COL 2, SF 1: August is the Cruellest Month

What a shock that the most crushing defeat of the season would come against the Colorado Rockies. Surprised I didn't hear Kuip uttering "This is not good, folks...". The Giants had a beautifully pitched game, a disastrous 9th inning, and, forgotten in all of this, a horrible day at the plate. What will be talked about below might never have happened if the Giants could have scored a few runs. 1 extra base hit. 4 RISP. 3 double plays. So it goes for the Giants...

A lot happened in that 9th inning, so before we dissect it all, let's appreciate the gem that Jonathan Sanchez pitched tonight. 8+ innings, 5 hits and 2 walks, with 6 K's. He was fantastic. It was the fourth start he'd made it through 8 innings, each time giving up 1 ER or less. He's not near perfect, but damn can he dominate sometimes. One of those starts was quite recent, August 19th in Philadelphia. As he would in this game, Bruce Bochy decided to let Sanchez go out for the 9th inning, in a 5-0 game. Sanchez allowed a single, and was promptly taken out of the game.

I think I'll try to second guess Bochy and defend him on his decision to let Sanchez go out for the final inning. Should he have surmised, from past experience, that Sanchez just isn't cut out for the 9th inning, and that sending him out in a 1-0 game was especially dangerous? Maybe. On the other hand, Sanchez had been dominant all night, and Brian Wilson had thrown 30+ pitches yesterday. I don't think I can disagree with Bochy taking Jonathan out after the walk to Fowler. After getting ahead 0-2, he missed BADLY multiple times. He looked terrible suddenly.

Apparently the broken bat on Carlos Gonzalez's flyball fooled Cody Ross. Whatever. Still gotta make the catch. He had trouble with another flyball later in the inning that turned into another triple. Right field at AT&T Park is apparently tricky to play, and it is tricking Cody Ross. Still, no excuses. Makes you appreciate Randy Winn all of a sudden.

There, of course, was a 2nd part of that play that got screwed up. The Giants looked to have a legitimate shot at getting Carlos Gonzalez at 3rd base. Instead, Freddy Sanchez bounce passed the baseball over to Pablo Sandoval, and it went into the dugout, allowing CarGo to score. Shocking. Like I said, Freddy Sanchez just can't field and hit at the same time. Apparently Wilson may not have been backing up the play, but I haven't been able to verify that. My MLB app refuses to play the Gonzalez "triple". Who knew smart phones understood and practiced mercy?