16-Pitch Difference

Jul 15, 2022 | 2022 Offseason, Latest Post

by
Greek Giant

In last night’s 3-2 ten-inning loss to the Brewers the Giants were outhit 13-4 and had many chances to win the game. With Corbin Burnes and Carlos Rodon pitching you expect a tight and low-scoring affair and that’s what we got last night. To make matters agonizing the winning run, Christian Yelich at second to start the 10th in the T-Ball rule, scored when Camilo Doval could not get too a swinging bunt down the line at third. It would have been a hit all the way and it was simply bad luck for the boys in orange and black. The winning run scored and the Giants could not counter in the bottom of the tenth inning. Game over.

Carlos Rodon’s Night

Carlos Rodon pitched five innings and allowed eight hits on one run with three walks and seven strikeouts. He threw 99 pitches and all and had what by any measure would be a strong outing. However it was one at bat that cost him at least another inning and that was against Johnathan Davis who saw 13 pitches and walked to wear down Carlos the Magnificent just enough to force the Giants to go the bullpen an inning earlier than they wanted. That mattered because in the top of the sixth inning and down 2-1 the Brewers tied the game off John Brebbia. So, again, it’s the little things that good teams do and bad teams don’t that make the difference in ballgames like this.

Rodon had his moments however and none like the top of the second that saw the Brewers load the bases with nobody out. Rodon then proceeded to strikeout the next three batters with an array of sliders and heaters that got the crowd roaring and the Brewers talking to themselves. It was fun.

The Giant Runs and Counsell’s Decision

In the bottom of the third inning the Giants scored their only two runs on a passed ball and an RBI single by Joc Pederson. Corbin Burnes was pretty much un-hittable thereafter and before the third. He would end up going 7 1/3 innings and throwing 115 pitches. If you think Brewers Manager Craig Counsell didn’t want this game just look at that stat gain: 115 pitches from his ace on the road. That 16- pitch difference between Rodon and Burnes was the difference in the game as I see it. Counsell, for reasons unknown to this casual observer, decided to ride his horse as long as he could in a bit of old-school managing he is not usually known for.

The Giants had their scoring chances with the bases loaded and two on in other frames. They could not advance runners and they could not get that two-out RBI hit (except for Pederson’s RBI single). It was that kind of night.

Speaking of Pederson, in the top of the 6th the Brewers scored their first run when Willy Adames singled to left with Davis on second. A good throw by Pederson gets the runner at home as Davis did not get a good jump and the Brewers were testing the Giant outfielder. Pederson’s 4 hopper might have still nailed the runner but Joey Bart could not field it cleanly just as the runner slid home. It’s a play that is made by good teams. It’s an example of the Giants defensive limitations, namely Pederson’s.

Here’s Joc’s RBI single. That’s all I’ve got for you today, Giants fans:

Yesterday’s Attendance and the Giants Ranking in MLB

Yesterday’s announced attendance was 26,994. If you believe that I have a bridge to sell you in Oakland. The crowd was very sparse, more like 16,000 if I’m being generous. Last night’s game was between the beloved Giants and one of the top teams in the National League with a sterling starting pitching matchup between Rodon and Burnes. If that does not get people to Willie Mays Field I don’t know what will. The Giants have a major problem with their attendance. I have already written about this before but I will repeat my theories: It has nothing to do with Covid and everything to do with the perception that Giants ownership is pinching pennies and the roster lacks star power, that electric player that makes every game an event.

MLB Attendance, 2022 (courtesy of ESPN)

2022 Attendance Home Road Overall
RK TEAM GMS TOTAL AVG PCT GMS AVG PCT GMS AVG PCT
1 LA Dodgers 43 2,058,977 47,883 0.0 45 30,365 0.0 88 38,925 0.0
2 St. Louis 47 1,820,545 38,735 0.0 44 27,373 0.0 91 33,241 0.0
3 Atlanta 51 1,944,625 38,129 0.0 39 29,766 0.0 90 34,505 0.0
4 NY Yankees 44 1,657,166 37,662 0.0 43 26,135 0.0 87 31,965 0.0
5 San Diego 43 1,589,983 36,976 0.0 47 29,204 0.0 90 32,917 0.0
6 Houston 39 1,279,805 32,815 0.0 48 26,430 0.0 87 29,292 0.0
7 Chicago Cubs 47 1,531,001 32,574 0.0 42 30,551 0.0 89 31,619 0.0
8 Colorado 47 1,525,756 32,462 0.0 42 23,414 0.0 89 28,192 0.0
9 Boston 43 1,386,099 32,234 0.0 47 25,217 0.0 90 28,570 0.0
10 NY Mets 40 1,266,756 31,668 0.0 46 29,914 0.0 86 30,730 0.0
11 LA Angels 47 1,453,164 30,918 0.0 43 27,188 0.0 90 29,136 0.0
12 Toronto 46 1,404,479 30,532 0.0 43 27,372 0.0 89 29,005 0.0
13 San Francisco 45 1,368,469 30,410 0.0 42 27,287 0.0 87 28,902 0.0
14 Milwaukee 40 1,191,123 29,778 0.0 50 25,706 0.0 90 27,515 0.0
15 Philadelphia 44 1,271,743 28,903 0.0 44 31,134 0.0 88 30,018 0.0
16 Texas 44 1,086,677 24,697 0.0 41 21,616 0.0 85 23,211 0.0
17 Seattle 44 1,083,451 24,623 0.0 46 22,700 0.0 90 23,640 0.0
18 Chicago White Sox 44 1,062,445 24,146 0.0 43 22,519 0.0 87 23,342 0.0
19 Washington 48 1,050,797 21,891 0.0 43 23,970 0.0 91 22,874 0.0
20 Minnesota 45 974,503 21,655 0.0 45 18,499 0.0 90 20,077 0.0
21 Detroit 44 888,592 20,195 0.0 43 24,150 0.0 87 22,150 0.0
22 Arizona 48 936,305 19,506 0.0 41 27,776 0.0 89 23,316 0.0
23 Cincinnati 46 828,777 18,016 0.0 43 31,132 0.0 89 24,353 0.0
24 Baltimore 41 678,635 16,552 0.0 47 24,936 0.0 88 21,029 0.0
25 Cleveland 38 606,461 15,959 0.0 45 23,650 0.0 83 20,129 0.0
26 Kansas City 46 725,359 15,768 0.0 42 22,244 0.0 88 18,859 0.0
27 Pittsburgh 43 641,753 14,924 0.0 46 28,272 0.0 89 21,823 0.0
28 Tampa Bay 46 628,680 13,666 0.0 43 24,667 0.0 89 18,981 0.0
29 Miami 41 473,849 11,557 0.0 46 29,055 0.0 87 20,809 0.0
30 Oakland 42 362,756 8,637 0.0 47 24,685 0.0 89 17,111 0.0

If you look at attendance across Major League Baseball, the Giants are ranked 13th, more or less in the middle of the pack, with an average of around 30,000 per game and 1.36 million for the year after 42 games. While some some teams ahead of them have played more games and the Giants ranking may climb a few notches after a full slate, it is a bit surprising that after so many sellouts and huge crowds as recently as 2019 the Giants have become more or less a middlin’ franchise in terms of butts in the seats. These are not terrible figures but by no means are they elite. To put the attendance in perspective, the Giants are being out-drown by the likes of Toronto, Colorado, the Angels and the Cubs.

This is not good folks.

Today’s Game

It will be Brandon Woodruff against Alex Wood at 10:15 PM at Willie Mays Field for game two of the four-game series.