MIL 3, SF 0: Randy Wolf is NOT Clayton Kershaw

On Tuesday, the Giants lost 1-0, getting shutout by future Dodger ace Clayton Kershaw. The offense did very little that night, something we are very familiar with, but I decided that it was unfair to blame them for not scoring. When Kershaw is on like that, he's very tough to hit. And the Giants went on to win the next two games of the series, taking over 1st place in the West.

Tonight the same excuse will not be given. The Giants arguably looked WORSE tonight than they did on Monday, and it was against a pitcher, Randy Wolf, who has shown all year that he might be nearing his end in terms of effectiveness. Anytime the Giants let an older, mediocre pitcher move that quickly through the game, I'm reminded of the game at Dodger Stadium in 2006, when Maddux and Schmidt battled, matching each other for 8 scoreless innings. The Giants made Maddux throw 68 pitches in those 8 innings. (By the way, I'm not calling Greg Maddux, greatest pitcher possibly ever (GPPE), mediocre.) And that's what happened tonight, as the the team that scored 10 runs last night managed only 3 singles off of Randy Wolf, the man who gives up 9 hits per 9 innings.

Not that we shouldn't have seen this coming. It would be foolish to think that the Giants could trot out the same lineup from last night and expect them to score 10 runs again. Reality is like gravity, pulling Giants fans back down to earth with a snap the moment they see a few baseballs fly out of the yard. I wonder what juggling Bochy will do now with the batting order.

But the offense wasn't the only thing to disappoint tonight. The San Francisco defense looked terrible, like a bunch of rookies were playing the infield. One bad decision and throw after another. The starter, Madison Bumgarner, did his best to limit the damage. He ended up allowing 9 hits in less than 6 innings, but we know he pitched better than that. That's why we look at BABIP.