SF Giants Press Clips Friday, July 21, 2017

San Francisco Chronicle Giants score three in the 9th to tie, lose in 11 Henry Schulman AT&T Park was mostly empty in the top of the ninth inning Friday night when the hardy few fans who stayed through a stinker of game for the Giants started a "Let's Go Giants" chant. Team executives should have walked through the stands shaking hands with all of them, the truest of the faithful. The players in the orange tops showed their appreciation another way, tying the game with a three-run rally that began with two outs in the ninth and sent the game into extra innings. The crowning blow was Conor Gillaspie's pinch two-run homer, his first of the year. A smaller but just as enthusiastic group saw the Giants lose anyway, 12-9, when three straight Padres (Matt Szczur, Jose Pierla and Carlos Asuaje) drove in runs with their fourth hits of the game. All were singles, two off George Kontos, who was pitching for the fourth time in five days and was supposed to be off. When the game ended at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, the Giants had lost for the eighth time in 11 games this year to the Padres, who had 20 hits and lead the Giants by six games in the "race" for fourth place. Nobody was more frustrated than Jeff Samardzija, who had leads of 4-0 after one inning, 5-1 after three and 6-2 after four yet had to be yanked before he even could qualify for a win. "Your guys go out there and battle for you and give you a nice, comfortable lead," Samardzija said. "That's all you can ask for anytime as a pitcher. You want three, four runs and do your job. They did that and then some. To have it turn out the way it did, it's not on my list of things I enjoy doing." Manager Bruce Bochy does not enjoy walking into the interview room after the Giants score nine runs, which sometimes amounts to two series worth of production, and talk about a loss. This was the third time he had to do it in 2017. To expand that further, the Giants have lost nine games in which they have scored at least six. The Giants have not had too many games when they have been terrible on both sides, but have had several like this: When they pitch they don't hit. When they hit they don't pitch.

"That's why we are where we're at," Bochy said. "Long game. Long innings. We grinded all night. For our guys to come out for the ninth inning and make a comeback like that, it's frustrating we couldn't win." Wil Myers broke a 6-6 tie in the seventh with a homer off Hunter Strickland, who allowed two more in the eighth after allowing consecutive triples to start the inning. The Giants were down 9-6 in the ninth against closer Brandon Maurer and rallied big-time after the first two Giants made outs. Buster Posey walked and advanced on indifference. Brandon Crawford's second RBI single scored Posey, and Gillaspie sent a slider high and deep into the night to tie it 9-9. But they could not score in the 10th.. The Padres got their three in the 11th against George Kontos pitching for the fourth time in five nights. Bochy said before the game he wanted to stay away from Kontos, but he tried to squeeze an inning from the right-hander before going to his long man, Kyle Crick, the last reliever left. When a game goes past midnight and 21 runs score, there is bound to be some strangeness, and there was. Play momentarily was stopped in extra innings when an aggressive flock of seagulls commandeered the air space over the outfield and had Denard Span, who has a fear of birds, running several steps to safety. The birds dispersed when the sound engineers played that "Everybody clap your hands" thing, and the fans did. For a minute. Before the ninth inning, it was frustration after frustration for the Giants. Letting Hector Sanchez kill them again? Samardzija getting walloped by the same team for the second time in six nights? Szczur standing at the plate in the ninth and 11th innings needing a homer for the cycle when he did not even play the first four innings? Szczur would have been the first player in at least 104 years to have a cycle in a game he did not start. He needed a homer in the ninth and went for it, striking out against Steven Okert with a tremendous cut. Sanchez hit his fourth homer of the year against the Giants, an RBI double and a single. Since 2015, his final year in San Francisco, he is hitting 11-for-22 with five homers and 13 RBIs against the Giants. Against everyone else he has hit .193 with five homers in 88 at-bats. The game pitted two starters who have attracted some interest in the trade market, Samardzija and Trevor Cahill. Neither finished five innings. Cahill allowed six runs, Samardzija five. The game began so pleasantly for the Giants, too, with a four-run first inning.

Span continued his roll with a leadoff double. Brandon Belt flipped a single to right-center, his first hit in 10 at-bats, to score Span. After Posey's walk, Crawford bounced a single to right that turned into a bonanza for the Giants because of a bad throw from Hunter Renfroe. It bounced past third base, allowing Posey to follow Belt home. Crawford's single became a de facto triple when right fielder Hunter Renfroe bounced a throw past third base, and he scored for a 4-0 lead when Hunter Pence pulled a double to left. The Giants were leading 5-1 in the fourth, after Pence's second RBI hit, when Sanchez did what Sanchez does. He hit his third homer against the Giants in a week. He has only three against everyone else. Cahill's bases-loaded wild pitch in the fourth gave the Giants their third four-run lead, at 6-2,. Samardzija did not survive the fifth. And the Padre to knock him out? Do you have to ask? Sanchez hit a hanging breaking pitch just over third base and near the chalk to score Asuaje and trim the Giants' lead to 6-4. The pitch was bad enough for even a non-Hector to hit. The fifth run against Samardzija scored when Josh Osich got Cory Spangenberg to ground out. That the Giants would give back the last of their four-run leads seemed inevitable. Only the details were a mystery. In this his case, Cory Gearrin walked reliever Craig Stammen with one out in the sixth inning and Asuaje made it 6-6 with a two-out single to right. San Francisco Chronicle Michael Morse may not be back this season Henry Schulman Michael Morse, who has not played since he suffered a concussion while knocking heads with Jeff Samardzija during the Nationals-Giants brawl on Memorial Day, might not return this year. Manager Bruce Bochy said Morse has gone home to Florida to continue his recovery. Morse said as recently as late June that he still had symptoms. Bochy did not sound encouraged when asked if the Giants might see Morse — who appeared in 10 games at first base and one in left field this season — when rosters expand in September. “I haven’t talked to Michael in a while,” Bochy said. “He decided to go back and spend time relaxing with his family. He’ll have to make a decision. I don’t know where he’s at.” The decision is whether to go through a full-blown rehabilitation or give up on 2017. In June, Morse told The Chronicle that he was a “happy-go-lucky guy” who was not stressed about his future, saying the two months he spent with the Giants were a bonus after he sat out most of 2016. “Whatever happens, happens,” he said.

Crick’s success: Like a good novel, the Kyle Crick story has taken a satisfying and unexpected twist. The Giants used a supplemental first-round pick in 2011 to draft Crick as a starter out of a Texas high school as the next in line behind Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner. He went from high expectations to a “bust” to blowing 97 mph fastballs past Padres hitters Thursday night. Crick has reinvented himself as a reliever. The 24-year-old is low man on the totem pole now, but Bochy said Crick might be pushing himself toward more leveraged situations. “I could see that, sure,” Bochy said. “It’s one of those cases where a guy earns that. The way he’s throwing the ball, he’s earning it.” Briefly: Mark Melancon threw off a mound Thursday, 20 pitches, for the first time since he returned to the disabled list with a forearm strain June 28. He is expected to begin a minor-league rehab assignment around Aug. 1. ... There is no such thing as traveling incognito anymore. Several people snapped cell phone photos of Pablo Sandoval boarding a flight from Boston to San Francisco on Friday afternoon. San Francisco Chronicle How to keep players off DL in 4 easy lessons Bruce Jenkins Major-league teams live in constant fear of injury, and with good reason . Groins, hamstrings, obliques, hands, elbows — players hit the disabled list with such alarming regularity, you have to wonder what happened to commonsense thinking and training. In that regard, here’s a four-step program to keep players healthier: •Be sensible about weightlifting. It’s all the rage now, has been for years, in a sport that has nothing to do with bulging muscles or bench-pressing heroics. Nobody wants to hear about “the good old days” or “it sure was better back then,” but think about it: For the better part of the 20th century, most players never lifted a weight. Trainers hadn’t even heard of an “oblique,” and it was rare to see players pulling up lame with hamstring pulls in the simple process of running in a straight line. The key to baseball health is stretching, not showing off in the weight room. It’s a game of loose-limbed rhythm and timing. Ernie Banks was a rail-thin shortstop when he hit 92 homers over the 1958 and ’59 seasons and won consecutive MVP awards. Pedro Martinez had arms like noodles but became one of the game’s great intimidators. Orel Hershiser, striking the look of a kindly pastor, crafted the stuff of legend. The great pitching coaches, such as Johnny Sain, Ray Miller and Leo Mazzone, encouraged their players to stay off the weights and maintain their flexibility. And by the way, through all those decades, pitchers routinely fired complete games, worked 200-plus innings and performed with magnificent longevity on three days’ rest. Today’s typical pitcher is a guy coming off Tommy John surgery or some serious shoulder issues. •As such, forget about pitch counts, stashing healthy pitchers on the disabled list and babying young talent out of abject fear. Heed the sad tale of Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias, who never quite understood the team’s plan — start, relieve, take a break, spend some time in the minors — and, despite appearing

with all the frequency of a hurricane, needed shoulder surgery in June. Let young pitchers work regularly, into the late innings, to stretch out their arms instead of bailing out after the fifth. Seriously, why not acknowledge what worked so well in the past? It’s clear that nobody has even the slightest clue how to protect pitchers’ arms through limited duty. “When you hear about a guy getting bigger, stronger and throwing harder, you can’t help but think, why?” said John Smoltz, who had tremendous success under Mazzone in Atlanta, on the MLB Network. “It’s insane. You keep hearing that a six-man rotation will be next. That will only increase the injuries. They will only feel stronger, with no feel or touch. Rather than baby young pitchers, why not teach them how to pitch, manage lineups and extend outings? Some organization has to be brave enough to say, the heck with this. Start investigating the way it was 10 to 15 years ago, and have the guts to get away from this analytical bull—.” •Respect the pitchers’ right to throw inside. Virtually every hand injury — fractured by an inside fastball — is the player’s fault for (a) crowding the plate; (b) diving into the pitch and (c) thinking he owns that part of the batter’s box. He owns nothing. Pitching inside is a crucial factor in keeping hitters honest. If you stand in there smothering the plate and figuring you’re the king of all you survey, you deserve to get hit. And for crying out loud, if you insist on ignoring the pitchers’ rights, don’t just freeze when a howling fastball comes in high and tight. Get out of the way. Nobody became the target of brushback pitches more often than Willie Mays, but he respected the intimidation factor — we’re talking about pitches aimed straight at his head — and rarely got hit. He dusted himself off, got back in the box and tripled to right-center. •Be judicious with the headfirst slide, especially into first base. That tactic should be banned entirely, with heavy fines levied for violations, unless the runner catches a glimpse of a high, wide-to-the-plate throw and can slide underneath the first baseman’s swipe tag. Granted, a “hook” slide isn’t always as effective as coming in headfirst on the other bases — sleight-of-hand mastery is a wonderful thing to behold — but is it worth the risk, with so many players getting their hands battered? Save it for slides that mean the difference between winning and losing. That’s a start Nice trade for Washington, bringing in A’s relievers Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle, but that won’t be enough to get the Nationals into the World Series. Manager Dusty Baker still needs more bullpen help ... Already possessing a lineup that puts the Giants’ to shame, Arizona traded for J.D. Martinez, who was batting .474 (18-for-38) against left-handed pitchers with a 1.661 OPS, tops in the majors. That should come in handy against the Dodgers ... First sign of serious fallout from LeBron James’ opt-out clause and the reports he’s interested in playing elsewhere next season: According to ESPN, Kyrie Irving met with the Cavaliers last week and asked for a trade ... Still out there on the free-agent market: Andrew Bogut, Monta Ellis, Marreese Speights, Tony Allen, Derrick Rose (negotiating with Cleveland; interesting) and Ian Clark, who would do well to sign with the Lakers ... Saturday’s WNBA All-Star game offers the best possible showcase for women’s basketball. Even if you don’t follow the league, don’t miss the chance to watch Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Candace Parker, Maya Moore and Nneka Ogwumike playing for the same West team ... Multi-sport ace Gene Conley died this month, and the Boston Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy summed up a distinctive career that found Conley pitching for the Milwaukee Braves and playing for three of the Boston Celtics’ championship teams (1959-61): “Pitched to Mays, guarded Wilt.”

San Francisco Chronicle Giants pregame: Pablo Sandoval up in the air (literally) Henry Schulman A fully loaded Boeing 757-200 holds about 170 people, which means Pablo Sandoval appears to be on a flight with 169 reporters who have cellphones. I don’t have the Panda’s itinerary, but a couple of folks have posted photos on Twitter showing the once and future Giant appearing to board a plane in Boston for San Francisco at about 1 p.m. our time, which mean he would not arrive until Friday night’s game has started. He apparently has cleared waivers, though there is no official word. That dovetails with information I have that a Sandoval minor-league probably would not be announced before Saturday. He still needs to take a physical. The Giants still have not publicly discussed Sandoval, to the chagrin of several local-television news photographers who came to the ballpark specifically to ask about the Panda and left disappointed. “I haven’t talked to Pablo and I haven’t talked to Bobby Evans about Pablo,” Bochy said. It’s no secret that many fans are turned off by the Giants’ decision to bring Sandoval back, even for a dollar figure that in baseball terms equals “free.” Part of it is disdain for the shots Sandoval took at the Giants out the door. To start there, I think the Giants feel that he has matured since then. And maybe humbled by his experience in Boston. Also, he expressed a true desire to come back. Now, here’s Henry talking: I think Sandoval got bad advice from a novice and unprepared agent, who no longer works for him. Part of it, too, is a fear that the Giants are planning to rebuild around Sandoval because, after all, this organization just loves old players, especially those who used to wear the colors, and fill seats. The idea is ridiculous. Sandoval is not going to impede the development of Christian Arroyo, or Ryder Jones, or anyone else on the farm. But I understand why the fans feel this way. This is the organization that signed Michael Tucker a day early specifically to lose its 2004 draft pick, which let its farm system wither while the focus for many years in the mid-2000s was to find veterans to surround Barry Bonds, with winning secondary to development and the home run chase. Which has a manager who often trusts older players than prospects. None of this is fake news, but much of it is old news, and fans have long memories. Whether the Giants feel they can win next year with most of its core intact (which goes counter to conventional wisdom), or understand that they are a couple of years away, they know salvation will have to come from the farm system.

The Giants have too much money invested in long-term contracts, with Madison Bumgarner to go, to think it can spend its way out of this mess. They have to counter the spending they have done and try to sink uner the luxury tax with players from the system, which is why they tried to give left field to Jarrett Parker or Mac Williamson rather than sign one. Parker could be back soon from his various injuries. Williamson is struggling in Triple-A. Arroyo, Austin Slater, Chris Shaw, Steven Duggar, Tyler Beede — some of these guys have to hit, or else the Giants are in trouble over the next several years. The longer a team is in the luxury tax, the more it will have to pay as the years go on. The Giants do not want that. The Dodgers and Yankees do not want that either. If the Giants hold any of these kids back for the sake of a fading memory, they would be guilty of malpractice. I don’t see it happening. Friday’s game: A lot of scouts will be watching this one. The two starters, Jeff Samardzija and the Padres’ Trevor Cahill, both are attracting some trade interest. So is third baseman Eduardo Nuñez. Eno Sarris of Fangraphs wrote an interesting article suggesting why Samardzija has become so good in every way except for being too susceptible to the home run. You can read it here. You guys know I’m not a huge fan of technical, stat-oriented articles. But I like how Eno comes to a conclusion or discovers a trend then takes his finding to the player to get his thoughts. He brings all this stuff into the real world. It’s more interesting to me than theory that never leaves the chalkboard. The Giants even the series if they can win. They also would be 4-4 since the break, for those who would consider it a victory if they can play .500 ball the rest of the way. San Jose Mercury News Giants can’t complete comeback vs. Padres, fall to their worst record through 98 games Andrew Baggarly SAN FRANCISCO – Giants manager Bruce Bochy told reporters something interesting during his afternoon session on Friday: He goes back to his office after every game and reviews each pitch and play in a condensed version prepared by the team’s video analysts. Even in this lost season, Bochy hasn’t shirked those duties. After Friday’s unspeakably ugly 12-9, 11-inning loss to the San Diego Padres, can we recommend that he open a bottle of cabernet and listen to some Waylon Jennings, instead? Try as the Padres might to tank this season, they keep underestimating the Giants’ knack for futility. Only a masochist would wish to review the absurd and slow-paced theater that played out Friday night – even if it included the Giants’ sudden, two-out comeback in the bottom of the ninth that forced extra innings.

The Giants had given back a four-run lead to a Padres team that was designed to finish in last place. They trailed by three runs with the bases empty and two outs in the ninth. Related Articles Giants notes: Updates on Melancon, Crick and Morse as Pablo Sandoval flies to San Francisco Giants encouraged by Madison Bumgarner, but remain winless in his starts Pence remains homerless at home, Bumgarner still winless for season Could the Giants bring back Sergio Romo, too? Pence, Posey weigh in: Would Giants welcome back Pablo Sandoval? Then Buster Posey drew a walk. He took second base on defensive indifference. He jogged home on Brandon Crawford’s single. And Conor Gillaspie delivered a bolt from the blue off the bench. Gillaspie’s pinch home run forced extra innings. But that only kept the flocks of seagulls waiting longer to feast in the bleachers. The Padres scored three times off George Kontos in the 11th inning to take yet another victory at AT&T Park. “We battled,” Gillaspie said. “That’s all you can ask for. We just couldn’t pull it out.” Gillaspie’s home run was his first since his shot that delivered the Giants a victory over the New York Mets in the NL Wild Card Game last October. How the Giants have fallen since then. The Giants slipped to 37-61 this season — officially below the awful 1985 team for their worst record through 98 games in the franchise’s San Francisco history. The 1902 New York Giants are the only club that has lost more times (34-64) through 98 games. San Diego’s Wil Myers hit a tiebreaking home run against Hunter Strickland in the seventh inning, and the rebuilding Padres beat the Giants for the 16th time in 21 games since last year’s All-Star break Nobody could’ve seen that coming. Nobody could’ve predicted Hector Sanchez, either. The former Giants backup catcher hit a solo home run in the fourth inning. Then he lined an RBI double in the fifth that knocked a bewildered Jeff Samardzija from the game. “The guys go and battle for you and give you a nice, comfortable lead,” said Samardzija, of the Giants’ four-run first inning. “It’s essentially what I’ve asked for as a pitcher. To have it turn out how it did, that’s not high on my list of things I enjoy doing.” Samardzija appeared lost in a fog as he handed over the baseball. He wasn’t alone. How could anyone process the fact that Sanchez, the one-time understudy to Buster Posey whose best claim to fame was catching one of Tim Lincecum’s no-hitters, was 11 for 22 with five home runs and 13 RBIs against his former team? Sanchez also took Samardzija deep from the left side last week at Petco Park. He connected as a right-handed hitter against Steven Okert for a walk-off shot in that series, too.

Sanchez’s inexplicable inferno was the most interesting part of a game between two teams that entered a combined 36 games under .500 and looked even worse. There can only be one last-place team in the NL West, even if both the Giants and Padres are deserving of the title. The Padres contributed a throwing error from right field as part of the Giants’ four-run first inning. They also twice botched a rundown in the fourth inning that allowed Gorkys Hernandez to reach third base safely before he scored on a wild pitch. The Giants made inexcusable mistakes, too. Samardzija had to be rescued in the fifth before he could give away the last bit of a four-run lead. Right-hander Cory Gearrin finished the task in the sixth when he issued a four-pitch walk to Padres reliever Craig Stammen, who went on to score the tying run. Then Strickland, who has been the Giants’ best reliever this season, served up the tiebreaking shot to Myers. It was only the second homer that Strickland had surrendered this season, and his first to a right-handed hitter since Mark Trumbo hit one Aug. 14 of last season. Strickland entered with a 1.85 ERA in 39 appearances, and is drawing interest on the trade market. There were a few positive signs. Hunter Pence, who entered with just four extra-base hits and eight RBIs all season in games at AT&T Park, laced an RBI double as part of the four-run first inning, he knocked in another run with a single in the third and then stole second base. Pence also threw out a runner at third base to end the sixth – just the eighth outfield assist by a Giant all season, the third fewest in the major leagues. Pence almost contributed a running catch in right field in the eighth inning, too. But the ball whipped out as if his glove were a jai alai cesta, and then it deflected off his bare hand before hitting the ground. The juggling act resulted in an RBI triple for Jose Pirela, who scored on Carlos Asuaje’s single. But the Giants always seem to get the tying run to the plate in the ninth, even though it leads to false hope most nights. They completed the comeback this time. The hope still proved false. “You’d like to think the momentum has swung, and you’ll find a way to win the ballgame,” Bochy said. Kontos, who was supposed to be off limits due to his workload, instead appeared for the fourth time in five games. Matt Szczur needed a home run to become the first player in modern history to collect the cycle in a game that he didn’t start. Instead, his fourth hit was a tiebreaking single in the 11th. Final game time: four hours, 46 minutes. And a day game looming. Put away the iPad, Bruce Bochy. Get some sleep. San Francisco Chronicle Giants notes: Updates on Melancon, Crick and Morse as Pablo Sandoval flies to San Francisco Andrew Baggarly

SAN FRANCISCO – Amateur reporters with camera phones captured shots of Pablo Sandoval boarding a nonstop flight from Boston to SFO on Friday. It’s expected that his minor league contract with the Giants will be announced once he passes a physical. Until then, Giants manager Bruce Bochy is sticking to the Sgt. Schultz routine. “Nope, I haven’t heard anything,” Bochy said prior to Friday night’s game against the San Diego Padres. “I’m being honest. I can’t say I’m expecting him here. I don’t know.” Bochy did supply sundry updates on a few other players, though: –Mark Melancon (strained tendon near elbow) threw 20 pitches off a mound Thursday and Bochy said the closer was encouraged by how his arm felt. There’s no timetable for his return, which means Sunny Sam Dyson will remain the closer for the foreseeable future. –Kyle Crick is shining in a bullpen where so many young relievers have failed to make a solid impression this season, and Bochy said the rookie could be moving into a more meaningful role. Crick retired five batters Thursday night, he has allowed only one run over his last six appearances and right-handers are just 3 for 17 against him. It’s good timing for Crick, since there’s a decent chance George Kontos and/or Hunter Strickland could be dealt before the July 31 trade deadline. If that happens, the Giants will need a durable presence in that bullpen capable of pitching multiple innings. “He’s always had a live fastball, a swing-and-miss fastball, but it’s been fun to watch how his secondary stuff has come along,” Bochy said. “He’ll throw a changeup, too. He’s become more of a complete pitcher. He’s one of those players you had to be patient on, and it’s paying off for us and for him.” –It doesn’t sound as if we’ll see Michael Morse on the active roster again. He’s back home in the Miami area and still on the 7-day DL with a concussion he sustained when he collided with Jeff Samardzija as benches cleared in response to the Bryce Harper-Hunter Strickland fight May 29. Bochy said that even if Morse’s symptoms subside, he is facing a lengthy minor league rehab assignment to try to get his timing back. “He’ll have to make a decision (whether to retire),” Bochy said. MLB Moore looks to continue improving vs. Padres Jonathan Hawthorne Padres right-hander Luis Perdomo, who starts Saturday vs. the Giants, is likely eager to put his last start behind him. Perdomo had his shortest start since the first of his Major League career, lasting 2 1/3 innings at Colorado. The start increased Perdomo's season ERA from 4.54 to 4.94. In the five games before the outing, Perdomo had a 3.10 ERA.

"He clearly wasn't his typical self," Padres manager Andy Green said last Monday. "He didn't have his normal sink, wasn't locating much of anything." Giants southpaw Matt Moore, meanwhile, said he hopes to build on his last outing, where he allowed two earned runs in seven innings. But Moore and first baseman Jae-Gyun Hwang made fielding errors that allowed an unearned run to score in both the fifth and sixth innings. Saturday will be Moore's first game opposite the Padres this season. "I felt like I was throwing the ball where I wanted to," Moore said after his last outing. "I felt like I was in control. ... It's something that's headed in the right direction." Things to know about this game • Giants second baseman Joe Panik is 6-for-10 with three doubles while first baseman Brandon Belt is 6-for-13 with a homer and five RBIs against Perdomo. • This season, Perdomo has induced 17 ground-ball double plays, which is tied for fourth among pitchers in the Majors. • Moore looks to continue his 2016 trend of a better second half than first half. Last year, he posted a 4.46 ERA before the break and a 3.63 ERA after play resumed. MLB Giants fall in 11th after stirring rally in 9th AJ Cassavell and Chris Haft SAN FRANCISCO -- Matt Szczur wasn't in the San Diego Padres' starting lineup Friday night against the San Francisco Giants. But the game lasted long enough for Szczur to make an impact anyway, as the Padres captured a 12-9 decision. Szczur's fourth hit, an 11th-inning single, broke a tie and launched the Padres on a three-run binge that finally stopped the plucky Giants. One of three Padres who finished a hit shy of the cycle, Szczur had two cracks at becoming the first substitute in history to accomplish the feat. He needed a home run, and with the Padres ahead by three in the eighth, he admitted to swinging for the fences. Full Game Coverage "But in the 11th, I wasn't," Szczur added. "I was just trying to get on base and make things happen." Szczur did just that. After squandering a three-run, ninth-inning lead, the Padres rose in the 11th against Giants right-hander George Kontos (0-4). Following Luis Torrens' sacrifice bunt, Szczur delivered his go-ahead hit. Jose Pirela -- who also needed a homer for the cycle -- and Carlos Asuaje added RBI singles, giving them four hits apiece. Hector Sanchez added three knocks of his own, missing only a triple. "You love the fight," said Padres manager Andy Green. "That's as resilient as we've been all year long. It was good at-bat after good at-bat." Giants manager Bruce Bochy absolved Kontos from blame, citing the reliever's frequent activity. Bochy said he had hoped to avoid using Kontos, who has appeared in a team-high 46 games and needed a break. But as the game stretched on, the Giants had to alter their plans.

One out separated the Padres from a 9-6 victory. But the Giants rallied to even the score on Conor Gillaspie's sixth career pinch-hit home run, a two-run clout. Earlier, the Giants matched a season high with four first-inning runs before San Diego scored in six consecutive innings, the third through eighth. "It's a shame we didn't find a way to win that ballgame," said Bochy, whose Giants are 37-61 overall but 29-16 when they score four or more runs. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Myers plays long ball: Before the late-inning dramatics, the evening's definitive moment belonged to Padres first baseman Wil Myers, who snapped a 6-6 tie in the seventh inning with his 18th homer of the season. It also was his third of the year at AT&T Park. Sanchez slaps around Giants: Sanchez has said of the Giants that they are like "my brothers." Imagine how he might perform against his ex-teammates if he didn't like them. Sanchez has three homers in his last four games against the Giants, helping hike his career batting average against them to .478 (11-for-23) with 13 RBIs. His production in this game included a fourth-inning homer, a fifth-inning RBI double and a seventh-inning single. QUOTABLE "I started him yesterday and he didn't do anything, put him off the bench, and he gets four hits." -- Green, on Szczur SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS The Padres' 20 hits marked a season high. In the process, Asuaje, Pirela and Szczur all set career highs with their four-hit nights. STAMMEN'S EARLY EXIT Padres right-hander Craig Stammen held the Giants in check after starter Trevor Cahill's departure in the fourth. Stammen tossed 1 1/3 scoreless frames, then batted for himself in the top of the sixth. He walked and scored, then took the mound for the bottom of the inning, but he didn't throw a pitch. After being looked at by a team athletic trainer, Stammen left with a hamstring injury. The Padres believe it to be minor, and he'll be re-evaluated Saturday. DEADLINE WATCH Cahill did little to help his trade value Friday night. He allowed six runs (five earned) over 3 2/3 innings. And while more than half of his seven hits were of the seeing-eye variety, Cahill did himself no favors by throwing 43 of his 86 pitches outside of the zone. "Early in the game, we cost Trevor a lot," said Padres manager Andy Green. "We didn't do much defensively behind him. We had opportunities to make big plays, didn't. He definitely wasn't sharp tonight, but we didn't do anything to help him." Brandon Maurer, who surrendered the game-tying homer in the ninth, saw his stock fall with his first blown save in nearly a month. But fellow reliever Brad Hand -- who has drawn interest from across the Majors -- coolly struck out the side in the eighth. WHAT'S NEXT

Padres: Luis Perdomo finished the first half strong, but opened the second half with a dud in Colorado earlier this week. After his shortest start in more than a year, Perdomo looks to get back on track against the Giants at 1:05 p.m. PT Saturday. Giants: Left-hander Matt Moore will start Saturday's 1:05 p.m. PT contest at AT&T Park. San Francisco owns a 5-14 record in his starts, contrasting with the six wins he earned in his last eight outings down the stretch in 2016. MLB Gillaspie's homer revives Giants' chances Jonathan Hawthorne SAN FRANCISCO -- Conor Gillaspie picked a dramatic moment for his first home run of the season. Gillaspie's towering shot to right field, which measured 384 feet by Statcast™, helped the Giants cap a three-run ninth-inning rally Friday. Though the Giants lost, 12-9, to the Padres in 11 innings, Gillaspie's blast infused life back into AT&T Park on an otherwise inconsistent night from the Giants. " We couldn't have had a bigger hit than what we got from Conor," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "... It was quite a comeback there. It's a shame we couldn't win." All with two outs, the Giants began their push. Buster Posey walked, Brandon Crawford singled to score the All-Star catcher and Gillaspie entered in place of reliever Steven Okert. Gillaspie then punched an 84 mph slider to the sky -- over the 25-foot porch -- off Padres closer Brandon Maurer to force extras. It was an improbable end to an inning that saw the Padres push the Giants to their final out. Later, Gillaspie said tying the game by way of a homer wasn't his goal when he stepped to the plate. "Just tried to put a good swing on it," Gillaspie said. "Just tried to swing at strikes. That's the hardest thing to do coming off the bench." Gillaspie, like many Giants this season, has spent time on the disabled list. Back spasms have twice sidelined the 30-year-old -- once in May and again in June. But Friday looked to be Gillaspie's night, his time to be the latest pinch-hit hero. That is, until Giants reliever George Kontos allowed three runs in the 11th. Unlike the ninth, the Giants didn't have an answer that time around. "It's tough right now; we just couldn't pull it out tonight," Gillaspie said. "We've been fighting every night. Things just haven't fallen our way." MLB Focused on baseball, Nunez heating up Jonathan Hawthorne SAN FRANCISCO -- Amid swirling trade speculation, Giants third baseman Eduardo Nunez has hit his stride, rattling off a stretch of crisp offensive production.

Thursday, he tallied two hits to bump his average to .300, up from .246 on May 12. Since returning from the disabled list (hamstring strain) on July 14, Nunez is 8-for-26 with two doubles. He'd love nothing more than to finish the season above .300. "That's why we work so hard," Nunez said. "It's why we go to the cage every day. It's why we make adjustments to play this game at a high level. That's the goal." ESPN's Buster Olney reported Friday that Nunez is the most likely Giant to be included in a deal before the July 31 non-wavier Trade Deadline. That speculation isn't important to Nunez, though. "The only thing I care about is who's pitching tonight," Nunez said. "I don't control anything in the media, what they say. I prefer to focus on what it takes to win tonight." Nunez added that his hamstring is a non-issue. He continues to work with team athletic trainers to strengthen the muscle, which forced him to miss 18 games. "He's been as consistent as anybody," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He's a fun player to watch. He can run. He can drive the ball. He can get a big hit for you, knock in a run. "It has been impressive the way he's just been focused on playing the game versus the distractions that come up this time of year." Melancon throws off mound Bochy said Mark Melancon, the Giants' prized offseason acquisition, threw roughly 20 pitches off a mound Thursday. San Francisco placed Melancon on the disabled list June 28 with a right pronator strain. Bochy indicated he could be activated around the end of July. "The progression is starting to pick up here a little bit," Bochy said. "He said he felt good. He was very encouraged with how it went yesterday." Morse returns home Michael Morse, who sustained a concussion in the aftermath of Hunter Strickland's May 29 incident with Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper, has returned home to Florida. The Giants placed him on the disabled list shortly afterwards, but the 35-year-old is not in San Francisco currently. "I haven't talked to him in a while," Bochy said. "But he was excited to spend some time at home to relax with his family. He'll have to make a decision. I don't know where he's at with that yet." Bochy was unsure if the fan favorite will suit up again this season. NBC Sports Bay Area Headed For 100 Losses, Giants Quietly Give Up On "Don't Stop Believin'" Tradition Alex Pavlovic SAN FRANCISCO — At some point over the last month, the Giants quietly stopped playing “Don’t Stop Believin’” in the late innings of games they trail.

It’s unclear exactly when it started, or who made the decision. A number of team employees, surveyed over the past week, had noticed. But nobody knew the exact details. Perhaps the longtime staple of AT&T Park was shelved on July 9, when FanGraphs dropped the playoff odds to 0.00 percent for the first time in a lost season. Maybe it was during a bad loss before that or a bad loss after that. You can take your pick. This season has been filled with so many of them it’s hard to keep track. Friday’s stood out, in part because this was the kind of night where Journey briefly made sense. The Giants gave Jeff Samardzija a 4-0 lead in the first inning against a Padres team that spent the early innings kicking and throwing the ball all over the field and making mistakes on the bases. It was 5-1 after three innings. By the sixth, the Padres had tied it. By the seventh, they had the lead. By the eighth, it was a three-run lead. Before the bottom of the eighth, the in-stadium crew played Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” for a crowd of a few thousand. Last weekend, Huey Lewis was the fill-in for Journey. On Wednesday, a game the Giants actually came back to win, the scoreboard played a singalong game to “Happy Together” by The Turtles. On this night, the Giants actually would come back. Conor Gillaspie hit a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth, tying the game and sending it into extras. The Giants had trailed by three with one out remaining, but the momentum provided by Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford and Gillaspie was just a blip. The Padres scored three in the 11th off George Kontos, who has pitched five times over the last eight days and was supposed to get a night to rest. Kontos was the last to give up runs in a 12-9 loss, but hardly the only one. Samardzija took blame after failing to get through five with a big early cushion. That put pressure on the tired bullpen, and the relievers blew it over and over again. The Padres scored runs in six consecutive innings at one point and had 20 hits. “We couldn’t stop them,” Bruce Bochy said, shaking his head. Nothing can apparently stop this skid. The Giants are 37-61 and six games behind the Padres. They are much closer to the No. 1 draft pick than they are to fourth place in their division. “Don’t Stop Believin’” survived the 2013 season. It survived 2015 and the second half of last year. Nothing can survive this season. NBC Sport Bay Area Instant Analysis: Five Takeaways As Giants Lose Marathon In Extras To Padres Alex Pavlovic SAN FRANCISCO — A few hundred, maybe a few thousand, stayed to watch the Giants late Friday night. The Giants did not make it worth the effort. Conor Gillaspie’s two-out homer in the ninth sent the game to extras, but the Giants lost 12-9 in a game that lasted nearly five hours. The Giants had trailed by three with two outs and nobody on in the ninth. They tied it. Instead of carrying that momentum over, they suffered yet another demoralizing loss.

They have dropped both games of this series and they trail the Padres -- who had 20 hits -- by six games in the race for fourth place. Those are facts. Here are five more, mostly from earlier, when a young man harbored dreams of leaving a ballpark before 1 a.m. … —- Hector Sanchez took Jeff Samardzija deep to lead off the fourth, and at this point it’s flat-out hilarious. Sanchez has seven homers this season and three have come against his former team. He hit two homers at AT&T Park in 296 plate appearances as a Giant, and the fourth-inning blast gave him three in 11 plate appearances as a Padre. He also doubled in a run and singled. It’s an all-time revenge tour. Just go along for the ride. —- There were a ton of scouts on hand to watch two starting pitchers who could move in the next 10 days, and they left disappointed. Trevor Cahill gave up six earned on seven hits and four walks and lasted just 3 2/3 innings. Jeff Samardzija gave up eight hits and five earned in 4 1/3 innings. —- I dunno man, it’s really hard getting to five of these every night. Sam Dyson was good again. —- Gillaspie's pinch-hit homer was the sixth of his career. He's a hero around these parts, but perhaps Bobby Evans should see if a team out there was watching Friday and remembers his October run. Gillaspie could help a contender. —- When MLB inevitably introduces a pitch clock and pitchers start complaining, this will be the game I tell them to sit down and try to watch start to finish. Santa Rosa Press Democrat Barber: Giants' season has Bruce Bochy feeling like Charlie Brown Phil Barber Every day is peanut day at the ballpark, but Saturday is Peanuts Day. The Giants will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the musical comedy “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” by honoring the late Charles M. Schulz and his lovable cast of line drawings as the men in orange host the San Diego Padres at AT&T Park. The hoopla will include a commemorative Charlie Brown bobblehead. For most of Giants fandom, Peanuts Day is a folksy prelude to a pillow fight between two of the worst teams in baseball. It’s a much bigger deal here in Sonoma County. Schulz moved from Minneapolis to Sebastopol in 1958, at the age of 35, and then to Santa Rosa in 1969; he lived here until his death in 2000. As local heroes go, Schulz is sort of a combination of Mark Twain and Gandhi. And let’s be clear, the guy loved his baseball. Staff at the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center have unofficially tallied 1,731 “Peanuts” comic strips that incorporated a baseball theme. Cesar Gallegos, the archivist, stresses that the total number is likely higher than that. Schulz’s baseball strips dealt with everything from groundskeeping to player trades to the lonely winter offseason. He made reference to changes in the height of the pitcher’s mound, and to adoption of the designated hitter in the American League in 1973.

And perhaps because the Washington Senators didn’t become the Minnesota Twins until three years after Schulz left the Midwest, he adopted the Giants as his team of reference. A Sunday “Peanuts” strip from 1964 starts with an empty locker room. The names on the lockers are WILLIE MAYS, ALVIN DARK, SNOOPY and ORLANDO CEPEDA. Baseball was Schulz’s great metaphor. He used it to illustrate hope and frustration, teamwork and boredom. “I loved using baseball in Peanuts,” Schulz said in Alan Schwarz’s book, “Once Upon a Game: Baseball’s Greatest Memories.” “Baseball is the best sport for a cartoon strip, because you don’t have too much action. … In baseball, humor can come in between the action.” And not always humor. The recurring gag in “Peanuts” baseball is the hapless state of Charlie Brown and his team. They lose consistently, creatively and one-sidedly. Sometimes the failure is so abject that it’s hard to find the joke at all. One strip dated March 14, 1967, has Charlie Brown sitting on the bench, alone and forlorn. “Rats! We lost the first game of the season again!” he says. “Losing a ball game is like dropping an ice cream cone on the sidewalk,” he adds, walking with bowed head. He stops and explains, “It just lays there, and you know you’ve dropped it and there’s nothing you can do…. It’s too late….” Then he’s walking again, dragging his bat, mouth turned down. “Rats!” Charlie says. Umm… ha-ha? Paging through classic cartoons, I realized that the timing of the “Peanuts” tribute is perfect. Only a team as downtrodden as the 2017 Giants can adequately pay tribute to Charlie Brown’s baseball exploits. The Giants haven’t lost 40-0 this year, as Schulz’s characters did, but they did fall 13-3 and 14-2 to the Reds on consecutive nights in early May. When I think about “Peanuts” baseball, the classic image that comes to mind is a line drive tearing past Charlie Brown with such force that it leaves him half-naked. I figured the most apt comparison would be someone like Saturday’s Giants starter, Matt Moore, a nice guy who takes the mound against San Diego with a 3-10 record and an earned run average of 5.81. I’m pretty sure Moore has given up some hits this year that took several items of clothing through the box with them. What I had forgotten is that most of Schulz’s strips deal with Charlie Brown the manager, not Charlie Brown the pitcher. It should have dawned on me earlier. That laconic style. That giant, round head. That lack of faith in his bullpen. Charlie Brown is Bruce Bochy. “Casey Stengel doesn’t have half the problems I have!” Charlie says in a 1964 strip after catching Snoopy asleep in the field. Bochy could say the same for the Dodgers’ Dave Roberts and Houston’s A.J. Hinch.

“No other manager in baseball has to do the things I have to do,” Charlie laments in July of 1967. He’s holding Snoopy’s food dish while the dog bats. And honestly, who besides Bochy has had to use a closer (Sam Dyson) who brought a 10.80 ERA from Texas, or bat backup catcher Nick Hundley in the cleanup spot, or bring up a 29-year-old Korean player (Jae-Gyun Hwang) best known for his bat flips? Other “Peanuts” entries seemed to foreshadow specific events in 2017. “Another game today …” Charlie Brown says in June of 1973, sitting up in bed. “If we win, we’ll only be ten games out of seventh place.” If all the teams in the National League were lumped together, as they were through 1968, the Giants would have entered Friday’s action 10½ games out of seventh place. “I wonder if a little kid like ‘Rerun’ should be out in left field,” Charlie Brown mused to Lucy in another 1973 panel. “A fly ball would kill him.” Bochy must have had similar trepidation when he sent 24-year-old Austin Slater out there in June. In another strip from the early ’70s, Charlie is hitting balls to his bumbling team in practice. After Rerun drops a fly, the manager benches him in favor of Snoopy. “How embarrassing. I was replaced by a dog,” Rerun says. “You think you were embarrassed,” Lucy replies. “How about me?” We see that she has been subbed out for Woodstock, the little yellow bird. Oh, yeah? You think that’s humiliating? It’s possible that Eduardo Nunez, the Giants’ third baseman, might soon be shoved aside for an overweight Panda. The cartoons that really struck me were a multi-part series in June of 1973, in which Charlie Brown begins to see baseballs wherever he looks. When the sun comes up in the morning, it’s not the sun at all, but rather a giant shining baseball. In the night sky, a glowing baseball has replaced the moon. Charlie becomes so obsessed that he sees a therapist. Do you think Bruce Bochy sees a blinding baseball when he wakes up in the morning? Does he ride to AT&T Park on a baseball-shaped Muni trolley? When he looks at the San Francisco skyline at night, does the Transamerica Pyramid become the Transamerica Ball? This dreadful season must be wearing on the Giants’ well-meaning manager, making him a little bit crazy. And there are still 64 games remaining. Rats! San Francisco Examiner From Genghis Khan to Alcatraz, Sam Dyson is the most interesting man in the Giants bullpen Karl Buscheck AT&T PARK — Sifting through the wreckage that is the San Francisco Giants 2017 season, it’s impossible to miss Sam Dyson and his red beard.

The right-handed reliever is the latest in a long line of gems found in the scrap heap — a Brian Sabean and Bobby Evans specialty — and the most interesting man in the Giants’ bullpen. Having supplanted the disabled Mark Melancon in the ninth inning less than six innings into Dyson’s tenure in the orange and black, it wasn’t that long ago that Dyson was the baseball equivalent of a giveaway. The Giants acquired the 29-year-old from the Texas Rangers on June 3 for cash considerations or a player to be named later after Dyson ran up a 10.80 ERA in 17 games. Standing in front of his locker, Dyson, who says he’s only open to answering good questions, admits it was surprising just how quickly the Rangers pulled the plug on his time in Arlington, Texas. Arriving at Globe Life Park on deadline day in the summer of 2015, Dyson spun a 1.44 ERA in 31 outings down the stretch before saving 38 games the season after. Dyson understands that abrupt endings are, unfortunately, part of the job. He also isn’t interested in expanding much beyond that. The reliever prefers to stay in the moment. It’s an ideal mindset for a late-inning stopper. “You don’t look forward. You don’t look in the past. You look at today,” Dyson explained. “That’s about it.” Then comes the non sequitur. “I don’t think Genghis Khan said it,” Dyson added. “But I did.” After his Texas struggles, Dyson has rediscovered his form, posting a 2.76 ERA in his first 15 games as a Giant and successfully completing the first five times he was trusted with a save opportunity. Asked if the sinker, which he throws at an average speed of better than 95 mph, is the key to his turnaround, Dyson dodges. “I’ve been making stuff up lately,” Dyson said. Asked to elaborate, he continues to confound. “All kinds of stuff.” What sort of stuff? “I mean, pitches,” Dyson said. “I’ve been throwing all kinds of stuff up there.” Manager Bruce Bochy provides a more compelling explanation for the resurgence, suggesting that a spring training interrupted by the World Baseball Classic was at the root of Dyson’s struggles. “I think he’s a talented pitcher who happened to get derailed there,” Bochy said. “He had a good WBC and then had a tough time getting on track and that’s all it is with him.”

Under the tutelage of long-time pitching coach Dave Righetti, Dyson has employed the formula that made him one of the most effective relievers in the American League for a year-and-a-half. “Now, he’s back to who he was last year, and I think he got a little rest,” Bochy said. “I think that helped, but I think Rags has done a great job with him, helping him get on track.” In what has been a lost season, Dyson’s renaissance is a rare boon amid the drudgery. Thanks to the impatience of the Rangers, the Giants have landed a valuable — and affordable — piece in a bullpen that has begged for just those kind of arms. Dyson is pitching on a $3.52 million deal this year and remains under club control through the end of the 2020 season. Next year, along with Will Smith, Dyson will likely be a setup man for Melancon. For now, the one-time Rangers closer insists there isn’t much to keeping Melancon’s seat warm — his relentlessly dry humor on full display. “Well here, it’s a little colder in the ninth inning than it would be in Texas,” Dyson said. “It’s pretty much the same thing.” Dyson’s trade from the Rangers to the Giants marks the second time he’s swapped clubhouses midseason — no easy task. “I mean, the challenge is to get to know and have a relationship with most of the guys.” Dyson said. “That’s probably the toughest thing because you don’t know any of the guys on the team, but I was fortunate enough to know a few of the guys, so it made it a little easier.” He’s made friends with George Kontos, but wouldn’t divulge whether the longest tenured Giant reliever is the ringleader of the bullpen. “Posible,” Dyson said, breaking out his Spanish skills. Then, another non sequitur. “I was going to try to swim to Alcatraz but I couldn’t find anybody to join me in the bullpen.” Alcatraz? “Yeah, no one wants to swim to Alcatraz. It’s weird.” So is the new closer. ESPN Szczur's 4th hit sends Padres past Giants 12-9 in 11 innings Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO -- After striking out in a swing at history during the ninth inning, Matt Szczur took a simpler approach in the 11th.

Szczur blooped a tiebreaking single for his fourth hit of the game after coming off the bench, and the San Diego Padres outlasted the San Francisco Giants 12-9 on Friday night. Szczur entered as part of a double switch in the fourth and set a career high for hits. He finished a home run shy of becoming the first player since at least 1913 to hit for the cycle after not starting the game. "In the ninth, I was (going for it), for sure," Szczur said. "But in the 11th, I was just trying to get on base and make things happen." The Padres blew a three-run lead with two outs in the ninth when Giants pinch-hitter Conor Gillaspie homered off closer Brandon Maurer, but San Diego won in extra innings after scoring off George Kontos (0-4). Hunter Renfroe singled leading off the 11th. Erick Aybar walked and, after both runners moved up on a sacrifice, Szczur dumped a 3-1 pitch into left field. Jose Pirela and Carlos Asuaje followed with consecutive RBI singles. "That was as resilient as we've been all year," Padres manager Andy Green said. "The guys kept fighting, taking good at-bats. It was a fun night." Hector Sanchez homered and had three hits against his former team. Wil Myers hit his 18th home run, Pirela added four hits and two RBI, and San Diego won for the 16th time in the last 21 games against San Francisco. Phil Maton (2-0) retired six batters in a game that ended after midnight on the West Coast. Hunter Pence had three hits and two RBI for the Giants. Brandon Crawford added a pair of RBI singles. San Francisco wasted leads of 4-0 and 6-2 and trailed 9-6 before scoring three times in the ninth off Maurer, all with two outs. Crawford drove in one run before Gillaspie's two-run homer forced extra innings. "It was quite a comeback there and it was a shame we couldn't find a way to win that ballgame," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "To tie that game in the ninth, you'd like to think the momentum has now swung over and you'll find a way to win." GIANT THORN IN THEIR SIDE Sanchez tormented his old team again, homering off starter Jeff Samardzija in the fourth and adding an RBI double in the fifth. Sanchez, who also singled in the seventh, has five home runs and is 11 for 23 in 10 career games against San Francisco, where he spent his first five seasons. "It's just my job," he said. "It's kind of fun to do it and show what I can do." TRAINER'S ROOM

Padres: RHP Craig Stammen left the game after injuring his hamstring while running the bases in the fifth. ... Aybar fouled a ball off his foot and won't start Saturday afternoon. ... OF Travis Jankowski will continue his rehab assignment with Triple-A El Paso. Jankowski (right foot bone bruise) had been working out in the Arizona Rookie League. Giants: San Francisco closer Mark Melancon (right pronator strain) isn't likely to begin a rehab assignment until the end of the month. UP NEXT Giants LHP Matt Moore (3-10, 5.81 ERA) pitches Saturday in the middle game of the series. Moore is the first San Francisco pitcher to lose five consecutive home starts since Ryan Vogelsong in 2011. The Padres will go with RHP Luis Perdomo (4-5, 4.94). He has induced 17 groundball double plays this season, fourth-most in the majors. ESPN Trade deadline lightning round: What uniform will _____ be wearing on Aug. 1? With the July 31 trade deadline approaching, we asked a panel of our experts to make predictions about where six of the biggest names on the market would end up. For all the rumors and speculation this time of year, there's only one thing we really want to know -- who is changing teams and who is staying put? What uniform will Sonny Gray be wearing on Aug. 1? Will Sonny Gray still be in Oakland after the trade deadline? Photo by Ken Murray/icon Sportswire Verdict: Brewers (2); Indians (1); Astros (1); A's (1) Bradford Doolittle: Brewers. Milwaukee has the depth of prospects to get a deal done, and Gray can front its rotation beyond this season. Mark Simon: A's. He's looked so much like his old self lately that the Athletics will decide he's worth keeping and trying to build around for the next two seasons. Scott Lauber: Indians. A strong starting rotation gets even stronger. Jerry Crasnick: Astros. Houston is intent on adding a starter, and barring a late addition to the market, Gray is the best one out there. What uniform will Andrew McCutchen be wearing on Aug. 1? Andrew McCutchen leads the Pirates in homers (17) and RBIs (52). Patrick Gorski/Icon Sportswire Verdict: Pirates (5) Doolittle: Pirates. Pittsburgh is making a charge, and I don't think it's a foregone conclusion that he departs.

Matz: Pirates. Starling Marte is back, the Pirates are hot and the NL Central is up for grabs. McCutchen stays in black and gold. Crasnick: Pirates. It was always tough to envision Neal Huntington trading the face of the franchise. Now that the Pirates are on a roll, Huntington will probably have to ride out the deadline and see this season through. What uniform will Zach Britton be wearing on Aug. 1? Zach Britton missed time earlier this season with a forearm strain. Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports Verdict: Orioles (2); Dodgers (2); Red Sox (1) Matz: Orioles. Britton stays in Baltimore while Brad Brach, who earns less and has stayed healthier, leaves the Birds nest. Simon: Red Sox. The Red Sox try to match the Yankees' superbullpen by building one of their own with the help of a bold trade with a division rival. Lauber: Dodgers. Just when you think the best team in the majors can't possibly get any better. Crasnick: Dodgers. He definitely fits as part of a two-headed bullpen monster with Kenley Jansen. The biggest questions are whether: a) the Orioles will deal him; and b) the Dodgers are convinced that he's healthy enough to handle the late-season grind. What uniform will Yonder Alonso be wearing on Aug. 1? Yonder Alonso has 21 homers so far this season, blowing away his previous career high of nine. Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images Verdict: Royals (2); Yankees (2); Twins (1) Matz: Royals. If the Royals end up as buyers, the lefty-hitting Alonso would be a good fit for a K.C. club that has struggled against righties and needs more production than Brandon Moss has provided. Simon: Twins. My gut says the Yankees, but there aren't a lot of options if the Yankees go for Lucas Duda or use Todd Frazier at first base, so perhaps we go off the board and have the Twins pick him up. Lauber: Yankees. They really need a starting pitcher, but a replacement for Greg Bird will suffice. Crasnick: Yankees. Oakland would like to move him, and no other contender looks like a better fit. What uniform will Justin Verlander be wearing on Aug. 1? Justin Verlander has struggled some this season, with a 4.54 ERA and a record of 5-7. Raj Mehta/USA TODAY Sports

Verdict: Tigers (5) Matz: Tigers. His age (34), walk rate (nearly double last year), and salary (infinite, give or take) will keep him right where he is. Simon: Tigers. I think teams will be tempted, but those who are sabermetrically inclined will say no because they'll be scared off by his walk rate (and salary), so he stays with the Tigers. Lauber: Tigers. Sorry, not going to move that contract. What uniform will Jeff Samardzija be wearing on Aug. 1? Jeff Samardzija has 135 strikeouts in 124 innings this season. Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports Verdict: Giants (3); Astros (2) Doolittle: Astros. Houston is smart enough to see the underlying performance behind Samardzija's iffy superficial stats. Simon: Giants. I don't think any team will take on the three years and $54 million, even though Samardzija is better than his ERA indicates, so he'll stay with the Giants. Crasnick: That 135-to-14 strikeout-to-walk ratio is impressive, but the three years and $54 million owed him from 2018 to 2020 are a turnoff to potential suitors. Unless the Giants are prepared to eat a significant chunk of what remains, he's staying put. Fox Sports Padres’ Sanchez will not start vs. Giants after 11-inning game (Jul 22, 2017) SAN FRANCISCO — The San Diego Padres will have to go without one of their big guns, at least for starters, when they seek a third consecutive win against the San Francisco Giants on Saturday. Hector Sanchez, who homered for the fourth time in five games against the Giants this season in Friday night’s 12-9 win, will sit for the start of Saturday’s afternoon affair after catching the first 10 of the victory’s 11 innings. “I’m careful with Hector,” Padres manager Andy Green said after the four-hour, 46-minute marathon. “You have to be careful with those (past) concussions, and he took another shot tonight. I’ve got to give him a day (off).” Sanchez will be available as a pinch hitter, which isn’t good news for the Giants. He has gone 11-for-23 (.478) with five homers and 13 RBIs in his career against one of his former teams. “It’s kinda fun because that was my team for a long time,” Sanchez said of beating up on the Giants, which he did once again with a homer, double and single. “It’s good to be able to show what I can do.” Green knows his catcher can still be a factor off the bench Saturday.

“There’s a locked-in factor when he’s facing the Giants,” the manager noted. “It’s hard to look at the numbers and not think that.” Hoping his teammates can continue the offensive onslaught that produced a season-best 20 hits Friday will be Padres right-hander Luis Perdomo (4-5, 4.94), who has suffered from a lack of support this season. Perdomo has just two wins to show for nine quality starts. He has never lost in his career against the Giants, having gone 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in six games, including four starts. The Giants’ Matt Moore will be making his first career start against the Padres. The veteran has struggled in his home starts this season, going just 2-6 with a 4.20 ERA in nine starts. The Giants have lost seven of those nine games. Giants manager Bruce Bochy was left shaking his head Friday night when a four-run first inning and a 6-2 lead in the fifth weren’t enough to avoid a 16th loss to the Padres in their last 21 meetings. “That’s why we are where we’re at,” Bochy said of his last-place team. “We can’t put (pitching and hitting) together. That’s what’s hurt us. Tonight the bats were there, and the timely hitting was there, and (the pitchers) had a tough time.” Bochy nearly witnessed history take place against his struggling pitchers in the extra-inning affair. The Padres’ Matt Szczur had a double, single and triple in his first three at-bats, the first of which didn’t occur until after he had entered the game in the fifth inning as part of a double-switch. With a chance to become the first major leaguer ever to achieve a cycle after not starting the game, Szczur struck out in the ninth inning before singling in the go-ahead run in a three-run 11th that produced the difference in the game. Yahoo Sports Padres' Sanchez will not start vs. Giants after 11-inning game Stats SAN FRANCISCO -- The San Diego Padres will have to go without one of their big guns, at least for starters, when they seek a third consecutive win against the San Francisco Giants on Saturday. Hector Sanchez, who homered for the fourth time in five games against the Giants this season in Friday night's 12-9 win, will sit for the start of Saturday's afternoon affair after catching the first 10 of the victory's 11 innings. "I'm careful with Hector," Padres manager Andy Green said after the four-hour, 46-minute marathon. "You have to be careful with those (past) concussions, and he took another shot tonight. I've got to give him a day (off)."

Sanchez will be available as a pinch hitter, which isn't good news for the Giants. He has gone 11-for-23 (.478) with five homers and 13 RBIs in his career against one of his former teams. "It's kinda fun because that was my team for a long time," Sanchez said of beating up on the Giants, which he did once again with a homer, double and single. "It's good to be able to show what I can do." Green knows his catcher can still be a factor off the bench Saturday. "There's a locked-in factor when he's facing the Giants," the manager noted. "It's hard to look at the numbers and not think that." Hoping his teammates can continue the offensive onslaught that produced a season-best 20 hits Friday will be Padres right-hander Luis Perdomo (4-5, 4.94), who has suffered from a lack of support this season. Perdomo has just two wins to show for nine quality starts. He has never lost in his career against the Giants, having gone 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in six games, including four starts. The Giants' Matt Moore will be making his first career start against the Padres. The veteran has struggled in his home starts this season, going just 2-6 with a 4.20 ERA in nine starts. The Giants have lost seven of those nine games. Giants manager Bruce Bochy was left shaking his head Friday night when a four-run first inning and a 6-2 lead in the fifth weren't enough to avoid a 16th loss to the Padres in their last 21 meetings. "That's why we are where we're at," Bochy said of his last-place team. "We can't put (pitching and hitting) together. That's what's hurt us. Tonight the bats were there, and the timely hitting was there, and (the pitchers) had a tough time." Bochy nearly witnessed history take place against his struggling pitchers in the extra-inning affair. The Padres' Matt Szczur had a double, single and triple in his first three at-bats, the first of which didn't occur until after he had entered the game in the fifth inning as part of a double-switch. With a chance to become the first major leaguer ever to achieve a cycle after not starting the game, Szczur struck out in the ninth inning before singling in the go-ahead run in a three-run 11th that produced the difference in the game. Yahoo Sports Szczur's 4th hit sends Padres past Giants 12-9 in 11 innings Michael Wagaman SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- After striking out in a swing at history during the ninth inning, Matt Szczur took a simpler approach in the 11th.

Szczur blooped a tiebreaking single for his fourth hit of the game after coming off the bench, and the San Diego Padres outlasted the San Francisco Giants 12-9 on Friday night. Szczur entered as part of a double switch in the fourth and set a career high for hits. He finished a home run shy of becoming the first player since at least 1913 to hit for the cycle after not starting the game. ''In the ninth, I was (going for it), for sure,'' Szczur said. ''But in the 11th, I was just trying to get on base and make things happen.'' The Padres blew a three-run lead with two outs in the ninth when Giants pinch-hitter Conor Gillaspie homered off closer Brandon Maurer, but San Diego won in extra innings after scoring off George Kontos (0-4). Hunter Renfroe singled leading off the 11th. Erick Aybar walked and, after both runners moved up on a sacrifice, Szczur dumped a 3-1 pitch into left field. Jose Pirela and Carlos Asuaje followed with consecutive RBI singles. ''That was as resilient as we've been all year,'' Padres manager Andy Green said. ''The guys kept fighting, taking good at-bats. It was a fun night.'' Hector Sanchez homered and had three hits against his former team. Wil Myers hit his 18th home run, Pirela added four hits and two RBIs, and San Diego won for the 16th time in the last 21 games against San Francisco. Phil Maton (2-0) retired six batters in a game that ended after midnight on the West Coast. Hunter Pence had three hits and two RBIs for the Giants. Brandon Crawford added a pair of RBI singles. San Francisco wasted leads of 4-0 and 6-2 and trailed 9-6 before scoring three times in the ninth off Maurer, all with two outs. Crawford drove in one run before Gillaspie's two-run homer forced extra innings. ''It was quite a comeback there and it was a shame we couldn't find a way to win that ballgame,'' Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. ''To tie that game in the ninth, you'd like to think the momentum has now swung over and you'll find a way to win.'' GIANT THORN IN THEIR SIDE Sanchez tormented his old team again, homering off starter Jeff Samardzija in the fourth and adding an RBI double in the fifth. Sanchez, who also singled in the seventh, has five home runs and is 11 for 23 in 10 career games against San Francisco, where he spent his first five seasons. ''It's just my job,'' he said. ''It's kind of fun to do it and show what I can do.'' TRAINER'S ROOM Padres: RHP Craig Stammen left the game after injuring his hamstring while running the bases in the fifth. ... Aybar fouled a ball off his foot and won't start Saturday afternoon. ... OF Travis Jankowski will

continue his rehab assignment with Triple-A El Paso. Jankowski (right foot bone bruise) had been working out in the Arizona Rookie League. Giants: San Francisco closer Mark Melancon (right pronator strain) isn't likely to begin a rehab assignment until the end of the month. UP NEXT Giants LHP Matt Moore (3-10, 5.81 ERA) pitches Saturday in the middle game of the series. Moore is the first San Francisco pitcher to lose five consecutive home starts since Ryan Vogelsong in 2011. The Padres will go with RHP Luis Perdomo (4-5, 4.94). He has induced 17 groundball double plays this season, fourth-most in the majors. USA Today Szczur's 4th hit sends Padres past Giants 12-9 in 11 innings Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — After striking out in a swing at history during the ninth inning, Matt Szczur took a simpler approach in the 11th. Szczur blooped a tiebreaking single for his fourth hit of the game after coming off the bench, and the San Diego Padres outlasted the San Francisco Giants 12-9 on Friday night. Szczur entered as part of a double switch in the fourth and set a career high for hits. He finished a home run shy of becoming the first player since at least 1913 to hit for the cycle after not starting the game. "In the ninth, I was (going for it), for sure," Szczur said. "But in the 11th, I was just trying to get on base and make things happen." The Padres blew a three-run lead with two outs in the ninth when Giants pinch-hitter Conor Gillaspie homered off closer Brandon Maurer, but San Diego won in extra innings after scoring off George Kontos (0-4). Hunter Renfroe singled leading off the 11th. Erick Aybar walked and, after both runners moved up on a sacrifice, Szczur dumped a 3-1 pitch into left field. Jose Pirela and Carlos Asuaje followed with consecutive RBI singles. "That was as resilient as we've been all year," Padres manager Andy Green said. "The guys kept fighting, taking good at-bats. It was a fun night." Hector Sanchez homered and had three hits against his former team. Wil Myers hit his 18th home run, Pirela added four hits and two RBIs, and San Diego won for the 16th time in the last 21 games against San Francisco. Phil Maton (2-0) retired six batters in a game that ended after midnight on the West Coast. Hunter Pence had three hits and two RBIs for the Giants. Brandon Crawford added a pair of RBI singles.

San Francisco wasted leads of 4-0 and 6-2 and trailed 9-6 before scoring three times in the ninth off Maurer, all with two outs. Crawford drove in one run before Gillaspie's two-run homer forced extra innings. "It was quite a comeback there and it was a shame we couldn't find a way to win that ballgame," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "To tie that game in the ninth, you'd like to think the momentum has now swung over and you'll find a way to win." GIANT THORN IN THEIR SIDE Sanchez tormented his old team again, homering off starter Jeff Samardzija in the fourth and adding an RBI double in the fifth. Sanchez, who also singled in the seventh, has five home runs and is 11 for 23 in 10 career games against San Francisco, where he spent his first five seasons. "It's just my job," he said. "It's kind of fun to do it and show what I can do." TRAINER'S ROOM Padres: RHP Craig Stammen left the game after injuring his hamstring while running the bases in the fifth. ... Aybar fouled a ball off his foot and won't start Saturday afternoon. ... OF Travis Jankowski will continue his rehab assignment with Triple-A El Paso. Jankowski (right foot bone bruise) had been working out in the Arizona Rookie League. Giants: San Francisco closer Mark Melancon (right pronator strain) isn't likely to begin a rehab assignment until the end of the month. UP NEXT Giants LHP Matt Moore (3-10, 5.81 ERA) pitches Saturday in the middle game of the series. Moore is the first San Francisco pitcher to lose five consecutive home starts since Ryan Vogelsong in 2011. The Padres will go with RHP Luis Perdomo (4-5, 4.94). He has induced 17 groundball double plays this season, fourth-most in the majors. Fan Graphs Jeff Samardzija’s Oddly Dominant Season Tony Blengino It’s been an utterly lost season for the San Francisco Giants. Sure, it’s not an even year, so finding the Giants outside of the playoff mix isn’t a total shock, but the second-worst record in baseball? Not exactly what Bay Area fans had in mind. It’s a richly deserved record, to be sure. The club has done absolutely nothing well. Buster Posey and Brandon Belt are the only hitters with a chance of making opposing pitchers sweat, and their vaunted, expensive starting rotation hasn’t come close to being able to weather the extended absence of ace Madison Bumgarner.

Matt Moore is lost, Matt Cain appears cooked, and Johnny Cueto recently replaced Bumgarner on the disabled list. Very quietly, however, Jeff Samardzija has posted some of the most incongruous numbers ever seen on a pitching line. Quick, who do you think has the best strikeout-to-walk ratio among ERA-qualifying MLB starters? It’s not Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer, or Chris Sale. It’s Samardzija, with a stellar 136:14 mark. So what on earth is he doing tooling around with a pedestrian 4-11 record and 4.86 ERA? As we know, won-lost records and ERAs can be quite misleading, so let’s use granular batted-ball data to get a feel for Samardzija’s true 2017 performance level. In the tables below, Samardzija’s plate-appearance-frequency and contact-authority data is provided, current through his July 16 start. Plate Appearance Frequency Data POP % FLY% LD% GB% K% BB% Samardzija 2.5% 30.1% 24.6% 42.8% 26.4% 2.7% Contact Quality/Authority Data UNADJ C U-FLY-A U-LD-A U-GB-A ADJ C ERA – FIP – TRU – Samardzija 130 152-81 112-106 105-94 99 119 86 74 The first table shows Samardzija’s K and BB rates, as well as the breakdown of all balls in play (BIP) by category type. For this table, color-coding is used to note significant divergence from league average. Red cells indicate values that are over two full standard deviations above league average. Orange cells are over one STD above, yellow cells over one-half-STD above, blue cells over one-half STD below, and black cells over one STD below league average. Ran out of colors at that point. Variation of over two full STD below league average will be addressed as necessary in the text below. The second table shows his Unadjusted Contact Score in the first column. This represents, on a scale where 100 equals league average, the actual production level allowed on balls in play. Basically, it’s actual performance with the Ks and BBs removed. Unadjusted and Adjusted Contact Scores for each BIP category are then listed. Adjusted Contact Score represents the production level that each pitcher “should have” allowed if every batted ball resulted in league-average production for its exit-speed/launch-angle “bucket.” Finally, overall Adjusted Contact Score, actual ERA-, FIP-, and “tru” ERA- are in the rightmost columns. “Tru” ERA adds back the Ks and BBs, and incorporates the Adjusted Contact Score data, to give a better measure of Samardzija’s true performance level. The eye-opener in Samardzija’s frequency table is his microscopic BB rate. It’s over two full standard deviations better than league average, the very best among NL ERA qualifiers. He’s become increasingly adept at avoiding the base on balls over the years, but this is clearly new territory for Samardzija. That improvement hasn’t come at the cost of his K rate, which sits in the 83rd percentile among NL qualifiers. Such K/BB dominance affords a pitcher all kinds of margin for error with regard to contact management. Samardzija has never displayed an extreme batted-ball tendency; on balance, he’s been a bit of a fly-ball pitcher, if anything. This year, he’s been hurt by a high line-drive-rate allowed. As I’ve stated many times before in this space, liner rates allowed are extremely volatile from one season to another. Samardzija’s liner-rates allowed, as is the case for most pitchers, have been all over the place over the years. It’s

quite likely that his current rate, sitting in the 90th percentile among NL qualifiers, will drift downward in the second half. So, we have an extreme K/BB guy with a rather unremarkable frequency profile that should improve as his liner-rate allowed corrects. This brings us to the second table, which indicates the overall quality/authority of the contact he has allowed. Samardzija’s Unadjusted Contact Score of 130 is off-of-the-charts high, among the worst in either league at the break. (Only teammate Matt Moore was worse among NL qualifiers.) That’s why his ERA is so high. How much of that is real, and how much is attributable to ill fortune? You need not look any further than the next column, which indicates his Unadjusted and Adjusted Contact Scores on fly balls, for the answer. Samardzija has allowed a .404 batting and 1.115 slugging percentage on fly balls, for a 152 Unadjusted Contact Score. Based on the exit-speed/launch-angle mix of those fly balls, he “should have” yielded only a .300 AVG-.806 SLG, for a very solid 81 Adjusted Contact Score. The big righty has deserved much better. He’s also been somewhat unlucky on the ground, with his Unadjusted Contact Score of 105 higher than his adjusted mark of 94. The average velocity of the flies he’s allowed is 88.2 mph; the grounders, 80.7 mph. Both figures compare favorably to MLB norms. Combining all of the balls he’s allowed to be put into play, his overall Adjusted Contact Score is almost exactly league average, at 99. League average, that is, despite a sky-high liner rate. An extreme K/BB guy with league-average contact-management ability is a star; Samardzija profiles as a star who actually offers a bit of upside as his liner rate regresses downward. His “tru” ERA-, which is based upon his Adjusted Contact Score with the K and BB added back in, is a very strong 74, better than both his ERA- and FIP-. FIP- is a solid metric, but it simply doesn’t take into account the authority of the fly balls Samardzija has allowed. One more note about Samardzija’s K/BB excellence. At the break, his K/BB ratio was 3.68 standard deviations better than the average among NL ERA qualifiers. Since 2000, only 11 qualifiers have bettered that mark: Curt Schilling (3 times), Cliff Lee (2), Pedro Martinez (2), Roy Halladay, Phil Hughes, Ben Sheets, and Carlos Silva. With the exception of the two Twins near the end, that’s a pretty incredible list. Samardzija’s stuff, size, and athleticism are very real. He has taken the ball every fifth day since moving to the rotation in 2012. Sure, he might be just 63-83, 4.12, for his career, but this is not a mediocre starting pitcher. Any club trading for him is taking on an $18 million per-year commitment that runs through 2020. It’s not pocket change, but for a pitcher whose skills tend to age well, there is excess value to be had. I wouldn’t empty the prospect vault for him, but he should be classified as an asset, and not just a salary dump, as the deadline approaches. Fan Graphs Is Jeff Samardzija Being Too Predictable? by Eno Sarris - July 21, 2017

The other day in the Giants’ clubhouse, I told Jeff Samardzija he was close to setting a record. “I don’t want to hear about it,” laughed the amicable righty. “No, no, a good one,” I pointed out, informing him of how he’s close to recording the best strikeout-to-walk figure of all time. “Doesn’t mean I don’t have plenty to figure out,” he responded back. Yesterday in these pages, I looked at Detroit’s Michael Fulmer, who ranked 10th among qualifiers by ERA entering Thursday but just 42nd by strikeouts minus walks. Fulmer, it seems, has used his changeup to manage contact and outperform his fielding-independent numbers. Samardzija is the reverse of Fulmer this year. Ranked 58th in ERA, he enters today’s start having produced the fifth-best K-BB% mark in the league. He doesn’t have a launch-angle suppressing changeup like the Tiger and (perhaps as a result) is suffering on the ball in play, as Tony Blengino pointed out earlier today. Nearly 33% of his balls in play are hits, and only 22 starters have given up more home runs per game. I asked Samardzija why that might, and he wasn’t quite sure. It wasn’t that he was around the plate too often. “In order to get a swing, you have to start it in the zone,” he pointed out. He’s 23rd in zone percentage, though, so there might be something here. You limit walks by staying in the zone, but outcomes are better on pitches in the zone. But the righty speculated that it was more about his work in certain counts. “Maybe I’m just not finishing sliders with two strikes?” He’s right that it’s about certain counts. But it’s not two-strike counts. Check out his relative home-run rates in zero-, one-, and two-strike counts. I’ve highlighted his worst home-run rates, but take a look at one-strike counts in particular. Jeff Samardzija Homers by Count Pitch Type Count 0k HR 0k Count 1k HR 1k Count 2k HR 2k Fourseam 169 0.59% 108 1.85% 127 0.79% Sinker 280 1.43% 170 1.18% 143 0.70% Slider 122 0.82% 104 1.92% 190 0.53% Curve 97 0.00% 103 0.00% 52 0.00% Cutter 34 0.00% 41 2.44% 60 3.33% Split 82 1.22% 83 1.20% 72 0.00% SOURCE: PitchInfo What the heck? Let’s look at the placement of those highlighted pitches in those counts to see if there’s anything that’s going on in those situations. Below are those pitches, to righties, in those counts. We find two nodes for Samardzija’s sinkers on zero strikes, and fastballs generally give up more homers than other pitches, so there’s nothing that stands out there — other than perhaps he should consider moving to the left on the rubber if that’s an option. Perhaps, if he did that, the dark red spot down the middle would be more on the black, and maybe he could give up fewer homers there. Samardzija has always given up too many homers on his cutter. For his career, it’s the pitch that has produced the highest home-run percentage. This year, it’s given up almost twice as many homers per

pitch as his next most homer-friendly offering. But the pitcher knows about this and is mostly moving away from the cutter — he even changed his mechanics to improve his slider and splitter and go away from the cutter. But let’s zoom in on sliders with one strike, especially since we know that he has a one-strike problem. Moving from one strike to two strikes represents a huge shift in the count, so it makes sense to throw to the zone as he does with sliders in one strike counts. On the other hand, he’s throwing a lot of sliders to one spot. What if he threw those sliders a little further from the center of the zone? Is he too predictable overall in one-strike counts? Look at how all of his pitches to righties in one-strike counts compare to another pitcher who shares his excellent strikeout-to-walk ratio: Chris Sale. The comparison isn’t flawless, of course. Sale and Samardzija are very different pitchers and throw with different hands. That said, both are excellent at getting strikeouts and limiting walks. And yet they act differently on one-strike counts. Samardzija mostly lives away, while Sale has a few different nodes — in on the hands, back foot, down, and away. Both pitchers live in the zone, but one of them tends to live in certain area while the other moves his locations around. And look how high in the zone Samardzija throws in one-strike counts and compare that to the ideal exit velo and launch angle locations. Given how many homers The Shark has given up on one-strike counts, there seems to be a decision he’s making there. There’s some logic to it. Throw a breaking ball on the outside corner and in the zone. If a batter swings over the top of it, you’ve two strikes; if there’s no swing, you’ve also got two strikes. Even though he’s added the curve this year — a pitch on which he has yet to concede a home run — and has a decent stable of pitches from which he can choose, he still lives in one location on two strikes to righties. And that location is maybe a little bit higher in the zone than he’d like. Jeff Samardzija may not be predictable when it comes to which pitch he throws with one strike. He is, however, predictable when it comes to where he throws that one-strike pitch. And that may have something to do with his penchant for getting strikeouts, limiting walks, and giving up home runs. MLB Trade Rumors Giants To Sign Pablo Sandoval Jeff Todd SATURDAY: Sandoval will, in fact, sign with the Giants, Heyman writes (Twitter links). The Royals and others were in fact in consideration, but Sandoval ultimately opted to head back to San Francisco. FRIDAY: The Royals are another team with interest in Sandoval, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link), though the third baseman is still expected to land with the Giants. WEDNESDAY, 8:38pm: Sandoval says he’s “waiting for Friday to make a decision,” with the Giants being “one of *the+ options,” per ESPN.com’s Marly Rivera. 7:17pm: The Giants have agreed to a minors deal with third baseman Pablo Sandoval, according to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter). Sandoval was released earlier today by the Red Sox, though the deal will not be formally entered until his contract has passed through waivers — which (all but certainly) will occur on Friday, Evan Drellich of CSNNE.com tweets.

While the match had been rumored, and is rather unsurprising on paper, it’s still quite a notable reunion for a player who was once one of San Francisco’s most visible stars. Both Sandoval and the Giants have had seasons to forget thus far. The former was released by his most recent organization after a third-straight season marred by injury and underperformance. And the latter currently sits five games back of the Padres in the NL West cellar. Sandoval, now thirty years of age, was a popular and productive player for seven seasons with the Giants. Over his 3,533 plate appearances, Sandoval slashed a robust .294/.346/.465 and compiled about twenty wins above replacement. That performance earned him a five-year, $95MM contract with the Red Sox, who’ll pay the vast majority of the nearly $50MM remaining (less any prorated portion of the league minimum for time Sandoval spends in the majors from now through 2019). The Giants tried to keep the affectionately nicknamed Panda, but extension talks never materialized and he spurned the organization in free agency — suggesting in comments at the time that he was happy to be moving on. But Sandoval never found his footing in Boston. His longstanding battle with weight was again an issue, and Sandoval missed all of 2016 with a shoulder injury. He got into shape and showed well this spring, but endured a DL stint for a knee problem and struggled both at the bat (.212/.269/.354) and with the glove (-6 DRS; -8.6 UZR/150 innings) over his 32 games in 2017. It’ll be interesting to see whether Sandoval can jump start his career in the place he once thrived. First, though, he’ll have to earn his way back to the big leagues. It’s important to bear in mind that the sides won’t be committed to one another for very long even if things go well. Unless the deal provides the club with an option of some kind — and it is fair to note that Jose Reyes agreed to such terms with the Mets while the Rockies were paying his contract — then Sandoval will return to the open market at season’s end. That said, it’s possible to imagine an extended reunion if things go well, as the Giants don’t yet have a clear plan for the 2018 season at third base. McCovey Chronicles SF Giants trade rumors: Who would want Eduardo Nuñez? Grant Bisbee Eduardo Nuñez is fast, and he can play a lot of positions. Some of them passably! He can hit for average and has gap power. Every team could use one of those players, whether on the bench of in the lineup. He isn’t expensive, and he’s not going to require a huge commitment. Teams will love him. Except, how many teams really need a third baseman? We know the Red Sox do, though I’m not sure why, cough, but that’s all I know. So what I’ll do is look at every team within five games of the second wild card and see what they’ve got going on with the hot corner. Maybe we can figure this out. The starting third baseman for every contending team Red Sox - lol Yankees - Todd Frazier/Chase Headley Orioles - Manny Machado Rays - Evan Longoria Indians - Jose Ramirez Twins - Miguel Sano

Royals - Mike Moustakas Astros - Alex Bregman Mariners - Kyle Seager Angels - Yunel Escobar Rangers - Adrian Beltre Nationals - Anthony Rendon Brewers - Travis Shaw Cubs - Kris Bryant Pirates - David Freese/Josh Harrison Cardinals - Jedd Gyorko Rockies - Some jerk Dodgers - Justin Turner Diamondbacks - Jake Lamb If that’s a whole lot of names, and you’re not sure what that really means, here’s another way to process it. A list of contending teams for whom Eduardo Nuñez would be a clear, obvious upgrade at third base Red Sox Yankees (if Todd Frazier is moved to first) So. This bidding war might be a tad muted. We’ll have to look elsewhere. The contending teams with a possible need at third, shortstop, or second Red Sox, 3B Yankees, 3B Rays, 2B? Orioles, SS? Twins, SS Royals, SS Angels, 2B Brewers, SS? Cardinals, SS? The question marks are for the teams that might have a player they aren’t keen on putting on the bench just yet, even if he’s stinking. Or, in the case of the Cardinals, a random weirdo they created out of mud and sticks who can’t possibly keep this up. Again, this isn’t much of a bidding war, especially since teams like the Twins, Royals, Angels, and Cardinals are sort of half-in, half-out when it comes to the trade deadline. The contending teams that could use some extra depth in the infield

All of them. I’m guessing. But it’s an educated guess. Just about every contending bench would be upgraded with Nuñez filling in wherever is needed and giving their regular starters some rest. The point of this exercise? To remind you of a couple things: First, that Buster Olney is right, and the Giants are probably fielding a lot of calls. Second, that very few of them are likely interested in Nuñez as a starter, so it’s wise to adjust your expectations of what the Giants are going to get in return. If there’s any good news, it’s that there aren’t a lot of superior options to Nuñez if the Red Sox want a starter. There are Wilmer Flores, Jed Lowrie, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Yangervis Solarte, but I’d prefer Nuñez to all of them for a variety of reasons (injuries, salary, contract, age, reliability). Still, this is not how the Giants will get prospect-rich. It’s in their best interests to get the best return possible for a pending free agent, but don’t expect them to fleece another team. It doesn’t look like this is the year to have a third baseman to deal. McCovey Chronicles Giants lose, 12-9 in extra innings Grant Bisbee The Padres tried to lose, I promise they did. Trevor Cahill was all over the place. The Giants — the Giants! — were hitting him hard. They were messing up in the field, futzing up simple rundowns. The Giants were up 4-0, and it felt like they should have been up 7-0. When they were up 6-2, it felt like they should have been up 9-2. And when Conor Gillaspie tied the game, it felt like they should have walked off. If the Padres protested, then let them take it up with the league. If the Giants aren’t awarded the win after arbitration, who cares? Have the walk-off celebration anyway. Dump the Powerade, throw the helmet up in the air, and have a grand ol’ time. Then leave the field, even if the score is tied. Now that’s an ending we can get behind. A-ha, except the Giants are apparently living in the future world of 17776, where time isn’t rationed and the binary set of wins and losses don’t really apply like they used to. The Giants steadfastly refused the Padres’ offer of a win. They had designs on something a lot messier, a lot more confusing. The art was in the journey, not the end result. Also, the Giants sucked. That was part of the story of this game, too. The good news is that we can’t feel anything anymore, so we’ve already moved to that acceptance stage. Like, I can laugh at that 14-hour game against the Mets that ended with us waking up to find out the Giants signed Jeff Francoeur. That was very, very funny in retrospect! This is like that, except I don’t even need the passage of time. Idea: a Pink Floyd tribute band, except instead of “Comfortably Numb” they sing “Actually Laughing.” So Brian Sabean has been repeating a truism for years:

Brian Sabean frequently cites the Giants' need to score four runs as their daily minimum requirement. That was from 2010. This is from 2014: “So all of a sudden, if you’re able to have an offense where it’s not too much to ask to score four runs a game — because you’re probably going to give up less than that — you can win. And two weeks ago: And this is so redundant it’s ridiculous, but it applies to what we’re taking about: the magic number is four. When we figure out how to score four or more, in most years, if the starting pitching is in check, and the bullpen is competent enough, you should win your share of games. It’s uncanny. The stats don’t lie in that regard. Well, the Giants scored four runs before the Padres got a hit. And they ... [checks] ... didn’t win. They’ve lost three games this year in which they’ve scored nine runs. That’s the most since the 2004 Giants. The 2004 Giants scored nine runs in 24 different games. The 2017 Giants have scored nine runs in eight games. The 2017 Giants are 5-3 when they score nine runs. Instead of writing a narrative that pretends there’s something to salvage from this sordid mess, I’ll just list The Most Disappointing, Sad Moments of This Disappointing, Sad Giants Game. 1. Cory Gearrin walking a reliever on four pitches in the sixth inning Ah, the most disappointing, sad moment of them all. This was the moment when I realized the Giants were going to lose and lose embarrassingly. The run scored, of course, to tie the game. And the Giants never scored again. Not talking about just this game, either. This was the second time in three games that the Giants walked a pitcher. The pitcher scored both times. If you’re looking for a list of Giants walking their opposite numbers, here’s one since 2000. The last time a Giants pitcher walked a reliever was in 2010, when Denny Bautista walked Hung-chih Kuo. The time before that was when Adam Eaton (the pitcher) walked to set up the Ryan Spilborghs grand slam. Don’t walk the reliever. Absolutely no good can come from it. 2. Jeff Samardzija is terrible at pitching again Eno Sarris wrote a great piece for FanGraphs that you should read. The title is “Is Jeff Samardzija Being Too Predictable?” It had a lot to do with sliders and what he does with one strike.

The headline would fit for this game, though, with the fastballs down the middle. Apparently, people can hit those. 3. HECTOR SANCHEZ, CUT IT OUT Seriously. Stop. It’s not funny. I’m tired of digging out the stats. Hector Sanchez never hit four home runs in a season while he was with the Giants. He has four home runs in 18 plate appearances against the Giants this year. Hector Sanchez had two home runs at AT&T Park while he was on the Giants (296 PA). He has three home runs at AT&T Park against the Giants (15 PA). Alright, it’s a little funny. 4. George Kontos, although, look, I get it He was tired. Four games in five days. The slider takes a lot out of the arm, and Kontos throws a bunch of them. He looked gassed. He was gassed. I felt bad for him. On the other hand, Kyle Crick has thrown six innings all month. That’s not hyperbole. Six innings since the end of June. Sooooooooo, maybe that was the better option? Except Crick threw 34 pitches on Thursday night, so it’s understandable that Bochy didn’t want to use him The real problem was Samardzija not getting through five innings, but, really, that’s like the only thing you can’t complain about with him. He almost always gives his bullpen rest. 5. Death birds 6. The guy who interfered with a ball in play, even if it didn’t affect the game Reminder that this needs to be placed on every front row seat down the line before every game: 7. Conor Gillaspie, you beautiful bastard, for giving us false hope Before we go, I would like to get at least one “Literally Conor Gillaspie” from the studio audience. After two quick outs in the ninth inning — we’re talking seconds for each at-bat — the dumb Giants were going to lose a dumb game, and we had all made our peace with it. I had made my peace with the Giants losing when they were up 6-5 and Cory Gearrin walked Craig Stammen. Then there was a walk from Buster Posey ... ... and a nice piece of opposite-field hitting from Brandon Crawford, and suddenly Gillaspie represented the tying run, but, really, what were the odds that he was going to OH MY SWEET G Literally Conor Gillaspie. Some benchies come and go, like so many Steves Scarsone, without making a lasting impression. That’s because Gillaspie has stolen all of their moments. He is a time thief. The Giants lost, of course.

Bleacher Report Pablo Sandoval Reportedly Agrees to Contract with San Francisco Giants Tim Daniels Former Boston Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval is reportedly set to rejoin the San Francisco Giants after reaching an agreement early Saturday, per Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. Sandoval posted a .212/.269/.354 triple-slash line with four home runs across 32 games with the Red Sox in 2017 before getting designated for assignment last week. He struggled to reach expectations with the Red Sox after signing a monster contract ahead of the 2015 season. It's a deal that carried a base salary of at least $17 million for each of the next three years and a club option for 2020, according to Spotrac, before he was officially released Wednesday. Boston handed out that lucrative contract after the infielder enjoyed a successful seven-year run with the Giants. He tallied 106 home runs and maintained a .346 on-base percentage while winning three World Series titles and earning two All-Star appearances. His first season with the Red Sox saw him hit .245 with a .292 OBP and 10 homers. That drop in production was compounded by the fact he showed up to 2016 spring training looking out of shape, as the Boston Globe spotlighted: Although the team initially downplayed the concerns, by the middle of spring training Sandoval found himself battling with Travis Shaw just to keep his spot in the starting lineup. John Tomase of WEEI passed along comments from Sandoval about the situation at the time. "You have to earn everything," he said in 2015. "You have to work hard. You have to compete. Things are more interesting when you compete. I don't have a problem competing with every guy here. At the same time, we have a good arrangement, because we're teammates. We're working to be better for each other to make the team better. That's good." By that point, it had become clear the Red Sox would be best off trying to find any trade avenue possible for the 30-year-old, even if it meant retaining salary to make it work. The efforts became even more urgent after the team announced Shaw won the starting job. Sandoval went hitless in six at-bats as a backup to start the season before landing on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. Around the same time, former trainer Ethan Banning spoke out about the issues that prevented the infielder from staying in shape, as Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald relayed. "He's proven to me and shown consistently that he's got to have somebody like me holding his hand doing that. And it's not an exercise thing, it's an eating thing," he said. "Obviously exercise is an important factor in it, a very important factor, but eating is going to be the component that needs to be managed and monitored. We had a chef on staff that cooked all his meals." He proceeded to undergo shoulder surgery in May and missed the rest of the 2016 campaign.

Perhaps returning to San Francisco will be the spark he needs, as it had quickly become clear he wasn't a good fit in Boston. Without a DH spot, he'll need to be in shape defensively at third, especially since Brandon Belt is locked in at first. The bigger concern is his performance at the plate. If Kung Fu Panda bounces back, he'll be a welcome addition alongside Belt, Buster Posey, Hunter Pence and Brandon Crawford in the middle of the lineup. Sporting News Pablo Sandoval to officially sign with Giants Saturday Thomas Lott A change of scenery can do many people a lot of good, and maybe going home is just what Pablo Sandoval needs to resurrect his playing career. Jon Heyman has reported that Sandoval, who was released by the Red Sox this week, will be in San Francisco to officially sign with the Giants on Saturday. Sandoval signed a massive free agent deal with the Red Sox before the 2015 season, but never found his footing in Boston and forced the Red Sox to part ways with the man they hoped would be their third baseman of the future. The former Giant comes back to the Bay Area with a successful track record for the team including three World Series titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014. The 30-year-old third baseman never batted worse than .268 in his seven season with the Giants and had a career .344 batting average in 39 postseason games with the club while hitting six home runs and driving in 20 runs.