© Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports
It’s on days like Saturday, when the San Francisco Giants score and limit opposing runs like a competitive team, when you might wonder why they’re one of the worst teams in baseball. It was the type of game that has a familiar feel, but one that hasn’t been experienced in some time; like your one cool cousin who you see once every few years for the holidays or a wedding (maybe that’s just me).
There were no tricks, no ball that bounced the Giants’ way to kick off a rally, no clever maneuver from Bruce Bochy needed to lock down the lead. They simply played very good baseball after a stretch of some of their worst baseball in the last decade. The result was an 8-2 win over the worst team in baseball in the Baltimore Orioles (18-40), who became MLB’s first to 40 losses today.
Below are five takeaways from a game that the Giants have needed for weeks, and the team’s first win in Camden Yards since 2004:
Shaun Anderson was in seventh heaven, where no Giant has gone since April
The last time the Giants had a pitcher throw at least seven innings, Gerardo Parra and Yangervis Solarte were in the starting lineup. The Giants were 7-9 after beating the then-last place Colorado Rockies (3-12) on the back of a two-run Madison Bumgarner performance. It’s fair to say a few things have changed.
In that time, the Giants have released both Parra and Solarte along with Pat Venditte. Aaron Altherr made a one-game appearance before joining the New York Mets after being DFA’d and Tyler Beede was sent to Triple-A, recalled, sent back to Triple-A, recalled, sent back to Triple-A (for Anderson), and finally recalled again. That doesn’t include the other 20-plus moves the team has made, but it paints a general picture; the Giants have changed a lot over the last month-and-a-half.
In that timeframe, no one had pitched more than six innings until today; not Bumgarner, Jeff Samardzija, Dereck Rodriguez, Derek Holland, Tyler Beede, Drew Pomeranz, Andy Suarez, or Anderson, all of whom started games (as well as that opener game by Nick Vincent) in that span:
There it is. The #SFgiants' first seven-inning start since Bum on 4/13. Ends a 40-game streak without one. 105 pitches most Anderson has thrown as a professional. Had just one 100+, for Sacramento last year.
— Henry Schulman BLUE CHECK MARK (@hankschulman) June 1, 2019
Anderson one-upped Tyler Beede’s fantastic, six-inning, one-run pitching performance against the Marlins on Thursday which snapped a seven-game losing streak today with his first-ever major league victory through seven innings.He pounded the strike zone, working 72 of his 105 pitches (68.6 percent) for strike, and allowed just five hits and two earned runs while walking just one batter and striking out four.
Most importantly, he came back from a home run on a curveball that caught too much of the plate, and worked out of a tough sixth inning (more on that below) to come back for a perfect, 1-2-3 seventh which featured a pair of strikeouts. It was a fantastic win for the Giants’ most promising pitching prospect.
A defensive revelation
The Giants entered today tied with the New York Yankees for the third-worst fielding percentage in baseball at .979. It’s a point that I broke down on Friday, after two sloppy errors by Brandon Crawford and Steven Duggar were caused not by bad luck, but by a lack of concentration. Today was a completely different story. The sixth inning alone proved that.
It could have easily ended Anderson’s day if a leadoff double was allowed (and probable if not for Kevin Pillar’s effort). The second ball in play likely wouldn’t have moved the runner to third, but the second hit would have almost certainly driven home a run. Instead, Pillar cut off the ball to allow only a single, and on the next play, Anderson turned a picturesque 1-6-3 double play.
Then Brandon Belt repeated Pillar’s cut off play, whipping the ball into second to prevent a double. To end the inning, Pablo Sandoval made a beautiful stop. It allowed Anderson to return to finish off his day with a 1-2-3 seventh inning (which featured two strikeouts). It might not have seemed like a noteworthy half-inning, but it displayed the sort of defensive intelligence and effort the Giants have prided themselves on in a game in which they committed zero errors.
#SFGiants played immaculate defense in the 6th inning. Pillar prevented a double. 1-6-3 double play. Belt prevented a double. Pablo ended the inning with a stop on a low line drive pic.twitter.com/jzQrni1lt8
— Jake Hutchinson (@hutchdiesel) June 1, 2019
Never Paniked, not for second
Joe Panik batted .426 in Spring Training this offseason, and looked poised to break out after his batting averaged dropped to .254 last season from .288 in 2017. His numbers are still down after a rough start to the season, in which he was batting .208 through the start of May. Even though he went 0-for-7 in the last two games, he drew two walks and scored a run. He’s looked like the Giants clear best option in the leadoff slot, and today reaffirmed that.
He went just 1-for-5 today, but his contact has been solid, and he’s been getting on base consistently. His single in the top of the fifth inning scored a run after a leadoff double from Kevin PIllar, and opened up the floodgates for a 4-run fifth inning, in which he later scored, culminating in the Giants finishing the inning with a 7-1 lead.
Yastrzemski stays hot after getting revenge where he dreamt of playing
Mike Yastrzemski hit a triple and his first career home run yesterday against the Orioles, the team which drafted him in the 13th round of the 2013 MLB Draft (the 2019 MLB Draft starts on Monday, by the way). On March 23 of this year, he was traded to the Giants for pitcher Tyler Herb. He said after the game, “Deep down I always wanted to come here and hit one.”
"Deep down I always wanted to come here and hit one. Now that it's reality, that's pretty special." Mike Yastrzemski finally got that first big league homer, and it came against the team that drafted him: https://t.co/Ggiy5R9jM3
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) June 1, 2019
Today, Yastrzemski continued that momentum, going 1-for-3 with a clever first-inning walk in which he later scored on a two-run single by Brandon Belt (who went 2-for-3 today with a walk and 4 RBIs). He’s now batting .280 with a .367 on-base percentage and .520 slugging percentage.
Buster pulls up limping
In the top of the 7th inning, Buster Posey grounded out for the first time in a game in which he went 1-for-2 with two walks, two runs a home run and an RBI. His home run was an odd, delayed one, as he waited for confirmation from the umpires that it was indeed gone, but it stood and gave him his third homer of the year, and the Giants a 3-0 lead:
Buster with the veeeery delayed opposite field home run waiting for umpire confirmation – his third of the year gives #SFGiants a 3-0 lead pic.twitter.com/jvfCWs5VSY
— Jake Hutchinson (@hutchdiesel) June 1, 2019
After he ran down the line in the seventh on that ground out, he came up limping and did not return to the game.
Tyler Austin is on deck. Posey is out of game after appearing to get hurt running to first a couple innings ago.
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) June 1, 2019
According to Bruce Bochy, Posey was suffering from hamstring soreness, and the Giants hope he can return on Tuesday against the Mets, after two days of rest, possibly with a pinch-hitting opportunity on Sunday.
Posey has a tight hamstring. Bochy thinks he can pinch-hit tomorrow, catch Tuesday. #sfgiants
— Henry Schulman BLUE CHECK MARK (@hankschulman) June 1, 2019
