MLB
SF Giants Weekly Wrap Up 4/7-4/14
From here on out, Kevin pillar shall be known as the King from the North.
In a week that started with a disappointing loss to the Rays on Sunday and then blowing a five-run lead to the Padres on Monday, things were looking very bleak for the Giants. And the fans could see it as well. Questions about the attendance at Oracle Park continued throughout the week. Throughout the week, the Giants posted some of their lowest attendance numbers at Oracle Park since September 2010.
However, as the week rolled on, things got positive again. The trades for Kevin Pillar and Tyler Austin resulted in the Giants DFA’ing their two Opening Day corner outfielders Connor Joe and Michael Reed. And boy has Kevin Pillar proved to be the great spark this team needed. The former Blue Jay now leads the Giants in Home Runs, RBI’s, stolen bases, and has made several great plays in center field.
Rockies Series
After losing the first two series, the Giants took three in a row from the Rockies before being 1-hit in the finale on Sunday. The streak started with a strong performance from Jeff Samardzija, who turned in one of his best starts as a Giant. Pitching seven strong innings of three-hit ball, silencing the powerful Rockie offense while striking out seven. The lone run of the game came from, of course, Kevin Pillar who tallied the games only run with a solo shot to center field in the seventh.
It was Friday night/Saturday morning’s weirdness that seemed to show the Giants favor beginning to turn after a rough start to the season. The game, tallying 18 innings and five and a half hours featured the kind of shenanigans that can only come from a game that long. Including no runs from innings 6-17. Balls chopped down the line that stays fair by hitting the outside of the base. And the winning run scoring only because of catcher Chris Iannetta’s foot never being on home plate.
Saturday afternoon’s game was a calmer affair compared to earlier in the morning. Bumgarner took the reigns for the tired bullpen, turning in a great seven Inning performance. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, the offense was lead by Kevin Pillar with 2 RBI’s as the Giants won 5-2.
Sunday saw the Giants fizzle out. Marquez was dominant for the Rockies, throwing a no-hitter into the 8th Inning. He would finish off the game only allowing the one hit all afternoon. The Rockies got to Holland early and forced up his pitch count. A mistake to Nolan Arenado with two runners on lead to a three-run home run capping off a 4-0 victory.
Giants Looking Ahead
Overall, after a slow start in the first few series’, the Giants finally got a series win. While there is a lot for the Giants to improve on, the momentum looks to be shifting a bit. Sitting at (7-10) a lot figured the Giants to be way worse off than they are. As they now head out for a road trip against a good Nationals team and a decent Pirate squad, we’ll see if the Giants can lean on the positives from this home-stand.
Written by Carter Scott
Photo Credit to the Giants via Twitter
