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SF Giants Press Clips

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

San Francisco Chronicle

Giants get HRs by Hunter Pence, Buster Posey to beat Clayton Kershaw

Henry Schulman

LOS ANGELES — A couple of dugout habitues said that Hunter Pence came off the field during

batting practice Monday and said, “April showers bring May flowers.”

Was Pence serious? The Giants’ April showers were radioactive. This team could not string two

good games together in the season’s first month, it could not score, home runs were a rumor

and Clayton Kershaw was on its calendar for May 1.

Pence was serious enough to blast a rare hanging curveball from Kershaw into the left-field

pavilion in the first inning to propel the Giants to a 4-3 victory at Dodger Stadium that gave

them some hope that they left their 9-17 April in a dumpster.

“All around, it was a nice win, especially after how it went yesterday, a good boost,” said Buster

Posey, who also homered against Kershaw for his first extra-base hit since he took a pitch to the

helmet during the April 10 home opener.

“How it went” Sunday was a 12-inning loss to the Padres after a blown save by Mark Melancon,

who did not get a crack at redeeming himself in the opener of a nine-game trip.

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After Johnny Cueto labored through seven innings despite a blister that he confessed has

bothered him all season, he left with a 4-3 lead. Manager Bruce Bochy had Steven Okert get

five outs before Derek Law struck out Yasiel Puig for a five-pitch save.

Bochy told Melancon before the game that he was off for the second time in three nights

because he had pitched on four of the previous five days. This would have been six of eight. The

Giants want to protect their $62 million investment.

“There’s a lot of baseball left,” Bochy aid. “I know every game is important, but we’ve got to

take care of these guys.”

Okert started the eighth by retiring Corey Seager on a flyball. Okert buzzed through the next

four Dodgers, too, before Law finished.

“He pretty much saved the game for us,” Law said of Okert. “He had the heavy hitters coming

up. They pretty much had no chance with stuff like that. There’s nothing much you can say.

Look at the boxscore on that one. He’s a good friend for letting me have the save.”

Bullpen intrigue can wait for another night. The story here was Pence and Posey hitting their

second homers of the season in a win against Kershaw, who matched the most runs he has

allowed against the Giants with four. Three were earned.

The Giants hit a league-low 16 homers in April. Only the Red Sox (15) were worse.

Pence hit his after Christian Arroyo singled. Arroyo is 3-for-6 against Kershaw in two games.

Posey’s third-inning homer broke a 2-2 tie after Cueto squandered a 2-0 lead, the tying run

scoring in a maddening way for Cueto when Kershaw lined a two-out, 0-2 pitch to left to score

Cody Bellinger.

Arroyo added an RBI single in the fifth.

Cueto was not about to blow two two-run leads his offense had built against one of the game’s

best pitchers.

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Through interpreter Erwin Higueros, Cueto said he told himself, “What the hell is going on? I

need to go ahead and strap my pants up and start pitching.”

Cueto retired 13 consecutive Dodgers before Adrian Gonzalez’s single started a scoring rally in

the seventh. With a run in, two outs and two on, Bochy went to check on Cueto.

Cueto talked Bochy into facing Anthony Toles and got him on a grounder to first.

“Johnny was good,” Bochy said. “He was nicked here and there, but he didn’t give in. He was

out there teetering, but he made a great pitch to finish the job.”

San Francisco Chronicle

Giants’ Brandon Crawford eyes Saturday return

Henry Schulman

LOS ANGELES — Hitting a baseball is hard enough when all is right in a player’s world. All was

not right at all for Brandon Crawford after his sister-in-law, Jennifer Pippin, died of an asthma

attack April 12.

After missing a start the next night, Crawford returned to the lineup and hit .225 with two

doubles, a triple, a home run, no walks and seven strikeouts in 10 games before straining his

right groin in his last at-bat before he started a three-day bereavement leave. That turned into

a 10-day trip to the disabled list.

Crawford, who expects to return when eligible Saturday, does not believe the personal issue

and his batting average were connected.

“Usually when I get out on the field, I’m not thinking about other things,” Crawford said

Monday. “I don’t think they’re related.”

He left open the possibility, saying, “Sometimes subconsciously you think about it when you

don’t think you’re thinking about it.”

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Crawford noted he went 2-for-4 with a homer in his first start after a sleepless round trip to

Southern California, the one game in which really was thinking about his wife and sister-in-law.

The Giants miss Crawford, particularly on the field. Eduardo Nuñez and Christian Arroyo have

been fine defensively (except for Nuñez’s error that started Sunday’s tying rally for the Padres)

at short in Crawford’s absence. But manager Bruce Bochy said the way Crawford positions

himself based on his knowledge of the league and hitters cannot be matched.

“You’re talking about one of the elite shortstops in the game,” Bochy said. “You’ve seen him

win games for us with his glove. You see how we’ve missed him.”

Head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner told Bochy that the medical staff is targeting a Saturday

return for Crawford in Cincinnati, which dovetails with Crawford’s wishes.

Briefly: The going is slower with center fielder Denard Span (sprained right sternoclavicular

joint). Bochy said Span is “turning up” his baseball work, but the staff has no target date for his

return. He is eligible to come off the DL on Wednesday. … Assistant hitting coach Steve

Decker left the team for the L.A. series after his father’s death. He will return in Cincinnati for

this weekend’s series.

Henry Schulman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.

On deck

Tuesday

at Dodgers

7:10 p.m. NBCSBA

Moore (1-3) vs.

Wood (1-0)

Wednesday

at Dodgers

7:10 p.m. NBCSBA

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Samardzija (0-4) vs.

Urias (0-0)

Thursday

Off

Leading off

Low power: Christian Arroyo, Madison Bumgarner and Brandon Crawford tied for second on

the team in April homers with two. Brandon Belt hit four.

San Francisco Chronicle

Giants not partaking in near-record homer surge

Henry Schulman

LOS ANGELES - At Dodger Stadium on Saturday night, L.A. hit three consecutive solo homers in

the ninth inning to tie a game against the Phillies before adding a run for a walkoff victory.

In San Francisco, the Giants also hit three home runs - their total for the seven games on a 3-4

homestand.

The home run is most definitely back, but the Giants are not part of the trend. The 30 teams

combined to hit 863 homers in April, the second-most for that month in baseball history,

according to ESPN Stats and Info. The Giants hit 16, second-fewest in the majors behind the Red

Sox.

There are lots of ideas on why so many homers are being hit. Theories include teams moving in

fences, a livelier baseball, more pitchers coming to the majors who throw a lot of heat but have

no command of breaking pitches, players getting stronger legally and players getting stronger

illegally without getting caught.

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Either way, it's not happening for the Giants, whose team leader in homers is Brandon Belt,

with four. Tied for second are Christian Arroyo, Brandon Crawford and Madison Bumgarner (!).

Look, the Giants have not been built to be a power team since Barry Bonds left. Their 2012

team, which pound for pound was the best of their three title teams, ranked last in the majors

with 103 homers.

The problem is, the Giants are not compensating for their paucity of home runs by scoring runs

the "Giants way," the old "get 'em on, get 'em over, get 'em in" model.

Giants pitchers, as usual, are doing a good job of preventing homers. They have allowed 28,

which is fourth best in the league.

But Padres first baseman Wil Myers demonstrated over the weekend what a dagger the homer

can be, when he hit a three-run homer against Neil Ramirez on Saturday to cap an eight-run

inning then won Sunday's game with another three-run homer off George Kontos in the 12th.

Mark Melancon took the blame for loss because he blew the save on a two-run Hector Sanchez

homer in the ninth. That's fair. A closer's job is to close.

But before the Myers homer, the Giants had three chances to walk off with a win after the top

of the ninth and failed. At home, a team always has the advantage of being able to win in such

situations with one swing.

When you can't, you are opening the door for the visiting team to take the game.

Why have the Giants hit just 16 homers?

Fans are going to scream about general manager Bobby Evans not getting a left fielder over the

winter, and that is part of the issue. The Giants knew Jarrett Parker would not be a big average

hitter but figured he would run into a few. He did not run into one before he crashed into the

wall and broke his collarbone.

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The only homer from a left fielder came from now-departed Chris Marrero. The Giants have no

homers from center field and just one from right fielder Hunter Pence. That's two from the

outfield. The next worst National League team, the Pirates, has seven. The Mets led the league

with 20.

The broader issue is the Giants' inability to drive the ball, period, as Pence mentioned in

Sunday's postgame comments. They have become a singles-hitting team that needs three hits

to score a run. And with all the homers being hit by other teams, the Giants, to borrow a phrase

from the Old West, are bringing knives to a gunfight.

The Giants can prosper offensively if they pitch and just get 14-16 homers apiece from their

standard sources: Belt, Pence, Crawford, Buster Posey, and maybe 8-10 from Joe Panik, Denard

Span when he is healthy, Eduardo Nuñez, maybe Christian Arroyo and whomever they might

find from their system.

I have a hard time believing the mainstays mentioned above have deteriorated so quickly that

they cannot reach those numbers, or at least start driving more doubles into the alleys and

down the lines.

And I am confident it will happen because there are some good hitters here.

The Giants offense is not "old," as some suggest, though it's getting "old-ish." Even so, 361 of

those 863 homers in April were hit by players in their 30s. It can be done.

If and when the Giants starting driving the ball, period, some of those balls are going to leave

the yard and will help the Giants catch up, take a lead or expand a lead (and if they dare to

dream, actually win a game with a ninth-inning comeback for the first time in two years).

If they do not start driving the ball, well, this truly will be a long and unhappy season, and the

front office will have to start thinking about becoming sellers down the road and auditioning

players for 2018 and beyond who can.

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Monday’s game: I would not expect the Giants to drive many balls Monday night, when they

face Clayton Kershaw in the opener of a three-game series. Johnny Cueto pitches for the Giants.

Kershaw obviously loves pitching against the Giants, but he’s actually better against them in San

Francisco than he is in L.A. The Dodgers have won five of his past seven starts here,but only

nine of 16 overall.

Your lineups:

GIANTS (vs. LHP Clayton Kershaw)

Hernandez LF

Arroyo 3B

Pence RF

Posey C

Morse 1B

Nuñez SS

Panik 2B

Stubbs CF

Cueto P

DODGERS (vs. RHP Johnny Cueto)

Toles CF

Seager SS

Turner 3B

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Grandal C

Gonzalez 1B

Bellinger LF

Puig RF

Utley 2B

Kershaw P

San Jose Mercury News

Turn the page: Giants beat Clayton Kershaw behind blasts from Hunter Pence, Buster Posey

Andrew Baggarly

LOS ANGELES – Hunter Pence sauntered into the visiting dugout at Dodger Stadium on Monday

and stepped into the sunshine with a mood to match. The club’s NL-worst 9-17 record in April

cast no shadow over him.

“It’s May,” said Pence, with an earnestness as solid as the piece of maple he held. “April

showers bring May flowers.”

What do you know? The Giants’ bouquet even included a blossoming Posey.

The Giants’ garden bolted against Clayton Kershaw. Pence cracked a two-run home run in the

first inning, Buster Posey hit a tiebreaking shot in the third and precocious Christian Arroyo had

two hits including an RBI single in a 4-3 victory at Dodger Stadium Monday night.

Johnny Cueto overcame a pair of early runs and a stubborn blister to hold the Dodgers to three

in seven innings, which ordinarily yields a loss in a start against Kershaw. But the Giants’ four

runs matched the most they’ve ever scored against the three-time Cy Young Award winner in

36 games against him.

And with Giants manager Bruce Bochy avoiding a fifth appearance in six days for closer Mark

Melancon, left-hander Steven Okert stepped into the blue brink to retire all five hitters he

faced.

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“He pretty much saved the game for us,” said Derek Law, who recorded the official one-out

save when he struck out Yasiel Puig. “They pretty much had no chance with his stuff today. Just

look at the box score on that one.”

This is a box score the Giants might wish to laminate, or possibly reproduce in large format.

They entered the game with an NL-worst .342 slugging percentage. Kershaw entered having

allowing opponents a .338 slugging percentage. So pretty much, the Giants have turned all

pitchers they faced in April into Kershaw.

For the Giants, any extra-base production from Pence and Posey was an encouraging sight. It

didn’t have to come against Kershaw. Not when the team’s two chief run producers each hit

just one home run apiece in April, and an offensive malaise weighed them down more than any

other factor as they sank to the bottom of the NL West.

Pence had faced Kershaw more than any other major league pitcher in his career and entered 7

for 70. His home run in the first inning, which followed Arroyo’s single, was his first extra-base

hit against the left-hander.

Even rarer: Pence’s home run in the first inning came on a curveball – a pitch Kershaw had

thrown 3,544 times in his career, according to PITCHF/x. He has allowed just six home runs on

the pitch. (The Kershaw curve club: Pence, Nolan Arenado, Asdrubal Cabrera, Brandon Drury,

Kris Bryant and former Giant Brandon Hicks.)

“It was a big boost,” Posey said. “I felt we had a lot of those at-bats tonight and we took good,

aggressive swings and fouled off tough pitches. Any time you can do that against Kershaw, it’s a

good night.”

Posey wasn’t fighting the same woeful matchup history against Kershaw, but he hadn’t

collected an extra-base hit since returning from the 7-day concussion list, and while there is no

shame in being Rod Carew, the Giants offense needs him to drive the ball with more frequency.

His shot in the third inning came on a 2-1 slider. Kershaw turned, squatted and shrieked in

reaction to the pitch.

The Giants nicked him for one more run in the fifth, after Gorkys Hernandez reached on a bunt

single and advanced on Kershaw’s throwing error. Arroyo fouled off a two-strike curve, and

then a fastball, and Hernandez did not hesitate to take a running start on the seventh pitch of

the at-bat. Arroyo whistled it to left field, allowing Hernandez to score easily.

It was Arroyo’s third hit in six career at-bats against Kershaw. Brandon Belt has that many in 51

career at-bats.

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“The kid’s done a nice job wherever we put him,” Bochy said of Arroyo. “Good thing he hit the

ball. I didn’t think that Hernandez had that good of a jump. He can hit. He can play. And it’s fun

to see what he can do at this stage.”

Even when the Giants didn’t get on base against Kershaw, they worked consistently perky at-

bats to drive up his pitch count and ensure he wouldn’t last beyond the sixth inning. On most

nights, that is enough for a moral victory.

But making him work is one thing. Making him shriek is so much more satisfying.

Kershaw’s departure was far from the end, though.

Cueto gave up a run in the first inning when first baseman Michael Morse, who started in place

of Belt, couldn’t get the angle around baserunner Corey Seager to complete a step-and-throw

double play.

The Dodgers tied it 2-2 in the second inning when Cody Bellinger doubled and scored on

Cueto’s worst mistake of the night – a two-strike pitch to Kershaw that the pitcher lined down

the left field line. Hernandez made a strong throw home but catcher Nick Hundley couldn’t flick

his tag down quick enough as Bellinger found the plate.

Cueto retired 13 consecutive after Kershaw’s hit, but Bochy revealed that the left-hander has

been dealing with a blister on his middle finger since the final exhibition start against the A’s –

an annoyance that might help explain his 5.10 ERA in April.

Cueto said the blister blew up again in the third inning, and he responded by chastising himself.

“What the heck is going on?” Cueto said in Spanish. “I need to strap up my pants and start

pitching. Today all my pitches were working, but in the first month, yeah, they were bothering

me. I told myself in the third, `Yeah, I’ve got to man up to it and pitch. I cannot make up any

excuses.”

Cueto coaxed himself through a taxing seventh inning that began when shortstop Eduardo

Nuñez stumbled while trying to pirouette after fielding Adrian Gonzalez’s infield single.

Bellinger followed with a bunt up the third base line to combat an exaggerated shift.

With two outs, pinch hitter Chris Taylor lofted an RBI single. But after a mound visit from Bochy,

and a spiked pickoff throw that nearly bounded past Nuñez into center field, Cueto won a

seven-pitch battle with Andrew Toles that ended with the pitcher winning a footrace to first

base.

“The last inning he was right there, teetering,” Bochy said. “He made the pitch to finish the

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inning. He did a terrific job.”

Okert might have graduated to another level. The left-hander went through the heart of the

Dodgers order in the eighth inning, including right-handed hitter Justin Turner. Then he retired

lefty-swinging Gonzalez and Bellinger in the ninth.

That left just one out, and closer Mark Melancon had appeared on four of the past five days

including a blown save on Sunday. So Bochy turned to Law for the flourishing touch.

And on the first of May, the Giants shook hands.

San Jose Mercury News

Giants Notes

Andrew Baggarly

LOS ANGELES – The last time the Giants played a series at Dodger Stadium, Madison Bumgarner

and Yasiel Puig batted eyelashes at each other and that was enough to clear the benches.

If you remember that episode last September, you probably also remember that the Giants had

given away every bit of an eight-game lead in the NL West and were threatening to careen out

of a wild card spot as well.

At the time, I thought it was a selfish act for Bumgarner to pick a fight with Puig and get so riled

up that he didn’t return after striking out 10 in seven shutout innings. Later on, I came to

understand that the eye contact was a deliberate act. Bumgarner wanted to fire up his team,

and maybe inject some fighting spirit in a flat club, and it was all too easy to spark the flint.

With Puig, he knew all he had to do was let his eyes linger for a spare beat.

It might have worked. The Giants lost that day but won eight of their final 12 games to squeak

into the Wild Card Game, where Bumgarner proceeded to blank the New York Mets. And they

got within three outs of pushing the eventual champion Chicago Cubs to a decisive fifth game in

their NL Division Series, too.

So maybe it wasn’t such a selfish act for Bumgarner to pick a fight that day.

Now, if you want to talk about more recent events …

…

…

…

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The Giants do not have Bumgarner to match up against Clayton Kershaw as this series begins at

Dodger Stadium. Nor do they have Brandon Crawford or Denard Span.

But they could have Crawford back when he is eligible to come off the DL on Saturday for the

second game of the series at Cincinnati. Crawford’s strained groin is improving and he plans to

expand his baseball activities on Tuesday.

“He wants to get back out there ASAP,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “He’s as good as

anybody in our game. We’ve seen how many times he’s saved games for us with the glove. And

we miss his bat. He’s the No.5 hitter. Your shortstop is such a skill position. And he knows the

league. He knows the players.”

As for Span, he is working out but there is no timetable to attempt baseball activities while he

rests his sprained right shoulder.

—

The Giants are missing one other member of their uniformed travel party. Assistant hitting

coach Steve Decker’s father passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer. Decker will rejoin

the team in Cincinnati on Friday.

In the meantime, Triple-A coach Andy Skeels will replace Decker and make a little history. He’s

the first New Zealand native to be in uniform for a major league game. Skeels grew up in the

U.S. but was born in Paraparaumu, which is located on the coast near Wellington in the

southern end of the North Island.

Skeels, who was a minor league catcher before becoming a coach, said he learned to block the

plate from his uncle, who was a professional rugby player involved in his share of scrums. Skeels

has coached New Zealand in the preliminary rounds of the World Baseball Classic as well.

Sweet as.

Skeels has plenty of family in Southern California, including his mother, and was delighted to

surprise them with an unscheduled visit. They’re all at the game tonight.

—

If you are despondent over the Giants’ 9-17 record in April, it might help to remember that the

Dodgers didn’t look much better when these two teams split a four-game series at AT&T Park

last week. Of course, the Dodgers swept their next series from the Phillies while the lowly San

Diego Padres took two of three from the Giants for the second time in April.

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Still, your momentum is only as good as the next day’s starting pitcher. And Bochy likes what he

sees from his rotation after a few rough early turns.

“If that’s kept up, we’ll be fine,” Bochy said. “To me, it’s your starting pitchers that determine

your season. The ‘pen needs to get tightened up, but to me, that’s been better. More than

anything, we’ve got to find a way to get three or four runs consistently.

“These are our guys. I don’t think we need to look for help. They’re not going anywhere. These

are the guys who will be out there.”

MLB.com

Giants beat Kershaw behind two homers

Chris Haft ad Austin Laymance

LOS ANGELES -- The reeling San Francisco Giants got what they needed Monday night to regain

their equilibrium: a balanced effort featuring power as well as pitching that generated a 4-3

triumph over the archrival Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Giants, who still own a National League-worst 10-17 record, ambushed Dodgers aceClayton

Kershaw with homers from Hunter Pence, a two-run clout in the first inning, andBuster Posey,

who connected with two outs in the third. Rookie Christian Arroyo singled home Gorkys

Hernandez in the fifth, which proved vital when the Dodgers rallied for a run in the seventh.

The beneficiary of this support was Giants starter Johnny Cueto, who allowed three runs and

six hits in seven innings. Rookie left-hander Steven Okert, installed to face tough left-handed

hitters Corey Seager in the eighth inning and Adrian Gonzalez and Cody Bellinger in the ninth,

worked 1 2/3 innings of relief. "All around, it was a nice win, especially after the way the one

ended yesterday," Posey said, referring to Sunday's come-from-ahead, 5-2 loss to San Diego in

12 innings.

• Cueto persists before bullpen comes through

It was a rare off night at Dodger Stadium for Kershaw, who came into the game 10-0 with a 0.65

ERA in his last 11 home starts. The Dodgers' ace was charged with four runs (three earned) on

eight hits in six innings, and the Giants worked him for a season-high 104 pitches.

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"I wasn't great but they definitely had something to do with it as well," said Kershaw,

who struggled with his slider all night and left one up in the strike zone that Posey took deep to

left field.

The Dodgers had their season-high four-game win streak snapped as they fell to 2-6 in their last

eight games against the Giants and 2-6 in one-run games this season.

"They had a good game plan combined with Clayton's slider not as sharp," Dodgers manager

Dave Roberts said. "I think that's just the story of the game."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Sticking with Cueto: Giants manager Bruce Bochy stayed with Cueto following a mound visit

with the go-ahead run in scoring position and two out in the bottom of the seventh, and the

decision paid off. Andrew Toles grounded out to Brandon Belt, who had entered the game an

inning earlier. The Dodgers had already scored a run in the inning on three singles when Bochy

headed to the mound with action in the bullpen and Toles coming to the plate.

Arroyo, again: Once more, the Giants' rookie infielder found a way to contribute. Arroyo, who

collected his first Major League hit off Kershaw last Tuesday, stroked his seventh and eighth off

the Dodgers' ace. The latter was a fifth-inning RBI single that drove in the eventual stand-up run

after Hernandez beat out a bunt single and advanced to second on Kershaw's throwing error.

Arroyo, who has recorded both of his multiple-hit games against Los Angeles, worked Kershaw

to a 2-2 count before delivering his run-scoring hit.

"I feel like we had a lot of those at-bats tonight, where we took some good, aggressive swings

and were able to work some counts," Posey said.

QUOTABLE

"I think that obviously we expect perfection out of Clayton every time he takes the mound." --

Roberts

BELLINGER'S BIG NIGHT

Bellinger, the Dodgers' top prospect, had another strong performance in what is likely to be his

final week in the Majors for the short term. Bellinger bounced a double into the right-field seats

in the second, later scoring on Kershaw's single with a nifty slide to avoid Posey's tag. The

rookie also bunted on his own to beat the shift in the seventh and scored from second on Chris

Taylor's pinch-hit single to move the Dodgers within one run.

"Just the instincts are off the charts and looking at him, his first series in San Francisco versus

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now, it's just the game is slowing down," Roberts said. "It's fun to watch." WHAT'S NEXT

Giants: Though San Francisco is facing its third of four left-handed starters in a row, left-

handed-batting Belt likely will return to the lineup for Tuesday's 7:10 p.m. PT matchup

against Alex Wood. Bochy wants to avoid too much inactivity for Belt, who rested Monday

against Kershaw. Belt started against Wood on Wednesday.

Dodgers: In his last start, Wood held the Giants to one hit over six scoreless innings in a no-

decision Wednesday in San Francisco. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. PT.

MLB.com

Cueto persists before bullpen comes through

Chris Haft

LOS ANGELES -- Giants right-hander Johnny Cueto revealed that the blister on the middle finger

of his pitching hand has bothered him significantly more than he initially admitted.

Speaking through his interpreter, Erwin Higueros, Cueto related that the blister flared up early

in Monday night's opener of a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. But Cueto

insisted on staying in the game and ultimately earned the decision in San Francisco's4-3 victory,

allowing all of the Dodgers' runs in seven innings while limiting them to two hits in 10 at-bats

with runners in scoring position.

"If I can't pitch," said Cueto (4-1), "they're going to have to take me out on one of those

gurneys."

Cueto, who can opt out of his six-year, $130 million contract after this season, said that the

blister has been "nagging" him for more than a month. "It doesn't want to go away," he said.

Cueto initially mentioned the blister publicly after pitching against the A's in a Bay Bridge Series

exhibition on March 30 but insisted at the time that it was nothing serious.

Monday night, Cueto said the blister started bothering him around the third inning. That

actually was when he reached peak effectiveness, retiring 13 batters in a row from the end of

the second inning through the sixth.

Cueto labored through a rough seventh inning, but survived, allowing a run and stranding two

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runners as Andrew Toles grounded out on a full-count pitch.

With left-handed-batting Corey Seager leading off the eighth, manager Bruce Bochy

summoned Steven Okert, the lone lefty in the Giants' bullpen. The rookie retired not only

Seager but also the next four Dodgers, including left-handed batters Adrian Gonzalez and Cody

Bellinger.

Bochy knew Okert was capable of such an effort. Last Sept. 20 at Dodger Stadium, Okert yielded

one hit and struck out three in another 1 2/3-inning outing to help the Giants win, 2-0.

Okert remained modest.

"Anybody in the 'pen could have gone out there," he said. "We have a great group of pitchers. It

just happened to be me tonight."

It happened to be Derek Law who relieved Okert and notched the save by recording the final

out, since Bochy deemed Mark Melancon unavailable after the closer appeared in four of the

previous five games.

"I took it out of his hands," Bochy said.

With the game in his hands, Law ended matters in dramatic fashion by striking out Yasiel Puig.

MLB.com

Moore set for rematch against Dodgers

Austin Laymance

The Dodgers and Giants continue their rivalry Tuesday night with the second of three games at

Dodger Stadium, featuring two left-handed starters in Alex Wood and Matt Moore.

Wood faces the Giants for the second straight start. He pitched six shutout innings and allowed

one hit Wednesday in San Francisco, settling for a no-decision in a game the Giants won.

Moore is also making consecutive starts against the same opponent. Thursday at AT&T Park,

Moore held the Dodgers to one run on two hits over seven innings, also taking a no-decision in

a game the Dodgers won.

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The Dodgers will be looking to make solid contact against Moore, something the pitcher has

struggled to combat though five starts this season.

According to Statcast, entering Monday, Moore was tied for the highest average exit velocity

against (minimum 300 pitches) and the most batted balls of 95-plus mph allowed in the Majors

this season.

Moore has allowed 48 batted balls of 95-plus mph, and the average exit velocity against

Moore's pitches is 91.3 mph.

Things to know about this game

• The Dodgers plan to activate outfielder Franklin Gutierrez (hamstring) from the disabled list

and insert him into the starting lineup Tuesday. Gutierrez, a right-handed hitter, has typically

started against left-handed starters.

• In seven career appearances (three starts) against the Giants, Wood is 0-2 with a 4.98 ERA

over 21 2/3 innings. He's struck out 23 against eight walks.

• Giants star Buster Posey is 4-for-9 (.444) lifetime against Wood, with two doubles and a walk.

MLB.com

Giants missing difference Crawford makes

Chris Haft

LOS ANGELES -- The Giants' recent struggles can't be attributed solely to Brandon Crawford's

absence due to a strained right groin. But as the recent defeats have piled up, the All-Star

shortstop's value has become more and more apparent.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy said Monday that Crawford could be ready to rejoin the lineup

Saturday, the first day that he's eligible for activation from the 10-day disabled list.

Without making excuses, Bochy responded to a question about Crawford's impact by citing the

difference the 2015 All-Star makes. Crawford's a Silver Slugger Award recipient (2015) and a

two-time reigning Gold Glove Award winner.

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"He's as good as anybody in the game. You're talking about one of the elite shortstops in our

game, if not the best," Bochy said.

Crawford was batting .263 and ranked among the Giants' most productive players with two

home runs and eight RBIs when he was injured Tuesday. Defensively, he had committed one

error in 19 games and his range factor per nine innings of 4.40 compared favorably to his

averages in previous years.

Bochy praised the efforts of Eduardo Nunez and Christian Arroyo as Crawford's replacements.

However, Bochy noted Crawford plays an integral role in the club's success by batting fifth,

occupying an up-the-middle position and knowing opponents' tendencies.

"We've seen how many times he's saved games for us with the glove. And there's no question

that we miss his bat," Bochy said. "... But you have to deal with these things."

No looking back

Giants right-hander Bryan Morris entered professional baseball as a member of the Dodgers

organization, which selected him in the first round (26th overall) in the 2006 Draft.

But Morris, 30, never dwells on what life might have been like had he remained a Dodger.

"My rear-view mirror doesn't go back that far," he said."I've got a lot of recent what-ifs that

outweigh what happened 10 years ago."

Morris' progress was almost instantly stalled when he underwent Tommy John surgery at the

end of that season. Two years later, Morris went to Pittsburgh in a three-team trade and

reached the Majors with the Pirates in 2012. He spent parts of the previous three years with

Miami before signing with the Giants as a Minor League free agent during the last offseason.

"I'm just grateful and fortunate to be in the postion I'm in," said Morris, who was promoted to

San Francisco on Sunday when right-hander Neil Ramirez was designated for assignment. "It

doesn't matter how you get here. Hopefully I stay healthy. That's the key."

CSNbayarea.com

Giants open new month with ‘May flowers’ and a win over Kershaw

Alex Pavlovic

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LOS ANGELES — Hunter Pence walked into the visiting dugout at Dodger Stadium on Monday

afternoon and starting asking reporters how they were doing. At the time, Pence’s stat line said

that he had just one homer. The smile on his face said he wasn’t all that concerned.

“April showers bring May flowers,” he said, beaming as he headed onto the field.

The first day of May ended up bringing what felt like a hurricane of offense.

Pence banged a Clayton Kershaw curveball over the wall for a two-run shot and Buster Posey

later added a solo blast, his first in nearly a month, on a hanging slider. The Giants put eight hits

and four runs on Kershaw’s line, both matching his career-highs against his rival. The early

onslaught — and that’s what four runs is against Kershaw, especially in his home park — held

up for a 4-3 win on the first day of May.

“We took good, aggressive swings,” Posey said. “We were able to work counts and foul off

tough pitches. Any time you can do that against Kershaw, it’s a good night.”

The tough at-bats came up and down the lineup. Christian Arroyo saw 27 pitches in four plate

appearances, and he had two hits off Kershaw, who gave up the first of Arroyo’s career last

Tuesday. Joe Panik saw 24 pitches. Gorkys Hernandez put down a bunt, advanced on an error,

and scored a needed insurance run on Arroyo’s second knock.

It all left Bruce Bochy grinning ear to ear. This is how he likes to manage. This is how it’s

supposed to be for the 2017 Giants. The bullpen showed some depth, backing the lineup and

Johnny Cueto, who was sharp through seven.

Cueto entered the night with a 5.10 ERA, but he finally revealed a minor ailment that team

officials have been whispering about during the rough start. Cueto dealt with a blister during his

last start of March and he said it never went away.

“I’ve been dealing with it for a month,” Cueto said through interpreter Erwin Higueros. “It’s

nagging me.”

The blister flared up in the third inning Monday, but Cueto buckled down, as if annoyed by its

presence. After Kershaw’s RBI single in the second, Cueto retired 13 straight. The run ended in

the seventh, when an infield single, a slick bunt by rookie Cody Bellinger, and a pinch-hit single

got the Dodgers within one. Bochy made the slow walk to the mound. Cueto was at 100

pitches, and Bochy needed to look not at his finger, but at his eyes.

Bochy liked what he saw. Cueto got Andrew Toles to ground out to first, yelling as he walked

back to the dugout.

“I needed to go ahead and strap up my pants and start pitching,” Cueto said.

Bochy will occasionally publicly tells his players to pull their Big Boy Pants on, and two young

relievers did so on a night when the closer wasn’t available. Mark Melancon pitched four of five

days to end the homestand, and five of seven overall.

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“He’s fine, but I talked to him,” Bochy said. “He wanted to be available. He threw four of five

and that would have been five of six. We have a lot of baseball left.”

Melancon told the younger relievers that he was down for the night, and they responded.

Steven Okert was the first out of the ‘pen and he got Corey Seager, Justin Turner and Yasmani

Grandal in order in the eighth. He came out for the ninth as Derek Law warmed up, and down

went lefties Adrian Gonzalez and Bellinger.

“Oh my gosh, he pretty much saved the game for us,” Law said. “That’s a big turning point right

there. To come in and shut them down like that, they pretty much had no chance.”

Yasiel Puig was the last chance for the Dodgers and Bochy called on Law. He threw five pitches,

striking out Puig for his first save of the season. The fist-pump at the end capped a stirring night

for the Giants, who hope beating Kershaw is the springboard for a big road trip. At the very

least, it brought some laughs back to a clubhouse that suffered two brutal losses over the

weekend.

“He’s a good friend for letting me get that save,” Law said as Okert got dressed a few feet away.

Okert smiled.

“Great save,” he said to Law. “He went in there and did exactly what was needed.”

CSNbayarea.com

Instant Replay

Alex Pavlovic

LOS ANGELES — Did you think you had the 2017 Giants figured out? Try again.

After a lifeless weekend at AT&T Park, the Giants came down to Dodger Stadium and handed

Clayton Kershaw one of his worst nights against his rival (it still wasn’t all that bad). A slumping

lineup had eight hits — including two homers — off the longtime Giant-killer and Johnny Cueto

made it all hold up. A 4-3 win kicked off May and the three-city trip in style.

Hunter Pence and Buster Posey combined for just two homers in April, but they found an

unlikely way to get going in May. Pence blasted a Kershaw curveball a dozen rows into the left

field bleachers in the first, giving Cueto a 2-0 lead. The Dodgers tied it up in the second, but

Posey gave the Giants the lead back in the third inning with his first homer since the season-

opening road trip.

Gorkys Hernandez took advantage of the leadoff assignment in the fifth, bunting for a hit and

reaching second on Kershaw’s error. He scored when Christian Arroyo — who had three great

at-bats against Kershaw — lined a single to left to score Hernandez.

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The Dodgers got a run back in the seventh, but Bruce Bochy stuck with Cueto as trouble

mounted and he was rewarded. Andrew Toles grounded out to end the inning and stranded a

pair.

Steven Okert took over and pitched a perfect eighth, and Bochy left him out on the mound to

start the ninth. Adrian Gonzalez flied out to center and Cody Bellinger popped up. With Mark

Melancon unavailable due to a high workload, Derek Law entered and got the final out.

Starting pitching report: Cueto was charged with three earned in seven innings. He walked one

and struck out six. On the other side, the eight hits and four runs both matched Kershaw’s highs

against the Giants in 38 career appearances.

Bullpen report: Sergio Romo pitched a scoreless seventh in his first home appearance against

his former team. He still uses “El Mechon.” It is considerably less lit than it was at AT&T Park.

At the plate: Pence entered the night with just seven hits in 70 at-bats against Kershaw, and all

of those were singles.

In the field: Drew Stubbs made a nice running catch of Corey Seager’s liner to left-center in the

third. He hasn’t hit much, but he might be the best defensive center fielder on the roster right

now.

Attendance: The Dodgers announced a crowd of 44,606 human beings. One of the Giants fans

in the first row kept reading an old newspaper from the day after the 2014 title. A+ troll move.

Up next: Matt Moore’s last two starts at Dodger Stadium: 8 2/3 shutout innings, 1 hit … 1

inning, 6 earned runs. So, I have no idea what you’ll get tomorrow. He’ll face Alex Wood.