by
Greek Giant
Carlos Rodon earned his 13th win of the year with five dominant innings and Austin Wynns drove in three runs with two excellent clutch hits in key situations as the Giants beat the Braves 4-1 to take the three-game series at Willie Mays Field. Braves starter Charlie Marton tried to throw an Uncle Charlie to Austin Wynns and the Giant catcher said “no-no” and promptly smacked a single down the right field line to get the Giants started on their way to a win. That hit came with two outs. His second knock came with the bases loaded and drove in a pair:
Austin Wynns comes up with a clutch hit π pic.twitter.com/4WKcWwJIHB
β SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) September 14, 2022
This was a banner win for the boys from San Francisco. They executed with tremendous defense, in particular by Brandon Crawford and Yaz.
Here is Yaz’s wonderful catch on a liner straight to center:
And all that Yaz π· pic.twitter.com/Sa90oocbyb
β SFGiants (@SFGiants) September 14, 2022
The Giants (and us fans) were the beneficiaries of solid pitching throughout. In addition to Rodon’s outing Camilo Doval earned the save. Just replay the final pitch of the game: a 98 MPH heater on the black around knee-high to Austin Riley: Strike Three. Game Over. Poor Riley, a fine player, was paralyzed.
Camilo closed the door πͺ pic.twitter.com/LEsTxu2i3p
β SFGiants (@SFGiants) September 14, 2022
Doval looks to be getting more and more confident and appears on the fast track to being one of theeee dominant closers in Major League Baseball. I wonder if the Giants should think outside the box and transform him into a starter? Just thinking out loud…
Then there was J. D. Davis, playing first on this sunny afternoon. He made a tremendous pick on a tremendous play up the middle by Brandon Crawford. Crawford just barely snagged a hot grounder that had “hit” written all over it. He then turned a fired a throw then twirled, all in one motion. Davis was able to grab the throw cleanly and record the all important out was recorded. It’s plays like these that help your pitcher and that your team has to make if they want to beat good teams, especially one like the Atlanta Braves, perhaps the most well-rounded team in baseball and my pick to win the World Series this year. Yesterday the Giants did just that.
Davis also had a big double:
J.D. Doubles pic.twitter.com/aBinajgPsi
β SFGiants (@SFGiants) September 14, 2022
It was only a blister that could defeat the mighty Rodon. The Giant lefty left after five innings of work allowing one unearned run and only two hits while recording eight strikeouts. He was fantastic. Gabe Kapler mentioned that the blister was a recurring issue and the Giants will examine it today. It is not a sure thing that Rodon will make his next start.
“It’s just something I’ve been dealing with all year. Whenever I get a lot of pressure on that slider, it just tends to crack and get that blood blister, so just something we’ve got to manage.”
Rodon now has 220 strikeouts, second only to Gerritt Cole’s 228 in the Major Leagues. Sign RODON NOW!
This is what ESPN said about the series:
“Atlanta lost two of three to the sub-.500 Giants. The Braves began the day a half-game behind the NL East-leadingΒ New York Mets.”
hahahahhahahaha
Sub-.500 indeed. Tape that on the locker room wall, Gabe Kapler! Keep it up to start the 2023 season.
Tyler Rogers, Scott Alexander and John Brebbia along with the aforementioned Doval, combined for four shutout innings. That’s quite an achievement against the Braves.
Injury News
Alex Wood still has issues with his shoulder impingement and has not started throwing yet. The Giants are now saying he may be shelved for the year, a move I agree with. There is no benefit to rushing Alex and he is one of my Wild Cards for next season. If Wood pitches well, the Giants make the postseason. He is kind of the bellwether of the Giants starters.
Luis Gonzalez was also held out of the line up with back stiffness. He is day-to-day.
Tomorrow’s Game
The Giants open a three-game series against the Dodgers in San Francisco this weekend. Tomorrow night’s pitching match-up is Logan Webb vs Dustin May. Game time is 7:15 PM.
Roberto Clemente Day
Happy Roberto Clemente Day, everyone. Today MLB and baseball fans honor the Pirate legend for his legendary play and his even more important philanthropy.
Today, we celebrate the everlasting legacy of Roberto Clemente. #ClementeDay pic.twitter.com/Sj8z0H9fMl
β MLB (@MLB) September 9, 2020