by
Greek Giant
In their 4-0 loss to the Padres last night the Giants had a grand total of three hits. They also were officially eliminated from any postseason possibilities but we all know they were really eliminated mentally and in our hearts when they lost three of four to the Rockies in Denver.
Last night Seth Lugo, the Padre starter, pitched the game of his life, going 8 2/3 innings after 120 plus pitches before Bob Melvin rightfully yanked him. He flummoxed the Giants all night with a variety of sliders, curves, and offspeed pitches. I saw Giant hitters way out in front making lifeless swings on many pitches and recording lifeless, easy outs in the process. There were not many hard hit balls by the team in orange and black. The one, a beautiful double off the Travis Ishikiawa Wall in right field by J. D. Davis in the bottom of the first inning was a fascinating play. The Padre announcers described the play this way: hard hit to right by Davis, off the wall and played perfectly by Tatis” NOPE! Tatis would bobble the ball when bendng over to pick it up because he was looking at second base prematurely. That little bobble allowed Davis to race to third where he would have been safe had he not over-slid and been tagged out trying to scamper back to the bag like a newborn crawling to its mama. It was the most fun and interesting play of the night. Unfortunately for the Giants the game went down hill after that.
Juan Soto hit two home runs to get a career-high 35 long balls. Remember when he was struggling so badly in April and. May people were saying he was washed up or injured or both?
NOPE!
John Brebbia started and gave up the first homer by Soto in the top of the first inning. He was yanked with one out in the top of the second because…. Interestingly, he had an animated, albeit seemingly friendly, chat with Giants Manager Gabe Kapler on the mound before giving his boss the baseball in the classic ritual of transition. Kapler seemed to be in good spirits about it so perhaps they were ribbing each other about the last Pusoy game in the clubhouse. More on that below.
This Brebbia-Kapler exchange 😅😂 pic.twitter.com/zFfQzs3ADl
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) September 27, 2023
The game was supposed to be started by Kyle Harrison but he was scratched with what was described as an “illness.” I hope he recovers quickly and can pitch again this season.
More Losing Baseball, More Bad Defense
There was a sequence in the top of the third inning that was another example of shoddy Giants defense and a mental breakdown. After Azocar grounded out and Sullivan singled to left Xander Bogaerts hit a soft grounder to second that Thairo Estrada was not able to make a play and fire an accurate throw on. Bogaerts made it safely and the ball escaped LaMonte Wade Jr. to a degree just far enough to let Sullivan get to third. This is a critical point in the game because the score is 1-zip Padres with one out and runners on first and third. Then Kin hits a routine, tailor-made grounder to Marco Luciano at short. If the Giants turn two the inning is over, the game stays at 1-0. For some reason, likely because he forgot the outs or he mis-characterized Bogaert’s advance as being too close to second, Lucian threw to first for one out. The run scores. It’s 2-0 San Diego.
This cannot happen!
The Giants Clubhouse
Yesterday in The Ahtletic Andrew Baggarly published an article documenting some disagreements in the Giants clubhouse, specifically to the attitude of some players seeming to accept losing too easily and playing clubhouse music. Evidently it’s a no-no to play music after a loss and the Giants do this with regularity. Joc Pederson was mentioned as a player who would rather play the aforementioned card game rather than study scouting reports. There was some second-hand quotes and basic clubhouse gossip that, frankly, would not be a big deal if the Giants were winning but since their season has gone off the rails it reflects quite poorly on Gabe Kapler and the Zaidi regime It’s a good read for the above reasons and for the Logan Webb quotes about wanting to win and expressing his frustration at the lack of intensity on the part of some of the Giants.
Brooks Robinson
Brooks Robinson, perhaps the greatest third baseman in the history of the game, died yesterday. MLB produced a beautiful tribute video. It’s a must watch.
Today’s Game
The finale of the three-game series with the Padres takes place today at 6:45 PM at Willie Mays Field. Sean Manaea will start for the Giants. The Padres pitcher will be Waldron.