control issues, he completely missed the fan and the kid was as devastated as Bochy was watching the play unfold.

With the score now being 3-2 Giants leading, the Indians’ Francisco Lindor lined a single to center to score Zimmer and tie the game.

Rookies never forget, and in the sixth inning Jae-Gyun Hwang got his revenge an inning later for Moore’s air mail toss to the stands, only this time, Hwang missed Moore and order was stored in the karma universe. This gave the Indians the 4-3 lead, as the error scored Jose Ramirez who doubled to lead off just prior.

That brings us to the fact that Hwang played first base tonight and how did he look? He looked like someone who plays anything but first base. He had his throwing error, and had trouble fielding from the pick, and adjusting to off track throws from across the diamond. Honestly, it wasn’t a bad idea, because I agree with Bochy and the confidence he has in Hwang’s bat. He needs consistent at bats, and one game at first base isn’t the end of the world. Belt is expected back in the lineup within the next game or two and is feeling much better in his wrist.

The Indians had a lead and a bad dude named Andrew Miller in the bullpen waiting, so the rest of the night wasn’t that much of a mystery.

Miller pitched two-thirds of an inning in the eighth without somehow recording a strikeout, which is evidence there is at least one person outside of the organization that feels sorry for the San Francisco Giants.

Cleveland added a run of insurance they didn’t need off of George Kontos. Kontos allowed a single and a walk before Lindor collected his second RBI single of the game bringing the game to its final score of 5-3.

Game Notes

• Matt Moore may have sat 93 during the game, but that wasn’t indicative of him solving his mechanical problems.  Moore was consistently missing his spots, and he got away with many good pitches to hit.  On the plus side, Moore had a really good feel for his changeup and threw it often, and in counts where he needed to make big pitches.  He threw the change in 2-0 counts, 3-1 and it was a difference maker.  I still wish he would go back to the cutter that changed him last season, but it was good to see him miss some bats tonight.  Only one walk was a big step, but don’t be fooled by the stat, his location misses still prove for some reason he still has to figure it out.

• Gorkys Hernandez has continued to swing a hot bat as of late.  Honestly, not sure if he’s just hitting a hot streak, or if he’s starting to figure out how to have his strengths contribute to the team.  He looks more relaxed and in the month of July he was slashing .308/.333/.346 coming into tonight’s game.  Granted, he’s only hit one XBH.

Next: Could the Giants Pull off a Blockbuster and Trade for Stanton?

Stay tuned to Around the Foghorn for all your San Francisco Giants’ breaking news, game recaps, and trade rumors as we approach the deadline!