Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Lather. Rinse. Recrap.

Giants 3, Rockies 2 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: See, Saturday Recrap: Nicasio's Dominance Not Enough To Overcome Rockies Offensive Woes

Same exact script with a different starting pitcher and different final score.

That, or click on the left where it says 2010 and 2011 Rock Solid Recaps and then click on any Rockies game in San Francisco. Seriously, we're 34 games into the season and we're already airing reruns from 2010 and 2011. Ugh.

Turning Point: Again, like Saturday, the Rockies had opportunities to put crooked numbers on the board in the early innings because Giants starter Ryan Vogelsong was struggling mightily with his command (walked five in the first three innings). Unfortunately, Marco Scutaro was caught stealing and then Todd Helton struck out to end their 1st inning threat. Then in the 3rd, Michael Cuddyer flew out to the warning track with the bases loaded.

3 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 5 walks, 6 LOB.

So maddening.

Christian Friedrich's Line: 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 10 K (team high in 2012), 93 pitches (69 strikes)

We were all interested to see how Christian Friedrich would follow up his outstanding big league debut in San Diego, but I don't honestly think too many anticipated him actually top that outing. But that's exactly what young Mr. Friedrich did on Monday night.

Here's how it breaks down each time through the order.

The first time through, Giants hitters had no chance at all. Friedrich was locating very well. He was mixing things up. He dominated them (0-for-9, six strikeouts).

The second time through, San Francisco started swinging a little earlier in counts and put some pressure on Friedrich, but never really squared him up (3-for-8, three singles, a walk and a strikeout).

Third time through we finally saw solid contact. Gregor Blanco led-off the 6th with a solo home run. Then after two quick outs, Buster Posey singled and Angel Pagan doubled to put Friedrich on the ropes. But impressively, the rookie collected himself to strikeout Brett Pill to end the threat. He then returned for the 7th and set the Giants down in order to wrap up a very impressive outing (3-for-9, home run, single, double, 3 strikeouts).

I'll go on record in predicting he won't top this in his next start. In fact, he probably won't top it all season. But the fact is, through two starts, Christian Friedrich looks like he belongs. Yes, he'll experience growing pains as he goes through those first few starts at Coors Field. That mental grind is a difficult one for everybody, but I get the sense Friedrich is in a good enough place confidence wise that he can endure it and continue moving forward in the same manner Juan Nicasio has.

I hope that turns out to be true. I really do.

Jim Tracy Screengrabs of the Game


Highlight of the Night: When Wilin Rosario swings hard and connects with the baseball, it goes a long, long way.



What's Next: Jeremy Guthrie (shoulder) returns to the Rockies rotation in Tuesday night's series finale. He'll be opposed by a scuffling Tim Lincecum (2-3, 5.89), whom the Rockies destroyed in their first matchup at Coors Field. But since this one isn't at Coors Field, I'm guessing Lincecum finally gets back on track.

First pitch comes at 8:15 MT.

Final Thoughts: Aside from hoping Troy Tulowitzki doesn't need to miss any time after being struck on the leg by Dexter Fowler's line drive foul ball, there's not much more to say. Hopefully we have something to feel good about on Tuesday.

More Rockies thoughts await you if you follow me on Twitter: @Townie813 & @HeavenHelton

2 comments:

David Martin said...

I had to laugh when I read the first couple of paragraphs. We were busy writing the exact same thing at the exact same time.
It really becomes routine. It sure would save a lot of sleep if we would just pre-write our articles when they are on the west coast and edit some names when the game is actually over.

Mark Townsend said...

Haha there's no doubt. But that's the torture of the Rockies. Even on nights when you know what's going to happen, a lot of times they find a way to drag it out just enough that you have to stop in your tracks and wait or tweak anything that was pre-written.

It's going to be a long, long year.