And there are must-win games that might save a clubhouse from becoming a powder keg.
Advertisement
For only the third time ever, the Giants are visiting the Yankees this weekend as part of interleague play. It was the kind of mistake that can not happen for a team that is not getting clutch hits or finding any breaks. He gave up just one run in 5.1 innings in that game and he struck out one batter while walking two. San Francisco was 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position, dropping to 7 for 64 (.111) since the All-Star break, before Williamson’s single.
San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija throws during the first inning of the baseball game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, Sunday, July 24, 2016, in New York.
Santiago Casilla saved his own victory. He wouldn’t score. Bochy glared at him angrily and then retreated to the clubhouse for a moment to cool down.
“There’s been some ups and downs in the course of the season for us”, Girardi said of the winning formula on Saturday afternoon.
And Pagan by all rights should have scored in the 11 after he walked, stole second base and advanced on a ground out. Green tossed the final 2 1/3 innings for his first career save.
Pagan, who had taken just a one-step lead off third base, got a late break and did not run. Pagan was on third when Betances tried to intentionally walk Crawford.
After the Yankees survived that scare, Girardi signaled from the dugout to McCann to call off the intentional walk and pitch to Crawford.
The Giants pulled a surprise a few hours prior to the first pitch, switching the order of their rotation and giving the ball to Johnny Cueto to reestablish his alignment in the No.2 spot behind Madison Bumgarner.
Despite a roaring start, the Giants are just 11-9 in Samardzija’s assignments; he has a 6.32 ERA over his last 10 outings.
Bochy apologized to reporters for the confusion, saying the plan was set several days ago to put Cueto back on his normal day and he thought it had been communicated to the public. The Giants, who have committed six errors in the series, received six scoreless innings from their bullpen after surprise starter Johnny Cueto provided six strong frames. He last faced San Francisco July 18, 2014 at Miami and allowed eight runs and nine hits in four-plus innings.
Chad Green gave up the two inherited runs on Buster Posey’s soft, opposite-field single.
-Pence went 1 for 3 with an RBI and a double-play grounder while playing seven innings in right field for Triple-A Sacramento.
The first three innings were a grotesque pencil sketch of their luck in the second half. They’ll come home in first place.
In the second inning, Williamson was thrown out trying to score from first base on Ramiro Peña’s two-out double.
Brett Gardner’s barehanded cutoff on the ball in the gap. Their cleanup-hitting catcher fouled a ball off the top of his right foot in the first inning, was replaced by Trevor Brown in the bottom of the fourth and was diagnosed with a contusion after X-rays ruled out a fracture. Belt, who is 2 for 30 with 15 strikeouts since the All-Star break, couldn’t check his swing while striking out. Now, he made a 3rd, making a bad throw that messed up a force play, possibly even a double play.
Headley kept running and beat Belt’s throw home. His solo shot off Ivan Nova tied the game in the fifth. Two pitches later the Yankees had a 5-0 lead and knocked out Samardzija when Gregorius hit a double.
Brian McCann’s catch and tag at the plate. He has won his last two starts overall. The second one included a passed ball on an apparent cross up with Posey.
Advertisement
Casilla entered and the gears turned in both dugouts.
