SFGiants, Games 20-22 Rockies Series

Hi there! It's been a while...miss me? I've missed you. I've also missed the Giants. I hate Thursday off days. The only positive is that it gives me a chance to catch up on the shows I wanted to watch (Survivor & The Mindy Project). A little about me - it's been a very busy week at work. Like, crazy busy. I've also gone bridesmaid dress shopping, had sushi twice, went on a hike at Bishop Ranch, and spent a lot of time at the gym. My trip to Peru is coming up, so I'll be busy working out. That means few chances to live tweet the game and even less time to write :( I'm going to keep up with my blog though because it's become a source of relaxation for me. 

Anyway...I'm excited to be back at AT&T Park tonight, tomorrow, and Sunday. Yes, I'm doing another three-game series. I love it. Also, my friend Chris is in town visiting and I'll be meeting up with my favorite Giants friends/fans, so this weekend will be a blast!

Aren't you glad I'm done writing about myself? ;) Let's relieve that stressful and demoralizing series with a happy ending, shall we? 

Game 20 - Vogelsong
This game sucked. Vogelsong was not effective at all, and even admitted post game that he was embarrassed by his performance. I feel bad for him. This picture says it all. 

Here are some lowlights from the 8-2 loss:
- Vogey lasted only 1 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on three home runs.
- Charlie Blackmon hit two of the five total home runs for the Rockies. All eight of their runs were scored via home run.
- The Rockies sent nine men to the plate in the first inning. It was just awful from the beginning. Nolan Arenado and Wilin Rosario both hit home runs in the 1st, giving the Rockies a 4-0 lead. Blackmon led off the 2nd inning with a home run.
- From Owen Perkins at mlb.com: It was Vogelsong's shortest outing in 82 starts as a Giant and the shortest start by any National League pitcher this season.
- David Huff came in to relieve Vogey and promptly got a double play to end the 2nd inning. He also had his first AB in the majors and made it safely to first, beating out the throw. Unfortunately, he hurt himself in the process. He stayed on base and scored his first run when Buster Posey GIDP but didn't pitch in the bottom of the 3rd. More suckage.
- Yusmeiro Petit replaced Huff in the 3rd. After Rosario singled, Corey Dickerson hit a two-run home run. DJ LeMahieu doubled, but the Petit settled down and got the next three batters out. He also led of the 5th inning and it was funny to watch.
- In the 5th, Hunter Pence had a ground rule double that potentially kept Angel Pagan from scoring. With Pence and Pagan on 2nd and 3rd, both Posey and Michael Morse couldn't get them home.
- In the 7th, Pagan struck out on a called strike and argued with the ump. According to Bruce Bochy, he was going to be pulled for Gregor Blanco to rest anyway, so he let Pagan argue longer and "get his money's worth." Gotta love Boch! 

- Jean Machi replaced Petit in the 7th. Juan Gutierrez came in to pitch in the 8th and Blackmon hit his 2nd home run off him.
- Brandon Belt singled in the 9th, and following a wild pitch and a passed ball, Belt was on third with no outs. Brandon Hicks/Crawford both made outs, and Belt eventually scored. On a error. Oy vey.
- The Giants were 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

Game 21 - Bumgarner
Ugh, this game. Madison Bumgarner deserved so much better than this, but his teammates failed him. The Giants lost 2-1, despite Bumgarner going the distance against Franklin Morales in this great pitchers duel. All three runs were scored via solo home runs. Notable details and tidbits on this game:
- MadBum had an eight inning complete game. He struck out six, only allowed two runs, and only threw 97 pitches. He's also the 2nd pitcher in the history of Coors Field who has pitched a complete game, allowed two or less runs, and got the loss.
- In his last two starts, Bumgarner has gotten one run from his teammates. ONE.
- Troy Tulowitski hit a solo home run in the 4th, breaking the scoreless tie. Rosario and Justin Morneau both singled. Drew Stubbs GIDP and then MadBum intentionally walked LeMahieu. Belt committed an error, but no other runs were scored.
- Pence hit his own solo homer in the 5th with two outs to tie the game. It's only his 2nd HR of the season. 

- Arenado put the Rockies ahead in the 6th with a solo home run. He has a 13 game hitting streak.
- Bumgarner was strong in the 7th and 8th, quickly getting out of both of those innings. He also doubled with two outs in the 7th, but then Pagan struck out.
- In the 8th, Pence singled, Posey struck out, and then Morse singled. Useless Pablo Sandoval then GIDP. Like I said in a previous post, my patience for his struggles is at an all-time low. 
- Last chance in the 9th for the Giants to at least tie it up for MadBum. After Belt ground out, Crawford walked, followed by a single from Blanco. Hector Sanchez struck out, and then Pagan grounded out. Game over :(
- The Giants are now 3-for-40 with RISP. It's getting really sad, you guys.

Game 22 - Cain
This game was pure bipolar baseball, down to the last outs. I couldn't watch live because I was at work, but listening to the radio broadcast and following along on mlb.com was so very stressful. My heart was racing at various points in the game, and the only reason why the Giants didn't send me into the pit of depression is because they somehow avoided the sweep and managed to win this game despite all the shenanigans that occurred. Watching the replay was fun though. Let's take it from the top!

1st inning highlights
Blackmon singled, and then scored on Tulowitski's home run. Rockies lead 2-0.

2nd inning highlights
Morse led off the inning with a home run. Sandoval walked, but then Sanchez GIDP. Crawford lined out to end the inning. In the Rockies half of the inning, Brandon Barnes, LeMahieu, and Tyler Chatwood (the starting pitcher) all singled to load the bases. Blackmon grounded out to score Barnes and then an error by Belt on a pick-off attempt allowed LeMahieu to score. Blackmon later scored on a single by Tulowitski.

3rd inning highlights
Hicks led off the inning and hit a home run. Matt Cain singled, Blanco struck out, Pence singled, and Belt flied out. With two outs, Morse hit a three run home run, his second of the game, to tie it up at 5-5. Because he cleared the bases, it was overlooked that Sandoval struck out. AGAIN.

4th inning highlights
When Hicks was called out on strikes, Bochy argued with the umpire briefly and was subsequently tossed from the game. LAME. Meanwhile, the Rockies took the lead when Blackmon hit a solo home run. I'm getting sick of that guy - he had an excellent series against our pitching. 

5th inning highlights
The Giants had a great opportunity to take the lead when Cain singled, followed by Blanco and Pence walking to load the bases. But this is the 2014 Giants, so of course they didn't get any runs with the bases loaded with no outs. Belt, Morse, and Sandoval all failed to get an RBI.

6th inning highlights
Nada.

7th inning highlights
Belt hit a two run home run (Pence had walked) off relief pitcher Rex Brothers. Cain was left in the game - bad decision - and walked Blackmon. Arenado doubled him home and the Rockies tied it up. AGAIN.

8th inning highlights
Sanchez led off the inning with a home run off relief pitcher Matt Belisle. Unfortunately, the Rockies tied it up once more in their half of the inning against Santiago Casilla when Blackmon drove LeMahieu home. 

9th inning highlights
Pence led off the inning with a double, but Belt, Juan Carlos Perez, and Joaquin Arias could not get him home.

10th inning highlights
The only thing of note is that Posey came in as a pinch hitter and was intentionally walked. I feel like that will continue to happen throughout the season.

11th inning highlights
Pence singled, then Belt walked. Perez sacrificed them over and then the Rockies intentionally walked Arias to load the bases. After a long and intense 10-pitch battle, Sanchez made our baseball dreams come true and hit a GRAND SLAM. Whooooo hooooo, Giants lead 12-8. 

Sergio Romo was in to pitch the bottom of the 11th even though it wasn't a save situation and of course, the Rockies did not go quietly. Tulowitski singled and subsequently scored on Morneau's two run home run, to bring the Rockies within two. After Rosario grounded out, Stubbs singled, but then Romo got Barnes to GIDP to finally, and mercifully, end this rollercoaster of a game.

Fun facts:
- There were a total of nine home runs, six for the Giants and three for the Rockies.
- It was Sanchez's first career grand slam. He had two home runs in the game (also a first), as did Morse. Two Giants players last hit two homers in the same game on May 25, 2005 (my birthday, just FYI) - Moises Alou and Pedro Feliz against the Dodgers. Sanchez also had a career high five RBIs.

- Pence and Hicks both had three hits. I'm hoping Pence is starting to get hot.  
- Jeremy Affeldt was able to get out of a bases loaded jam in the 7th inning. He's doing well and I'm so glad he's back. 
- Machi got the win and is now 4-0. Lmfao.
- Speaking of funny things, my friend Brooke called the Rockies "Rocktards" and I haven't stopped laughing about it since. Well done.
- Wednesday's game was just the second win for the Giants in the last seven games :( They also finished the series going 3-for-31 with RISP.
- Happy flight and some momentum going into their off day. 

See you at the ballpark! GO GIANTS!!!

xoxo, 
JC

SFGiants Game 19 - Happy Easter!

First and foremost, hope you all had a Happy Easter! Or if it's your preference, hope you had a Happy 420. Whatever floats your boat.

I went to church with my mom Sunday morning and then had lunch after. As we were eating our dessert, a tall, beautiful woman walked by with an adorable little boy. She looked familiar and then I realized that it was Nicole Vogelsong, with her Vogelchild, Ryder. I walked over to them to introduce myself, and she was so unbelievably sweet. She even knew me by name and mentioned my twitter handle. I even got two Vogelhugs. I made friends with Ryder too - what a great kid. Looks just like daddy. We even talked baseball a little bit and were excited when Buster Posey hit his home fun. Not going to lie, I loved meeting her. And Ryder, of course <3 

I mean, seriously. How cute are the Vogelsongs??? Anyway, onto the game!

1st inning highlights

Angel Pagan popped out to start the game after a seven pitch AB. Hunter Pence then walked. On the first pitch Posey saw, he hit his 4th home run of the season, and just like that, the Giants had two runs for the first time in what felt like forever. That hit was much needed after getting into a 1-24 slump at the plate. Michael Morse worked a seven pitch at bat as well, and subsequently struck out.

2nd inning highlights

After Joaquin Arias flied out to Seth Smith, Brandon Hicks coaxed an eight pitch walk. Brandon Crawford moved Hicks over to third with a single to center. Erlin then walked Lincecum to load the bases. Pagan came through with a single of his own to center, scoring Hicks and Crawford. Those two RBIs gave Pagan a total of 12 in the young season. After his teammates gave him a 4-0 lead, Lincecum had a shut down inning and headed back to the dugout after striking out Tommy Medica, giving up a single to Nick Hundley, and then getting Alexi Amarista to GIDP. 

3rd inning highlights

The Giants were quiet in their half of the inning, but the Padres were not. With two outs, Will Venable singled, followed by a single from Smith to move Venable to third. Former Giants Xavier Nady walked to load the bases. Chase Headley then doubled to right, with Venable and Smith scoring. The Padres also sent Nady home, and was initially called safe. Bruce Bochy challenged the call, and it was overturned. That was a perfect time to challenge, especially since it went our way. 4-2 going into the 4th was much more manageable than 4-3, especially given how anemic the Giants offense has been.

4th inning - Uneventful on both sides.

5th inning highlights

Another quiet inning from the Giants offense, but the highlight of the inning was seeing Posey gun Everth Cabrera out trying to steal 2nd. POSEY AIN'T HAVIN' IT. He is seven for 18 on getting the runner out on stolen base attempts.

6th inning - Uneventful on both sides. 

7th inning highlights

Lincecum was at 101 pitches, but Boch put him back out there, and Hundley promptly hit the first pitch he saw out, to bring the Padres within one run of the Giants. Jeremy Affeldt came to relieve Timmy and pitched a clean inning. 

8th inning highlights

Nothing going on as usual on offense, but the 8th inning gave Giants gamer babes a chance to see Javier Lopez pitch to TWO batters. WHOA. He was then replaced by Santiago Casilla. 

9th inning highlights

Sergio Romo came in to save the game. He walked leadoff batter Headley, who went to second on a wild pitch. After that, he got three consecutive pop ups from Yasmani Grandal, Hunley, and Yonder Alonso to secure the save and end the game. This was Romo's fifth save.

NO SWEEP. Little victories are important. It also ended their three game losing streak.

Some interesting fun facts:

- The Giants' last 10 games have been decided by 11 runs.

- The Giants had more runs (4) than hits (3). The Padres outhit the Giants seven to three. 

- After Pagan's RBIs in the 2nd, the Giants did not get another hit. 

- The win game Lincecum his 90th victory. 

- The Giants bullpen is currently number one in MLB with their combined 1.79 ERA.

- Pagan was interviewed after the game and we got to hear him say happy flight :)

Excited for the game tonight. Hoping for a strong start from Vogelsong and also hoping our bats come alive at hitter friendly Coors Field. 

GO GIANTS!

xoxo,

JC

SF Giants Game 15

Sup y'all. To be honest, I'm still pretty happy about last night's game. I'm running on empty since I only slept four hours last night, so it was probably dumb to go on a short hike after work especially since I didn't eat much today. Thankfully, I survived! I didn't want to be a jerk and say "Umm, is it time to turn around yet? The game starts soon..." but we completed our 4-mile loop just in time for me to turn on the radio and listen to the first inning on my drive home.

1st inning highlights
Dee Gordon led off the game with a single. Carl Crawford flied out to left field, and then Hanley Ramirez grounded into a double play. Angel Pagan grounded out and then Hunter Pence ended up on 2nd due to a field error by Kemp. HAHA, Kemp. Pablo Sandoval and Buster Posey stranded Pence at 2nd.

2nd inning highlights
After Adrian Gonzalez was out for interfering with Posey, Kemp walked. Kemp was picked off at first and called out. Don Mattingly challenged and four very long minutes and 25 seconds later, the call was upheld. HAHA, Kemp. I wish the umps hadn't taken that long, but glad that Ryan Vogelsong was able to stay loose. 

Side note: Jon Miller mentioned that the Giants were down one Brandon tonight. Brandon Crawford was given the night off due to tightness in his hamstring. It happened last night when he was racing around the bases. Miller mentioned it wasn't that serious. Fingers crossed!

3rd inning highlights
Juan Uribe singled to left field and then during Drew Butera's at bat, Posey gunned him down trying to steal 2nd. POSEY AIN'T HAVIN' IT. In the bottow of the 3rd, Paul Maholm walked Pagan. He was out at second on a ground ball force out by Pence. Sandoval singled and the Posey singled deep enough to Crawford, giving our speedy kale-monger more than enough time to make it home. Unfortunately, Morse hit into a double play to end the inning.

4th inning highlights
Quiet inning from both sides. Nice to see Vogey cruising along without any issues.

5th inning highlights
Gonzo was out on one pitch and Pagan singled. That's about all that happened this inning.

6th inning highlights
With two outs, Vogey walked Maholm. The other PITCHER. That was annoying enough until Gordon tripled to right, driving Maholm in to tie the game. It sucks so bad when a two out walk to a pitcher ends up scoring. In the Giants half of the inning, Posey walked, but then Morse hit into ANOTHER double play. Please stop that shit. Belt singled and then made it to second on a wild pitch. Brandon Hicks hit a deep fly ball to center, ending the inning and leaving the score tied.

7th inning highlights
HanRam was hit by a pitch, directly on the hand. Looked pretty awful. Hope he's ok. Gonzo singled, knocking Vogey out of the game. I'm glad the fans gave him a loud ovation. Jean Machi came in to pitch and promptly struck out Kemp. Andre Ethier singled on a weird ass play where Hicks looked like he was going to throw to Belt, but threw to Machi instead. With the bases loaded, our nemesis Uribe hit into a double play, to the delight of Giants fans everywhere. Our turn! Arias was walked on four pitches. Ehire Adrianza bunted him over to 2nd. Pagan struck out and then the Dodgers intentionally walked Pence to pitch to Panda. In all honesty, I thought that was a wise choice, given Sandoval's struggles at the plate this season. Thankfully Sandoval made them pay with a single to center, scoring Arias. This put the Giants up 2-1.

Side note: The Giants bullpen has been pretty amazing thus far. They currently hold the 2nd lowest ERA in the National League. I am confident that they will continue to be strong.

8th inning highlights
Butera and Puig were out rather quickly versus Santiago Casilla. After Gordon singled, the Giants brought in Javier Lopez. He sidearmed to first on a pickoff attempt and threw it away. It ended up being harmless as Crawford grounded out on the first pitch to end the inning. Nice to see Morse get a hit this inning, considering he had to GIDPs in this game. Brandon League was surprisingly good. Shocker!

Side note 1: 
X-rays on HanRam's hand were negative. It looked really bad, so it's good that it's not broken.

Side note 2:
Twitter couldn't get enough of some Giants fans misspellings, and rightfully so. There was a group of six people, each with an individual letter to spell out Beat LA. Unfortunately they were in the wrong order so #BaetLA was trending for a while. I like to drink at games too, so I'll pretend they were just too drunk to realize. How hard is it to remember to stay in the the same order when you do that though? Spelling error number 2 featured a sign that said "Go Gaints!" Come the fuck on, people. Get it right.

9th inning highlights
Sergio Romo came in to save the game. Justin Turner - one pitch, one out. El Mechon then struck out both Gonzo and Kemp to end the game. THAT'S WHAT'S UP!!!

Fun tidbits:
- Great to see Happy Panda during his post game interview. 
- The Giants have won four out of six consecutive one-run games.
- Vogey pitched his best game of the season, allowing only four hits and one run. He also faced only 15 batters through five innings and only gave up one hit during that time.
- The Giants won their 2nd game today in honor of Bruce Bochy's birthday. Happy birthday skipper!
- The Giants are now in 1st place.

- I'm going to relax now and either watch P.S. I Love You or last night's episode of The Voice :)

Sweep LA.Duck the Fodgers. Together, We're Sleepy. Enjoy the rest of your night!

xoxo,
JC

SFGiants Games 9 & 10

Now that the 2-game losing streak is over, let's relive the two losses I watched in person, shall we? Ha.

Game 9 - Hunter Pence Bobblehead Night
My 2nd game in person was off to a good start - a Hunter Pence bobblehead in my possession and a double pour of wine in my hand is how my evening started.

Sat with my friends, Denise and Aura, so it was a good time, but I could probably sum this game up with the following two words: Fucking Goldshit. 

I was nervous about this Tim Lincecum start, more so than usual. Turns out, that negative feeling turned into the suckfest I witnessed. Lincecum gave up SEVEN runs in FOUR innings, including a 3-run home run by Paul Goldschmidt in the 1st inning. It was all downhill from there. Worth mentioning, however painful it is, that Goldshit has a .542 batting average against Timmy. Seven of his 13 hits are home runs and he has 17 RBIs. UGH, pure and total OWNAGE. I know I talk a lot of crap about him, but at least he's not an arrogant douche bag (ahem, looking at you Yasiel Puig). Goldy seems like a nice, humble guy, I just happen to dislike him, a lot.

Time to get rid of the 'stache, Timmy. PLEASE?

Random side note: I was pretty sad to see how quickly the ballpark emptied out. I've never left a game early, regardless of the score. Just saying.

Highlights of the game: Seeing Michael Morse's super far home run in the 2nd and Buster Posey's 3rd HR of the season in the 5th.     

Personal highlights of the game: Hanging out with two really awesome ladies, meeting a new twitter friend (hi @micko04), pulled pork nachos for dinner, and last but definitely not least...finding a wine kiosk close to my seats. 

Game 10 - Farewell to the Stick Scarf Night
I got to the ballpark early because I really wanted to get that scarf. It's so cute too, so I'm glad I got one. Furthermore, it's just mean to only give away 20,000 of any giveaway, given the absolutely rabid passion we Giants fans have for our team and the ridiculous giveaways.

The pregame ceremony was wonderfully done, as usual. Seeing 49ers players, current and from the past was fun. I wish they would've gotten some bigger names, but I'm glad Brent Jones was there. He was one of my favorites during the Steve Young era. I was nearly in tears when the Giants honorary guests were introduced - where do I even begin? Dave Dravecky was my childhood hero. I was madly in love with JT Snow for many years and he will always be one of my favorites. Humm baby Roger Craig was there too!

 

Finally, I get chills anytime I see Willie Mays and Willie McCovey. They are legends and we are so blessed that they are still a big part of the Giants organization.This is one of my favorite photos from the last game at Candlestick. 

I was hoping that Ryan Vogelsong wouldn't implode like Timmy did last night. He didn't have a great game, but he lasted longer than I thought he would after a rough first couple innings. Just *thinking* about this game still pisses me off. Pablo Sandoval, you're on my list. THE GIANTS SHOULD HAVE WON. IT SHOULD NOT HAVE GONE INTO EXTRAS. IT'S PABLO'S FAULT. His error caused the D'Backs to tie the game, and he had a chance to fix his fuck up with the bases loaded but he screwed the pooch on that too. Ok, I'm done yelling. Just needed to vent for a little bit. 

Onto the game! 

- I love seeing Brandon Hicks contributing. He had an RBI single in the bottom of the 2nd. 

- I wanted to knee Goldschmidt in the nuts when he took Posey out. That was rough to watch. Don't hurt my Posey!!! ;)

- Angel Pagan has a hit in every game this season. He also has the best hair. Coincidence? I think not. 

- Michael Morse is definitely starting to feel at home at AT&T. He doubled and then scored when Brandon 2nd Best Hair Crawford also doubled in the 4th inning. Later, in the 5th inning, Morse hit a rocket to right off the bricks to send Sandoval and Posey home. That gave the Giants the lead until that fucking error in the 8th. 

- I was in the SRO in section 123. That is the best spot. I was totally fangirling and drooling over how close Pence and Posey were. Definitely check out the SRO sections when you get a chance. Awesome views from there!

I got to hang out with my friend Erin, caught up with my Giants buddy Michael, and met another tweep (sup @Barritz). I drank a lot, I ate very little, and had a lot of fun despite the loss. The Bart ride home was depressing, until I talked to two of my favorite people. They cheered me up and kept me laughing all the way home. 

I'm still mad at Pablo, but he did ok tonight, so I dislike him 10% less today. Going to recap Game 11 now, so be sure to read that as well. 

Have a great weekend and GO GIANTS!!!

xoxo, 

JC

SFGiants Game 5

I had a conference call during the first inning of the game. Generally the first inning can be boring and uneventful, but it wasn't today. Bummed that I couldn't cheer like a lunatic out loud the way I normally would if I were home alone and not on a work call.

Let's recap that inning, shall we?

It all started with a two out walk. It's been great to see the guys produce with two outs. Michael Morse singled and plated Pablo Sandoval and Buster Posey. After Matt Kemp fumbled the ball around, Morse was at second base. Up next, Mr. April Brandon Belt singled in Morse to make it 3-0. I was already pretty excited at that point. After an intentional walk to load the base to get to pitcher Ryan Vogelsong, he helped himself out and had a two RBI single, with Belt and Brandon Hicks scoring. And it didn't end there! Gloriously coiffed Angel Pagan continued his hot streak with a single that scored Joaquin Arias. After what felt like forever, the inning mercifully (for the Dodgers at least) ended after that. I wouldn't have minded a few more runs though. I mean, it's the Dodgers!

My wish was granted in the top of the 2nd when Hicks doubled and Posey scored. Soon after, Arias singled him home. I glad they both are getting playing time...I hope they both do well too! Sadly, the bats went to sleep after the 2nd inning. 

Vogey was doing ok until the Dodgers half of the 4th inning when Adrian Gonzalez and Andre Ethier hit back to back home runs. I honestly thought Bruce Bochy waited a little too long to pull Vogey out of the game. All scoring stopped in the 5th inning, as the Dodgers failed to close the gap and the final score was 8-4.

Other thing to mention is when Posey gunned down Ethier at second base when he was trying to steal. He was called safe. Boch challenged and the call was overturned, and rightfully so. The best part was when Ethier just walked over to the his dugout, knowing that he was out. He pretended to get water, but Kruk & Kuip definitely called him out on it and it was hilarious. 

Lastly, I'm worried that Vogelsong won't last through the season, but I'm hoping he will. Fingers crossed!

During all that, I found out my truck was ready. $500 later...I'm back on the road. Yay? Oh well. Life goes on. Time to continue watching Iron Man. Onto the next game!

xoxo,
JC