SF Giants Press Clips Wednesday, May 17, 2017

San Francisco Gate Ty Blach, Brandon Belt, Christian Arroyo help Giants beat Dodgers John Shea The Giants’ unexpected slow start to 2017 was attributed to all sorts of reasons, and somewhere high on the deficiency list was the lack of success in the No. 1 spot in the rotation. With or without Madison Bumgarner. The Giants had been 0-8 in four games started by Bumgarner and four by his replacement, Ty Blach, who helped end the streak on a chilly Tuesday night with seven impressive innings during a 2-1 victory over the Dodgers. It was the Giants’ fifth straight win and sixth in seven games and put them in position for their first series sweep of the season. All they must do in Wednesday’s matinee is solve a fellow named Clayton Kershaw. “We’ve had clutch hitting, guys coming through, phenomenal pitching — all of it is kind of coming together,” said rookie Christian Arroyo, who made several nice plays in his first big-league innings at second base. The Giants’ offense, which was in a power outage much of the season, continues to be homer happy. These aren’t just any homers, mind you, but solo homers. Brandon Belt’s was the Giants’ 12th straight blast with nobody on base. Belt connected in the fourth inning off Rich Hill, who seemed to stay clear of his persistent blister problems to get through five solid innings, keeping batters off balance with a barrage of curves while striking out six and walking none. The Dodgers tied it when Blach surrendered Chris Taylor’s homer in the sixth. The Giants broke the tie in the home half of the inning with Belt scoring again. He legged out an infield hit, advanced to second on a wild pitch and took third on Buster Posey’s groundout to the right side. With the infield in, Brandon Crawford singled sharply to center to score Belt. Bumgarner and Blach certainly had pitched winnable games but often were derailed by a lack of offensive support, and Blach had only one awful start, a stinker in Cincinnati. Manager Bruce Bochy said the lefty has “great poise and focus out there, and he’s unflappable.”

Particularly against the Dodgers, giving up one run in 23 innings over four outings dating to last season. “Just executing pitches,” Blach said. “There are certain teams where certain styles work better. Buster does a great job behind the plate against these guys. He knows the hitters so well. Having confidence in him makes it a lot easier.” On Tuesday, Blach was relieved after 109 pitches. Hunter Strickland pitched a scoreless eighth despite giving up two hits, and Derek Law finished it in the ninth for his fourth save. Arroyo played second for a resting Joe Panik and right away got action. He turned a double play in the first inning, made a fine throw home to nail Justin Turner in the fourth and robbed Joc Pederson with a diving stop in the grass in the seventh. Arroyo had more trouble with Hill than with his position. His first two at-bats, he took strike three: first a fastball, then a sidearm curve. His next at-bat, with a man in scoring position, he grounded out. With Hill gone, Arroyo singled sharply against Josh Fields in his final at-bat. “After my first two at-bats, it was easy to get your head down,” Arroyo said. “I tried not to take my at-bats out to the field. I tried to make plays to prevent them from having a long inning or scoring a run, just had to switch my focus from offense to defense.” San Francisco Giants Giants’ Bumgarner getting closer to throwing again John Shea Madison Bumgarner is feeling significant improvement and has a date in mind for when he hopes to begin a throwing program. “I’m shooting for two weeks from Thursday,” Bumgarner said. “That’ll be six weeks out.” That would be June 1, though it’s possible he could start playing catch at some point in late May. One sign reaffirming Bumgarner’s improved health is that he’ll be on the Giants’ upcoming trip to St. Louis and Chicago to resume his rehab. He didn’t go on the previous trip (Los Angeles, Cincinnati, New York) because it was too soon after his April 20 dirt-bike accident that left him with a Grade 2 sprain in the AC joint in his left shoulder and bruised ribs. Of the two injuries, the shoulder ailment obviously is the bigger concern. As for the ribs, Bumgarner said, “I still feel them, for sure, but they’ve gotten quite a bit better.” The Giants initially said Bumgarner could return to the team shortly after the All-Star break but have since suggested a target of early August, though it’s largely guesswork for now. Bumgarner wouldn’t predict when he could rejoin the rotation, saying, “I never went through anything like this. We’ll just play it out.”

San Jose Mercury News Giants keep rolling, beat Dodgers for their fifth straight victory Jimmy Durkin SAN FRANCISCO — A week ago, the Giants were desperate for anybody on their pitching staff to delivery a quality start. Now they’re finally racking them up. Ty Blach worked himself out of a couple of jams, relied on solid defense and allowed only a solo home run over seven innings in a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was the Giants’ sixth straight quality start, dating back to Blach’s last turn in the rotation, and extended their season-high winning streak to five games. The Giants (17-24) will have a chance to go for their first series sweep of the season and complete a 6-1 home stand when Johnny Cueto matches up with Clayton Kershaw on Wednesday afternoon. “Ty did a great job, really had a good tempo out there,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “Threw strikes, attacked the hitters. He’s got just a great way about him. He has great poise, focus out there. He’s one of those guys that’s unflappable and that’s what you love about a kid that young.” This latest win saw rookie Christian Arroyo make his first major league start at second base, a position at which he’s logged over 400 minor league innings but not much recently, and immediately look impressive. With Chris Taylor at first after leading off the game with a walk, Franklin Gutierrez hit a hard grounder to third. Eduardo Nuñez went to his knees after fielding a grounder to hit right and skipped a throw to second. But Arroyo corralled the hop, double clutched to gather control and threw to first to complete the double play. Considering Blach then walked the next batter, Justin Turner, the double play became all the more important. Arroyo’s defense helped keep the Dodgers off the board again in the fourth inning. With runners at second and third and one out, Austin Barnes hit a fairly slow grounder to Arroyo. Turner was a little slow on his break from third to wait and see if Blach fielded it and Arroyo took advantage by throwing home, where Buster Posey applied the tag. The Dodgers didn’t score that inning. “You’re assuming he’s going to first to get the out but he put a throw right on the money and ended up being the difference in the game,” Bochy said. Los Angeles felt the sting of that when the Giants grabbed a lead in the bottom half on Brandon Belt’s eighth home run of the year, a shot that deflected off a fan in the first row of the right field arcade. (The Dodgers challenged the call and the home run was confirmed). The Dodgers tied the game in the sixth when Taylor crushed a home run to dead centerfield and they followed by putting two runners on with one out. But Blach escaped the game and the Giants provided an immediate reward. Belt beat out a single that was fielded in shallow right and moved up on a wild pitch. Posey added a productive out by hitting a grounder to the right side and Brandon Crawford hit a soft liner into center field to make it 2-1.

“That’s big time,” Blach said. “The guys have been rolling, we’ve been playing really good team ball right now so it’s fun to be able to keep that going. They make some great plays defensively, come in and score a couple runs, it’s really nice to be able to have that happen.” Arroyo, who had a rough day at the plate that included two caught looking strikeouts before getting an eighth-inning single, flashed some more leather in the seventh with a diving stop to rob Joc Pederson of a hit as Blach worked a 1-2-3 inning to complete a strong outing. Hunter Strickland worked a scoreless eighth and Derek Law a perfect ninth for his fourth save. “After my first two at-bats, it’s easy to get your head down, kind of kick yourself in the butt for taking some pitches you probably should’ve put in play hard,” Arroyo said. “I just try to stay focused on the game and not take my at-bats onto the field.” — Giants closer Mark Melancon was eligible to come off the 10-day disabled list Tuesday, but Bochy said they’ll hold off activating him until Friday when they open up a road trip in St. Louis. Melancon hasn’t pitched since May 3. He was placed on the D.L. on May 9 (retroactive to May 6) with a mild right pronator strain. In his first season with the Giants, the three-time All-Star is 0-1 with a 2.64 ERA and has six saves in eight chances. — Infielder Conor Gillaspie, on the D.L. with back spasms, will start a rehab assignment on Friday with Triple-A Sacramento. Aaron Hill (right forearm strain) began his rehab assignment Tuesday as a designated hitter for Class-A San Jose, which played at Visalia. — Bochy plans to rest Belt and centerfielder Denard Span in Wednesday’s series finale against Kershaw and the Dodgers and he acknowledged Belt’s lifetime numbers against Kershaw (3 for 51 with 27 strikeouts) as part of the reason why. Bochy also said he’d think about giving Crawford the day off. The Giants have an off day Thursday, so it’s a good chance to get them two days off in a row. San Jose Mercury News Giants planning to sit at least two lefties against Clayton Kershaw Jimmy Durkin SAN FRANCISCO — There is just no way to sugar coat how bad Brandon Belt has been during his career against Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw. In 51 career at-bats, Belt has just three hits off the three-time Cy Young Award winner. He’s got two singles and a double, no RBIs and a slash line of .059/.127/.078 that even a pitcher may be embarrassed by. For Giants manager Bruce Bochy, it becomes an easy call for Wednesday’s lineup in the series finale with Los Angeles. He’s planning to give Belt a day off. “The numbers are what they are,” Bochy said. “With Kershaw, lefty, right, he’s going to be tough on anybody, but those numbers are not pretty, let’s be honest, and so it’s a tough matchup for Brandon. Any time you try to find a guy a day off, you try to find it against a particularly tough pitcher on him and that’s the case with Kershaw.”

Among pitchers Belt has more than 12 at-bats against, the only pitcher he’s fared worse against is Shelby Miller, going just 1 for 24. At least that one hit off Miller is a home run. Further exasperating his issues against Kershaw is that he’s struck out 27 times in his 55 plate appearances. Bochy also said he’s planning to rest fellow left-handed hitter Denard Span, allowing him to parlay Thursday’s off day into an extended rest for both players. Shortstop Brandon Crawford could join them. Bochy said he’ll decide on Crawford later. Second baseman Joe Panik is getting the night off Tuesday, with rookie Christian Arroyo sliding over to play second base for the first time as a big leaguer. He does have over 400 innings at the position in the minor leagues and saw some time there during spring training. “I think he’ll be fine there,” Bochy said. “I’ve been wanting to get Joe a day off.” This year, maybe more than any, is emphasizing the importance of being versatile for a good chunk of the roster. Bochy pointed to being able to keep Belt in the lineup in left field on days he wants Buster Posey at first base and the fact that with an established shortstop in Crawford, a good prospect like Arroyo needs to know multiple spots. “You don’t know where they’re going to be needed up here,” he said. When will Giants closer Mark Melancon come off the disabled list? San Jose Mercury News When will Giants closer Mark Melancon come off the disabled list? Jimmy Durkin SAN FRANCISCO — Giants closer Mark Melancon is eligible to come off the 10-day disabled list, but manager Bruce Bochy said they’ll hold off activating him until Friday when they open up a road trip in St. Louis. “He came out of it fine yesterday,” Bochy said of Melancon’s 22-pitch bullpen session, “but to rush him before Friday I think would be probably a little risky. He’ll throw today and throw some tomorrow and then with the day off, he should be good to go on Friday, full bore, no restrictions.” Melancon hasn’t pitched since May 3. He was placed on the D.L. on May 9 (retroactive to May 6) with a mild right pronator strain. In his first season with the Giants, the three-time All-Star is 0-1 with a 2.64 ERA and has six saves in eight chances. — Bochy also updated the status of infielder Conor Gillaspie (back spasms), who will start a rehab assignment on Friday with Triple-A Sacramento. Aaron Hill (right forearm strain) will serve as a designated hitter Tuesday for Class-A San Jose, which is playing at Visalia.

MLB.com Cueto opposes Kershaw as Giants seek sweep Ken Gurnick Clayton Kershaw tries for the second time this season to become a career 20-game winner over the Giants when he opposes Johnny Cueto in Wednesday's series finale at AT&T Park. San Francisco will be seeking a three-game series sweep and its sixth straight win. Kershaw lost to the Giants on May 1 at Dodger Stadium, 4-3, charged with four runs (three earned) in six innings. He's coming off a win at Coors Field. Cueto is already 1-0 in two starts against the Dodgers this year and is 3-1 with a 2.27 ERA in his last six starts against Los Angeles. Things to know about this game • Left-handed hitters Cody Bellinger and Corey Seager, who did not start Tuesday night against San Francisco left-handed starter Ty Blach, are expected back in the lineup against Cueto. Manager Dave Roberts said both needed a day off and he chose to give it to them against a left-handed pitcher. • The Dodgers are the only team the Giants have a winning record against this season. Going into Tuesday night's game, San Francisco was 5-3 against Los Angeles. • Although he homered off left-hander Rich Hill on Tuesday night, Brandon Belt is 3-for-51 with 27 strikeouts lifetime against Kershaw and probably won't start for the Giants. Brandon Crawford is 4-for-32. MLB.com Blach subdues LA in Giants' 5th straight win Ken Gurnick and Chris Haft SAN FRANCISCO -- Ty Blach maintained his mastery over the Los Angeles Dodgers, working seven stubborn innings Tuesday night to pace the San Francisco Giants to a 2-1 decision for their fifth consecutive victory. Blach yielded five hits, including Chris Taylor's sixth-inning home run, in the Giants' sixth consecutive quality start. The left-hander owns a 1.17 ERA in four career outings against the Dodgers, compared with 4.71 in 12 outings against other Major League competition. "He's one of those guys who's unflappable. He just keeps coming at you ... and he has more stuff than he gets credit for," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. Dodgers starter Rich Hill, who hadn't pitched since April 16 due to a finger blister, also performed capably, lapsing only once in his five-inning stint when Brandon Belt smacked a fourth-inning homer on a hanging curveball, confirmed after a crew-chief review ruled out fan interference. San Francisco broke a 1-1 tie in its half of the sixth against Dodgers reliever Luis Avilan as Belt singled, advanced on a wild pitch, moved to third on Buster Posey's grounder and scored on Brandon Crawford's

single. It was an example of textbook baseball, as Posey hit the ball to the right side specifically to move up Belt 90 feet. "For a guy who's hitting close to .400 to give up his at-bat to move the runner, it just shows you what kind of team player he is," Giants first baseman-outfielder Michael Morse said of Posey. "Not only that, but he also has faith that the guy behind him is going to do his job." Dodgers manager Dave Roberts rested left-handed-hitting sluggers Cody Bellinger and Corey Seager against Blach. Their replacements (Franklin Gutierrez and Kiké Hernandez) went 3-for-7, but the last five spots in the batting order went 0-for-18 and the Dodgers are 3-6 against the Giants this year, with four of the losses by one run. "If you look at the quality of [the Giants'] contact tonight, they found some outfield grass and haven't squared the baseball up, and that's baseball," said Roberts. "When they get a guy in scoring position, they find a way to score, they do. We're 3-7 in one-run games and we've got to find a way to win them. When you play close games, situationally we can do better." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED First-rate at second: Making his first Major League start at second base, Giants rookie Christian Arroyo executed a heads-up play to deny Los Angeles a fourth-inning run. Arroyo fielded Austin Barnes' one-out grounder and threw home to retire Justin Turner, the baserunner at third who hesitated before breaking for the plate. "That ended up being the difference in the game," Bochy said. Bet on Blach: Blach was especially stingy in the sixth inning after looking vulnerable. He yielded singles to Gutierrez and Hernandez following Taylor's homer, but dodged further trouble by coaxing harmless flies to right field from Barnes and Yasiel Puig. "I got back to making quality pitches," Blach said. "I was behind [on the count to] a lot of guys tonight and kind of had to battle through some things like that, but Buster did a great job of keeping me focused there at the end." WHAT'S NEXT Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw tries for the second time this year to become a career 20-game winner against the Giants when he starts the trip finale Wednesday at 12:45 p.m. PT. Kershaw is 19-9 against San Francisco with a 1.66 ERA, but he lost to the Giants, 4-3, on May 1. Seager and Bellinger are expected to return to the lineup after not starting Tuesday night. Giants: Suffice it to say that the Giants feel good behind Johnny Cueto, their scheduled starter for Wednesday's 12:45 p.m. PT series finale. They're 6-2 in his starts, including 3-0 at AT&T Park. He's coming off a 119-pitch no-decision last Friday against Cincinnati.

MLB.com Arroyo shows off skills in 1st start at 2nd Chris Haft SAN FRANCISCO -- Christian Arroyo didn't record a key hit, played a position that belongs to somebody else and still made an impact in the Giants' 2-1 victory Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Giants manager Bruce Bochy assigned Arroyo his initial Major League start at second base while resting Joe Panik. Muted offensively while taking called third strikes from Dodgers left-hander Rich Hill in his first two plate appearances, Arroyo contributed significantly on defense as the Giants extended their winning streak to five games. "I had to shift my focus," the rookie said. Arroyo calmly turned a first-inning double play following a nice stop by third baseman Eduardo Nunez on Franklin Gutierrez's sharp grounder. He denied Los Angeles a fourth-inning run by throwing out Justin Turner at home. He opened the seventh inning by flinging himself to his left to snare Joc Pederson's grounder, then throwing to first for the out. "That's just kind of an instinctual thing," Arroyo said of his dive. His biggest play, apprehending Turner, was a different matter. "That one didn't really develop the way I thought it was going to," Arroyo said. With Dodgers at second and third, one out and no score, the Giants conceded the run by playing the infield back. Austin Barnes tapped a grounder to Arroyo, who saw Turner break from third base, then stop before charging home. Turner hesitated long enough to enable Arroyo to throw him out. "It was just the perfect spot," Arroyo said, pointing out that Giants left-hander Ty Blach reached for Barnes' ground ball and nearly fielded it, causing Turner to halt. Arroyo admitted he wouldn't have considered throwing home if Turner hadn't stopped. "If he's [running] on contact, he's there easy, because I'm playing back," said Arroyo, who started three games at second base earlier this season with Triple-A Sacramento. "... It wasn't the way we drew it up, but it saved a run." It also buoyed Blach's spirits. "When that ball got past me, my heart sank a little bit," said Blach, who proceeded to match a season high by lasting seven innings. "You're always trying to keep that runner at third base. To see [Arroyo] him come home and get that [out], that was awesome."

NBC Sports Bay Area BLACH DAZZLES, BELT MATCHES POSEY AS GIANTS CONTINUE TO ROLL Alex Pavlovic SAN FRANCISCO — Last season’s trade deadline killed the occasional and entertaining "Tortoise Race" between Joe Panik and Matt Duffy, but a couple of middle-of-the-order bats have brought back a supercharged version for a surging team. Brandon Belt scored both runs in Tuesday’s 2-1 win over the Dodgers, the first coming on a solo shot to the arcade. Belt’s eighth blast of the season continued an odd run for a lineup lacking power the first six weeks of the season. For nine consecutive games, either Belt or Buster Posey has gone deep. It started last Monday in New York: May 8: Posey HR May 9: Posey HR May 10: Posey HR May 11: Belt HR May 12: Posey HR May 13: Belt HR May 14: Belt HR May 15: Posey HR May 16: Belt HR Posey helped push Belt along the bases in the sixth, when he singled, took second on a wild pitch, third on a grounder, and home on a Brandon Crawford single. Ty Blach did the rest. The young left-hander continued his mastery of the Dodgers, throwing seven strong innings to pick up the first win out of the No. 1 spot in the rotation. Madison Bumgarner and Blach had suffered from a lack of run support through eight starts, but it didn’t matter with the way Blach pitched Tuesday. “He really had a good tempo, he was throwing strikes, attacking hitters,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He has just a great way about him. He’s poised and focused. He’s unflappable. He just keeps coming at you.” Blach didn’t buckle in a couple of tight spots. The biggest was the fourth, when Justin Turner singled with one out and cruised into third on a double from Enrique Hernandez. Austin Barnes followed with a bouncer that got just past Blach and headed toward second, where Christian Arroyo was making his first big league start. Arroyo fired a surprising strike home, nabbing Turner, who had gotten a late start off third. “Oh, that was awesome,” Blach said. “When the ball got past me my heart sank, like, ‘Shoot!’ You always try to keep the runner at third. That was awesome.” Arroyo made a couple of standout plays, Eduardo Nuñez started a highlight double play, and Belt dug more throws out of the dirt. It was another clean night defensively, and that allowed Blach to be efficient, continuing a trend.

Since Johnny Cueto threw 119 pitches on Friday, Bochy has leaned heavily on his starters. Matt Moore threw 120 on Saturday, Jeff Samardzija threw 114 Sunday, and Matt Cain stretched it to 112 on Monday. Blach tossed a career-high 109 pitches. “I didn’t make a conscious effort to push them to that limit as much as how they’re pitching will dictate how far they go,” Bochy said. “I think that’s gotten a little contagious.” Blach said he was trying to keep up with the others, and Bochy is willing to let them stretch it out. While he never sat down and decided that he would rely more on his rotation, he did note that closer Mark Melancon remains out until Friday. “That forces your hand,” he said. “I think it maybe got contagious on my part, that hey, I’m sticking with these guys.” It continues to work. Tuesday’s win was the fifth straight, giving the Giants their longest winning streak since last June. NBC Sports Bay Area DOWN ON THE FARM: SAN JOSE GIANTS NOW STACKED WITH 2016 OUTFIELD DRAFT TALENT Dalton Johnson Health delayed the inevitable, but now over two weeks into May, the San Jose Giants’ outfield is stacked with talent from the 2016 MLB Draft. Last June, the Giants used three of their first five picks in the draft on outfielders. San Francisco went with back-to-back outfielders — Bryan Reynolds No. 59 overall and Heath Quinn No. 95 overall — to start off their selections. Three rounds after taking Quinn, the Giants went with Gio Brusa No. 185 overall for their fifth pick in the draft. Reynolds and Brusa have both been on San Francisco’s Advanced Single-A affiliate since Opening Day, but Quinn had to wait his turn this year. Due to a hamate bone injury in his hand, Quinn started the season on the shelf. On Monday, Quinn was assigned to San Jose looking to soar in the outfield with Brusa and Reynolds. Immediately, Quinn showed the impact he can make on a team. Quinn, 21, went 1-for-4 with a double and a strikeout Monday. In his second game with the team, Quinn finished as the only Giant with multiple hits in Tuesday’s loss, going 2-for-4 with another double and a strikeout. In 2016, the former Samford product forced his way to a small late-season stint with San Jose after dominating at Short Season Single-A with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes. The right fielder had a .337 batting average, .423 on-base percentage and a .571 slugging percentage with nine home runs in 54 games. Across the board, he led the team in all three slash-line categories, plus doubles (19) and total bases (117).

After Quinn’s success with the Volcanoes, he finished the final four games with the Giants and just kept on hitting. Quinn went 6-for-17 with a double, good for a .353 batting average. He is ranked the Giants’ No. 7 prospect by MLB.com and No. 16 by Baseball America. Reynolds, the highest ranked prospect of the three outfielders, is going through an up-and-down season so far. The center fielder started off on fire and stood at a .341 batting average after the first 10 games. Now 33 games into the season, Reynolds is down to .252 to go with a .318 on-base percentage and .356 slugging percentage. On a positive note, Reynolds may be finding his swing. Prior to his 0-for-3 showing Tuesday, he produced big back-to-back games on Sunday and Monday. Reynolds finished the final two games of a four-game series against the Island Empire 66ers going 4-for-9 with two doubles, a triple and a run scored. The talent is certainly there for the top pick from 2016. Out in left field, Brusa, a local talent from from the University of the Pacific, is off to a slow start and hasn’t hit any higher than .212 this season. Brusa has power — he was the only player to have more homers than Quinn in 2016 with the Volcanoes and has four long balls so far this year — but strikeouts are slowing him down. In 30 games, Brusa has struck out 37 percent of the time, going down 42 times in 114 at-bats. While Reynolds and Brusa are facing a bit of a sophomore slump, there’s plenty of season left and the third piece to the puzzle in Quinn may have arrived at the perfect time. Around The Horn — Aaron Hill began his rehab assignment with San Jose on Tuesday night. The veteran utility man went 0-for-4 as the team’s DH with three strikeouts. — Outfielder Austin Slater is on fire at Triple-A with the Sacramento River Cats. Slater collected two more hits Tuesday and is now batting .360 in May. — Kyle Crick continues to be a story to watch in Sacramento. The former top prospect has been converted from a starting pitcher to a reliever and it’s been paying off lately. Crick has tossed six straight scoreless appearances out of the bullpen. Here’s the numbers in that span: Eight innings pitched, two hits, four walks and nine strikeouts. NBC Sports Bay Area GIANTS NOTES: MELANCON DUE BACK FRIDAY; BOCHY PLANS AROUND KERSHAW Alex Pavlovic SAN FRANCISCO — On a cool afternoon at AT&T Park, Mark Melancon put on a hoodie and went out to once again test his right pronator strain. Melancon came out of the latest throwing session feeling good, but the Giants will wait a couple of days before activating their closer. Manager Bruce Bochy said Melancon will return Friday for the first game of a series in St. Louis. “To rush him before Friday is a little risky,” Bochy said.

It’s unclear if Melancon has completely knocked out the irritation that has bothered him since spring training. The caution indicates that he hasn’t, but that wouldn’t be a surprise. These things tend to linger, which is why some players are watched more closely than others. Bochy said that when Melancon does return, there won’t be restrictions. “He’ll be good to go Friday,” he said. Friday is a big day for another Giant on the DL. Conor Gillaspie will join Triple-A Sacramento for a rehab assignment and Aaron Hill, who is currently rehabbing with San Jose, will be his teammate. You can start to do the math here. The Giants are finally playing well, and now they have three pending roster moves. Hunter Pence expects to be back relatively soon, too. Who goes? “We’re going to have to find a spot for them,” Bochy said. “I always say these things have a way of working out, but we’ll see where they’re at when they’re ready to come off.” Translation: Don’t be surprised if another veteran comes down with a tight hamstring or stiff back. --- Brandon Belt remains confident that he’ll get to Clayton Kershaw eventually, and there was a game last year where he blasted a fly ball that probably would have been a homer in half the parks in the NL. But Bochy isn’t taking any chances. Belt will be off Wednesday and it’s no coincidence. When trying to find breather days — Joe Panik got one Tuesday — Bochy looks at the upcoming pitchers. Belt is 3-for-51 off Kershaw. “The numbers are what they are,” Bochy said before Tuesday’s game. “Kershaw, lefties or righties are going to be tough, but those numbers are, uh, not pretty, let’s be honest. It’s a tough matchup for Brandon. Any time you try to find a guy a day of you try to find it against a tough pitcher for him, and that’s the case with Kershaw.” There’s no shame in struggling against the world’s best pitcher. Belt is hardly alone. Denard Span is 0-for-13 off Kershaw and he’ll also be off Wednesday. The timing is perfect for Belt in another respect. He took a throw off the shin Tuesday and had a pretty good bruise after the game. --- A couple of familiar faces in new places: Drew Stubbs is now a Ranger; Neil Ramirez is now a Met. --- Hard-throwing right-hander Ray Black tweeted that he had surgery on his elbow and he’ll be out three to four months. That arm is a gift and a curse. Black can throw 104, but he’s never managed to stay healthy. The Giants DFA’d him earlier this season but he’s still with the organization. --- From last night, here’s my game story on Ty Blach, Belt and the Giants stretching their winning streak to five.

Santa Rosa Press Democrat Brandon Belt homers again to lead streaking Giants over Dodgers Michael Wagman SAN FRANCISCO — Brandon Belt homered for the fourth time in six games and scored the tiebreaking run on Brandon Crawford’s single in the sixth, lifting the San Francisco Giants against the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 on Tuesday night for their fifth consecutive win. Buster Posey added two hits and Ty Blach (1-2) pitched seven innings, spoiling Dodgers starter Rich Hill’s return from the disabled list. Blach allowed one run, five hits and two walks with four strikeouts. San Francisco improved to 5-1 on its homestand after a sluggish nine-game road trip when manager Bruce Bochy’s ballclub won only three games. Belt, who hit his eighth home run of the season leading off the fourth, singled against the shift to open the sixth. After Belt advanced on a wild pitch, Crawford followed with a single off Luis Avilan (0-1) to short right-center to give the Giants a 2-1 lead. Hunter Strickland retired three batters and Derek Law pitched the ninth for his fourth save. Chris Taylor hit his fourth home run of the season for Los Angeles. Activated off the disabled list before the game after missing more than four weeks due to a blister on his finger, Hill got off to a shaky start in his first appearance since April 16. The lefty hit leadoff man Denard Span in the batting helmet with a 73 mph curve on his fifth pitch of the first inning, then was called for a balk moments later. Hill settled down to get through five innings while allowing one run and six hits with six strikeouts. TRAINER’S ROOM Dodgers: LHP Grant Dayton was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma to make room for Hill. Giants: Span was checked by head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner and remained in the game. ... Closer Mark Melancon is expected to come off the disabled list Friday when San Francisco opens a three-game series in St. Louis. Melancon did some light throwing before Tuesday’s game after a 22-pitch bullpen a day earlier. ... 2B Joe Panik was not in the starting lineup. Sacramento Bee Belt homers again as Giants stay hot, beat Dodgers 2-1 Michael Wagman SAN FRANCISCO Giants left-hander Ty Blach finally got his first win of the season and was quick to spread the credit around. There was the defense, particularly rookie Christian Arroyo, who made a pair of stellar plays in his first start at second base. A timely home run by Brandon Belt and an even more clutch tiebreaking hit from Brandon Crawford helped, too.

Most importantly, Blach pointed to catcher Buster Posey's game plan, which worked out nicely in stretching San Francisco's winning streak to five. "Buster does a great job behind the plate against these guys," Blach said after the Giants' 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday. "He knows these hitters so well, so just being able to know that you've got confidence in him, that makes it a lot easier for you." Blach (1-2) pitched seven innings, spoiling Dodgers starter Rich Hill's return from the disabled list. Blach allowed one run, five hits and two walks with four strikeouts. "He's one of those guys that's unflappable, he just keeps coming at you," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He was on top of his game. He's just a good pitcher that knows what he's doing and he's got a little more stuff than he gets credit for." Belt homered for the fourth time in six games and scored the deciding run on Crawford's single in the sixth, while Posey added two hits. San Francisco improved to 5-1 on its homestand after a sluggish nine-game road trip when Bochy's ballclub won only three games. "We've been playing really good team ball right now," Blach said. "It's fun to be able to keep that going." Belt, who hit his eighth home run of the season leading off the fourth, singled against the shift to open the sixth. After Belt advanced on a wild pitch, Crawford followed with a single off Luis Avilan (0-1) to short right-center to give the Giants a 2-1 lead. Hunter Strickland retired three batters and Derek Law pitched the ninth for his fourth save. Chris Taylor hit his fourth home run of the season for Los Angeles. Activated off the disabled list before the game after missing more than four weeks due to a blister on his finger, Hill got off to a shaky start in his first appearance since April 16. The lefty hit leadoff man Denard Span in the batting helmet with a 73 mph curve on his fifth pitch of the first inning, then was called for a balk moments later. Hill settled down to get through five innings while allowing one run and six hits with six strikeouts. "He pitched himself out of some traffic," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "To give us 80-plus pitches, give us five innings, give up one run ... I thought that was a success." BLACH-OUT THE DODGERS Blach has been dominant in four career appearances against the Dodgers, giving up just three runs in 23 innings — a 1.17 ERA. Blach has a 4.71 ERA against everyone else. "There's certain teams where certain styles work better," Blach said. FLASHY ROOKIE

Arroyo has played primarily at third base since being called up from the minors on April 24 but made his first start at second base Tuesday and looked good there. Arroyo threw out Justin Turner at home in the fourth inning, then made a diving stop on Joc Pederson's grounder in the seventh and threw to first for the out. TRAINER'S ROOM Dodgers: LHP Grant Dayton was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma to make room for Hill. Giants: Span was checked by head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner and remained in the game. ... Closer Mark Melancon is expected to come off the disabled list Friday when San Francisco opens a three-game series in St. Louis. Melancon did some light throwing before Tuesday's game after a 22-pitch bullpen a day earlier. ... 2B Joe Panik was not in the starting lineup. UP NEXT Left-hander Clayton Kershaw (6-2), who has a career 1.66 ERA in 38 appearances against San Francisco, starts for the Dodgers in the afternoon finale on Wednesday while the Giants counter with right-hander Johnny Cueto (4-2). Cueto outdueled Kershaw and got the win when the two teams played May 1. San Francisco Examiner Giants make it 5 in a row thanks to Blach’s gem Karl Buscheck AT&T Park — As Cody Bellinger’s tailing line drive went flying into Justin Ruggiano’s glove, Ty Blach looked out over his shoulder into left field, pumped his fist and darted into the dugout for the seventh and final time. Throwing a season high 109 pitches, Blach limited the Los Angeles Dodgers to one run on five hits in seven innings, as the Giants pushed their win streak to five games on Tuesday night. “He’s got just a great way about him,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He has a great poise *and+ focus out there. He’s one of those guys that’s unflappable. He just keeps coming at you and that’s what you love about a kid that’s young and he’s still in his first full year of pitching *in the major leagues+.” Blach’s seven innings of one-run ball continued his trend of baffling the Dodgers. In four career outings — three starts and one relief appearance — against the southern rivals, Blach has held the Los Angeles to three runs in 23 innings. Asked about his burgeoning supremacy, Blach declined to divulge any secrets. “It’s just executing pitches,” Blach said. “There’s certain teams where certain styles work better and *it’s+ just being able to execute pitches. Buster [Posey] does a great job behind the plate against these guys. He knows them so well. So, just being able to know that you’ve got confidence in him — that makes it a lot easier for you.” Christian Arroyo — making his major league debut at second base — provided his fellow rookie with a pivotal assist after Blach had pitched his way into a one-out jam in the top of the fourth. With runners on second and third, Austin Barnes rolled a slow grounder to Arroyo at the keystone. Even though he

wasn’t playing in, the 21-year-old threw a strike to Buster Posey who swiped Justin Turner with a tag as the Dodger attempted to slide around the plate. “That was awesome,” Blach marveled. “When that ball got past me, my heart sank a little bit. I was like, ‘Shoot.’ You’re always trying to keep that runner at third base and to see him come home and get that *out+, that was awesome.” Half an inning later, Brandon Belt connected on his eighth home run — a solo shot that would have landed in the seats atop the brick arcade in triples alley if not for a fan who dropped the ball back onto the field. Chris Taylor answered back with a sixth-inning solo shot of his own — off the net hanging above the kale garden in center field — before Brandon Crawford broke the tie with an RBI single in the bottom half of the frame. The club’s fifth consecutive win lifts the Giants record to 17-24 heading into the matinee finale with the Dodgers. Blach credited one of his rotation mates for fostering the positive vibes flowing through the dugout. “I think we’ve been a little more conscious about having that energy and guys have been really good,” Blach said. “Johnny *Cueto+’s always in the dugout picking guys up. It’s fun to hear him have that energy even on days when he’s not pitching. Having everybody have each other’s backs, I think that’s great for the team.” San Francisco Examiner Mark Melancon set to rejoin Giants on Friday Karl Buscheck AT&T PARK — After throwing a bullpen on Monday, Mark Melancon is on track to rejoin the San Francisco Giants on Friday when the club opens up a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals. “To rush him before Friday I think would be probably a little risky,” manager Bruce Bochy said of the closer, who’s been out since May 6. Sidelined with a mild right pronator strain, San Francisco’s bullpen ace was eligible to return as soon as Tuesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. “So, he’ll throw today and throw some tomorrow and then with the day off, he should be good to go on Friday — full bore, no restrictions,” Bochy added. Gillaspie scheduled for Friday rehab, as Hil begins assignment Conor Gillaspie — out since May 11 with back spasms — will head out on a rehab assignment on Friday. The backup infielder ran the bases and fielded grounders before batting practice on Tuesday afternoon. Fellow reserve Aaron Hill begins his rehab stint on Tuesday night, serving as the designated hitter for the High-A San Jose Giants. Bochy hopes that Hill (right forearm strain) will begin throwing by the end. “We’re going to have to find a spot for them,” Bochy said when asked about the potential of a looming roster crunch. “But I always say these things have a way of working out. We’ll see where we’re at when they’re ready to come off.”

Arroyo debuts at second With Bochy wanting to give Joe Panik a night off, Christian Arroyo is set for his major league debut at second base. The manager isn’t worried about the shortstop-turned-third baseman sliding over to second — a position he played 48 times in the minor leagues. “He hasn’t spent as much time at second,” Bochy admitted. “He played a little bit there in spring training, but I think he’ll be fine.” Around The Foghorn San Francisco Giants: Belt Homers Again, Giants Win Fifth Straight Justin Rodgers Brandon Belt homered for the fourth time in six games, Ty Blach picked up his first win of the season, and the San Francisco Giants would go on to win their fifth straight game. The bats may have cooled off a bit in comparison to Monday night’s game, but stellar pitching by Ty Blach, and timely hitting proved to be the difference on Tuesday night, as the San Francisco Giants would beat the Los Angeles Dodgers by a score of 2-1. Blach struggled a little bit with control in the beginning, walking Chris Taylor to lead off the game, but bounced back by forcing Franklin Gutierrez into a double play. Blach would walk one more batter in the inning, but that would lead to no harm. Blach would settle down from there and the game would remain scoreless until the fourth inning. Brandon Belt led the bottom of the fourth with a home run, his fourth in six games. The Dodgers would challenge the ruling on the field, which was upheld upon further review. The Giants had a chance to do more damage in the inning — Buster Posey and Brandon Crawford followed Belt’s bomb with back-to-back singles. Unfortunately, the Giants were unable to capitalize as Justin Ruggiano would strike out looking, and Eduardo Nunez would hit into a double play to end the inning. It was not until the sixth inning when Blach ran into some trouble. After cruising through the first five innings, Blach gave up a lead off home run to Chris Taylor to tie the game 1-1. Gutierrez followed with a single and Enrique Hernandez would single as well after Blach struck out Justin Turner for the first out of the inning. After a mound visit, Blach composed himself and got the next two hitters to fly out, ending the inning. The Giants would waste no time regaining the lead. Belt led the bottom of the sixth off with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Then, with one out in the inning, Brandon Crawford would knock Belt in, giving the Giants a 2-1 lead. That run would prove the difference maker in this one, as the San Francisco Giants would beat the Dodgers 2-1 for their fifth win in a row.

Ty Blach earned the victory with a line of 7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, and 4 K’s. Hunter Strickland pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and Derek Law picked up his fourth save of the year. Takeaways: 1.) Blach was stellar: Aside from one disastrous start against the Reds, Blach has filled Madison Bumgarner‘s void quite nicely. In his four starts so far this season, he has given up more than two runs only once. In addition to earning his first victory in 2017, he accumulated his first career sacrifice bunt. 2.) The offense has some life: Despite only scoring two runs, the Giants offense pounded out 11 hits, which is an incredible sign. If they can keep this up, they can continue to put together some competitive games. Either Buster Posey or Brandon Belt have hit a home run in the last nine games, which is quite impressive. 3.) Streaking: The Giants have won their fifth game in a row, ascended from the depths of the NL West, and have a chance to sweep the Dodgers on Wednesday afternoon. The San Francisco Giants will be back in action, looking for the series sweep against the Dodgers, Wednesday at 12:45 p.m. First, they will have to go through Dodgers ace, Clayton Kershaw. The Giants will counter with Johnny Cueto. Around The Fog Horn SF Giants: 17 inning walk-off could be their turning point in 2017 Vince Cestone In every good SF Giants season, it seems there’s always one point that teams turn to and say, “That’s what got us going.” Several times this season, the SF Giants seemed to have one pivotal game that would change it all–Michael Morse‘s game-tying, eighth-inning, pinch-hit home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers in his first at-bat back, beating Clayton Kershaw at Dodger Stadium, rookie sensation Christian Arroyo‘s game-winning, eighth-inning homer against the Padres. But none of those game snapped the Giants out of their funk. Well, the Giants might have had that turning point during Friday night’s marathon 17-inning, walk-off win. Franchise player Buster Posey ended that game with a booming, game-ending home run that landed halfway up the left-field bleachers. Since then, the Giants won their next three games, scoring 19 runs. They’ve hit four home runs in that span and are finally playing Giants-style baseball–good pitching, great defense, and just enough offense. In fact, the old Giants motto was score four runs at home, and that’s good enough to win. Well, at least for the three games after the 17th-inning walk-off, they have done just that. And it’s been good enough to win, even though the Dodgers scored three runs in the ninth on Monday and lost 8-4 (those runs came off middle relievers who would not have been in there in a save situation).

Even with the current four-game winning streak, the Giants are 16-24 and 8.5 games behind the Colorado Rockies in the National League West. There’s still a long way to go, but the Giants finally have won at least three-in-a-row for the first time all year–and it’s mid-May. That’s hardly the start the Giants hoped for. But now, there’s hope. “You’ve got to believe the worm was going to turn, and at this point it has,” Manager Bruce Bochy told Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. In fact, Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford pointed to Friday night’s game as the potential turning point of the season. But a long extra-inning game could work the other way too. On Jul. 26, 2011, the Pirates and Atlanta Braves played in a marathon 19-inning game at Turner Field. The Pirates ended up losing with the help of a blown call in the bottom of the 19th. At the time, the Pirates were 53-47 and tied for first in the National League Central. After that game, the Pirates went 19-42 for the rest of the year and fell out of the race. Before Friday, the Giants showed signs of life Wednesday in New York. Down 3-2 in the ninth against Mets’ closer Jeurys Familia, the Giants scored four runs, capped by an Arroyo three-run, bases-loaded double. San Francisco held on to win that game 6-5, the first time in two years they came back to win a game trailing after eight innings. Then, the Giants played the Cincinnati Reds, who swept them in Cincinnati in dominant fashion–outscoring the orange and black 31-5. And just like the other three times, the Reds beat them 3-2 Thursday at AT&T Park. But Denard Span returned to the lineup and went 4-for-5 with a home run. He would go on to have a dominant series, raising about 70 points to his batting average. Even though the Giants didn’t build on Wednesday’s momentum, the Giants showed signs of life, leaving the tying run at third base in the ninth. Brandon Belt, who had two home runs in the series, flew out to end the game. And if it hadn’t been for an atom ball ticketed toward the right-field line off the bat of Posey the at-bat before, the Giants might have come back and won that game. And it took a marathon of a game to finally put the Giants over the top–for now. There’s still a long way to go to get back to .500. The Giants were dead last in the National League in runs scored until their mini-offensive outburst the last couple of games. Now, they’re second-to-last just ahead of the Pirates with 139.

But hey–baby steps. CBS Sports Giants' Derek Law: Notches fourth save Tuesday RotoWire Staff | RotoWire Law pitched a perfect ninth inning en route to his fourth save of the season in Tuesday's 2-1 win over the Dodgers. This was the 26-year-old's toughest test since taking over as the Giants' closer and he came through with flying colors in an important division game. Outside of a rough outing against the Reds -- in which he still recorded the save -- Law has done a bang up job filling in for Mark Melancon (elbow), likely cementing his role as the next in line should the Giants need him to close games again. San Francisco's regular closer expects to be activated off the disabled list Friday, so fantasy owners should begin planning their next course of action once Law returns to his usual setup role. CBS Sports Giants' Brandon Belt: Homers again Tuesday RotoWire Staff | RotoWire Belt continued his recent power surge Tuesday, going 2-for-4 with a solo home run in a 2-1 win over the Dodgers. The veteran first baseman broke out of his power drought in a big way this week, smacking four dingers over his last six contests. Even with his patient approach at the plate, Belt has a tendency to be a streaky hitter in the power department, so owners should enjoy the ride while it lasts. It is worth noting that he is scheduled to receive a day off Wednesday against Clayton Kershaw, so those in daily leagues should deploy a backup plan at first base CBS Sports Giants' Ty Blach: Continues dominance of Dodgers RotoWire Staff | RotoWire Blach (1-2) picked up his first victory of the season Tuesday, limiting the Dodgers to just one run over seven innings. He walked two and struck out four in a 2-1 win. The 26-year-old continued his dominance over the Giants' division rivals, lowering his career ERA against the Dodgers to 1.17 through four starts. Blach exhibited pinpoint control Tuesday, avoiding the middle of the strike zone for the majority of the night. His lone mistake was an elevated fastball that Chris Taylor took over the wall in center. The rookie isn't a tantalizing fantasy option due to his lack of strikeout stuff, but he could be a useful streamer in the right matchups as evidenced by his three quality starts in his last four outings.

CBS Sports Giants' Brandon Belt: Won't start Wednesday RotoWire Staff | RotoWire Manager Bruce Bochy announced Tuesday that Belt will not be in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Dodgers, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports. Belt is hitting just .059 (3-for-51) during his career against Wednesday's starter Clayton Kershaw, so Bochy has opted to give the veteran first baseman the day off. Belt should be well-rested and ready to return to the lineup Friday against the Cardinals. CBS Sports Giants' Denard Span: To sit out Wednesday RotoWire Staff | RotoWire Manager Bruce Bochy announced Tuesday that Span will not be in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Dodgers, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports. Span has been swinging a hot bat since returning from the disabled list five days ago, but will receive a scheduled day of rest Wednesday as the Giants take on Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers. The team is off Thursday, so expect to see the center fielder back in action for Friday's series opener against the Cardinals. Yahoo Sports Dodgers turn to Kershaw to salvage finale vs. Giants STATS/TSX SAN FRANCISCO -- The San Francisco Giants are rolling for the first time in 2017. However, if they want to run their season-high winning streak to six games, they will have to solve Clayton Kershaw on Wednesday. The Los Angeles Dodgers look to their ace left-hander to help them salvage the finale of the three-game series that marks the end of a seven-game trip. Los Angeles (22-18) is 2-4 on the trip. The Giants (17-24) counter with a pretty good pitcher of their own, right-hander Johnny Cueto, and they are just starting to feel as if things are going their way. "We're just trying to stay in the moment, one game at a time, and not trying to get too far ahead of ourselves," said Giants left-hander Ty Blach, the winning pitcher on Tuesday. "But it's real good knowing guys are confident up there, making plays defensively, swinging the bats offensively. It's fun to be clicking on all cylinders." The presence of Kershaw (6-2, 2.43 ERA) will force Giants manager Bruce Bochy to make a couple tweaks to his lineup. He plans to give left-handed-hitting regulars Brandon Belt and Denard Span the day off. "The numbers are what they are," Bochy said of Kershaw's stats against the Giants. "He can be tough on them. They're not pretty, let's be honest."

Belt is hitting .059 lifetime with 27 strikeouts in 51 at-bats against Kershaw. Span is 0-for-13 with four strikeouts. "It's a tough matchup for Brandon," Bochy said. "Any time you try find a guy a day off, you take into account who is pitching." Kershaw's career number against San Francisco are otherworldly: 19-9 with a 1.66 ERA in 38 games (37 starts). In two starts vs. the Giants this year, he is 1-1 with a 2.77 ERA. Cueto (4-2, 4.15 ERA) isn't too shabby against the Dodgers, either, going 6-6 with a 2.94 ERA in 15 career starts. He is 1-0 with a 4.15 ERA in two outings against Los Angeles this season. Cueto's most recent start, Friday against the Cincinnati Reds was his best of the year: two runs on five hits in eight innings. The Dodgers know they have to do a lot more than just pitch effectively to snatch one win from their Northern California rivals. "We're getting the starting pitching for the most part we need," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "Offensively, we score in bunches. I think we all expected to score more coming into this series. It's tough to hit, I just can't pinpoint why we can't sustain that momentum and traction." Los Angeles was stymied Tuesday, following an 8-4 loss on Monday with a 2-1 loss. The lone run was courtesy of Chris Taylor's solo home run to start the sixth inning. "If you look at the quality of contact in these first two games, (the Giants) found some outfield grass without really squaring the ball up," Roberts said. "But that's baseball. When they've had guys in scoring position, they've found a way to manufacture, and that's to their credit." While San Francisco has found a way to string together five straight wins, Bochy is also aware there is a way to go. He is happy the wins have started to come now rather than later. "We're not completely on track, but it's a good start what we're doing right now," Bochy said. "I just like the mood and the spirit of the club in spite of the struggles early. They're still all in on the effort and trying to win a ballgame. "It's a lesson we learned from last year. You have to be careful not to say, 'Hey, we'll be fine. There's a lot of baseball left.' You don't want to get into that mentality. That's not going to be the thing that stops it. The thing that stops it is your sense of determination and how badly you want it." MLB Trade Rumors Giants Agree To Deal With Collin Balester Jeff Todd The Giants reached a minors deal with righty Collin Balester. The 30-year-old appeared briefly last year in the Korea Baseball Organization’s Samsung Lions. His most recent affiliated action came in 2015, when he posted solid results in the upper minors but struggled to a 7.47 ERA over 15 2/3 MLB innings