by
GreekGiant
Sometimes you just need to be grateful and not worry about how you got what you wanted. While this win will not give us all much confidence that the Giants are primed for a postseason run, it was gratifying nonetheless. Kelby Tomlinson’s single with one out in the top of the tenth drove home Angel Pagan. Denard Span followed that hit with blistering home run down the right field line that may have broken the sound barrier to give the Giants a little cushion.
The Perils of Madbum
After blowing a 6-0 lead, the Giants bullpen hung tough against a suddenly dangerous and powerful Padres lineup. Madison Bumgarner was not quite himself allowing three homers and exiting in the 6th. He has looked off at times, perhaps fatigued. No pitcher in the Majors has thrown more pitches than Madbum. Or, perhaps he is just bored with the offseason and wants to start the playoffs so he can add to his legend… It must be so very difficult to play among mere mortals when you have already built your custom home in Mount Olympos down the street from Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax…
Sergio Romo secured the save with a game-ending double play after giving up two hits in the tenth. Bruce Bochy did his thing employing relievers like bullets in a Gattling Gun, seemingly never-ending and automatic.
The bottom line is the Giants are now tied with the Mets for the first Wildcard spot.
This was a game where the Giants bats work up with some big hits. The offense produced with RBIs from Panik, Nunez, Posey and Pence, in addition to the heroics of Tomlinson and Span.
Eduardo Nunez made a fantastic play on a pop-up Buster Posey could not find in the San Diego twilight of the home plate area.
Denard Span, the much-maligned center fielder was in the middle of a bad September.
Breckeroni thinks this is more torture than 2010
Giants Baseball – Torsion
And sometimes torpid.
Only got to watch the first inning, then gave a dinner party. Bochy must be a genius.
Hawking of the Dugout, baby!
Did you enjoy the game?
Yes.
The Span homerun and Pagan’s three hits were brought to you by the “why are we playing Span and Pagan?” BTW Williamson extended his 0-September streak to no 0-11including 8 strikeouts. He is now is 0 for his last 22 at bats over 15 games with 11 strikeouts and 12 for 60 since July including 21 strikeouts. Im not exactly sure why he isnt playing as many on this site have advocated.
It’s not why are we playing Span + Pagan….
It’s where Bochy sticks them in the lineup…
Span and Pagan leading off is horrible…..
And both should be replaced for defensive purposes in the late innings…
This was the biggest game of the year to date-and one of the most exciting , and this is all you have?
If they had been replaced for defensive purposes they dont come up in the tenth and– well, I dont want to think about it
They are getting paid a few million dollars to play baseball, so they are occasionally going to do something positive. It doesn’t change the fact that they have both had poor Septembers and reduce the overall effectiveness of the Giants’ defense every inning they’re on the field.
13 and 6,pal.
And the fact that Span and Pagan came through when we really needed it-well, it was HUGE .
Give it up and try to enjoy the games.
13 and 6? Don’t follow.
Look again.
At what?
The salary a player is making has NOTHING to do with performances
I feel you on Mac, but IMHO he showed enough to get a better shot than he was given.
When one considers the liabilities of our LF and CF–offense and defense–seems the younger guys should have been given a start once in awhile.
Prior to Span’s huge HR, his ABs last night were awful, to say the least. When was the last time he tried to bunt for a hit? The meaningless outs to the right side of the infield are maddening.
I don’t care if anybody believes me or not, but Bochy hates Kelby.
I don’t believe you.
Well I bet there are quite a few MLB teams that would like to take Kelby off Bochy’s hands. And he’ll probably succeed wherever they let him play regularly. Watched him with the RiverCats and there is definitely something special about him.
KT will be with the Giants for a long time, I have no fear.
Tough to see how he’d play regularly here with Nunez,Crawford,and Panik ahead of him.
We were at the last River Cats’ game this year before Kelby and others got called up. Kelby led off and was the spark plug for the win, both with his speed and his bat. Saw him several times in Sacramento last year before he was called up, too. He brings energy and clearly doesn’t get overwhelmed by the moment.
BB is not timid at showing displeasure at/with Kelby.
Nope
Maybe not hate, but I agree that Bochy doesn’t appreciste the overall skill set this kid brings. He’s a ball player.
Notes from the Old Fart cave:
* Is there a better teammate than Blanco- No there isn’t
* The best player on the team- Nunez . No one else can do it all.
*Best performances by whipping boys -Pagan and Denard ” Don’t tase me folks” Span
*KT- Best invisible slap hitter in the whole wide world
Light a match.
I don’t understand what you mean.
If you’re in a Fart Cave, you’ll die of asphyxiation unless you light a match. It’s almost like being in a large sleeping bag and having to unzip it quickly.
Ahhh the Dutch Oven…
Geez, I’m down here only because my meanie wife won’t let me light my farts upstairs.
Explosive gas to air mixture makes that dangerous
Tragic news! Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez was killed last night in a boating accident near Miami Beach.
I’m stunned. A brilliant 24-year old all-star pitcher gone in an instant.
Thoughts, prayers and condolences to the Marlins and Fernandez families.
So awful, hard to believe.
OMG, that just flashed on my iPad and I’m in tears. That brilliant, energetic, joyful young man. I always loved watching him–he was among my favorite non-Giant players.
Words fail. Prayers up.
terrible….
just the most unbelievable, saddest, devastating news. i loved that guy. he seemed like he was always having so much fun.
once again, things are put into perspective. RIP
Small 24ft boat at sea.
http://www.wpbf.com/article/3-die-1-survives-in-stuart-boating-accident/1454428
Not a relevant article.
Something coming up on MLB Network covering it.
The Marlins play by play guy was just on MLB Network, started breaking down during phone interview….sad
Stunning headline on MLB page is how my day started. Awful news. A reminder that these guys are human and subject to the same risks the rest of us are whether commuting or taking leisure in motorized vehicles.
The question is if boat was found around 3am, why the hell was he out at night on a boat (assuming it was an evening cruise last night). Who was driving? Was alcohol involved?
Plus a night before a game on Saturday?
I’m sure all these questions are being investigated as best as possible.
Years ago ago there was a offseason boating accident where more than one MLB player died. Can’t recall the names of players or where it happened, but that will surface.
Tim Crews of the Mets, and I think Bobby Ojeda was with him….
Yes. Crews I recall – both Dodger relievers at the time?
The other player killed in that boating accident was Steve Olin.
Jose Fernandez killed.
Sorry didn’t see yours
Saturday and Sunday mornings, long before game time, are interesting times to read this blog. You can really come away with the sense that baseball is life, at least for us, the two completely intertwined. There’s stories like Jose Fernandez (see below), dummies like Puig and Melky, good guys like Matt Cain, great fans like Mavo, random stuff like the ball squirting through Billy Buckner or Ishi’s walkoff, but baseball certainly runs through our lives. Sorry, a overly gushy preamble, I know, but take a look at this article in the NYT this morning:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/25/sports/baseball/san-francisco-giants-alzheimers-disease.html
Wow. Great story. Thanks for sharing, 610nm.
Interesting the two dummies you pick out are of Latino / Black descent. Tells us something about you
Give it a rest
Seriously
Why? For calling him out for making an ill timed “attempt” at poking fun at players in a post where it was unnecessary? I can say same of all the stupid Melky and Puig crap on this blog.
Give that a rest.
You always bring race in , and it’s tired. You name call constantly. You puff your chest out like some badass with a keyboard. relax
Nope. And I’ll continue to call out any moron who makes a “stupid Cuban” or “brain dead Dominican” comment in an attempt to make a weak joke.
Baseball has had tragic losses before, but I was trying to come up with a comparable example of such a major star lost so tragically. Roberto Clemente dying in a plane crash and Roy Campanella being paralyzed in a car accident come to mind, but both were in their late 30s…Oscar Tavares was 22, but he was still a prospect. Fernandez was already a bonafide superstar and had such an amazing story and many great years ahead of him.
Besides Fernandez’s family, I feel for the Marlins and their fans. Imagine how we would feel if we woke up and heard that Posey or Bumgarner had been killed in an accident last night. The face of your franchise–just gone.
Wow. Terrible news. Makes me think of the Solarte at bat last night for some reason.
Some people go way too soon before they have given all they have to give.
Just devastating. For his family, his friends, the Marlins and all of baseball. He was one of the elites and just turned 24. I am stunned and crushed by this news. He was on his way to a $200M contract and he seemed like the type of guy who would do a lot of good with that money in the community. Just, wow.
Ray Chapman getting the HBP in the head that led to baseballs being kept cleaner (blackening them with tobacco juice was accepted until then and caused his death).
Lou Gehrig is the classic tragedy too.
As you mention, Clemente and on a trip to bring relief to others too IIRC.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e0717d37918ee381606a0e6cecc11aa137f2a4dd739f201385b2811a1f7fac76.png
Kelby is a special guy. He seems to have that knack that fans are craving and seems to have that unique ability to just punch a ball to right field. Maybe pitchers will learn, maybe the defense will adjust, maybe the right fielder will keep creeping closer, daring Kelby to hit it over his head and invite an inside the park HR.
Kelby has over 100 PAs this year and has a singles dominated isolated slugging of .031. The lowest ISO among qualified MLB hitters is .075 by Adeiny Hechavarria. Kelby’s ISO in the PCL was just .054.
The resurgence of the power game in MLB makes it tough sledding for Kelby. But he’s a throwback to another era and I think fans appreciate that and his “prove I belong here” grit.
Have a game winning RBI, play the next day. Let’s see Bochy throw out the right handed batters versus the lefty Richard:
Hernandez CF
Tomlinson 2B
Posey 1B
Pence RF
Nunez 3B
Pagan LF
Brown C
Adrianza SS
Blach P
You can almost smell the Wild Card game, hosted at ATT with the Cards coming to town.
The pattern does seem to be give Buster a day at 1B before a Day Off so that probably happens.
Panik is getting his swing back so he deserves to stay. [Came up as a SS too right?]
AD is one who seems lost; DrLefty gives Kelby highmarks for his SS play in Sac but can Bochy see that?
Hell no, he hates him.
I saw your comment;
I did hear Bochy’s pregame with Miller last week ignoring KT for a SS stint.
Being a Sunday, I am thinking Forgiveness will be found in Bochy’s Cold Heart.
Ahhh yes, forgiveness. Good word, better action. A keeper for all 7 days of the week.
It’s nice to see your absurdist, irrational side on full display. Have you been painting Dali by numbers again?
Of course it was absurdist. I thought it would fit right in with the gaggle of absurd characters inhabiting this little corner of baseball.
Wake up, People. Bochy Hates All Young Players, Especially Those That Resemble Clark Kent.
I saw him once at SS and once at 3B this year. He seems smoother and more comfortable on the left side than he does at 2B. I was especially impressed with how he looked at third. He has the arm for either position, obviously.
He has more reps at SS than any other position. He played SS exclusively in Augusta and San Jose and split time between SS and 2B with Duffy in Richmond in 2014.
He is a winner/winning player. He gets it. Can he play SS well enough is the question I guess.
Compared to AD?
AD > Kelby defensively at SS despite recent small sample.
Who do you have the MOST confidence in, in a BIG GAME? Give me KT over AD in 9 out of 10 games.
Nunez is probably the better SS out of the three players.
He was young, athletic and gifted when he took over for Jeter but he was not ready for the pressure.
But I say out of KT and AD, Nunez may be the better SS in athletic ability alone.
Read my comment above
Read mine.
Mgmt has favored Adrianza at SS, and for the most part, that is the right call. Don’t know what’s up with Adrianza other than the yips. Seems Kelby can make plays, but not totally smooth and not the strongest for a SS.
Agreed. AD in the long run is a better defensive SS despite his early yips. But if Kelyby can hold down the fort at SS he is worth a look. AD not swinging it at all
HR the other night.
His bunt for a hit attempt last night, screamed no confidence to me. It looked forced and uncomfortable.
I only saw the the perfect sac bunt, was there another one?
Tried to bunt for a hit. Didn’t look like he ever believed it was going to work.
I was thinking Buster might catch Blach’s first start, but then I realized that Brown probably caught Blach a lot in AAA last year. In fact, that Aug. 2015 signed lineup card I won on Twitter–Blach pitched a shutout–shows Brown as his catcher.
Brown to catch
Kelby is a nice platoon type maybe a poor mansTony Phillips but not as good Tony was obviously but please do not pine for his everyday play. If he plays everyday his weaknesses will most definately become exposed it im thinking it wouldn’t be pretty.
You’re wrong.
Punch and Judy hitter
very poor man’s TP.
I came to understand that even Ben Zobrist is a poor man’s Tony Phillips.
I think you’re right, btw, and I do not pine for KT. See my remarks on singles hitter.
I don’t think anyone here is “pining for everyday” for Kelby, but he should be getting more PT than he’s been given. That includes more PH chances as well.
I’ll remind that he stepped up to fill the Joe P. loss last year, played every day, and gave us two solid months.
BTW Span will be starting today imho, come on now you know Bochy and his thoughts, but this is your projected lineup correct?
LH pitcher
Not against the lefty, Slikk.
Huge leadpff single by PAGAN
Even blind squirrels….
That blind squirrel, that was his third hit.
Nice SAC bunt by EA
Some great Jose Fernandez moments seen on Twitter this morning:
One of the greater GIFs in recent baseball memory: https://twitter.com/GarionThorne/status/780030151618809857
He loved the game like he was still a little kid: https://twitter.com/playerTBNL/status/780040036943355906
Barry Bonds reacts to Jose’s very last start: http://m.mlb.com/cutfour/2016/09/20/202441828/marlins-jose-fernandezs-pitching-performance-gets-kisses-from-barry-bonds
The mother he saved from drowning while escaping from Cuba when he was only 15 years old: https://twitter.com/Ryan_Cortes/status/780040959346311172
Our First Guest Post: http://fe0.84e.myftpupload.com/guest-posts/dr-lefty-guest-post-the-stories-we-tell/
Thank You Dr. Lefty! It’s fantastic!
Yet another sad reminder of how fragile life can be. May this young man rest in peace.
It also sounds like Mac and Parker are successfully playing themselves out of the 2017 LF shared platoon – which ultimately does that question begging thing:
who will be the opening day LFer in 2017?
Span.
Interesting call. Not so absurd or irrational. You must have had your coffee.
There was nothing irrational about my KT comments. It sure as hell turned things around after such terrible news from FLA.
It is terrible, as is the nature of news these days.
I read the news today, oh boy…
Now they know how many holes is takes to fill the Albert Hall…
Agree and posted this a few weeks ago. Makes sense knowing the Giants FO MO.
Though it perpetuates more of the same ‘ol, same ‘ol older OF strategy, we need Cespedes!
I wasn’t aware they were playing.