What the San Francisco Giants Learned From the Astros Series

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HOUSTON, TX – MAY 22: Third base umpire Mike Muchlinski signals a fair ball after Evan Longoria #10 of the San Francisco Giants dives for and misses 2a ball hit by Jose Altuve #27 of the Houston Astros in the sixth inning at Minute Maid Park on May 22, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

I’m not going to sugarcoat it; this last series was a real head-shaker. As expected, the San Francisco Giants went into Houston to face the reigning champion Astros, and didn’t win a single game.

Call it a defeatist attitude, but the Giants really only put up a fight in the first couple of innings of each game. Then, as skill (not luck) would have it, the Astros proved why they were the better team.

Although Wednesday’s game was much closer than Tuesday’s, the whole series just felt like a bad nightmare. The Giants have an off day to snap out of it, but there will likely be some reflection on the last few days. What did the Giants learn? How can they prevent a road sweep from happening again? What did the Astros show them that no other team has this season?

All of these are questions that I’ve been pondering over the last day or so. These aren’t easy questions to answer, but simply put, the Giants were outmatched in nearly every facet. While the Astros feasted on mistakes from pitchers and fielders, the Giants squandered most of their opportunities. This just seems to be the tale of the first half so far. When it all seems like the Giants can snap out of it and put together a nice little win streak, some team comes along and takes the wind out of their sails.

This might be a depressing take, but it’s the reality we as fans have faced this season. However, they are some good things that the Giants have on the horizon. Believe it or not, there is more than one positive opinion to take away from this series…so let’s get into it.

HOUSTON, TX – MAY 23: Justin Verlander #35 of the Houston Astros has words with Alex Bregman #2 after the third out of the inning against the San Francisco Giants at Minute Maid Park on May 23, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

The Astros Are not a Pushover by Any Means…

After getting swept in the World Series by the White Sox in 2005, the Houston Astros went on a total tailspin. Don’t forget the three-year stretch where they lost 100+ games in consecutive seasons. It almost seems like a complete 180 from what the Giants were doing. But then, they started making all the right moves to position themselves to where they are now.

In the 2011 MLB Draft, the Astros got power-hitting George Springer with the 11^th overall pick, and the next year they picked up Carlos Correa in the 1^st round. The front office stuck with their guns on Jose Altuve, and kept putting extensions on his contract to ensure that he would stay with the Astros. Late last season, they bolstered their rotation by trading for Justin Verlander. In the off-season, they traded for Gerrit Cole, who surprised many with his red-hot start this season.

The point is, the Astros are not a team that you can just waltz by. There is a reason why they are World Champions. If anything, Wednesday’s game showed that the Giants can still play alongside some of the better teams. Although they made their mistakes, there are worse things than losing 4-1 to Justin Verlander and the Astros.

The Giants came into town missing their best two starters, and didn’t get pummeled in both games. Andrew Suarez still needs a lot of work and Jeff Samardzija needs to put a couple consistent starts together. The offense didn’t help them out much, but they were going against two of the best pitchers in the league. Scoring the way they did proved that this was a big challenge for them.

PITTSBURGH, PA – MAY 13: Hunter Strickland #60 of the San Francisco Giants pitches during the ninth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on May 13, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) /

The Bullpen Is Going to Be Just Fine

After putting the Giants far out of reach on Tuesday, the bullpen came out on Wednesday afternoon and kept the Astros offense at bay. In the off-season, the front office did what they could to reinforce a bullpen that struggled last season. I know what you’re thinking, “Nick, the Giants are in the bottom 10 of teams in bullpen ERA and just average in every other statistic.”

Nothing is perfect, but once Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto return, the bullpen will get more help. With those moves, the Giants will be able to send the younger bullpen arms to get more seasoning. They will also get Mark Melancon back in a couple of weeks, which will likely bring a closer by committee situation. Either that, or Hunter Strickland assumes his old role of righty specialist and late-inning relief, which I don’t really see happening.

Yes, the Giants have some guys in their bullpen who have not been helpful by any stretch. The bad does not outweigh the good, which brings them to a middle of the pack bullpen. However, their core guys consist of quality relievers who can secure wins with little issue. Considering the last couple of years, this is a welcome revival. I personally would rather have a bullpen that’s middle of the pack right now than dead last in all statistical categories.

I think it’s fair to say that the bullpen is at its worst when it’s losing by a large margin. When they need to keep the Giants in the game, they are certainly more than capable of putting guys out there who can. According to FanGraphs, the Giants are a Top 10 bullpen in terms of clutch situations.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – MAY 14: Brandon Belt #9 and Brandon Crawford #35 of the San Francisco Giants slap hands after they both scored on a bases loaded two-run rbi single from Kelby Tomlinson #37 against the Cincinnati Reds in the bottom of the third inning at AT&T Park on May 14, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

The Brandons Are Hot, and Everyone Should Take Notice

Overshadowed in the loss was Brandon Crawford‘s 10-game hit streak. In five of those games, he’s had multiple hits, putting an exclamation point on the streak. After starting off the year looking lost at the plate, Crawford has completely turned it around. His home run against Gerrit Cole marked his third home run for the month, after only hitting two in April. Crawford is now hitting .449 for the Month, going from a .189 to a .310 average in the span of 78 at-bats.

Brandon Belt would be riding a long hitting streak of his own if he was able to get a hit in last Friday’s bout against the Rockies. He didn’t have quite the slump his namesake had, but his hot bat has definitely been just as noticeable. After getting home runs in bunches over the past week or so, he sits at 11 for the young season. So far in May Belt has 10 multi-hit games, including one on Tuesday night.

The Brandons are busy kicking butt and taking names, so much that there is potential All-Star talk for the duo. At the beginning of the season, I would’ve been fine if they were both hitting above .250, so this definitely exceeds my expectations. The Giants need it right now more than ever, since some of their new additions are going through slumps of their own.

It’s been four years since the Giants have had three guys in their starting lineup hit .300 or better. While I don’t think the Brandons can sustain hitting over .400 every month, it would certainly be encouraging to see them have successful seasons. Both have been the receivers of criticism for their plate approach, so it’s nice to see critics eat their words.

Before I forget, I also want to acknowledge Gorkys Hernandez, who is looking like a starter more than a bench guy these days. He had the all-important triple against Verlander, and scored on a Buster Posey sac fly. Hernandez is really picking it up with the bat, and the Giants could use his defense in the outfield big time.

HOUSTON, TX – MAY 23: Buster Posey #28 of the San Francisco Giants doubles in the sixth inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on May 23, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

How Can They Find Their Groove in Chicago?

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The Cubs are just another team floating above .500. They have their good and their bad qualities, much like any other team.

The important thing is going to be the match-ups. The Giants cannot look at the Cubs like they’re going to walk into town and take two out of three, but they definitely have less of a challenge on their hands.

We’ll see a little bit different brand of pitching than we saw in the Houston series, on both sides. The Giants hitters should be able to take advantage of what is the middle of the Cubs’ rotation.

To the same token, the Giants starters need to be able to get past the fifth inning. This offense can only carry them so far, so it’s time for the starters to step up on the road and get it done. The Giants hit for a .202 average last season at Wrigley Field, a nearly 100 point boost from .106 in 2016. Of course, in 2016 the pitching was much better than what it is now, but that should very much work in the Giants’ favor.

With the Dodgers gaining on the Giants, there is no more room for error. The Giants cannot hope that other teams will do their dirty work for them, so they need to get back out there and start collecting wins.

Next: San Francisco Giants: Matt Cain Inducted into Bay Area Sports HOF

This team, even though it is down some key players, should be more than capable of doing what they need to do to stay in the race. They have shown it before, and they should have no problems doing it again.

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