Today’s postgamer is going to be pretty brief, in part because 1) I’m sick, 2) I prefer to write about games that were fun, and 3) Psych is beckoning to me from my Netflix account. But here goes:
Ryan Vogelsong looked great. He got touched up for a couple runs in the second inning, but ended up getting 12 straight outs after that. Bruce Bochy had told us in Spring Training that they were hoping for Vogelsong to be ready to pitch 5 innings by April 15. Instead he pitched 6 1/3 IP, 102 pitches, and looked like his old self. His new old self, not his old old self. You know, the good one. So consider “Concern over Ryan Vogelsong” crossed off in my mental checklist.
The offense today was, well, reminiscent of 2011. It would’ve been nice for the G’s to continue their 4-run streak, but that wasn’t at all realistic. Here’s hoping the first eight games are more representative of the true Giants offense than the most recent one, but that doesn’t mean that TortureBall isn’t frustrating.
Nice to see a continued resurgence from Angel Pagan. He had two hits today and worked the count well, and his speed certainly comes as advertised. Gregor Blanco will make a nice off-day starter and double-switch participant, but Pagan’s the guy.
Brandon Watch 2012:
Crawford: Dude hits doubles. He didn’t exactly have as many opportunities to flash the leather today, but it’s nice just knowing he’s there. Still very happy with his season.
Belt: 1-for-3 today with a “double” and a walk, which is good to see. Even more encouraging, he looked good in every plate appearance, flying out deep in his first at-bat and not striking out on any inside fastballs. He also stole a base. Prediction: he starts tomorrow against the Phillies, and he’ll bat fifth, ahead of Nate Schierholtz.
Depressed Stats of the day:
0: Reasons for Joel Hanrahan to walk Manny Burriss in the 9th inning.
0: Hits by Melky Cabrera over the last two days. Mortality stinks.
0: Games won by the Giants in which Brandon Belt has played.
0: Runs scored by the Giants after leadoff triples today.
0: Hits by the Giants with runners in scoring position.
Bonus Stat of the day:
5: The total number of 1-3s (groundouts to the pitcher) today. I’m not sure why I included that, but it seems like a lot.