Sacramento River Cats & SF Giants Press Clips WEDNESDAY, June 7, 2017

Transcription

1 Sacramento River Cats & SF Giants Press Clips WEDNESDAY, June 7, 2017 Article Source Author Page Sacramento s four-game win streak snapped in 5-2 loss River Cats Arnold-Gordon 1 Posey, Giants unable to finish late rally MLB.com McCalvy/Mason 1 Blach set to start against Nelson, Brewers MLB.com Mason 3 Rangers trade reliever Dyson to Giants MLB.com Mason 4 Bumgarner, Parker working their way back MLB.com Mason 5 Giants trade for a reliever on wasted night on the field SF Gate Schulman 6 Giants lose to Brewers, and their season has become a proving ground San Jose Mercury Baggarly 7 GIANTS MAKE TRADE TO HELP BULLPEN, BUT THERE S NO FIX FOR NBC Sports Bay Area Pavlovic 9 SLUMPING LINEUP

2 Sacramento's four-game win streak snapped in 5-2 loss By Evan Arnold-Gordon / Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats (23-34) made things interesting late against the Fresno Grizzlies (27-32), scoring twice in the eighth inning, but fell short in their 5-2 defeat Tuesday night at Raley Field. It was a back-and-forth battle through the first four innings as neither team was able to break the scoreless tie. Despite a 29-pitch first inning, Sacramento starter Dan Slania kept Fresno in check until the fifth inning when the right-hander gave up a three-run home run. Left-hander Matt Reynolds relieved Slania after 4.2 innings and gave up a long ball of his own, this time a solo-shot in the sixth to make the score 4-0 Fresno. The River Cats broke through in the eighth thanks to an RBI-double by Mac Williamson and an RBI-single by Chris Shaw but a third Fresno homer in the ninth put the game away at 5-2. Sacramento will look to bounce back in game three of this four-game set when they send right-hander Tyler Beede (3-3, 4.28) to the bump. The Giants' No. 1 prospect will face Francis Martes (0-2, 5.29), the No.1 prospect in the Astros' organization. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. (PT) and the game can be heard live online at rivercats.com and on the air on Money FM. Postgame Notes Jones: Third baseman Ryder Jones made his first start since June 3 when he was hit by a pitch in the helmet against Albuquerque the No. 27 prospect in the Giants' organization is hitting.296 at home Jones leads the team with 16 walks and is second on the team with 11 doubles. Make it eight: Chris Shaw made his first start as a designated hitter tonight and collected his eighth RBI since joining Sacramento the No. 5 prospect in the Giants' organization extended his hitting streak to eight games is hitting.288 in his 12 games with the club Shaw collected his fourth two-hit game tonight. Bring 'em home: Sacramento has struggled with runners on base in the first two games of this series have left 21 men on base while going 3-for-20 with runners in scoring position the River Cats are 149-for-538 with runners in scoring position this season (.277) and have left 424 runners stranded, the fourth most in the league. Getting defensive: The River Cats turned their 60th double play tonight rank third in the PCL in double plays turned Sacramento is eighth in the league with a.978 fielding percentage (57 games, 47 errors) Jae-Gyun Hwang leads the team by being a part of 26 double plays but has also committed the most errors (10). Posey, Giants unable to finish late rally By Adam McCalvy and Carson Mason / MLB.com MILWAUKEE -- Chase Anderson extended his scoreless streak to a career-long 21 2/3 innings with another 7 2/3 spotless frames Tuesday, and the Brewers backed him by scoring all of their runs in the first three innings of a 5-2 win over the Giants at Miller Park. 1

3 "The guys swinging the bat, you could really just relax today," said Anderson. "It was nice going out there and having a lead and trying to run with that." Full Game Coverage The Giants mustered six singles and a walk against Anderson, who worked around those baserunners with the aid of four double plays, and exited to a standing ovation with two outs and a runner aboard in the eighth. Anderson struck out four and threw 110 pitches in his sixth quality start, matching his total from last season. Brewers third baseman Hernan Perez sparked Milwaukee's four-run second inning with a solo home run against the Giants' Matt Cain, who lost his fourth straight start after allowing five earned runs on 10 hits in five innings. Cain walked two, struck out three and saw his ERA rise to 6.60 in seven career starts in Milwaukee. "He could have fared a lot better than what happened tonight," said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. "Their guy [Anderson] was really good. He's got good stuff. Velocity. Had a good changeup, breaking ball. He's been throwing well, and he threw well tonight." The Giants made things interesting by scoring twice in the ninth and getting three shots with the tying run at the plate, but Corey Knebel retired all three hitters he faced for the save. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Four score: Perez started the Brewers' big rally against Cain, and it continued with five more hits and a walk as Milwaukee sent 10 men to the plate. Cain came within inches of escaping the inning with only one run across when Eric Sogard lifted a fly ball down the left-field line that barely eluded Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford, third baseman Eduardo Nunez and left fielder Austin Slater for two Brewers runs. Domingo Santana followed with an RBI single to make it 4-0. "We got fortunate. He snuck it in there," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "But it was a big inning and some big two-out hits kept it going. It was kind of quick and then we got quiet for the rest of the night. A good four-run inning was big." "It's tough, but that's part of the game," Cain said. "There's not much you can do about it really. You make the quality pitch you wanted to, the guy puts a good swing on it and it falls in between three guys." Giants don't go quietly: The Brewers' hopes for a second shutout in three games were dashed when their recent bullpen woes continued in the ninth. Carlos Torres, who'd retired the final batter in the eighth, surrendered three straight singles in the ninth before throwing away a Crawford comebacker that had double play written all over it. A run scored on that play, cutting Milwaukee's lead to 5-2 and prompting a call for Knebel, who struck out Hunter Pence and induced a pair of groundouts to end the game. "Carlos is a really good fielder, so it surprises you," Counsell said. "He's probably one of the guys you really want the ball hit to. To me, he's outstanding at it. He just made a throw a little wide of the bag, unfortunately." QUOTABLE 2

4 "That was fun, for sure. I didn't really know where second base was." -- Anderson, on his RBI double off Cain in the third, his first career extra-base hit SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS When Knebel struck out Pence for the first out of the ninth, it gave the right-hander at least one whiff in all 30 of his appearances this season. That stands alone as the second-longest streak for a reliever to open a season in Major League history. Aroldis Chapman struck out at least one batter in his first 37 games for the Reds in UPON FURTHER REVIEW Counsell won a challenge in the sixth after Austin Slater legged out an infield hit. After review, Perez's throw popped Aguilar's glove just in time, and the call was overturned. WHAT'S NEXT Giants: Ty Blach seeks his sixth straight quality start when he faces the Brewers for the first time at 5:10 p.m. PT on Wednesday. The lefty is coming off a complete-game shutout of the Phillies on June 2. Brewers: Jimmy Nelson will look to build off his last two outings against the Giants at 7:10 p.m. CT on Wednesday. The righty struck out 10 batters in each game and did not allow a walk, becoming the first Brewers player in franchise history to accomplish this feat. Blach set to start against Nelson, Brewers By Carson Mason / MLB.com Miller Park could be in for a pitchers' duel when Brewers starter Jimmy Nelson and Giants starter Ty Blach take the mound on Wednesday. Both pitchers threw shutouts in their last outings and are rolling off consecutive quality starts. Nelson went up against Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw in his last outing Friday, striking out 11 batters and allowing five hits over eight innings. It was his second consecutive start with at least 10 strikeouts while allowing no walks, making him the first Brewers pitcher to accomplish the feat in franchise history. Nelson, who went 8-16 with a 4.62 ERA last season, had to stay patient to reach this point. "It took him probably half a season, he went through some struggles last year," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "I think Jimmy kind of consistently stated that he felt good with what he was doing. He just wasn't getting the results. That's part of it. When you try something and it works immediately, that's the best-case scenario for sure, but sometimes it takes a little longer and you've got to be patient with it." For the Giants, Blach will make his ninth start of the season in place of the injured Madison Bumgarner. The lefty tossed his first career complete game on June 2 at Philadelphia, a 10-0 Giants win. He has not faced any of the current Brewers players in his career. Things to know about this game 3

5 Milwaukee hitters totaled 12 strikeouts in their 7-2 loss to the Giants on Monday, making it their seventh straight game striking out 10 or more times. During that seven-game stretch, the Crew struck out 99 times, including double-digit totals from Eric Thames, Keon Broxton, Jesus Aguilar and Domingo Santana. Eduardo Nunez homered against the Brewers on Monday, a mph, 400-foot shot off Junior Guerra, and it was just his third barreled ball of the season. Even though he's tripled his barrel total, he still has one of the lowest barrel rates per ball in play this season, according to Statcast. Over his past two starts, Nelson threw about 60 percent of his pitches in the strike zone and got opponents to chase about 35 percent of his out-of-zone offerings. Those factors contributed to Nelson's 74.2-percent strike rate, which puts him behind only Max Scherzer among pitchers with at least 150 pitches since May 24. Rangers trade reliever Dyson to Giants By Carson Mason / MLB.com MILWAUKEE -- After their slow start to the season, the Giants showed Tuesday they were willing to take a risk by trading for former Texas closer Sam Dyson. The Giants acquired Dyson and cash considerations from the Rangers on Tuesday during their 5-2 loss to the Brewers at Miller Park. The Rangers will get either a player to be named later or cash considerations from the Giants. Dyson was designated for assignment on Friday after he went 1-6 with a ERA in 17 games. Opponents are hitting.392 off him, but the Giants hope Dyson can return to the level he performed at in 2016, when he was 3-2 with a 2.43 ERA and 38 saves. He had a 1.14 ERA in 75 games for the Marlins and Rangers in "Here's a guy who doesn't have a lot of time in, but he has a lot of experience pitching late in ballgames," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He has a good arm. Got off to a bit of a rough start there in Texas, but we're hoping a change of scenery will serve him well." Bochy said he does not know when Dyson will report to the team and will discuss the plan with general manager Bobby Evans. The Giants are hopeful Dyson's five years of big league experience can bring consistency to their bullpen. "That always helps, especially with a late-inning guy," Bochy said. "The bullpen, the last two days, has done a great job. Any time you look at a guy that had the kind of a year he did last year and has experience pitching late in ballgames, we all have our hiccups in this game, but if we can get him back on track, he certainly can help us in those late innings." Dyson helped the United States bring home the title in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, throwing six innings without allowing a baserunner over five games. Giants catcher Buster Posey caught for Dyson in the World Baseball Classic, and second baseman Joe Panik has gone 0-for-4 against him at the plate. 4

6 They both remember one specific pitch from his repertoire. "Power sinker. I mean, that's the main thing that stands out. It is one of the best sinkers that I've ever caught," Posey said. "Obviously, he's got great stuff. Hopefully, he can return to form. He could be a big piece now and possibly years to come." "His power sinker, that is his go-to," Panik added. "I don't know how many at-bats I have off of him. I just know he has a power sinker that plays with our infield. The Classic was very good for him. I don't know what happened over there, but I know he's a really good pitcher." The Rangers will select the player to be named later from a pre-set list of Giants Minor League players. If the two sides can't agree on the player, then the cash considerations will come into play. The Rangers, who are picking up a portion of Dyson's $3.5 million salary, want a player and not the cash. "We've got some work to do on our end, but we like the potential the deal could bring back," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said. Daniels said a number of teams were interested in Dyson. Some wanted a deal involving a similar struggling player and a mutual change of scenery, but the Rangers preferred a younger player from the Minor Leagues. Bumgarner, Parker working their way back By Carson Mason / MLB.com MILWAUKEE -- Madison Bumgarner is progressing in his recovery, but he is still far from the finish line, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said Tuesday. Bumgarner, who is nursing bruised ribs and a left shoulder strain, has not experienced any setbacks since he began throwing flat-ground sessions on May 29. "I talked to him [Monday] and I said 'Be honest. How are you feeling?' And he said 'You know, it starts out and I feel it a little bit but as I go, it goes away and I feel really good,' which is pretty much the norm," Bochy said. "You know you're kind of starting over just like you are in Spring Training. The difference is you're dealing with an injury. So no setbacks and he's progressing just like we thought." Bumgarner threw 45 easy catches from feet on Tuesday and 75 feet on Wednesday. He will continue throwing on flat ground until he has built up enough strength to throw a bullpen session. From there, he's expected to make five rehab starts. "We're just going to build up some arm strength," Bochy said. "I can't give you a day when he's going to throw off the mound yet. He's getting closer. He still has some work ahead of him. He's weeks away from getting back on the mound here with us." Progress for Parker Like Bumgarner, Giants left fielder Jarrett Parker's return from the 60-day DL is on the right track. Parker underwent right clavicle surgery in April and is close to being ready for a rehab start, Bochy said. He will be re-evaluated when the Giants return home from their seven-game road trip on Friday. 5

7 "This is not a Hunter Pence rehab by any means," Bochy said. "He's going to need a lot of at-bats with the time he's missed and we definitely are going to make sure that he's ready. Not just physically, but his timing and everything, including the outfield work. He's a ways away." Parker was batting.143 (3-for-21) over nine games before he was placed on the DL. Bochy said he thinks there's still time for the 28-year-old to make something of the season. "I thought he was getting a little more comfortable," Bochy said. "I think there's plenty of time. We're a third of the way through the season. He'll be back, I'm guessing, before we're halfway." Gillaspie set back by flu Outfielder Conor Gillaspie, who is on the 10-day DL with back spasms, has the flu and cannot partake in any activity. His wife was supposed to have a baby Monday, but the delivery was put off until Thursday because Gillaspie couldn't enter the hospital, Bochy said. Gillapsie completed a rehab assignment with San Jose on June 3, going 2-for-5 with a walk and a run scored in two games. Giants trade for a reliever on wasted night on the field By Henry Schulman / SF Gate MILWAUKEE Before the Giants traded for Rangers reliever Sam Dyson on Tuesday, they sought Buster Posey s opinion, probably knowing Posey would rave about the 29-year-old right-hander. Posey caught Dyson in the World Baseball Classic, where he pitched six perfect innings. He has a power sinker, Posey said after a 5-2 loss to the Brewers evened the series. Mostly the thing that stands out about his fastball is, it s one of the best sinkers I ve ever caught. In a season full of mysteries for the Giants How could they be so bad? How could a pitcher like Matt Cain have a 1.82 ERA at home and 8.40 on the road? they are taking on one of baseball s biggest puzzles. How could Dyson, who had a 1.15 ERA in 2015 and saved 38 games last year, pitch so well as recently as the WBC and then become one of the worst pitchers imaginable? Dyson had a ERA with a WHIP and four blown saves in 17 games before Texas threw up its hands and dealt him to the Giants for a player to be named or cash. The Giants also get cash up front to help defray the roughly $2 million left on Dyson s contract this year. General manager Bobby Evans said Dyson will probably join the team when it returns to San Francisco on Friday. Until then, management can decide whether to cut a reliever or position player to clear a spot. Madison Bumgarner was moved to the 60-day disabled list to make room on the 40-man roster. The acquisition is not inconsistent with the Giants potential role as sellers amid a losing season because they control Dyson for as long as three years. 6

8 They risk little for a potentially high reward while adding late-inning experience to the back end of a bullpen that lacks it beyond closer Mark Melancon. Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti can examine Dyson in the flesh and try to fix what ails him. What did he have, 38 saves last year? Posey said. He s obviously got great stuff. Hopefully he can return to form and be a big piece now and to come. Joe Panik, who has faced Dyson four times, said his sinker could play with a good defensive infield such as the Giants. I don t know what happened over there, Panik said. I know he s a really good pitcher. The incumbent bullpen, which has struggled for consistency, pitched three shutout innings after Cain allowed five runs in five innings. Cain surrendered hits to eight of his first 13 hitters, so it might seem a stretch to call him unlucky, but he was. After Hernan Perez s leadoff homer in the second, a no-doubter, Cain got Eric Sogard to hit a high popup with two outs and two on. However, Sogard placed it perfectly up the left-field line. Shortstop Brandon Crawford, one of three Giants to converge on the ball, attempted a sliding catch but deflected the ball toward the stands, allowing two runs to score and extending the inning for Domingo Santana s RBI single. A 1-0 game became 4-0 quickly, then 5-0 when pitcher Chase Anderson hit a two-out RBI single in the third. I told (Cain) he should have come out better than that, manager Bruce Bochy said. You have a hot hitter up there. When you have a hot hitter those things tend to fall in. Cain has lost his past four starts after winning three of his first four decisions. The Giants might have to make a call on Cain soon. After he faces the Twins at home Sunday, his next scheduled start would be at Coors Field not a desirable locale for a pitcher with road woes. Anderson extended his scoreless streak to 212/3 innings with the 72/3 he pitched against the Giants, who scored their runs in the ninth against reliever Carlos Torres. Giants lose to Brewers, and their season has become a proving ground By ANDREW BAGGARLY / Bay Area News Group MILWAUKEE On first blush, it makes little sense that the Giants would take on another passenger on their bus ride to nowheresville. 7

9 That s what they did Tuesday night, announcing in the midst of their 5-2 loss to the Brewers at Miller Park that they had acquired deposed Texas Rangers closer Sam Dyson for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Why the heck would the Giants be adding to a club that is 24-36? Does this mean they are not giving up on the season? Well, it could mean the opposite, actually. This is the kind of move that is precisely what non-contenders should try to make. Dyson is a reclamation project that the Rangers decided to junk, designating him for assignment after he went 1-6 with a ERA in 17 games. They had seen enough after he gave up 31 hits (including six home runs) and walked 12 in 16 2/3 innings. Yet the 29-year-old also recorded 38 saves a year ago, and was almost untouchable in 2015 when he posted a 1.15 ERA. He had even more recent success in the World Baseball Classic in March, when he threw six scoreless innings without allowing a hit or walk. Giants officials sought input from his WBC catcher before making the trade. And Buster Posey gave his approval. The power sinker, that s the main thing that stands out, Posey said. It s one of the best sinkers I ve ever caught. The Giants continued their own power sink in the standings Tuesday. Eric Sogard hit one well placed blooper that went for a two-run double against Matt Cain, and the NL s worst offense didn t begin to answer until the ninth inning. It is hard for your voice to carry through a door that is mostly shut. But there is a reason that they put proving grounds in the wasteland. If Dyson is nuclear bad in a Giants uniform, who cares? It s not like they have anything to lose at this point. And if pitching coach Dave Righetti and Co. can fix him, then they could have a valuable bullpen piece who isn t eligible for free agency until after the 2019 season. Dyson has two more years of arbitration before then, but if he doesn t show enough in the coming weeks or months to warrant a multimillion salary, then the Giants can always non-tender him. We re hoping a change of scenery is going to serve him well, said Giants manager Bruce Bochy, who wasn t sure when Dyson would arrive. Everyone has their hiccups in this game. If we can get him back on track, it certainly can help us in the late innings. Said Posey: He could be a big piece for now and years to come. Of more immediate concern is figuring out a way for their rotation Matt Cain and Matt Moore, especially to be competitive away from AT&T Park. Cain has an 8.40 ERA in six road starts after giving up five runs on 10 hits in five innings. He usually gets hit hard at Miller Park. This time, he mostly got hit soft. But forget exit velocity for a moment. When you are a Giants pitcher this season, yielding anything means yielding everything. 8

10 Brewers right-hander Chase Anderson kept up his sparkling run while throwing 7 2/3 shutout innings, and the Brewers got to Cain early. Hernán Perez hit a deep home run to start the second inning, but it was Eric Sogard s two-run double a blooper that barely eluded the diving effort of shortstop Brandon Crawford near the left field line that made all the difference. And as I told him, he should ve come out of that better, Bochy said. When you have a hot hitter, it seems those fall in. It ended up being three runs. Matt really could have fared a lot better than he did. Not much you can do, really, Cain said. The Giants had no response against Anderson, a former Diamondbacks prospect who hasn t allowed a run over his last three starts a spotless run that covers 21 2/3 innings. Although the Giants didn t roll over against a struggling pitcher, their offensive struggles continued to follow a pattern on this road trip: a feast followed by a famine. The Giants grounded into three double plays and the Brewers turned a fourth one when Eduardo Nuñez was thrown out trying to steal on a strikeout pitch past Brandon Belt. It got us even when we ran to stay out of it, Bochy said. Those are rally killers. You give the pitcher credit. He s making the pitches to get the ground balls. When we don t score, usually double plays are involved. Once again, the Giants showed they had a rally within them. But they started too late. They broke the shutout in the ninth against Carlos Torres, as Nuñez, Belt and Posey led off the inning with singles. Posey s hit accounted for just his 16th RBI of the season. Then after a mound visit, the Giants caught a break. Torres fielded Crawford s grounder and threw wide to second base as he tried to start a double play. Belt scored on the error, which put runners at the corners and brought the tying run to the plate. But Brewers closer Corey Knebel did not enter with 51 strikeouts in 28 innings by happenstance. He struck out Hunter Pence, who has not made an immediate impact since returning from the disabled list. Then Knebel and induced a pair of ground outs from Joe Panik and Austin Slater to end it. GIANTS MAKE TRADE TO HELP BULLPEN, BUT THERE'S NO FIX FOR SLUMPING LINEUP By Alex Pavlovic / NBC Sports Bay Area MILWAUKEE The Giants can dream about what their new right-hander might become. Sam Dyson is a former closer, a right-hander with 99 mph in his arm, and a proven track record in the majors. If he gets back to form, the Giants will have a setup man for Mark Melancon, and they ll have acquired him virtually for free. It s not hard to picture a reliever with a ERA turning it around. It happens all the time. It s much harder to hit that kind of jackpot with position players, so there s no help coming for this lineup that continues to need it. 9

11 The Giants nearly got shut out Tuesday, settling for a 5-2 loss thanks to a ninth-inning rally that was cut short just as quickly as it started. There are problems every night, some the same and some different. On Tuesday, it was the double plays. The Giants hit into three of them in the first seven innings against Chase Anderson. In another inning, Eduardo Nuñez was caught stealing on a strikeout pitch to Brandon Belt. Even when we ran a guy to stay out of (the double play) that was a double play, Bochy said. Those are rally-killers. There were not many rally-starters. The Brewers had their share, though, getting 10 hits off Matt Cain, who has an ERA north of eight on the road. Asked if there s any rhyme or reason why he is so dominant at home and so hittable on the road, Cain was brief. No, he said, the answer lingering until the interview finished. Cain suffered from some hard luck when Eric Sogard s two-out flare dropped for a two-run double. But he had already allowed a run to that point and he would allow two more. With the way Corey Knebel got out of the ninth-inning jam, it probably didn t matter either way. Dyson has that kind of power stuff, but his strikeout rate is way down and his walk and home run rates have skyrocketed. Bochy said he had to check with general manager Bobby Evans to get specifics on Dyson s arrival, but he ll be part of the bullpen soon, and the Giants will try to work some magic. They have not hit with reclamation projects on the offensive side recently. Perhaps they can still bring the best out of a power pitcher. Here s a guy who has a lot of experience pitching late in ballgames, Bochy said. It s a good arm. He s gotten off to a rough start there in Texas and we re hoping a change of scenery serves him well. 10