© Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports
Heading into Thursday evening’s series-opener against the San Diego Padres, the San Francisco Giants are second in the NL West at 5-6. Nonetheless, their offensive struggles are undeniable, especially with runners in scoring position.
Giants’ Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Brian Sabean joined Tolbert & Lund on Thursday afternoon and gave his thoughts on what’s been quieting the offense.
“I think we’ve been very impatient, regardless of how our lineup has been strung together in the past or as presently constituted,” Sabean said. “We pride ourselves in more grinding at-bats, putting the ball in play more, and not being as fallible with runners in scoring position.”
The Giants trail the major leagues with a .152 batting average (12-for-79) with runners in scoring position. Specifically, Evan Longoria (0-for-8), Joe Panik (0-for-7), Hunter Pence (0-for-6), are three of six players who are hitless with runners in scoring position.
Sabean also noted that, “we have faced an abnormal amount of really good left-handed pitchers. That’s not going to change in the short term.
“It’s kind of the nature of our division and, to go back to what I said earlier, we’ve faced a lot of breaking balls and it’s a huge adjustment that not only the team will have to make, but also the individual players as well.”
To listen to the full interview check out the podcast below, and skip to 5:15 for Sebean on Giants.
