Game of the Week: July 19: SF @ COL

[brewersgm]

San Francisco Giants (60-33) @ Colorado Rockies (53-41)

SF: Tim Johnson (5-6, 5.18)

COL: Chandler Newman (2-7, 7.31)

Giants 5 Key Stats:

4.05: The Giants bullpen ERA, which ranks 8th in the NL. The normally outstanding Giants bullpen has not been as good this year.

76: HR's allowed by Giants starting pitching, lowest in the NL. Can this carry through to Coors field today?

.785: The Giants team OPS, 2nd in the NL to only the Rockies. They are mostly known for their great pitching but the Giants have the bats to match.

9.0: Enrique Valdez's ZR at SS. Enrique makes the great Giants pitching that much better. He may be on track for a 2nd straight gold glove.

3.89: Tim Johnson's FIP, a dramatic difference from his 5.18 ERA. Johnson has been unlucky this year.

Rockies 5 Key Stats:

539: The Rockies runs scored the most in all of the PBA. The Rockies know how to put runs on the board

537: The Rockies runs allowed the most in all of the PBA. The Rockies do not how how to stop runs being put on the board

87: Nolan Arenado's RBI total. He may be 36 but Nolan is as good as ever, leading all PBA hitters in RBI. His 28 homers are also the most in the NL

4.4: Ralph "Jorts" Porter's ZR in right field. The Rockies have the worst zone rating in the NL but not thanks to Ralph. He's been a very strong glove in the large RF of Coors Field.

15: Rogelio Mendizabal's rank on the top 20 OSA position players list. The former rule V pick has blossomed into one of the best players and catchers in the PBA.

Questions for GMs:

For Dave Twibell, What are you feeding your pitching prospects in the minor leagues? You've been one of the best teams at developing pitching, we want to know the secret.

You have only one RH bat in your primary lineup against RHP. Are you worried that this leaves you vulnerable to Left handed relief pitching?

You've mentioned a logjam at SP and RP. Who might be getting a look if the guys blocking them are moved by the deadline?

For Erick Blasco, You've currently got a 3 game lead for the 2nd WC. Are there any moves you are looking to make to improve your run prevention to keep this lead over the 2nd half of the season?

Why did you target Chandler Newman in rule V? Was his familiarity with pitching in Colorado a factor?

How much does Ralph Porter's leadership presence help in a clubhouse with some crazy personalities? Are he and his jorts enough to keep the clubhouse chemistry high?

Trivia: Who is the tallest active PBA player?

[Commissioner Erick]

For Erick Blasco, You've currently got a 3 game lead for the 2nd WC. Are there any moves you are looking to make to improve your run prevention to keep this lead over the 2nd half of the season?

We made one move, bringing in Michael Perez. With Wenceel Perez injured, we'll need more defense for our infield, especially Shortstop. He'll be able to take over for Aramis Ademan late in games, while also playing Short against lefties. Center Field is our other weak spot, but David Dahl's bat is so good, that we'll live with a bad, but not-catastrophic defender in Center.

Why did you target Chandler Newman in rule V? Was his familiarity with pitching in Colorado a factor?

He had pitched reasonably well at altitude, yes. We liked our scout's opinion of him and thought he could cut it at the back of a rotation. He's been pretty awful though. He pounds the zone, which helps, but he doesn't have great stuff and always pitches in the zone. He gives up a ton of homers and hard-hit balls. We'd replace him if we had the assets to.

How much does Ralph Porter's leadership presence help in a clubhouse with some crazy personalities? Are he and his jorts enough to keep the clubhouse chemistry high?

Nope, most of our clubhouse only cares about themselves. It's mostly a veteran team though, so people don't let things distract them in the field.

[brewersgm]

Rockies 10 - Giants 4


WP: Jose Ruiz (3-1)
LP: R. DiSibio (4-2)

The Colorado Rockies knocked off the San Francisco Giants, 10-4, at Coors Field. David Dahl was a big reason Colorado won. The center fielder was 2-4 with a home run. He scored 2 runs and drove in 2. Colorado now has a record of 54-41 with the win.

A defensive lapse proved costly in the contest. In the bottom of the eighth, with the game tied, Michael Perez was at the plate when Colorado scored 1 on an error. The miscue enabled the Rockies to go in front, 5-4.

"We'll keep playing hard and let the chips fall where they may," said Colorado manager Erick Blasco.


Questions for the GMs:

For Dave Twibell, your team committed 3 errors today, including an error that led to the winning run. Are more fielding drills in store for the Giants after today?

Kelyn Klattenburger had seven total bases today, to kick off a week that ended in an NL player of the week award. When you traded for him from Atlanta did you envision him blossoming into the superstar he has become?

Your bullpen had an ugly 8th inning that ended up costing the game. Any plans to reorganize your bullpen for the 2nd half of the season?

For Erick Blasco, what did you think of your manager bots decision to pinch run 4 speed rating Trevor Story in the 4th inning?

Your team only struck out 4 times against a great pitching staff. What was the plan at the plate today that led to such good plate discipline?

You mentioned that Tom Gunning will be called up due to Trevor Story's injury later in the week. What should Rockies fans expect from the young 3B prospect?

TRIVIA: Which PBA champion had the highest regular season team ERA?

[Commissioner Erick]

For Erick Blasco, what did you think of your manager bots decision to pinch run 4 speed rating Trevor Story in the 4th inning?

Just idiotic. I get my manager bot wanting to come up with a big run, but with two outs in the fourth inning, it's not the time for micromanaging. Even IF the manager bot should have mincromanaged, Perez is faster than Story! Story may be a better base stealer, but Story was blocked with a man on second. It's just an idiotic decision that luckily didn't hurt us.

Your team only struck out 4 times against a great pitching staff. What was the plan at the plate today that led to such good plate discipline?

Our hitters just see the ball so well. With left-handed hitters, Coors, and some aggressive hitters, we don't strike out too often. Some of our hitters who do strike out were able to hang in because of San Francisco mistakes. For example, Tim Johnson got ahead of Nolan Arenado 1-2 in the first. Arenado fouled off a pair of tough pitches then hit the third 1-2 pitch down the left field line for a homer. Johnson got ahead of David Dahl 1-2 in the third and hung a splitter Dahl hit 106 miles an hour for a homer. Our entire lineup did a great job of battling with two strikes and pouncing on opportunities.

You mentioned that Tom Gunning will be called up due to Trevor Story's injury later in the week. What should Rockies fans expect from the young 3B prospect?

He'll play Third Base against left-handed pitchers. It should slightly improve our defense, while also allowing Nolan Arenado to rest a little bit. Gunning will likely be streaky. He's patient and has power, but there's swing and miss in his game. In that respect, he should be similar to Story at the plate, while pinching in defensively. Fans are excited to see him play!

[sfdave]

What are you feeding your pitching prospects in the minor leagues? You've been one of the best teams at developing pitching, we want to know the secret. We've been pretty lucky developing pitchers recently. I credit all of our great minor league managers and pitching coaches. They make a huge difference.

You have only one RH bat in your primary lineup against RHP. Are you worried that this leaves you vulnerable to Left handed relief pitching? Not really. There are so few lockdown LHRP in the NL, and for them to matter against our lineup they need to be both rested and actually used correctly by the manager. I'd rather just roll with my best hitters.

You've mentioned a logjam at SP and RP. Who might be getting a look if the guys blocking them are moved by the deadline? That's a huge "if" given my recent discussions, but Arellano, Estevez, Orcutt, Perry, Soto, Brookshire, Eder, Thompson, Morel, Shead, Riches, and Polanco could all use ML innings.


Your team committed 3 errors today, including an error that led to the winning run. Are more fielding drills in store for the Giants after today? Weird game. We're usually pretty solid defensively, although we've had more problems than normal this season with errors. Could just be bad luck, but it's something we're tracking.

Kelyn Klattenburger had seven total bases today, to kick off a week that ended in an NL player of the week award. When you traded for him from Atlanta did you envision him blossoming into the superstar he has become? I loved Klatt from the outset and thought he had a chance to be a star. Fortunately, neither OSA nor ATL's scout felt the same. My primary target in that deal was Morel who was ranked #23 overall and Klatt was a last-minute addition. He had just been drafted and I think there was some confusion about his potential since he wasn't even ranked in the top-100 list yet. Interestingly, we actually drafted him out of HS in 2019, but for whatever reason failed to sign him. Glad we got a second shot.

Your bullpen had an ugly 8th inning that ended up costing the game. Any plans to reorganize your bullpen for the 2nd half of the season? I don't think so. I've been searching around for a LHRP, but couldn't find anyone that made sense and ended up moving Diaz to the pen instead. We also promoted Valencia who has been solid. We're 14-9 in one-run games and our BP FIP- is good. I think it's just bad luck, but fortunately we do have some guys in AAA ready to help out if we need it.

[Commissioner Erick]

TRIVIA 1: I correctly guessed Tim Kierstead and Todd Buonadonna. Matt correctly guessed Mitchell Stone and John Smerdon

[Commissioner Erick]

TRIVIA 2: Matt guessed the Toronto Blue Jays