Tag Archives: Buster Posey

SF Giants roster moves: Pill, Ramirez sent down; Dunning, Sanchez called up

The San Francisco Giants have designated first baseman Brett Pill and relief pitcher Ramon Ramirez for assignment, according to Alex Pavlovic of the San Jose Mercury News. They were sent down to make room for relief pitcher Jake Dunning and returning catcher Hector Sanchez. Neither player is expected to arrive by game time Thursday, as they are scheduled to land just 3o minutes before the first pitch.

Dunning’s first appearance will be his major-league debut, having been drafted by the Giants in the 33rd round in 2009. He was a shortstop at Indiana, having converted to relief pitching in his second season in the minors. Through 36 innings across 23 relief appearances in Triple-A Fresno this season, the Georgia native has posted a 1.75 ERA.

Sanchez returns to the team for the first time since May 1st, when he was designated for assignment to get more regular reps behind the plate. Sanchez’s promotion relieves a thin bench that has been ravaged by injuries to Pablo Sandoval, Angel Pagan and Marco Scutaro. The young catcher is a switch-hitter and can be a weapon as a pinch-hitter, while retaining the ability to double-switch into games behind the plate. He also allows Bochy a little more room in giving Posey an off-day, not having to rely so heavily on Guillermo Quiroz to stay healthy or productive.

Pill had been to the plate just 29 times since being called up on May 15th, a testament to Brandon Belt’s season against right- and left-handed pitching. Belt’s season line of .251/.323/.422 has been bolstered by a .333/.375/.489 line against lefties. His career split of .283/.347/.475 against southpaws has me thinking that hitting left-handed pitching is a skill of Belt’s rather than something that he needs to be shied away from. Sorry, @PillzRgood.

Ramirez, on his second tenure with the Giants, has displayed the problems he showed in New York that led to his release. After four seasons as one of the most reliable right-handed relievers in baseball, Ramirez posted a 4.24 ERA with the Mets in 2012. His 5.2 innings for the Giants this season have been disastrous, yielding seven runs and while walking five batters and striking out none.

The fresh blood will try to stop the bleeding on the Giants’ current six-game road trip, where they have dropped to first to game. San Francisco is 12-20 on the road this season.

Marco Scutaro injury: Giants second basemen leaves game after being hit by pitch

Update: Baggarly and Henry Schulman tweeted that Scutaro cannot straighten his pinky finger, leading them to believe there may be tendon damage. He will see a specialist tomorrow.

Giants second baseman Marco Scutaro left Tuesday’s game against the Pirates after being hit by a pitch. On an 0-2 count in the seventh inning, Pittsburgh lefty Tony Watson came inside with a fastball that clipped Scutaro in his left hand. He was awarded first base, but Juan Perez was brought in as a pinch runner. A post-game MRI revealed that there was no fracture, according to Andrew Baggarly.

The Giants are quickly running out of quality position players, with Pablo Sandoval joining Angel Pagan on the disabled list with a foot injury. If Scutaro is forced to miss time, Nick Noonan and Tony Abreu would likely share the available playing time. Noonan, Abreu and Joaquin Arias can play all of the infield positions, but will struggle to replace the production at the plate of the Giants’ 1-2-3 hitters. Sorry, Buster Posey’s RBI total.

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SF Giants lineup: Bochy tweaks lineups for doubleheader vs. Cardinals

In St. Louis on Saturday, the Giants will be playing in their first doubleheader of the season, and they will do so with a bench that has been gutted by injuries. Pablo Sandoval is out and Angel Pagan is doubtful, leaving Bochy with just three reserves in each game. Whittle that number down to two because Quiroz and Posey will act as emergency catchers in games one and two respectively.

The plan is to pair Posey with Cain in the first game, then let Quiroz catch Bumgarner in the evening. Bochy emphasized that he wants Buster to catch Gaudin in his first start of the season on Sunday.

While Joaquin Arias was the scheduled to start at third in Friday’s rainout, Nick Noonan will get the call to replace Sandoval in Game One. Arias will play Game Two when Noonan slides to second to take over for Old Man Scoots. Noonan and Belt, the Bochy-dubbed “young bucks” will play both games, and presumably so will the entire outfield. Pagan will test out his injured hammy, but Alex Pavlovic of the Merc points out that damp field conditions should all but prevent the Giants leadoff hitter from playing.

For those asking, Noonan has played 37 minor league games at third base dating back to 2011. He has played the hot corner just once this season, manning the post for four innings after coming in on a double-switch.

The Cardinals, at 35-18, have the best record in baseball. Despite this, the Pirates and Reds trail by just two games in the NL Central. Outside of the AL East, there is no more competitive top three in baseball.

Here’s the lineup for game one vs. RHP Shelby Miller (5-3, 2.02 ERA)

CF Blanco

2B Scutaro

RF Pence

C Posey

1B Belt

LF Torres

SS Crawford

3B Noonan

RHP Cain (4-2, 5.00 ERA)