(I know, easier said than done.) The Los Angeles Dodgers also lost, meaning the Giants maintain their one-game lead. The win pushes them up to a half-game behind the Toronto Blue Jays for first place in the American League East while also giving them a game and a half lead up on the Boston Red Sox for the first Wild Card spot. “Madison, with what he’s accomplished here and the big games that he’s pitched, just gives the team a sense of confidence when he’s out there”. But just as hits and dingers are offensive skills, so are walks and so is forcing a pitcher to throw a ton of pitches, and the Giants found a way to do that tonight. It was a pure “I’m better than you” at bat, and it goes to show that when Bumgarner’s on, he’s better than everyone. Out in the Bay Area for a week, the Birds found the going tough the first three games in Oakland.
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Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop (6) celebrates his three-run home run with third baseman Manny Machado (13) in the ninth inning against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park.
Cueto exited after allowing an RBI double to Hyun Soo Kim with two outs in the seventh that made it a 7-3 game.
Posey was scratched from the lineup about 30 minutes before the first pitch because of lower back tightness he said has bothered him for the past few days. “Twice you come up with men on second and third and get hits”. With Kevin Gausman set to face Madison Bumgarner in the pitching matchup, the over/under now sits at 7 runs. He’s gone 4-4 with a 3.23 ERA in those games. He struck out nine batters and walked six, becoming the first pitcher in the majors to do so since 2013.
“I have confidence in all of my pitches”, Casilla said through a translator.
“Good things seem to follow him around”, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said.
It brought the go-ahead run to the plate in Schoop, who swung mightily through a first-pitch fastball, then got a curveball that stayed up in the zone. “He wasn’t the only one”.
Matt Cain, otherwise known as “The Horse”, has been plagued by various injuries since the start of the 2014 season, but seems to be on the fast track to reclaiming his old form after posting a ideal 3-0 record with a superb 2.35 ERA over his last three outings while also throwing ten scoreless innings over his last two starts.
Is it a moral victory that the Giants were forced to use their closer, Santiago Casilla, to get the final out? No.
Led by four-time All-Star Buster Posey (.291, 12 HR, 54 RBI), 2016 All-Star Brandon Belt (.280, 13 HR, 57 RBI), UCLA alum and 2015 All-Star Brandon Crawford (.277, 11 HR, 71 RBI), Swiss-army knife outfielder Angel Pagan (.286, 8 HR, 40 RBI) and the recently-recovered Hunter Pence (.276, 7 HR, 37 RBI), the Giants offense ranks fourth in the NL in average (.258) and sixth in scoring (4.42 runs per game). Worley walked Eduardo Nunez, who ended up on third after Panik hit another double.
“We have the ability to get on a good streak”.
The Giants unveiled a nine-foot bronze statue of Hall of Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry. The legendary spitballer was a five-time All-Star and two-time Cy Young Award victor.
The Giants’ 8-7 loss to the Baltimore Orioles Sunday wasn’t due to faltering offensive production, either. Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal and Orlando Cepeda were all on hand, as well as several other former teammates, to take part in the ceremony. Baltimore RHP Darren O’Day flew back to Baltimore before the game to have his ailing right shoulder examined. O’Day received a cortisone shot in his shoulder Saturday. The Orioles called up RHP Tyler Wilson from Triple-A Norfolk in a corresponding move. OF Mac Williamson, on the disabled list since August 1 with a left shoulder strain, began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento.
Despite two solid efforts, Miley has recorded a 0-2 record and a 4.91 ERA over his first two starts in an O’s uniform.
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Cain and the Giants came to AT&T Park and got whacked around 5-2 by another team in black and orange, the Baltimore Orioles, hardly the way Bruce Bochy had hoped his team might open a favorable schedule run – 15 of 18 games at home.
