Angel Pagan injury, plus SF Giants lineup shakeup

Angel Pagan will miss today’s series finale against the A’s and tomorrow’s game in St. Louis after getting a cortisone shot, according to Amy G of CSN Bay Area. The center fielder has been out since Sunday with a sore hamstring, with Gregor Blanco shifting to center and Andres Torres filling in at left field.

If the lineup looks different today, I expect it is due to the three straight losses suffered to the Oakland A’s. Bochy’s comments after last night’s debacle made it seem like wholesale changes were in order. Crawford is batting second, a spot that had been occupied by Marco Scutaro in almost every game this season. Scutaro has been replaced by Nick Noonan, but that has been attributed to an illness rather than poor play. Scutaro allowed the A’s to score a run with an error in Wednesday’s game.

Bochy is all but certain that Chad Gaudin will get the start on Sunday in St. Louis. After the injury to Ryan Vogelsong, the Giants skipped his spot in the rotation followed by a spot start from rookie left-hander Mike Kickham. But with Kickham’s underwhelming debut and no other viable options, the Giants will stretch out their long man for Sunday. Gaudin last pitched Tuesday, where he threw 54 pitches and gave up one run across three innings. Bochy set that up perfectly, pat on the back for the old manager.

After Sunday, the Giants can skip that spot in the rotation twice, not needing anyone until June 15th thanks to some well-placed days off.

Here’s the lineup against RHP A.J. Griffin (5-3, 3.84 ERA):

CF Blanco

SS Crawford

3B Sandoval

C Posey

RF Pence

1B Belt

LF Torres

2B Noonan

LHP Zito (3-3, 4.13 ERA)

Bad pitching, bad defense and a path to the postseason

Aside from a burst offense in an aborted comeback on Wednesday, little has gone right the last three days against the Oakland A’s. The defense has been bad and the pitching has been worse. Health, too, has been a problem; Angel Pagan hasn’t played since Saturday and Marco Scutaro has caught the virus making its way through the Giants’ clubhouse.

The Giants have played themselves into a tie for second in a very tight NL West. At this point, the winner of the division might only need 85-87 wins. The defending champs aren’t out of anything, but the last three games have been enough to wound the spirit of a once-believing fan base. Let’s ask some questions and posit some answers:

Is this just bad luck? Are the Giants vulnerable? Is this a .500 team?

First, let’s address what made the Giants successful from 2009-2012:

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SF Giants lineup: Plus Kickham optioned to Fresno, Ramon Ramirez called up

Update: Bochy said Gaudin most likely gets the go on Sunday. So it seems Ramirez will be enough to tide the bullpen over. 

After seeing a new face this week Giants fans will welcome back an old one, 31-year-old right-hander Ramon Ramirez. The relief pitcher was called up for the first time this season Wednesday when the Giants optioned Tuesday’s starter Mike Kickham back to AAA.

Kickham’s first career start was underwhelming, when he ceded four earned runs in just 2.1 innings of work against Oakland Tuesday. Not only did Kickham’s lackluster performance cause his demotion, but his short outing put strain on a depleted bullpen. An injury to Santiago Casilla will keep him out until after the All-Star break, forcing guys like George Kontos, Chad Gaudin and Jean Machi into higher leverage situations.

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