Giants Lose Two in a Row to Bay Area A's

The San Francisco Giants lost the first two games at home to the visitors from across the Bay, the Oakland Athletics. The teams will play two in Oakland on Wednesday and Thursday evenings. The A's took advantage of their opportunities and certainly did not look like a last place team while playing the NL West division leader.

This is baseball and why games are played. If you don't bring your "A" game every night you will get beat. It does not matter what the other teams record is. Give the A's credit. They played better than the Giants in both games and deserved to win.

Look at the box score and its pretty obvious why the A's won. Thirteen runs with three in the ninth inning says it all. You don't need to know anything about baseball to know that the bullpen can't give up three in the ninth and expect to win many games.  Give credit to the A's for timely hitting.

Enjoy some MLB clips below and feel the story of last nights game.

Parker and Span hit back to back home runs, click HERE.

Crawford clears the bases with a triple, click HERE.

Smolinski's home run put A's ahead, click HERE.

Madson strikes out Crawford to end the game, click HERE.

Tonight at 7:05 PST,  Jake Peavy is on the mound for the Giants against the A's Sean Manaea.

Go Peavy! Go Giants!!!

San Francisco Giants are on a Big Time Winning Streak!

The San Francisco Giants are winning even when things don't go smoothly. This 2016 team has some good fortunate on their side. Last nights game was a good example. In the end Santiago Casilla, but it was anything but easy. The Phillies loaded the bases in the 9th and it took a great play by Ramiro Pena to get the third out. The play was so close it had to be reviewed and the base runner was out by less than a step.  This is just one example of how the Giants have been stringing victories together. It's not just luck. This team is good!

Brandon Belt is having the breakout season fans were cheering for him to have. The guy has such great potential and when he connects it is just so beautiful to see. Last night Belt cleared the bases and put the Giants in the lead. To watch the MLB video of base clearing hit click HERE.

It's great to have Angel Pagan back in the lineup. Angel knocked in the decisive run which turned out to be a very much needed RBI in the 7th inning. To watch the MLB video of Pagan bringing in the Giants fifth run of the game in a 5-4 victory click HERE.

And  Ramiro Pena makes that great play in the 9th to end the game. Making this play took an absolutely clean pickup and great throw. To watch the MLB video of the great game ending play click HERE.

Tonight Madison Bumgarner is on the mound against Jeremey Hellickson. Game time is 7:05 PST. The Giants are going for win 13 in the last 14 games.

Go Bumgarner! Go Giants!!!

San Francisco Giants on a Roll Winning Seven Straight

The San Francisco Giants are playing great baseball. The Giants have won seven in a row going into this afternoons finale in Tampa Bay. As I writhe this post the game is inning number five and the score is 1-1 with the Giants threatening to take the lead. Men on first and second with none out. (will post this and continue editing)

Brandon Belt is on a streak of his own. Check out his home run that tied the game. MLB video of home run click HERE.

The great part of the winning streak is the way the wins are coming. A total team effort in hitting, defense, pitching, relief pitching. The relievers have taken a lot of grief from fans and they have come up big in this winning streak. Without their efforts there is no way, I would be writing about a win streak.

The Giants stranded runners on second and third in the 5th inning and Jake Peavy is coming back out to the mound.

Score still 1-1. Go Peavy, Go Giants!

Madison Bumgarner Brilliant in Win Over Brewers

Madison Bumgarner was brilliant in a win against the Milwaukee Brewers last night. Bumgarner went eight strong innings and received just enough run support and help from the Brewers to get the 3-2 win. The Giants left 13 men on base so you have to give Brewers pitching some credit in keeping their team in the game.

A big welcome back to Angel Pagan! The Giants and fans like myself missed seeing him in the lineup. Angel stepped up to the plate and delivered much needed offense. Here Angel brings in a run on a fielders choice play. Check out MLB video by clicking HERE.

MLB recap of the game. View the MLB video recap of the game by clicking HERE.

This afternoon the Giants go for a sweep against the Brewers in a 12:45 PM PT game that matches Johnny Cueto against Brewers, Jimmy Nelson. Cueto goes for his 10th victory of the season.

!!! Some great after game news revealed no break in Brandon Belt's foot after getting hit with a pitch. Belt is having what this blogger considers a break out year and Giant fans everywhere would like him to stay injury free.

Go Johnny Cueto! Go Giants!!!

Milwaukee Brewers in Town for Three Game Series

The San Francisco Giants played really good baseball over the weekend. The Saturday game celebrating the 1986 team was special and a great win too! It's great to see players from the past and that included a great talk by Mike Krukow our play by play guy we are lucky to listen to all season. Needless to say, it was awesome to take the series from the Dodgers two games to one.

Chase Anderson will be on the mound against Matt Cain this evening at 7:15pm. Welcome back Matt!

The Brewers don't have a great record, but they come into tonights game playing well and over the last 10 games are 6-4. The Brewers would like to leave San Francisco with a .500 record. Their current record is 30-33. Like any MLB game the Giants will need to bring their pitching and defense in order to get a W. The bats lighting up Anderson would be nice, but Giants fans have become use to low scoring games.

The Giants lead the West by 5 games going into this series with a record of 38-26. Giants fans everywhere have to love that! Go Giants! Widen that lead as the official start of summer approaches.

I will be posting during game time.

Welcome back Matt Cain! Go Giants!

Great Win for Giants, Peavy and the Bullpen

Jake Peavy pitched really well again tonight and the Giants beat the Dodgers to take this three game series in San Francisco. It was a really well played game and series by both teams. One run games are very exciting and this one was no exception. Every play counted.

And great defense can make a huge difference. Watch Mac Williamson take away a hit. MLB video click HERE.

Brandon Belt crushed another one after Joe Panik got onboard. The two run homer was all the Giants needed. MLB video of Belt's home run click HERE.

And let's give a LOT of credit to the entire bullpen. They have been criticized a lot this season. Great job guys!!! Castilla gets the last out video from MLB click HERE.

Update: 6/11/2016-LA Dodgers vs SF Giants Tonight at 7:15 PST

Update 6/11/2016 Ouch! For Giants fans these late inning loses are happening too often and are painful. Final score in favor of the Dodgers 3-2. Santiago Casilla gave up a home run in the ninth inning breaking the 2-2 score. I won't beat up on Casilla. There are plenty of critics in line waiting to do that. I have always liked him in relief. I think it's time to give Casilla a break from the closer role. He was always good in middle relief and should be part of that setup role. Manager Bochy must be thinking about it. There was no scoring for the Dodgers other than two runs in the first inning and the run in the ninth that broke the camels back. The below turned out to be way too true in terms of keys for the game.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are in town for another classic and fun series with the San Francisco Giants. Clayton Kershaw, 8-1 and Johnny Cueto 9-1 are on the mound in what could be a pitchers dual. Both pitchers have had great starts to the 2016 season, but you never know if an anticipated pitching dual will actually materialize. It sure looks promising the way both have pitched going into this matchup.

The Giants are in first place four games ahead of the Dodgers. Their respective records are 36-25 and 32-29. The Giants would like to expand that lead and of course the Dodgers would like to leave town one game behind taking momentum into their next series.

Keys to a Giants win will be to get runs early against Kershaw. If Kershaw gets into a groove it will be tough to score in the mid to late innings.  Without any doubt Giants fans would like the opposite for Cueto. If Johnny comes out strong in the first couple innings and gets into a rhythm, the Dodgers could be in for a long night.

I will update this post during game time.

Go Giants!!!

Giants Off Today After Win Against Red Sox

If you have anxiety problems becoming a Giants fan is probably not a good idea. The Giants bullpen can turn a middle aged fan into a senior citizen in half a season. On Wednesday night they did what they needed to get a win and relieve some anxiety that often comes in the last couple innings.

Mac Williamson a rookie up from Sacramento hit his first MLB home run and that broke a 1-1 tie and ended up being enough for the win. Williamson almost became the goat as he dropped a ball in a windy left field. The bullpen did their job and ended it for the Red Sox and made for a positive, memory packed evening for Mac Williamson. Giants fans everywhere hope that is one of many home runs you hit as a Giant. 

Brandon Belt showed off his beautiful swing dropping one in McCovey Cove making it a 1-1 game. MLB video of splash shot click HERE.

Mac Williamson's home run to give the Giants a 2-1 lead. MLB video of  Williamson's first home run click HERE.

Hunter Strickland came in to get the last batter and his first save as a Giant.  MLB video of Strickland's save click HERE.

San Francisco Giants a Different Perspective

All the San Francisco couch managers are beating-up on Santiago Casilla today. Casilla pitched in the 10th inning giving up three hits and the Boston Red Sox went on to win 5-3. Casilla has been struggling as of late, but this loss just like the previous two losses by the Giants are not all on the heads of the bullpen.

The last three games the Giants have scored and had leads. Watching this game and every other game during the season most fans will tell you the game is not going to go five or six innings with a 3-2 lead and end with a 3-2 score. It's true the bullpen needs to close out more close games. It's also true the offense needs to score late in games. Scoring early and then having an offensive drought puts the bullpen in the position of not having any cushion for mistakes and sometimes good teams score regardless of how great the opposing pitching.

If the Giant are going to make a push for the playoffs later in the season it will take both pitching and offense. The Cardinals over the weekend and the Red Sox last night proved that scoring late in the game is just as important as having a solid bullpen.

Here is a look at Jarod Parker's home run to put the Giants on the board. MLB.com video click HERE.

Go Giants!!!

SF Giants Give Up Leads in Saint Louis

The San Francisco Giant scored early in a couple games, but could not hold on to the lead. When you play a team like the Cardinals you can't score too many runs. The Cardinals pack power and can hurt you with the long ball.

The Giants bullpen found this out in two of three games at Busch Stadium. I think a lot of teams will experience this when visiting the great city of Saint Louis.

There is no point in hanging the heads. It's time to move on and think more about the overall success  instead of dwelling on getting beat by a powerful lineup.

On a lighter note watch Madison Bumgarner make his case to be in the home run derby. MLB.com video click HERE.

SF Giants Feel the Power of Cardinals Bats

The San Francisco Giants were cruising along with a 4-0 lead in Saint Louis and then the Cardinals do what they do best. Two long balls and the game was pretty much over. I think MLB will see the Cardinals do this to a lot of teams over the summer.

That being said, I am going to change to another subject. I went to the Science Exploritorium in San Francisco on Saturday. If you plan on seeing a Giants game at night, visiting the science exhibits during the day would be a great family option. If you want to learn more about the Science Exploratorium, I have included the link to their website. Visiting their web site by clicking HERE.

I took a couple pictures of San Francisco and the Bay from the second floor of the Science Exploratorium.

On Sunday, Jake Peavy is on the mound for the San Francisco Giants vs Carlos Martinez of the Saint Louis Cardinals. This is a huge opportunity for Jake to show he can tame a very powerful and talented Cardinals lineup.

Go Jake! Go Giants!!!

SF Giants Up 6-0 in Atlanta with Bumgarner on the Mound

The San Francisco Giants bullpen had a bad day and could not shut down the Atlanta Braves late in the game Wednesday evening. Give Atlanta credit they scored late when they needed to and Giants relief just came up short. It happens. That's baseball. No point in pointing fingers.

The Giants are up 6-0 in the fifth inning in the afternoon showdown at Turner filed.  They are in first place so Giants fans like myself need to keep our perspective when an occasional blown save happens. Again, that's baseball. Lots of ups and downs during the season.

Like home runs? Madison Bumgarner,  Joe Panik and Buster Posey have all homered and we are still in the sixth inning. Bumgarner hit the first one giving himself a 2-0 lead. Let's close this one out.

Go Giants!!!

San Francisco Giants Bounce Back in Atlanta

The stop in Atlanta did not start well for the San Francisco Giants on Monday. The Braves came out with strong pitching and also took advantage of Jeff Samardzija not hitting his spots scoring five runs and winning 5-1. Jeff has been solid for the Giants, but this was not his day.

Tuesday was a different story for the guys wearing Orange and Black. Jake Peavy was on the mound and pitched his best game of the year, maybe his best game as a San Francisco Giant. He one-hit the Braves through seven innings. And he did it with his bat too! Jake hit a single and took off to second base shortly after attempting a steal only to be rewarded for his effort when Bernard Span hit a triple and Jake scored in what ended up being the only run support he needed.

MLB.com video click of Peavy scoring only run he needed. Watch the clip by clicking HERE.

As a Giants fan, I am really happy for Jake. He went through a lot early in the season and appears to be locating pitches much better. Great job!

Albert Suarez takes the mound at 4:10 PST vs Atlanta's Williams Perez. Suarez is making his first San Francisco Giants start filling in for an injured Matt Cain. Suarez deserves the start after doing some very fine relief work for the Giants.

Go Suarez! Go Giants!