Arias, Sanchez Spark Clutch Ninth Inning Rally Leading to 3-2 Win

Joaquin Arias and Hector Sanchez each contributed pinch-hit RBI singles in the ninth to lead the Giants to a 3-2 victory over the lowly Astros.

Matt Cain yielded Houston to just two runs over 7 1/3 innings. However, the Astros stringed together a couple of base runners to regain the lead in the eighth. Cain allowed a free pass to Jonathan Paredes to leadoff the inning. Brett Wallace followed with a single, and the cleanup hitter, Jason Castro bunted them over. Though the Astros wouldn’t need a hit to take the lead, as Paredes raced home on Cain’s 3-2 wild pitch that skipped through Buster Posey’s legs.

Santiago Casilla was summoned to dampen the Astros spark. He did just that, carving his way out of the inning unscathed.

Angel Pagan continued his hot streak. Bud Norris, who surrendered just one run over 6 2/3 innings, salvaged a solo home run to Pagan in the fifth, his eighth blast of the season. Although, Pagan’s blast was answered with an Astros’ blast in the bottom half of the inning off the bat of Fernando Martinez.

The Giants only hit with runners in scoring position came from Hector Sanchez. The hit just happened to be the go-ahead run. Multiple opportunities were wasted quite simply.

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Giants Lose the Finale 3-1, Spilt Series to the Cards

After scoring at least one run in the first inning in each of the first three games of the series, the Giants failed to push that streak to four, falling to the Cardinals 3-1.

Instead, the Cardinals decided to take a page out of the Giants’ book. With a runner on first, Carlos Beltran crushed a cutter on the inner half of the plate into the seats. After putting a massive 15 spot on St.Louis last night, the Giants were held to just one run by Adam Wainwright.

The steaming hot Buster Posey extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a leadoff single in the sixth inning. Though Wainwright got Joaquin Arias to swing through a loopy curveball to end the threat.

Madison Bumgarner allowed just three hits on three runs over six innings. Despite recording his sixth straight quality start, his offense wasn’t able to bail him out of his seventh loss of the season.

The Giants put together a one out rally in the top of the fifth. Arias and Bumgarner hit back to back singles. Angel Pagan followed with a four pitch walk to load the bases for Marco Scutaro, who made history last night by driving in a career-high seven runs. He didn’t hit a grand slam for the second consecutive day, but he lined a sacrifice fly into right centerfield to score Arias. Though that’s all the damage the Giants would do against Wainwright on Thursday.

Aside from a mini comeback in the fifth, the other two of the Giants’ five hits were scattered. Scutaro singled in the fourth and Brandon Crawford singled in the sixth.

The Giants had their fair share of opportunities to craft a comeback. But San Francisco went 0-5 with runners in scoring position, and left eight runners on base.

The tying run came to the plate in the ninth, but pinch-hitter Hector Sanchez struck out on a fastball from Jason Motte to end the game.

Overall, the Giants wrapped up a very successful road trip, finishing 5-2. With the loss today, though, they loss a half game on the Dodgers, and could possibly loss ground on the Diamondbacks as well depending on the outcome of their game.

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What Should the Giants Do With Their Crowded Infield?

Bruce Bochy has faced some tough challenges this year, especially when it comes to managing the infield.

Bochy has had to rotate players in the infield and make sure the best players are on the field for the Giants. When Pablo Sandoval returns from injury, he will have to rotate Hector Sanchez, Buster Posey, Marco Scutaro, Ryan Theriot, Brandon Crawford, Joaquin Arias, Brandon Belt, Brett Pill and Sandoval into an overcrowded infield.

Now, there are five positions, so five of those nine players will play. Belt or Pill will probably get sent down when Sandoval comes back up, leaving eight infield spots available. But how will Bochy manage the infield?

I don't know how Bochy will do it. But here's a blueprint of what I think he should do.

Catcher

Buster Posey struggled a bit in May and June, but since the All-Star break, he's been dominant.

Posey raised his batting average from well under .300 to .328, and he now has 18 homers, 73 RBI and an 11-game hitting streak. Posey has provided a huge spark in the middle of the lineup for the Giants' offense, and that's part of the reason why the Giants are in first place.

However, if Posey gets hurt (like he did last year), the Giants won't be completely doomed. Hector Sanchez is probably the best backup catcher in baseball, and he has a respectable .285 batting average. While Posey caught Barry Zito on Tuesday night, Sanchez almost always catches Zito.

Tim Lincecum was struggling in the first half, so Bochy had Sanchez catch him for a while. It looks like Posey will start catching him now, although whenever Posey is tired (since he broke his leg in a home-plate collision last year), Sanchez will catch, probably regardless of who's pitching.

I like seeing Sanchez in the lineup. He's much better than Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford, two Giants' regulars. However, since Posey is a better hitter and defensive catcher, Sanchez doesn't play too often. Even though Posey has done a nice job catching Zito, I would like to see Sanchez regularly catch Zito and Posey play first base in those games.

The Giants could also try Sanchez at first base. Sanchez isn't a great defensive first baseman, but he deserves to get playing time. Brandon Belt isn't playing well (to say the least) and hasn't done much good for the Giants. Sanchez needs to see a lot more playing time, and while I'd rather have Posey at catcher, I would like to see Sanchez play first (even if he isn't great there on defense).

So, they could have Sanchez catch Zito regularly, catch Lincecum or maybe another pitcher if Posey is tired, and start at first two out of every five games. Sanchez deserves a lot of playing time, and he should be getting more. Posey is a great catcher and knows how to call a game, and Posey deserves to catch a lot.

However, San Francisco can't go on with Brandon Belt playing every day. They must try playing Sanchez at first. 

First and Third Base

I linked these two positions together because of one player. Or should I say one star player.

Pablo Sandoval, he of the career .306 batting average, could be back as soon as Sunday (according to Alex Pavlovic of mercurynews.com). Sandoval is hitting .299 this year with eight homers and 33 RBI in 234 at-bats, and he's done a nice job at third base.

Or should I say first base.

Because of Belt's struggles, Sandoval took over at first base (and then he went on the DL with a hamstring injury). When Sandoval returns, he should see some time at first base (since Belt and Pill are clearly not fit to play there every day).

In the previous slide, I mentioned that Sanchez could and should see some time at first base. He's an above-average hitter who could definitely help an inconsistent offense score runs in the bottom of the lineup. On days where Sanchez played first and Posey caught (or vice versa), the Giants would have a great lineup.

Not only would they have Angel Pagan, Marco Scutaro or Ryan Theriot, Melky Cabrera, Posey, Sandoval and Hunter Pence hitting back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back, San Francisco would have Sanchez providing a spark at the bottom of the lineup. That would create a formidable Giants' lineup.

However, Sanchez isn't a great defensive first baseman. When Sandoval comes back, either Belt or Pill will probably be headed to Triple-A. Belt is a great defensive first baseman, so if the Giants want late-game defense and mediocre hitting, they should go to Belt. If they want more power and a small hitting upgrade, they should go to Pill. If I were Bochy, I would go with Pill to try to help the offense. He hasn't had as many chances as Belt, and he can hit better than Belt.

If the Giants don't want Pill or Belt, they could try to upgrade. According to Henry Schulman of sfgate.com, San Francisco reportedly has interest in Lyle Overbay, a first baseman with lots of power. He could provide a spark off the bench and do what the Giants were hoping Aubrey Huff could do before he struggled and got hurt; provide power off the bench.

At third base, the Giants currently have Marco Scutaro. When Sandoval returns, he will probably take over there and force Scutaro and Ryan Theriot to platoon at second. I think Sandoval should occasionally play first, and when he does, Joaquin Arias or Scutaro will play third.

I would play Sandoval at third four out of every five games and play Scutaro at third one out of every five games. Sandoval's done a nice job at third and is better at third, although he can and will play first. Scutaro can play third and will probably play there occasionally to create an opportunity for Theriot to start.

Which brings us into the next slide... 

Second Base and Shortstop

The Giants don't have nearly as much talent in the middle infield as they do on the corners, but they can find a way to put some talent at second base and shortstop.

Arias, Crawford, Theriot and Scutaro are the four main middle infielders for the Giants. Crawford and Arias play short, while Theriot plays second and Scutaro plays second, shortstop and third.

Scutaro probably won't see much time at short. Arias hits well against lefties and Crawford hits well against righties, so Bochy probably won't bench both of them. However, neither of the two are great. Arias has a WAR of 0.4 and Crawford has a WAR of 0.3. For comparison, Buster Posey and Melky Cabrera have a WAR of 4.6.

Theriot has a 0.6 WAR and Scutaro has a 0.2 WAR. Since joining the Giants, Scutaro is hitting .326 with six RBI. He's done a nice job with his new team and should definitely see a lot of time at second base. He's better on defense and has done a better job on offense than Theriot recently.

In July and August (combined), Theriot has a .261 batting average. He is starting to hit into a lot of double plays and is starting to look a lot like the utility player he is, which is really hurting the Giants. Theriot still deserves some playing time, but when Sandoval comes back, expect his role to shrink.

Overall, the Giants don't have a great middle infield. Scutaro's been doing a good job and will probably still see a good amount of playing time, but no one else has been doing well. Crawford has received plenty of opportunities and is still hitting just .233, and Arias is hitting .256. 

If I were Bochy, I would play Arias against lefties and Crawford against righties. Arias is hitting .313 in about 100 at-bats vs lefties this year, and just .210 in 124 at-bats against righties. Crawford hasn't done too well against lefties or righties this year, but he's better against righties.

As for second base, I would let Scutaro start at second three out of every five games and at third one out of every five games. He's done well in San Francisco, and he deserves a reward for that. Theriot still deserves playing time, but he definitely isn't an everyday second baseman.

Conclusion

To reiterate, Bruce Bochy has a tough task on his hands.

Will he send Pill or Belt to the minors? Will he let Sanchez play first base? How much first base will he allow Sandoval to play? How will he divide up the time for the middle infielders?

His decisions won't be easy, but he knows his players and he knows his players' stats. If he used only the stats, Arias, Sanchez, Scutaro, Posey and Sandoval would start every day. However, Bochy isn't dumb, and he knows that every player on the active roster will have to play.

I laid out my plan for what I think the Giants should do, but I'm sure Bochy's will be different. Everyone has a different perspective about the Giants, and Bochy is someone who thinks it's best to let players work issues out on the field and someone who likes to use proven veterans.

So, he'll use his strategies to manage the team. But how will he do it? Stay tuned to find out.

This article was originally published on Bleacher Report

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How Marco Scutaro Will Help the Giants Offense

Question Brian Sabean’s acquisition of Marco Scutaro all you want, but he’s a solid addition. But by no means is he the piece that will take the Giants to the next level, nor will he bring them down a level. However, he brings something to the table that the Giants don’t do consistently. The ability to put the ball in play.

Scutaro’s contribution is that simple. He’s not a free swinger, neither does he wait around like Brandon Belt to. Sure, he’s everything but a power hitter, but he does the the little things like moving the runner over or hitting a sacrifice fly to get a run in. There have been numerous events where the Giants have failed to do the things that Scutaro will provide. And it’s starting to become clearer and clearer with each loss.

O-Swing% is technical for the percentage a hitter swings at pitches outside of the strike zone. So you would instantly assume that Pablo Sandoval must have a high O-Swing% right? You would be spot on, as Sandoval swings at pitches outside of the strike zone nearly 50% of the time and Hector Sanchez, Joaquin Arias and Brandon Crawford are the next few victims of the wild swing reputation. Meanwhile, Scutaro’s 24.5 O-Swing% ranks first on the Giants. While It might not seem like a big deal, it is, especially in situations where the Giants need to get a runner over.

The reason why he constantly puts the ball in play is because he doesn’t try to do too much at the plate. His approach is simple and you would hope that Pablo Sandoval and Hector Sanchez would take a page out of his book, as they are practically swinging for the cove in each of their at-bats.

Looking at Scutaro’s home run totals, don’t expect him to provide the much needed pop that the Giants are in search of, as he’s never hit more than 12 home runs in a season. He did, however, crush a home run off Santiago Casilla that broke a tie game earlier in the season.

 Ryan Theriot and Scutaro are essentially identical twins when it comes to hitting. While Scutaro may possess a bit more power, they both are contact hitters (Theriot 89% contact percentage, Scutaro 93%), and both have been career table setters.

So how should Bruce Bochy rearrange his lineup?

 The smart move would be to have both of them hitting before Melky Cabrera and Buster Posey to create more RBI opportunities for the heart of the lineup. Bochy could also spilt them up, having one at the top and one at the bottom to create a more balanced lineup. The latter appears to be the path Bochy will stick with, although, as I write this it appears that Scutaro is leading off tonight with Theriot sticking in the two hole.

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