Ty Blach

Ty Blach didn’t just carry the load with his bat in Thursday’s 11-2 victory over the A’s, he did it with his arm as well. And lately, that arm has been getting stronger.

Ty Blach took a seven run lead into the bottom of the fifth inning Thursday night in the final game of the 2017 Bay Bridge Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics. He took the first pitch for a ball. He did not take the second pitch.

The 2017 San Francisco Giants exist to confound, bewilder and perplex. So why would Thursday’s Bay Bridge Series finale be any different?

With two outs in the bottom of the fifth frame Thursday night Ty Blach walked up to the plate with a solid 8-1 lead. That 7-run lead would balloon shortly thereafter.

For the better part of a beautiful Saturday afternoon at a sun-splashed Dodger Stadium, Giants’ left-hander Ty Blach was very good. But against the Los Angeles Dodgers, if you’re not excellent, don’t expect to go home a winner.

The fourth inning wasn’t kind to left-handers Matt Moore and Ty Blach over the weekend versus the Padres

Pitching –in the form of great arms like Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner– and defense –from the likes of Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford and Joe Panik– has helped carry San Francisco to three World Series titles.

Ty Blach is continuing to earn the trust of his coaching staff, as exemplified by his gutsy performance in the Giants’ 2-1 win over Cleveland on Tuesday night.

A night after it was San Francisco’s defense that stood in the way of a potential series-opening victory against the Cleveland Indians, a pair of late-game web gems kept the Giants in contention.

When the Giants host the Cleveland Indians –a team fresh off of winning an American League pennant– this week, it will mark the first three games of a 10-game homestand, and a stretch that features 18 of San Francisco’s next 23 games at home.