After the San Francisco Giants put up a 7 spot on the Atlanta Braves’ Jairo Asensio in the seventh inning of today’s game, I was sure the ‘magic inside’ was going to brew up another win. But, that was last year, this is this year. And this year, all I’ve got is a big question mark.
They’ve been hitting all right, but haven’t been coming through in the field much. The pitching has been decent, but not when they really need it. And whenever the Giants add an L to the schedule the phrase ‘shot themselves in the foot’ has popped up in my mind more than I’d like to remember. Is that a good thing or a bad thing though? Are these Giants really much different from last year? These questions simply lead me to more questions.
But after watching the starting and relieving pitchers struggle and the Giants hitters having relatively little success against the Braves this weekend, all I can do is ponder more questions.
Giants Pitcher of the Series: Jonathan Sanchez- The Sanchize didn’t have a long outing today, but considering the circumstances, it was a great one. Sanchez went for 5 innings, allowing 2 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks and 5 strikeouts after having to get intravenous fluids Saturday and Sunday due to dehydration from the flu. He kept the Giants in the game, more than they could have asked from him today. Really gutsy performance from Sanchez.
Giants Hitter of the Series: Pat Burrell- Pat the Bat had been slumping a bit, but was 6-9 this series with 3 runs, an RBI, and a double. He seemed to be in a all or nothing funk with his 5 homers already, but came up with a lots of hits this series to raise his average to .270 for the year.
Upcoming Schedule: The Giants are off for the East Coast as they embark on a 10 game road trip, with their first stop in the Steel City with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Matt Cain will take on Charlie Morton in the first game, but according to the San Jose Mercury News’ Andrew Baggarly they next two starters are ‘undecided’ for the G-Men. Bochy’s got something cooking up in that oversize noggin of his…
For more discussion and analysis of the Black and Orange, head over to McCovey Chronicles to get your fix.