Game Wrap 4/28/2018: Giants 8 Dodgers 3

Johnny Cueto fell behind in the first inning, but the Giants offense woke up in the 5'th inning and kept adding on to give Johnny a QS and Win and themselves a split in the day/night doubleheader against their archrivals.  Key Lines:

Evan Longoria 3B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .247.  Longoria went 0 for 11 in March.  He's slashing .282/.317/.577 in April.

Brandon Belt 1B- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .313.  Belt went 3 for 13 in his first 4 games.  Since April 1 he is 20 for 57 or .351.

Kelby Tomlinson 2B- 2 for 4.  BA= .306.  Kelby is 4 for 9 in this series and hitting .389 over his last 7 games, .323 over his last 15.

Austin Jackson CF- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .214.  Jackson picked a great time to come out of his slump with a 1-out bases loaded double in the 5'th inning.  Had he made an out and stayed out of the GIDP, Bochy probably would have sent Nick Hundley up to PH for Johnny Cueto which would have deprived Johnny of a QS and possibly a Win depending on the outcome of Hundley's AB.  Instead, Jackson's bases-loaded double drove in 3 runs to give the Giants their first runs of the game and a 3-2 lead they never relinquished.

Johnny Cueto RHP- 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 9/3.  ERA= 0.84.  Cueto gave up all 3 of his Hits Allowed to the first 3 batters of the game:  Ground rule double, HR, single.  After that he settled down and was lights out for 6 innings.

Sam Dyson RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.86.  Reyes Moronta started the 7'th inning and put 3 runners on base and had a 1-0 count on the 4'th batter when Bruce Bochy changed pitchers in the middle of an AB.  Now, Sam Dyson does not seem like the best pitcher to throw into that situation and things were not looking good when his first pitch was ball 2.  The move ultimately paid off when Dyson got a GIDP and a K to get out of the inning with just 1 run allowed and the lead intact at 4-3.

DJ Snelton LHP- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 0.00.  Not sure, but I think Snelton was the 26'th man for game 2, replacing Derek Law on the roster between games.  He looked great in the 8'th inning keeping the Dodger batters off balance with an odd tempo and perky-jerky over-the-top delivery.  Snelton get the sign with with his hands separated at his sides.  He starts his delivery by lifting his front leg and rocking back the instant he grasps the ball.  How he gets the right grip while doing that is a bit of a mystery, but every pitch is a quick pitch!  That may explain why things seemed to go south as soon as he allowed a baserunner which ultimately led to Bochy lifting him in the middle of an AB in the 9'th.

Hunter Strickland RHP- 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 1.42.  It wasn't a Save situation but give Bochy credit for not letting it get to that point.  For the second time in the game, Bochy lifted a pitcher in the middle of an AB when Snelton got to a 2-0 count with 1 out and runners on first and second.  Strickland was a bad%&# and shut it down with a pinpoint FB and a haaard sharp breaking slide piece and an impressive game-face.  You can tell Strick's confidence is sky high right now.

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With the doubleheader split, the Giants remained in 3'rd place in the NL West but slipped a half game farther behind the Dangerous D'Backs who secured their 9'th consecutive series win to begin the season, something that has not been done for over 100 years.  The Giants are 6.5 games behind the leaders while the 4'th place Dodgers are 7 games off the pace.  The Rockies lost to the Marlins and are 5 games behinds.  The Last Place Padres pounded the Mets to remain 10 games behind.

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The Giants try to get to .500 and for a series win today with Ty Blach facing Kenta Maeda.