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SF Giants Minor Lines, 8/19/15

In which we more or less try to break even

By Roger

Perhaps taking their cue from the big club, this has been a year of long streaks, ups and downs, surges and collapses. One affiliate's been charging hard, while another goes through an extended collapse and then the whole thing reverses. So after five months of struggle, as we hit the final two weeks of the season, where are we? If I asked you which of the full season clubs has had the best season, who would you say?

Team

W

L

Sacramento

62

63

Richmond

61

61

San Jose

61

61

Augusta

61

59

That's odd (and not just the over-large table!)

HIGHLIGHTS: Tommy Hanson threw 7 shutout innings with 7 Ks. Ronnie Jebavy hit a triple and two HRs.

* * *

Sacramento beat the New Orleans Zephyrs (Marlins), 2-0

Name

AB

R

H

RBI

2B

3B

HR

BB

SO

BA

OBP

SLG

RF

Jarrett Parker

4

0

3

1

0

0

0

0

1

.290

.390

.508

2b

Brandon Hicks

3

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

1

.253

.333

.311

Name

IP

H

R

ER

BB

K

HR

HB

WP

ERA

Pitches

Strikes

Tommy Hanson W 2-5

7.0

2

0

0

1

7

0

0

0

6.43

99

63

Mike Broadway, S 13

1.0

1

0

0

0

2

0

0

0

0.97

20

13

Do they have zephyrs in New Orleans? It's been a long time since I was there, but "breezy" is certainly not the word that comes to mind when I think about New Orleans meterological circumstances.

Anyhoo, Tommy Hanson had his second straight strong performance, just when we were all writing him off.  He was fantastic here, going 7 shutout innings and striking out 7. Though apparently he did leave at least one fan wanting to see more:

The shutout was completed by Mike Broadway. Broadway has appeared in 39 games for Sacramento and given up a run in just 5 of them. He's allowed exactly 1 Earned Run (in AAA) since June 9. Yeah, he's been pretty good.

The RiverCats didn't have a whole lot of offense themselves, with 2 runs on 9 hits. Darren Ford led off the 1st with a single, stole his 28th base of the year, and came home on the first of three Jarrett Parker singles.  In the 8th, Mac Williamson provided an insurance run with a Sac Fly. He also sent home one very happy cookie-baking fan:

In the end, this game was two ships heading in opposite directions. Sacramento won their 10th game in a row to climb within a game of .500, while New Orleans lost their 11th in a row, as they sink to the very bottom of the PCL standings (only Salt Lake City has a worse record in the league). Sacramento looks to continue their streak tonight, while New Orleans hopes to break theirs.

* * *

Richmond lost at Binghamton Mets, 7-4 in Gm 1 of DH (7 inn)

Name

AB

R

H

RBI

2B

3B

HR

BB

SO

BA

OBP

SLG

2b

Austin Slater

3

1

2

0

1

0

0

0

1

.308

.360

.379

LF

Devin Harris

3

1

2

3

0

0

1

0

1

.235

.299

.401

Name

IP

H

R

ER

BB

K

HR

HB

WP

ERA

Pitches

Strikes

Matt Gage L 2-3

1.2

7

7

7

2

0

1

0

0

5.10

56

35

Richmond won at Binghamton Mets, 2-1 in Gm 2 of DH (7 inn)

Name

AB

R

H

RBI

2B

3B

HR

BB

SO

BA

OBP

SLG

3b

Mitch Delfino

2

0

1

1

0

0

0

1

0

.257

.317

.323

LF

Devin Harris

3

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

.235

.299

.401

P

Matt Lujan

2

0

1

1

1

0

0

0

0

.292

.320

.375

Name

IP

H

R

ER

BB

K

HR

HB

WP

ERA

Pitches

Strikes

Matt Lujan W 7-5

5.0

3

0

0

2

4

0

0

0

3.45

71

40

Stephen Johnson

0.2

1

1

1

2

2

0

0

0

3.41

29

16

Derek Law S 7

1.0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

4.66

10

7

After waiting another night to see local boy Matt Gage pitch, his fan club sadly didn't get to enjoy him very long, as a six-run 2nd inning chased him from the first game of the DH before some fans had found their seats.  The Squirrels managed just six hits in the game, but four of them were for extra bases, including one which put them back into the game when Devin Harris clouted a three run HR, his 10th of the year.

When Devin hits 'em, they stay hit for sure. Too bad it can't be a bit more of a frequent occurrence.  His HR brought the Squirrels back within three runs, but that was all they'd get, and for a brief time they fell below .500 for the first time since the first week of June.

Matt Lujan, however, would have a good deal more success than his fellow Matt, throwing five innings of shutout ball in the second game, and even pitching in for the offensively challenged Squirrels, pushing his OPS up nearly to .700 on the year with an RBI double that brought in the ultimate winning run.

Stephen Johnson very nearly undid Lujan's good work coming into a 2-0 game and giving up a single, a HB, and back to back walks with two outs, the second of which forced in a run. Tyler Mizenko got out of the bases loaded mess with a ground out and Derek Law shut the door with a 1-2-3 final inning.

Richmond's once-bright playoff hopes are dimming quickly as they now sit 4.5 games back of 2nd place Akron with 19 games remaining. Their one hope can be pinned on a four game road series in Akron next weekend, but even if they can catch Akron, there remains a third team in between them as Richmond is also 2.5 games behind Altoona.

* * *

San Jose won at Stockton (A's), 3-1

Name

AB

R

H

RBI

2B

3B

HR

BB

SO

BA

OBP

SLG

SS

Christian Arroyo

4

1

2

0

0

0

0

1

1

.319

.365

.486

LF

Daniel Carbonell

3

1

2

1

0

0

0

0

1

.276

.328

.400

C

Aramis Garcia

3

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

1

.206

.289

.206

3b

Ryder Jones

4

0

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

.270

.301

.399

Name

IP

H

R

ER

BB

K

HR

HB

WP

ERA

Pitches

Strikes

Jason Forjet W 5-4

6.0

3

0

0

2

6

0

0

1

3.14

93

60

Ray Black

1.0

0

0

0

2

3

0

0

0

2.70

21

12

Jake Smith S 12

2.0

4

1

1

1

3

0

0

0

2.50

44

25

Jason Forjet continued the team's run of great pitching in the second half pitching, keying a victory. The Giants' hitters had 11 hits and two walks on the night, but they went just 4 for 12 with RISP and had three CS to make run scoring a little more scarce than it might have been. They scratched out solo runs in three innings, which was good enough given the pitching.

The bullpen wasn't exactly dominant as they put 7 runners on base in the final three innings, but they had the stuff to get away with it, striking out six to get out of the repeated jams. Ray Black decided to give his defense a rest, either walking or striking out all five batters he faced, and then Jake Smith went the rest of the way for a two inning save.

The game marked the return of Ryder Jones, who has had two nearly back to back DL stints wiping out most of his month. This was just his second game since August 5th. So far, Aramis Garcia hasn't been able to bring his hot second half from Augusta to the Cal League with him, as he adjusts to the higher pitching as well as the greater defensive demands.

With the win, SJ remains two games behind division leader Visalia, while in the Wild Card standings they are tied with Stockton a game behind Modesto.  Just to clarify the Cal League playoff procedures, six of the ten teams in the league go to the playoffs so its actually somewhat difficult to not make them. In each five team division, there is a 1st half champion, a second half champion, and a wild card, which is the team with the best record for the overall season other than one of the half season champs. If the same team wins the first and second halves (which is currently the situation in the Northern division where Visalia has been the dominant team all year), then the top two wild card teams are chosen which is where the current three team scrum of Modesto, SJ, and Stockton comes into play.

Manager Russ Morman made his weekly appearance on Joe Ritzo's pre-game show, talking Ryder Jones' return to the team, Chase Johnson's promotion, and Jordan Johnson and Andrew Suarez joining the team.

* * *

Augusta's game vs. Savannah was rained out
Makeup date TBD. This was the final home game of the year vs. Savannah so this could be a difficult situation for the Sally to handle as it's quite possible this game will affect the playoffs. Augusta does have five games remaining in Savannah.

Augusta fell a half game behind Asheville in the Wild Card race.

* * *

Salem-Keizer beat Hillsboro (Diamondbacks), 10-7
losing their three game series, 1-2

Name

AB

R

H

RBI

2B

3B

HR

BB

SO

BA

OBP

SLG

CF

Ronnie Jebavy

4

3

3

4

0

1

2

0

0

.275

.321

.436

DH

Christopher Shaw

4

1

2

1

1

0

1

1

1

.283

.370

.496

3b

Jose Vizcaino

4

2

3

0

1

0

0

1

0

.304

.373

.500

1b

John Riley

5

0

2

2

1

0

0

0

0

.242

.361

.340

Name

IP

H

R

ER

BB

K

HR

HB

WP

ERA

Nathanael Santiago

3.1

6

4

4

1

3

1

0

0

3.86

Eric Sim W 1-1

3.1

2

0

0

1

1

0

0

0

2.81

The Volcanoes went into their final game of the year against a Hillsboro team that has dominated them, with the league's leader in ERA, strikeouts, WHIP and a host of other pitching categories facing them. So what did they do? They hit the living snot out of the ball with a gigantic offensive outburst that included 14 hits and an amazing 9 XBH.

The star of the game was CF Ronnie Jebavy who had three extra base hits, including his 6th and 7th HRs of the year, tying him with Christopher Shaw, who also hit his 7th of the year in this game. Jebavy, who has been on ESPN's web gems segment multiple times during his college career also made a couple of what were described as highlight reel catches to save runs.

Jebavy was the first Volcano this year to have a multi-HR game. And he and Chris Shaw stopped by for an interview after the game:

As Jamie Duffner noted, this sets up a big three game home series with the Eugene Emeralds starting tonight. Eugene is currently in second place 1 game behind Hillsboro, while SK trails in third place 2 games behind Hillsboro. However, as is true in the Sally, since Hillsboro won the first half, should they also win the second half title then a Wild Card will be named to the playoffs which is the team with the second best overall record. In that race, SK currently leads Eugene by two games. But it would definitely behoove the Volcanoes to overtake the Emeralds in the second half standings as well. The schedule is to their advantage: of their 17 remaining games, six of them are home games vs the Emeralds.

* * *

AZL Giants had a scheduled off day
The Giants have nine more games left to play. They are currently tied for 2nd, a half game out of first place in their division. As the first half champion Angels team is currently mired in last place in the second half, the wild card will not come into play for the Giants. They must win the second half title to advance to the playoffs.

* * *

DSL Giants beat the DSL Mets1, 10-8

Age

Name

AB

R

H

RBI

2B

3B

HR

BB

SO

SB

CS

BA

DH

20.11

Juan Rodriguez

4

4

4

1

0

0

0

1

0

1

0

.366

2b-SS

18.9

Manuel Geraldo

5

2

4

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

.336

CF

17.8

Jose Patino

4

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

1

.259

SS

17.3

Jose Rivero

2

0

2

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

.211

Age

Name

IP

H

R

ER

BB

K

HR

HB

WP

ERA

19.8

Raffi Vizcaino W 8-9

5.0

5

2

2

3

5

0

1

0

2.50

20.11

Reymi Rodriguez

1.2

4

5

5

2

1

0

0

3

3.40

A five run scare in the top of 9th turned a laugher into a nail biter, but once they got human arson squad Reymi Rodriguez out of the game, the team's 50th victory was secured. The top two hitters in the order provided eight hits and six runs scored in kickstarting the offense. Raffi Vizcaino had another effective start though it does look like they might be monitoring his innings.

With three games left to play, the Giants maintained their one game lead over the rival Yankees.

* * *

It's an exciting day of debuts today as Chase Johnson, Andrew Suarez, and Grant Watson are all scheduled to make their level debuts tonight. Meanwhile, Clayton Blackburn will try to get the RiverCats back to the .500 mark.

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