by
Greek Giant
When Evan Longoria was traded to the Giants I applauded the move. I had watched him play in many Rays games since I moved back to Florida in 2006. I was always impressed by his defense, his penchant for the big hit and his home run power. I assumed the trade made by Bobby Evans for Evan Longoria in exchange for Christian Arroyo, Denard Span, Stephen Woods (a pitching prospect) and Matt Krook (another pitching prospect) would be a slam dunk win for the Giants and may take them over the top in the National League West.
LOL!
Instead what we got was… to say the least, not the all-world, gold glove, big time hitter Longoria mostly was for Tampa Bay. Maybe it’s the hometown cooking (He’s from Florida). Maybe it’s the dome and air conditioning? Maybe it’s playing without the pressure of expectations or huge crowds???? Who knows. Whatever the case, Evan Longoria, up to now, has been largely a confounding player who may be on the downside of his career.
Last night, that confounding player went 4-5 with two Loooooong home runs and five runs driven in. It was quite a night. It’s fair to say the Giant third baseman, who was relegated to platooning with Pablo Sandoval, is now on a tear and looks like the player I saw in Tampa Bay.
Here is the second blast that damaged the Western Metal building in left field:
Great Odin’s raven!
#SFGiants pic.twitter.com/qAg5N13zcZ— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) July 3, 2019
With their third consecutive win and third in a row scoring at least ten runs, the Giants are suddenly hot. Brandon Belt went 3-6. So did Donovan Solano, who also homered and has played very well defensively since Brandon Crawford’s hamstring went all gimpy.
Kevin Pillar went 4-5 with another RBI and suddenly this Giants squad looks like what we were all dreaming of in our wildest, wettest, and most exotic sonambulent reveries during the winter of 2019.
Lost in the shuffle of yet another dynamic hitting performance was Tyler Beede. The young righty pitched the best game of his nascent Major League career going seven innings allowing only four hits, one run and ZERO walks. This was a huge step forward for the powerful right hander and former first round draft pick.
When a ballclub can score runs in bunches it reduces the PPP (pressure per pitch) ratio for every pitcher on the staff. It means a starter like Tyler Beede can relax and make his pitches knowing there is a bit of room for error and his team can respond if he gives up a run or two early. It changes the whole complexion of a team and a game. Conversely, since Madison Bumgarner’s outstanding start Sunday, this makes three great starts in a row with Smarge and Beede following up.
It was a great night to be a Giant.
Tonight Shaun Anderson faces at Cal Quantril. Craig Lefferts Park. First pitch is at 6:10 PM. It’s getaway day and the Giants are streaking into the All Star Break now only nine games under .500.