Post by Commissioner Erick on Mar 30, 2018 7:39:54 GMT -5
San Francisco Giants (95-66) @ New York Mets (89-72)
SF: Johnny Cueto (10-8, 4.47)
NYM: Sean Gilmartin (1-0, 4.22)
The Giants won a pair of must-win games against the Dodgers to keep their NL West title hopes alive. One win against the Mets, and they'll get one more crack at the Dodgers for the division.
The San Francisco Giants, with NL West title and automatic entrance into the NLDS on the line, take on the NL East champion New York Mets in the season's final Game of the Week.
The Giants, after a disappointing series loss to Arizona and after dropping their first game to the Dodgers, found themselves with a tragic number of one. Any loss would relegate them to a wild card spot and the luck and variance that comes with it.
On Saturday, though, Madison Bumgarner pitched very well and the Giants beat up Alex Wood to keep their season alive heading into a date with Clayton Kershaw on Sunday. Early in Sunday's game, Clayton Kershaw was spooked by something in his elbow, allowing the Giants to tee off on Pedro Baez. Daniel Norris pitched 7 sparkling innings and the Giants kept their division hopes alive again.
Now San Francisco is in the weird position of having to beat a different team just to play the Dodgers one more time for the division. However, after getting rained out August 26th, the Giants and Mets play this makeup game with huge stakes for the Giants.
Christian Arroyo slumped a bit in September, hitting just one home run and committing three of his five errors. As it turned out, he had been playing through biceps pain and sat out a week letting it heal. Giants training staff says he's cleared to play, so it will be interesting to see if he can pick up from where he was in August, when he was perhaps the NL MVP favorite.
If Arroyo can get back to form, he'll be table-setting a lineup that has finally begun to hit for power. A third of Michael Brantley's 19 home runs have come in September and October. Six of Joe Panik's 12 have come over the same period. Four of Buster Posey's 13 came down the stretch, and six of Brandon Belt's 16. Hunter Pence finished the year with 30 home runs and 122 RBIs. It's the most dangerous the Giants offense has looked all season.
However, the Giants will have to rely on Johnny Cueto and his maddening inconsistencies. Ever since getting into a bar brawl in April, Giants talk radio has discussed Cueto's lack of leadership. His performance down the stretch, where he consistently has been giving up five runs a start, can't be helping. He hasn't fanned more than four batter in seven starts, and got rocked for three home runs against Arizona his last start.
Cueto pitched well out of the bullpen during last year's postseason so he has experience working well under pressure. Hopefully he'll be able to perform up to par against a Mets team that will likely be a skeleton taking the field. Winners of the NL East, the Mets will be looking for their second consecutive championship.
Sean Gilmartin made 16 starts in 2017 with a solid 4.37 ERA. He has a 4.20 mark out of 22 outings coming out of the pen this year. He'll allow the Mets to rest up their talented staff, but he's good enough to force San Francisco to work. He's pitched out of the pen against the Giants this year, allowing two runs in 3 innings. He didn't get to start against them last year.
The Mets could also use the game to see if some of their struggling hitters can turn things around. Lucas Duda is hitting only .206, while Asdrubal Cabrera is batting .188. Jean Segura has a .608 OPS as a Met, which is disappointing considering the Mets traded for him to be a starter. These veterans are only backups, but they have the pedigree as veterans to be able to handle pressure situations. However, they're of little use if they aren't performing.
The Mets could also use the game to look at youngsters like Kean Wong. The 23-year old was acquired from Tampa in a deal sending Andres Gimenez the other way. Wong didn't perform well in Double or Triple A last season, but hit above .300 in short stints in Triple A in two organizations. Not much of a power bat, he's got strong plate discipline skills for his age and a nice quick swing. He can handle second and third base very nicely and has some speed, though his baserunning hasn't translated. With several infielders approaching free agency, he can use the game to showcase himself for a job next year.
Questions for the GMs:
For Samuel Rutledge, the Mets are going to throw a lefty at you in Gilmartin. Are you sticking with the same nine in your lineup?
You have Gregorio on normal rest, Cueto on short rest, and Smyly in the pen. What caused you to settle on Cueto to start this game?
You fired Hensley Meulens, bringing in Justin Mashore to be your Hitting Coach. What effect has that had?
For Nate Taylor, what will tonight's lineup be?
Is there a player that will play today that you feel like you need to see something positive from them?
You just suffered an untimely injury from Matt W. Reynolds that will cause him to miss the playoffs. How will he be replaced going forward?
There's rumors in the clubhouse about a specific pig you have a story about. Can you elaborate on that?
SF: Johnny Cueto (10-8, 4.47)
NYM: Sean Gilmartin (1-0, 4.22)
The Giants won a pair of must-win games against the Dodgers to keep their NL West title hopes alive. One win against the Mets, and they'll get one more crack at the Dodgers for the division.
The San Francisco Giants, with NL West title and automatic entrance into the NLDS on the line, take on the NL East champion New York Mets in the season's final Game of the Week.
The Giants, after a disappointing series loss to Arizona and after dropping their first game to the Dodgers, found themselves with a tragic number of one. Any loss would relegate them to a wild card spot and the luck and variance that comes with it.
On Saturday, though, Madison Bumgarner pitched very well and the Giants beat up Alex Wood to keep their season alive heading into a date with Clayton Kershaw on Sunday. Early in Sunday's game, Clayton Kershaw was spooked by something in his elbow, allowing the Giants to tee off on Pedro Baez. Daniel Norris pitched 7 sparkling innings and the Giants kept their division hopes alive again.
Now San Francisco is in the weird position of having to beat a different team just to play the Dodgers one more time for the division. However, after getting rained out August 26th, the Giants and Mets play this makeup game with huge stakes for the Giants.
Christian Arroyo slumped a bit in September, hitting just one home run and committing three of his five errors. As it turned out, he had been playing through biceps pain and sat out a week letting it heal. Giants training staff says he's cleared to play, so it will be interesting to see if he can pick up from where he was in August, when he was perhaps the NL MVP favorite.
If Arroyo can get back to form, he'll be table-setting a lineup that has finally begun to hit for power. A third of Michael Brantley's 19 home runs have come in September and October. Six of Joe Panik's 12 have come over the same period. Four of Buster Posey's 13 came down the stretch, and six of Brandon Belt's 16. Hunter Pence finished the year with 30 home runs and 122 RBIs. It's the most dangerous the Giants offense has looked all season.
However, the Giants will have to rely on Johnny Cueto and his maddening inconsistencies. Ever since getting into a bar brawl in April, Giants talk radio has discussed Cueto's lack of leadership. His performance down the stretch, where he consistently has been giving up five runs a start, can't be helping. He hasn't fanned more than four batter in seven starts, and got rocked for three home runs against Arizona his last start.
Cueto pitched well out of the bullpen during last year's postseason so he has experience working well under pressure. Hopefully he'll be able to perform up to par against a Mets team that will likely be a skeleton taking the field. Winners of the NL East, the Mets will be looking for their second consecutive championship.
Sean Gilmartin made 16 starts in 2017 with a solid 4.37 ERA. He has a 4.20 mark out of 22 outings coming out of the pen this year. He'll allow the Mets to rest up their talented staff, but he's good enough to force San Francisco to work. He's pitched out of the pen against the Giants this year, allowing two runs in 3 innings. He didn't get to start against them last year.
The Mets could also use the game to see if some of their struggling hitters can turn things around. Lucas Duda is hitting only .206, while Asdrubal Cabrera is batting .188. Jean Segura has a .608 OPS as a Met, which is disappointing considering the Mets traded for him to be a starter. These veterans are only backups, but they have the pedigree as veterans to be able to handle pressure situations. However, they're of little use if they aren't performing.
The Mets could also use the game to look at youngsters like Kean Wong. The 23-year old was acquired from Tampa in a deal sending Andres Gimenez the other way. Wong didn't perform well in Double or Triple A last season, but hit above .300 in short stints in Triple A in two organizations. Not much of a power bat, he's got strong plate discipline skills for his age and a nice quick swing. He can handle second and third base very nicely and has some speed, though his baserunning hasn't translated. With several infielders approaching free agency, he can use the game to showcase himself for a job next year.
Questions for the GMs:
For Samuel Rutledge, the Mets are going to throw a lefty at you in Gilmartin. Are you sticking with the same nine in your lineup?
You have Gregorio on normal rest, Cueto on short rest, and Smyly in the pen. What caused you to settle on Cueto to start this game?
You fired Hensley Meulens, bringing in Justin Mashore to be your Hitting Coach. What effect has that had?
For Nate Taylor, what will tonight's lineup be?
Is there a player that will play today that you feel like you need to see something positive from them?
You just suffered an untimely injury from Matt W. Reynolds that will cause him to miss the playoffs. How will he be replaced going forward?
There's rumors in the clubhouse about a specific pig you have a story about. Can you elaborate on that?
