Game of the Week: August 11: SF @ PHI

[Commissioner Erick]

San Francisco Giants (68-49) @ Philadelphia Phillies (69-50)


SF: Shane Baz (10-6, 4.44)
PHI: Jhoan Duran (12-7, 3.19)


It’s been a frustrating season for the Philadelphia Phillies, and a frustrating series against the San Francisco Giants with last year’s Wild Card Game winner taking two of the first three. However, as of today, the two teams are virtually tied for the final playoff spot, giving Philadelphia optimism that they can salvage a playoff berth out of this year. The Giants, meanwhile, have surged the last few weeks. After dropping three of four to the Dodgers to begin the second half, they’ve taken 13 of 18 and sit a half game out of the NL West lead.

Each team has expected more this year, but each team can take a huge step towards making the postseason when the Phillies and Giants meet in the Game of the Week.

The final game of a four game set, the first three have been close affairs. Philadelphia held on to a 6-1 lead to squeak out a 6-5 win yesterday, while the Giants took the first two in extras. A Kelyn Klattenburger eighth inning, game-tying home run and a Bryan Martelo go-ahead 10th inning home run gave the Giants a Friday win, while 6 scoreless bullpen innings and an Isan Diaz 13th inning home run gave San Francisco a Saturday win.

Should the Giants make the postseason at the expense of Philadelphia, those extra inning games will be telling. The Giants are 3-0 in extras on the month and 10-4 on the year. Philadelphia is 0-3 on the month, and 3-9 on the year.

The Phillies have figured out their offense though. Even with Seth Beer relatively quiet since the start of July, the Phillies bats have broken out. Darrick Hall hit .269 in July and is batting .303 in August, producing even when the ball doesn’t go over the fence. He’s still on pace for 75 home runs and 166 RBIs, but he scored more runs in July than in any month this year. His strong batting average has been big because Wilmer Flores has been fantastic hitting behind him. Since June 1, Flores has the seventh best OPS in the league at 1.034, the fourth most homers in the league with 24, and the fifth most RBIs with 52. He’s doing it while not striking out and playing strong defense at First Base.

Philadelphia also bolstered their offense externally, going out and trading for Evan Skoug. The former Cleveland Catcher was vital in their 2020 championship, and has turned into one of the best offensive Catchers in the game playing for each of the Ohio teams. He’s replaced the moribund J.T. Realmuto from the starting lineup, giving Philadelphia one more ferocious bat for teams to deal with.

That will make for a fun matchup with last year’s Cy Young runner up, Shane Baz. The San Francisco ace hasn’t been quite as dominant of last year, but seven strikeouts will put him in second place in the league in strikeouts, and he’s seventh in WAR. He hasn’t gone as deep into games this year and his ERA has jumped to 4.44, but three starts in unforgiving Coors Field may be skewing his numbers. Removing a trio of road starts against the Rockies, Baz sees his ERA lowered by a full run to 3.36. Of his 11 road home runs allowed, seven have been in Coors, making his home/road splits more palatable against a team in Philadelphia that doesn’t play on the moon.

San Francisco’s bullpen is outstanding and can hold up to Philadelphia’s powerful bats. The unit has allowed only three runs this series in 17.2 innings. The thing Philadelphia can look forward to is that it’s a tired pen. Octavio Lopez and Justin Dunn are the only pitchers with their tanks more full than empty, plus dynamic righty Rafael A. Gomez strained an abdominal muscle and will have to head to the IL. If fans are treated to bonus baseball, that fatigue may give Philadelphia a chance to go 4-9 in extra inning games.


Questions for the GMs:


For Dave Twibell, you’ve lost Gomez for an extended period of time. Who will replace him in the pen?

Kelyn Klattenburger had a huge July with a .309 average and six homers, but has had a pedestrian August. Can you win with him at his August level of production, or do you need his July numbers to be a team that can win at the highest levels?

Who is the key player on the Phillies to look out for in order to beat them today?

For Matt Grubs, how has your lineup looked with Skoug taking over as your new Catcher?

You don’t go with a deep bench at all. What’s the reason you only have one backup position player who isn’t a Catcher?

Baz has been terrific when he hasn’t been pitching in the mountains. How do you manage to score some runs off him today?


TRIVIA: Three qualified pitchers have finished a season with an ERA under 3.00 for San Francisco. Who are they?

[sfdave]

You’ve lost Gomez for an extended period of time. Who will replace him in the pen?  Losing Gomez hurts but I've been trying to find a way to get Alex McKee up from AAA for a few sims now and this gave me the opportunity to promote him.  I doubt he'll be able to completely fill Gomez's shoes, but he's got great stuff and a solid profile, so it will be interesting to see how he handles ML hitters.  


Kelyn Klattenburger had a huge July with a .309 average and six homers, but has had a pedestrian August. Can you win with him at his August level of production, or do you need his July numbers to be a team that can win at the highest levels?  Our hitting has been disappointing all season.  We aren't solid enough top to bottom and need a couple guys to carry things, so having July Klatt would be huge.  Somebody has to step up, whether it's Klatt, Mitchell, Rutherford, or someone else.  We've got a few guys in AAA would can hit, but they're not ready yet so somebody on the current roster needs to catch fire or we're going to struggle scoring runs over the rest of the season.  


Who is the key player on the Phillies to look out for in order to beat them today?  It's been a great series so far.  Two extra-inning games and a third decided by one run.  I'm not sure how you single out one guy in Philadelphia's line up. They're brutal all the way down the card.  Even their middle infielders can hit.  If I had to pick one, though, it would be Hall.  He's been lights-out this past week and has had a terrific season so far.  This will probably get posted on Seth Beer's locker, so maybe I should have just kept my big mouth shut.  

[Commissioner Erick]

Aaron guessed Bumgarner and Baz. Dave guessed Jeremiah Estrada

[Grubs - Philly]

How has your lineup looked with Skoug taking over as your new Catcher? Strong. So far, he's provided pop and production, even if the average is a little low. But what we're really after is stability, and I think Evan is filling that need quite nicely. You can ask J.T. and he'll be frank that he feels he's a starting catcher, but he's a pro and he knows he hasn't been producing. In a division with a little more margin for error, we might have been able to give him time to right the ship, but that's not an option this year.

You don’t go with a deep bench at all. What’s the reason you only have one backup position player who isn’t a Catcher? Mostly driver inattention. It's been a little crazy since the trade sending Luis Silva to the Mets and I should have called up Guzman to vacuum up some grounders and give the middle infield and 3B a breather. He's up now and I expect Franklin Barreto to get the first day off. Lastly, my pen has been underperforming and I've carried an extra pitcher most of the year. Hopefully with Lindgren back and my two lefties acquired in trades, I'll be able to nail down some bullpen roles going into September.

Baz has been terrific when he hasn’t been pitching in the mountains. How do you manage to score some runs off him today? As is usually the case with us, it's about capitalizing on baserunners. We can't handle another 9-hit, 2-run performance. We'd like to see Seth Beer find his groove again and are looking to Jhoan Duran to continue his fantastic run.

[Commissioner Erick]

Phillies 5- Giants 4


WP: A. Araujo (1-4)
LP: A. McKee (0-1)
SV: D. Altavilla (29)


Starting pitcher Jhoan Duran pitched well enough to help the Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants, 5-4. Philadelphia reliever Alexis Araujo was credited with the win, to go to 1-4. Alex McKee took the loss for San Francisco. With the win, Philadelphia pushed its record to 70-50.

Philadelphia took a 5-4 lead on Wilmer Flores's 23rd double of the season. The run-scoring double, which Flores hit in the bottom of the eighth, left San Francisco pitcher Alex McKee shaking his head.

Duran called the triumph "a good team win."


Questions for the GMs:


For Dave Twibell, Alex McKee made his first major league appearance and took the loss. Did you agree with him being used in such a big spot and continuing on through the rain delay?

Dan Cabrera went 0-5 with three strikeouts, and he left two in scoring position with two outs. Will you continue to bat him fifth?

In the 6th inning, Yomar Valentin was jammed by Jacob Lindgren with the bases full and two outs, but he fisted a ball into left. Orlando Arcia scored a run, but Kelyn Klattenburger was held at third. The next batter, lefty Jeison Rosario, flew out on the first pitch. Would you have liked to have seen more aggressive baserunning there?

For Matt Grubs, every one of your bullpen save Altavilla allowed a run. Did that add any clarity to a convoluted bullpen situation?

El Aspirador, Jonathan Guzman, blasted a home run off Shane Baz, the first of his career. Did you expect that when you plugged him into the lineup at Shortstop?

Has Wilmer Flores been even better than you expected him to be?


TRIVIA: Who is the only Phillies primary Catcher for a season to drive in more than 61 RBIs in a season?

[Commissioner Erick]

Matt correctly guessed Travis d'Arnaud