SF Giants Press Clips Saturday, July 15, 2017

San Francisco Chronicle A’s Alonso, Giants’ Posey opine on game’s record pace for homers, John Shea

If there was any doubt the emphasis in is on home runs and strikeouts, records will be set on both fronts when the 2017 season ends.

The homers record of 5,693 set in 2000, a loosey-goosey time of steroid use, will fall — we’re on pace for 6,126. And records are being set every year — we’re at an all-time high of 16.489 K’s per nine innings.

In related news, the average time of nine-inning games is longest in history: 3 hours, 5 minutes. Homers and K’s are time-consuming, after all.

Commissioner Rob Manfred addressed all three areas during the All-Star break in a Q&A with the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and defended baseball’s drug-testing policy, his way of suggesting PEDs aren’t the reason for overpowering and batters.

Here’s a player’s view:

“The game has changed,” A’s All-Star Yonder Alonso said. “The is going for the strikeout just like the hitter is going for the homer. It’s evolved into a heavyweight game,

1 the one-punch knockout.

“It’s not so much the featherweight game where you’re going to jab, you’re going to make sure you get the runner over.

“No, the game has changed. You’re expecting to win games by hitting a two-run homer or hitting a couple of two-run homers.

“You’re not going to see Pacquiao and Mayweather going at each other. You’re going to see Tyson and Holyfield.”

Manfred swears the balls aren’t juiced and meet specifications, though the specification range — as suggested in studies by websites FiveThirtyEight and The Ringer — is large enough to result in a wide variety of outcomes, from a warning-track fly ball to a homer well into the bleachers.

The spike in homers began in mid-2015, and some pitchers said they’ve noticed that are harder, smaller and with less of a seam, which they relate to the increase in blisters for pitchers.

The latest example: the Giants’ Johnny Cueto, who’s having blister issues for the first time in his career and said after Friday’s abbreviated start he believes the balls are wound tighter.

Manfred said MLB is beginning to look at the composition of bats as a reason for all the homers, but the discussion of the ball being altered, either on purpose or because of a loose manufacturing process, isn’t going away. Union chief Tony Clark said it’s being addressed.

As for the time of game, it’s longer than ever despite attempts by Manfred and Co. to shorten it. A 20-second pitch clock is coming. Count on it, as early as 2018.

Alonso said he hasn’t noticed a difference in bats and balls as much as approaches and game plans.

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“All I know is, I’m noticing guys swinging a lot harder. I’m noticing fewer fastballs,” he said. “You’re seeing guys throwing more breaking balls. You’re seeing more fly balls.

“You’re going to see longer games because guys are not getting ahead in the count. Guys are going more for the strikeout so you’ll see their best pitch early and often.”

Similarly, the other Bay Area All-Star, Giants , has noticed more aggressive mindsets from players emerging from the minors.

“A lot of younger players are coming up and not necessarily concerned with strikeouts,” Posey said, “so they’re taking a more aggressive hack with two strikes, which is going to lead to more balls hit harder.”

It’ll also lead to more strikeouts. With the emphasis on home runs, along with launch angles and exit velocities, pitchers are happy to expose holes in hitters’ swings.

Posey, noting pitchers are throwing harder and perhaps some aren’t as concerned with location, is a believer in things being cyclical.

“I feel like it wasn’t too long ago we were talking about how home runs were down,” he said.

In June 2014, 711 home runs were hit. This past June, 1,101 homers were hit, the most in any month in history.

Manfred knows homers and strikeouts can get fans excited and actually said, “Our research suggests that the actually is a popular play in baseball.” He added fans tend to like strikeouts, too.

Sounds like baseball sees it more of an asset than a problem. Until further notice, expect more big swings. And more big swings and misses.

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San Francisco Chronicle Giants win, but blister issues for Cueto, who says baseball different this year John Shea

SAN DIEGO — Johnny Cueto stood at his locker with tape covering the tips of the index finger, middle finger and thumb on his right hand. His pitching hand.

“It feels like they’re cut,” the Giants’ pitcher said.

For the first time, after lasting just four innings and 82 pitches in Friday night’s 5-4 victory over the Padres, Cueto acknowledged what others in the game have been suggesting: Baseballs are different this year.

“I think so. Probably,” Cueto said through interpreter Erwin Higueros. “I feel the ball tight. This is the first time I’ve had blisters in my career.”

Throughout the majors, with home runs being hit at a record pace, pitchers have said they’ve noticed changes in the ball, that it’s smaller and more tightly wound, with lower seams. Toronto’s said it’s a reason for the spate of blisters.

In the first half, Cueto had blister issues on two fingers. Friday, he had issues with his thumb, too. “Hot spots,” manager said. “They’re not blisters yet, but they feel like blisters, like the last time.”

Either way, it appears Cueto will miss his next start, a blow to the Giants for multiple reasons, including the possibility he might be trade bait leading to the July 31 trade deadline.

“I think the best thing for me to do is take some time off,” Cueto said. “I can’t tell you whether or not I’m going to skip (my next start). It depends on how I feel. Right now, it feels bad.”

Cueto told Bochy after four innings that he couldn’t finish his pitches. It was his quickest hook in two seasons as a Giant.

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“We’ll evaluate him tomorrow,” Bochy said. “I know he’s frustrated with it. If we need to skip him, we’ll skip him.”

Cueto gave up six hits, issued three walks and exited trailing 3-2. The Giants rallied for two runs in the sixth inning and topped off their scoring with Buster Posey’s 429-foot homer in the seventh, breaking a four-game losing streak that earned them a 34-56 record before the All-Star break.

Gorkys Hernandez collected a career-high four hits, and Eduardo Nuñez made two superb defensive plays in his first game since June 19.

After Cueto sported a 4.51 ERA in the first half, the Giants were hoping he’d open the second half pitching in top form as he did in 2016. But he walked his second batter and never found a groove.

A reason the Giants would trade Cueto is his contractual power to opt out after the season and become a free agent. Now his status is up in the air, and could return to the rotation.

Cain was removed to clear room for , who’ll come off the disabled list and start Saturday. So much for that 1-2 punch of Bumgarner and Cueto.

Sam Dyson, the closer for as long as remains on the DL, gave up a run on three hits in the ninth but earned his fourth as a Giant.

Dyson gave up singles to Manuel Margot and , and Jose Pirela’s high chopper turned into an RBI single as was unable to make a play. Dyson plunked Cory Spangenberg to load the bases before retiring Jabari Blash on a fly to right to end the game.

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San Francisco Chronicle Nunez back with Giants, but for how long? John Shea

SAN DIEGO — Third baseman Eduardo Nuñez is back with the Giants, but for how long? A free agent after the season, Nuñez said he wants to remain in San Francisco through the season and beyond, but the team is expected to be active before the July 31 trade deadline and could use him as a chip.

“I want to win at some point,” said Nuñez, who was on playoff teams in New York in 2011 and 2012. “I was close a couple times with the Yankees, and we didn’t make it. I think this is the best place to be to win a championship.”

Nuñez, who missed 18 games with a left hamstring strain, hit .299 with 17 steals in the first half, a rare bright spot for a team that went 34-56.

“We’re better than that,” Nuñez said. “We haven’t played well at all. In the second half, we’re hoping everything comes together and we play better for the fans and for the organization.”

Manager Bruce Bochy , happy to have his third baseman back, said, “We missed him. He’s a catalyst on this club with the athleticism he brings and the speed and energy. So it’s good to have him back.” Although the Giants are thin in the outfield — Gorkys Hernandez started in left Friday, and Kelby Tomlinson and Jae-Gyun Hwang are the fourth and fifth — Bochy said he wouldn’t play Nuñez in left because he’s coming off a hamstring injury. When healthy, Nuñez provides a speed element the Giants don’t otherwise have, but Christian Arroyo is said to be the third baseman of the future, though he’s shelved indefinitely with a wrist injury. To create roster space for Nuñez, Mac Williamson was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento during the All-Star break. Briefly: Closer Mark Melancon (pronator strain) began throwing off flat ground but isn’t close to returning. “We’re not going to rush this,” Bochy said. ... Hwang, who played third base in

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Nuñez’s absence, will be used as a pinch-hitter, in switches and will be available at multiple positions. John Shea is The San Francisco Chronicle’s national baseball writer.

On deck Saturday at Padres

5:40 p.m. NBCSBA Bumgarner (0-3)

vs. Chacin (8-7)

Sunday at Padres

1:40 p.m. NBCSBA Samardzija (4-10)

vs. Cahill (3-3)

Monday vs. Indians

7:15 p.m. NBCSBA Tomlin (5-9)

vs. Moore (3-9)

Leading off Panda free: General manager Bobby Evans wouldn’t say if the Giants would consider bringing back , who was designated for assignment by Boston, because he still remains property of the Red Sox.

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San Jose Mercury News Giants poised to lose Johnny Cueto to another blister issue – and are changes to the baseball to blame? Andrew Baggarly

SAN DIEGO – The Giants will have a grunting, snarling presence back on the mound when Madison Bumgarner resumes his place in the rotation after a three-month absence Saturday night.

But just as Bumgarner arrives, Johnny Cueto might be on his way to the disabled list.

Cueto lasted just four innings in the Giants’ 5-4 victory over the on Friday, and he wore a glum expression along with bandages on the tips of three fingers on his pitching hand.

The blisters that prevented him from making precise pitches in April are back with a vengeance. And the right-hander didn’t rule out the possibility that changes to the baseball might be to blame.

“I think the best thing for me to do would be to take some time off,” said Cueto, who wasn’t sharp while throwing 82 pitches in four innings at Petco Park. “I’m not throwing very well. I don’t want to hurt myself. … I just can’t feel the ball.”

Giants manager Bruce Bochy described the irritation as “hot spots” on Cueto’s index and middle fingers. Cueto also said his thumb flared up as well. When asked if a harder baseball or flatter seams could be to blame, Cueto did not shake his head. “Probably,” he said in English.

Spanish interpreter Erwin Higueros translated the rest of his answer: “It’s hard for me to explain. The balls are all the same. I don’t really know what is happening.”

Cueto said the ball feels harder to him, which meshes with the theory that a harder ball and flatter seams offer a partial explanation to ’s all-time record rate at which home runs were hit in the first half of the season. There seem to be a rash of pitchers — , Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez, Taijuan Walker and the A’s Jharel Cotton — dealing with blister issues, too.

A large scouting contingent came to perform due diligence on Cueto, but the Giants are only open to dealing him if they would receive a significant return. And Cueto simply hasn’t pitched well enough to warrant that kind of recommendation.

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Now he’s not healthy enough, either. And Bochy said he wasn’t sure if the right-hander would make his next start.

“He’s frustrated with it,” Bochy said. “If we have to skip him, we’ll skip him.”

The Giants might be 27 games out of first place in the NL West, but they are just four behind the Padres. It isn’t much of a chase. Even the slowest greyhound in the field can benefit from a wooden rabbit or two.

They dirtied their uniforms in spirited fashion. Buster Posey hit a 429-foot home run in addition to an RBI single, Eduardo Nuñez returned from the disabled list to make two sparkling plays at third base, Gorkys Hernandez collected a career-high four hits and the Giants bullpen soaked up outs after Cueto’s fingers heated up.

Rookie Miguel Gomez came off the bench to hit a tying in the sixth inning, Denard Span followed with a go-ahead single and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth as the Giants snapped a four-game losing streak.

The Padres began this season under no pretense of fielding a competitive team. They took a back hoe to the Rule 5 draft and the low minor leagues while loading up their roster with players that could learn on the job — while losing 90-plus games to ensure they’d get the pick of next year’s draft litter.

Entering Friday night, the Padres would’ve picked third. The Giants would’ve picked second.

The Giants might be in the midst of a lost season, but the front office, coaches and players see much more profit in finishing on a respectable note than moving a handful of slots up or down in the draft order.

Both the Padres and Giants will be sellers at the deadline, and a contender might find bullpen pieces to their liking on both clubs.

The Giants could find a taker for Cory Gearrin, who has a weird reverse split against left- handers (5 for their last 39) and , who followed Gearrin’s scoreless inning with two of his own.

Both right-handers will get a bit pricier in arbitration next season, which makes them candidates to be dealt over the next couple weeks.

Hunter Strickland, his penchant for settling three-year-old grudges aside, looks like a keeper and part of the next functional Giants bullpen. So does Dyson, who looks to be the closer for at least several more weeks as Mark Melancon takes a more deliberate approach to the right

9 elbow tendinitis that has sent him to the disabled list twice this season.

Strickland struck out two batters in the eighth and Dyson allowed a run on a chopper in the ninth before escaping a bases-loaded jam to record his fourth save as a Giant.

Dyson allowed three singles – two of them well placed hoppers – and hit a batter before Jabari Blash flied out on a 3-2 pitch to end it.

“A great sign,” said Bochy of Dyson. “He’s got a calmness about him that I like. He had to throw a strike at 3-2, adn he kept his cool.”

The Giants have had the hardest time carrying over momentum from their rare victories. Now they’ll get a chance to let Bumgarner carry them, three months after he separated his shoulder when he wiped out on a dirt bike.

Don’t tell Bumgarner that he’s pitching for fourth place.

“We’re all looking forward to it,” Bochy said. “I know he is. It’s an unfortunate incident but it’s behind us and we’ve got him back finally, and I know he’s excited about getting back out there and competing. That’s what he loves to do.”

San Jose Mercury News Giants Notes Andrew Baggarly

SAN DIEGO – Giants closer Mark Melancon has played catch the past few days, but don’t expect him to step into a save situation anytime soon.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy said he expected Melancon to be “a little ways away” from gearing up to the point where he’d throw off a mound.

“We’re not going to rush this,” Bochy said.

Sam Dyson will be the Giants’ closer for the foreseeable future, then.

Melancon is on the disabled list for the second time this season because of a strained pronator tendon near his right elbow. He won’t be back in time to impress any contending clubs prior to the July 31 trade deadline, but there wasn’t much of an expectation that he’d be a candidate to be dealt.

The Giants made a roster move prior to Friday’s game at Petco Park, activating third baseman

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Eduardo Nuñez from the disabled list. He takes the spot of outfielder Mac Williamson, who was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on Monday.

The Giants will make another move prior to Saturday’s game, when they will activate Madison Bumgarner from the 60-day disabled list. They could option right-hander Kyle Crick, because they already have a 13-man staff and Matt Cain is now serving as a long reliever.

It’s already been reported that Bumgarner will take Cain’s place in the rotation.

For now, the team will continue to play somewhat short in the outfield. Kelby Tomlinson is the No.4 outfielder, and Jae-gyun Hwang, who lost his third base role to Nuñez, is more or less the No.5 option.

Lineups as the battle for fourth place begins:

San Jose Mercury News Giants activate trade candidate Eduardo Ninez from disable list Andrew Baggarly

SAN DIEGO – The Giants don’t exactly begin the second half at full strength – what team with a 34-56 record can claim that? – but they will have the full complement of 25 players when they open a series against the Padres at Petco Park on Friday.

That’s because the club recalled third baseman Eduardo Nuñez from his minor league rehab assignment and activated him from the disabled list.

Nuñez was supposed to play two rehab games at third base for Single-A San Jose to test his sore hamstring, but ended up at DH on Wednesday. That’s because he was struck on the calf by a ball in batting practice. But Nuñez passed the tests during a game on Thursday and he fills the roster opening that the Giants had created when they optioned outfielder Mac Williamson back to Triple-A Sacramento on Monday.

Nuñez has dealt with the recurring hamstring issue for several weeks, and was both in his and the Giants’ interest to get back to full strength to start the second half.

For Nuñez: he will be eligible for free agency after the season, and he might have been playing his way into a multiyear contract somewhere.

For the Giants: Nuñez is one of the few tradable pieces that doesn’t have future money

11 attached to him, and should fetch something of at least marginal interest by the July 31 non- waiver trade deadline.

Nuñez went 1 for 5 with a walk, a run scored and two strikeouts in his two games for San Jose.

MLB.com Posey homers as Giants sneak past Padres AJ Cassavell and Chris Haft

SAN DIEGO -- The Giants took the first step toward putting their rocky first half behind them Friday night. Buster Posey 's seventh-inning moonshot proved to be the difference, as San Francisco held on for a tense 5-4 victory over the Padres at Petco Park. The game wasn't without some late drama, however. After entering the ninth with a two-run lead, Giants closer Sam Dyson allowed three hits before plunking Cory Spangenberg to put the tying and winning runs in . He ran the count full on Jabari Blash , who flied to right field, ending the game. Full Game Coverage "He's got a calmness about him that I like," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of Dyson, who has recorded the Giants' last four saves while closer Mark Melancon recovers from a forearm injury. After falling behind in the fourth inning as Johnny Cueto wrapped up his shortest start since 2015, the Giants plated two in the sixth, including the go-ahead run on Denard Span 's two-out single. An inning later, Posey padded the lead by smashing a Ryan Buchter fastball off the batter's eye in center field, a Statcast™ -projected 422 feet.

The Giants' bullpen took care of the rest with five solid frames to bail out Cueto, who labored more than his final line indicated. He ran his pitch count to 82 as he allowed three runs on six hits, while striking out five in four innings. The right-hander said after the game he was affected by "hot spots" on three fingers on his right hand and he might have to take some time off. • Cueto might miss time with finger issue Meanwhile, Padres left-hander Clayton Richard coughed up four runs on 11 hits, bringing his -leading total to 142. He allowed four runs over 5 2/3 innings, exiting in the sixth after some hard-luck grounders became singles.

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"It was a tough one," said Richard. "Clearly, when you have a lead going into the later innings, you expect to come away on top. Wasn't able to do that, so that's disappointing." Giants left fielder Gorkys Hernandez did the bulk of the damage against Padres pitching, setting a career high with four hits. The bottom three hitters in San Francisco's order -- Hernandez, and Cueto -- combined to go 7-for-10 with a run scored and an RBI. • Gorkys' 4-hit game shows his value to Giants MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Nickled and dimed: The Giants' sixth-inning rally wasn't exactly a loud one. Joe Panik loaded the bases by topping a grounder to short, slow enough that Erick Aybar had no play anywhere. Pinch-hitter Miguel Gomez followed with a game-tying sacrifice fly, before Span sneaked a chopper through the right side to give the Giants the lead and chase Richard. According to Statcast™, both singles had a hit probability of less than 10 percent.

"He doesn't get punchouts very often," Padres manager Andy Green said of Richard. "That's not his game. It's ground balls, which means we've got to have really good range in the field if he's going to be an effective pitcher. We've got to bounce off bags and make plays for him." A Blash bash: Prior to the game, the Padres recalled Blash, as Hunter Renfroe hit the disabled list with a neck strain. Since June 1, Blash had posted a 1.111 OPS for Triple-A El Paso, and he stayed red-hot, smashing an RBI double in his first at-bat. He would score on Aybar's single, tying the game, 2-2, in the second inning. Blash finished the day 2-for-4 with a walk. • Blash impresses in return to Padres SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS Cueto's 82 pitches were his fewest since he threw 76 on Aug. 8 last year in a five-inning start against Miami. He hasn't lasted four innings or fewer since Sept. 6, 2015, when he tossed three frames against the White Sox as a member of the Royals. UPON FURTHER REVIEW Eduardo Nunez doubled to open the third, then strayed a bit too far off the bag a couple of pitches later, prompting a throw from Padres catcher Austin Hedges . Nunez was initially ruled out for coming off the base as he attempted to scamper back. But replays showed that Nunez's foot never left the bag, and the call was overturned. WHAT'S NEXT Giants: All eyes will be on Madison Bumgarner on Saturday as the left-hander, whose season was interrupted by a dirt-bike accident, makes his first start since April 19 in a 5:40 p.m. PT rematch against the Padres. The four-time All-Star likely will be limited to approximately 100 pitches as he makes his fifth start of the season. Padres: Jhoulys Chacin will be looking to start his second half in the same way he finished the

13 first. The veteran right-hander has posted a 2.44 ERA in seven starts since the beginning of June. He'll face the Giants Saturday, with first pitch slated for 5:40 p.m. PT.

MLB.com Cueto might miss time with finger issue Chris Haft

SAN DIEGO -- The ' 5-4 triumph Friday night over the San Diego Padres was tempered by the possibility that right-hander Johnny Cueto might need to take a break from pitching to treat tenderness on the surface of his fingers. Cueto, the Giants' leading winner last year (18-5) and the No. 1 starter in their rotation this season in Madison Bumgarner 's absence, complained of "hot spots" on the middle three fingers of his throwing hand. Full Game Coverage

"I think that the best thing for me to do would be to take some time off," Cueto said through translator Erwin Higueros. "I'm not throwing very well, and I don't want to hurt myself."

Asked what caused the discomfort, Cueto said, "I don't know. The baseball. Three fingers, I just can't feel it."

Cueto has endured trouble with blisters through much of this season.

Cueto lacked his usual effectiveness and endurance. He lasted four innings, his shortest start as a Giant and his briefest outing overall since he worked three innings on Sept. 6, 2015, for Kansas City against the White Sox. He threw 82 pitches, his lowest total since he amassed 76 last Aug. 8 at Miami, while yielding three runs and six hits and issuing three walks.

"He felt it around the second inning, he said, and he just couldn't 'finish' his pitches," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "You could tell he wasn't quite right."

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Nothing's certain at this juncture. The Giants will continue to monitor Cueto's condition in the next two or three days before they decide whether he's fit enough to pitch on Wednesday, when he would make his next scheduled start against Cleveland.

MLB.com Bumgarner returns tonight in San Diego Nathan Ruiz

The Giants' ace returns Saturday, as left-hander Madison Bumgarner comes off the disabled list to face the Padres and right-hander Jhoulys Chacin, who has pitched like an ace since June.

Bumgarner, out since late April with bruised ribs and a Grade 2 left shoulder strain, posted a 3.00 ERA in four starts before getting injured in a dirt-bike accident. The 2014 MVP has a 3.97 ERA at Petco Park in his career. Full Game Coverage

Chacin, meanwhile, has dominated at his home ballpark this season, with an ERA of 1.68 in San Diego. He has a 2.44 ERA overall in his past seven starts, including five scoreless innings against the Dodgers in his final outing before the All-Star break.

"It was just a will to win that you saw, that you appreciated," Padres manager Andy Green said. "... It's fun to see your guys rise up and do that." Things to know for this game

• Giants All-Star catcher Buster Posey has had success against Chacin, going 9-for-25 (.360) with a double, homer and a pair of walks.

• First baseman Wil Myers is one of two Padres with more than 10 at-bats against Bumgarner. The other, Yangervis Solarte, is on the DL with a strained left oblique. Myers has five hits in 30 at-bats against Bumgarner, but three of them have gone for extra bases.

• Right-handed batters have a 75 percent ground-ball rate against Chacin in the past 30 days, the highest percentage among baseball's qualified starting pitchers.

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MLB.com Gorkys’ 4-hit game shows his value to Giants Chris Haft

SAN DIEGO -- Many observers might have regarded Gorkys Hernandez as the proverbial 25th man on the Giants' active roster when the season started. Now, as the season's theoretical second half began Friday, Hernandez has become almost indispensable. He went a career-best 4-for-4 in the Giants' 5-4 victory over the San Diego Padres. Full Game Coverage Various circumstances have heaped value upon Hernandez. Injuries and ineffectiveness befell other Giants outfielders -- Chris Marrero , and Austin Slater , among others. This caused a shortage of personnel that means more playing time for Hernandez, who appeared in 104 Major League games during 12 professional season entering this year.

"We're out of outfielders," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said, noting that Hernandez is certain to start Saturday's rematch against the Padres. Besides, Bochy added, "When you get four hits, I think that earns you another start out there." Two of Hernandez's hits contributed to the Giants' scoring. His second-inning single followed a leadoff double by Brandon Crawford , who scored on Johnny Cueto 's unlikely single. Hernandez's sixth-inning single helped move into position for pinch-hitter Miguel Gomez 's game-tying sacrifice fly.

"I tried to get a good pitch to hit," said Hernandez, reciting one of baseball's most enduring basics. "In the first half, I was swinging at too many pitches. I'm trying to keep it simple and not do too much."

MLB.com Nunez returns, determined to help Giants Chris Haft

SAN DIEGO -- Eduardo Nunez insisted Friday that he wants to remain with the Giants despite his impending free agency this winter, and the third baseman vowed to spend the rest of the season proving his devotion to the club.

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Nunez returned to San Francisco's lineup for the second-half opener against the San Diego Padres after missing 18 games with a strained left hamstring. Full Game Coverage

The productivity that Nunez sustained before being injured went largely unnoticed. He reached base safely via a hit or a walk in 30 consecutive games and batted .407 (22-for-54) with runners in scoring position. That's the second-highest average in the National League. He also stole 17 bases in 20 tries.

"He is a catalyst on this club, with the athleticism that he brings and the speed and the energy. So it's good to have him back," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.

Nunez wants to stick around past 2017. He declared that his devotion to the Giants, who acquired him from Minnesota shortly before last year's Trade Deadline, is stronger than the pull of free agency.

"This is the best team to be with [to have the potential] to win a championship," Nunez said.

Hence, Nunez said that he will continue to channel his efforts toward furthering the Giants' success rather than his own.

"Everybody wants to play well, whether you're a free agent or not," Nunez said. "It's your ego. It's why you're here. But I'm not thinking about that." With Nunez back, Bochy said that Jae-Gyun Hwang will fill a utility role, backing up at the infield corners and as an corner outfielder. Mum on Sandoval Giants general manager Bobby Evans would not discuss whether the club is exploring the possibility of reacquiring third baseman Pablo Sandoval , their beloved Kung Fu Panda.

That's because Sandoval, whom the Red Sox designated for assignment on Friday, remains Boston's property. For Evans to breathe a word about Sandoval would violate protocol.

The Red Sox have seven days to either trade Sandoval or release him outright, at which point he'd be free to sign with any club.

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However, common sense dictates that Sandoval won't rejoin the Giants. They already have a glut of full- or part-time third basemen in the Majors and high Minors (Nunez, Hwang, , Christian Arroyo , Ryder Jones ). Sandoval's weight and health issues also have remained a concern.

CSNbayarea.com Cueto now dealing with three blisters: ‘I think the best thing to do…’ Alex Pavlovic

SAN DIEGO — When hot spots appeared on three of the fingers on Johnny Cueto’s right hand Friday night, the coaching staff pulled him from the game. They also just about pulled Cueto from the trade market.

Cueto dealt with blisters on two of his fingers earlier this season and in his first start of the second half they returned, along with a new blister on his thumb. He pushed to stay in the rotation and pitch through his early-season discomfort, but this time around, Cueto acknowledged that he has to approach the blisters differently.

“Of course I feel different now,” he said though interpreter Erwin Higueros. “I think the best thing to do is to take some time off. I’m not throwing very well and I don’t want to hurt myself.”

Asked if he would definitely miss his next start, Cueto shrugged.

“I can’t tell you whether I’m going to skip it,” he said, “But right now I feel bad.”

Cueto had three fingers wrapped on his pitching hand. He was pulled after four innings and just 82 pitches in a 5-4 win over the Padres. For the Giants, the timing couldn’t be worse. Cueto finished the first half with a 4.51 ERA, but he was healthy, and he still could have rebuilt his trade value before the July 31 deadline. Now, it’s not even clear if Cueto will start again before that date.

“I know he’s frustrated with it,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “Hopefully he can take his next (bullpen session). If we have to skip him, we’ll skip him.”

The Giants were already having trouble getting any traction with a pitcher who has had a down year and holds a complicated contract with an opt-out clause at the end of the year. With 17 days until the deadline, three blisters, and an ERA that ballooned to 4.59, it seems like the decision has been made for them.

Cueto displayed frustration, and he echoed others around the game in saying the baseball might be to blame. Cueto said it’s clear to him that the ball is “tighter” this season.

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“I think the ball is different,” he said. “I think so, probably. This is the first time I’ve had blisters in my career.”

CSNbayarea.com Instant Analysis Alex Pavlovic

SAN DIEGO — Operation Pass The Padres got off to a good start.

The Giants opened their second half with a 5-4 win at Petco Park, snapping a four-game losing streak and getting within four games of the fourth-place Padres in the NL West. Johnny Cueto wasn’t sharp, but the lineup had 14 hits and the bullpen held on.

The Padres loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth but couldn't push the tying run across. Jabari Blash flied out to deep right against Sam Dyson. Perhaps the second half will be better?

Anyway, here are five things to know from Opening Day 2.0:

—- TRADE VALUE UPDATE: Cueto gave up six hits and three earned in four innings and he was pulled after just 82 pitches, which is not totally normal. Cueto’s ERA is at 4.59 with 17 days left until the deadline.

—- Cory Gearrin pitched the sixth and worked around a couple baserunners. He quietly has a 2.08 ERA this season.

—- TRADE VALUE UPDATE: Eduardo Nuñez returned to the lineup and generally looked like his old self. He doubled in the third inning.

—- Buster Posey rocked a baseball into the bushes under the batter’s eye in the seventh inning. It was Posey’s 11th homer of the year. He’s on pace to reach 20 for the third time in his career.

—- Gorkys Hernandez looks like a man who wants to play everyday in the second half. He had a career-high four hits and made a nice running catch in left. Hernandez has just six games with at least three hits in his career, and two of them have come in the last nine days.

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Yahoosports.com There are no winners from Pablo Sandoval’s time in Boston Tim Brown

This would be a sad story – well, not sad, we’ve a new standard for sad stories, but certainly a sobering story — were it not for it being selves inflicted on the parts of the and Pablo Sandoval.

Yeah, selves. Everybody owns a little part of today, of the Red Sox finally getting around to seeing what everyone else saw, that Sandoval probably wasn’t ever going to be a very good player in Boston, and maybe isn’t ever going to be a good player in his 30s, a fact that could be a real crimp in the rest of Sandoval’s baseball career. One’s 30s is kind of a big decade for a baseball player, if he cares at all about longevity or being a baseball player.

The Red Sox on Friday morning designated Sandoval for assignment. He’s owed about $50 million through 2019. Assuming we don’t adopt some new currency in the coming days, he’ll be released, because nobody’s trading for Pablo Sandoval, and Sandoval will have his money and the Red Sox will have their regrets. Everybody moves on.

They probably blame each other. Sandoval was injured a lot, I guess. He didn’t ever look ready to play in a Red Sox uniform. That said, he usually looked about the same as he had in a San Francisco Giants uniform. And, like a player who cruises or a player who strikes out a little too much or a guy who never did quite master the , he’s not going to play frenetic or discover plate discipline or finally get the feel for another pitch because he changes cities. Some things just are. So Sandoval was a round third baseman who could cover the ground roughly defined by his noon shadow and hit right-handed pitching when he was healthy and happy, right up until he couldn’t hit right-handed pitching anymore either.

It’s the player the Red Sox signed for $95 million over five seasons. It’s the player they got for 575 at-bats. It’s the player they sent on his way Friday morning for nothing more than relief from the headache Sandoval had become and an open spot on their 40-man roster.

So what next for the Red Sox?

Well, they’ve been dealing with that since mid-May, when Sandoval became an occasional third baseman. The rest of the time he was healing, or resting, or watching baseball. Deven Marrero hit .229 in 118 at-bats as a third baseman. hit .263 — and slugged .263 — in his 57 at-bats there. Tzu-Wei Lin, who is 23 and built like a Whippet, has 15 at-bats at third base and seven hits. Add them all up, and the only club getting worse production from its third basemen over this half-season is — oh, hey — the Giants.

Maybe the Red Sox love, love, love Lin and he’ll bat .467 as their third baseman forever. And maybe there’s a better answer out there, someone along the lines of Josh Donaldson, Mike Moustakas, , Yangervis Solarte, Todd Frazier or Martin Prado. The have perked up, which probably eliminates Moustakas. And Donaldson hails from the

20 same division, so that may not work either. They could simply wait out the development of prospect , who on Friday was promoted to Triple-A. Devers is but 20 and has played higher than A-ball for a half-season. Maybe is the guy, too.

For Sandoval?

He’ll have his chance to play again, be sure of that, because it’s impossible to forget the man with the great hands who in his first seven seasons batted .294 with a .346 on-base percentage, who one scout once lovingly called “Fat Ichiro,” who when directed and committed and focused surely can still hit, who in the right time and right place was good enough to win three championships.

Sadly for the Red Sox, and of course for Sandoval, he’s not been close to any of that for the better part of three seasons, and no amount of cajoling or scolding or let-him-be’s was going to change that. When he’s ready to change his body someone will be waiting, maybe even the Giants again, because all it’ll cost is a minor-league roster spot and a reminder that he’s no longer protected by salary or funny panda hats or sentimentality. He’ll hit or he won’t, and that’ll be the job, and it’ll be entirely up to him.

He won’t have to play to earn a living. That’s been done. He can live well forever if he’s smart. He’s also 30 years old and it’s no fun to rattle around the house all day at 30, no matter how nice the house is. Surely he’d like to keep playing the game, though that’s just a guess. That’ll be up to him. Entirely.

USAtoday.com Pablo Sandoval went from a fun-loving figure to a pariah Jorge Ortiz

Even as the San Francisco Giants were celebrating their third World Series championship of the decade in a champagne-soaked clubhouse in 2014, outfielder talked about his attempts to convince teammate Pablo Sandoval that the grass wasn’t greener elsewhere.

Sandoval, a fellow Venezuelan, was coming off another glorious October, having set a record for most hits in a postseason two years after winning World Series MVP honors. He was determined to cash in on free agency and had his heart set on a $100 million contract, wherever he could find it.

Blanco had bounced around three organizations before landing in San Francisco as a reserve outfielder in 2012, and he had a sense for how different life could be elsewhere. He tried to instill that notion on Sandoval, who had been with the Giants franchise ever since turning pro at 16.

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The negotiations with the club didn’t go well, and Sandoval instead signed a five-year, $95 million contract with the Boston Red Sox, who are on the hook for about $49 million remaining in the deal after designating him for assignment Friday.

Sandoval went from being a beloved, fun-loving figure with the charming nickname of Kung-Fu Panda in San Francisco to a pariah in Boston, derided for his poor conditioning and meager production.

He showed up inexcusably out of shape to his first and was the subject of scorn after unflattering photos of him circulated in the news media. It didn’t get much better from there, as Sandoval never regained the form he showed in batting .294 with an .811 on-base plus slugging percentage in seven seasons in San Francisco.

In a total of 161 games with the Red Sox over three years, he batted .237 with a .646 OPS and was a defensive liability when he did play. After losing his starting job to in the 2016 spring, Sandoval played in only three games before sitting out the rest of the season with a shoulder injury.

This year he batted .212 in 32 games and spent extended time on the disabled list with a knee injury and an inner-ear infection. He had been on a rehab assignment at Class AAA Pawtucket, where he batted .221 in two stints, and declined a longer stay in the minors before the Red Sox DFAd him.

“We have given Pablo opportunities to play, even watching him at the Triple A level,’’ general manager Dave Dombrowski said in an MLB Network interview. “And he just really hasn’t shown the skills he used to have for us.’’

Several factors went into the disaster that was Sandoval’s tenure in Boston, and most point to his immaturity. For one, he was ill-prepared for the demands of the high- intensity environment he found there. Although he would get chided for his poor conditioning in San Francisco, Sandoval still got a pass because he mostly delivered on the field, especially in the postseason, and was immensely popular with the fans.

Sandoval also lacked the right people around him to get him straightened out. Eventually, he parted ways with agent Gustavo Vazquez and became estranged from his brothers Michael and Luis.

Even couldn’t reach him. During their first season together in 2015, Ortiz advised Sandoval to take better care of his body to fend off the impact of age, aware the metabolism slows down with the passage of time. Sandoval still showed up to camp overweight the next spring, although he insisted he worked out hard in the

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offseason. It just seemed like he could never sweat off more than he would eat, and he always get heavier during the course of a season.

Sandoval, 30, appeared to have turned a corner this spring, when he arrived considerably lighter – probably around 240 pounds – batted .338 with a 1.025 OPS and moved better in the field. He took ownership of his past mistakes and spoke about the impact of seeing his son being born the previous summer and how badly he wanted for his boy to see him play in the majors.

But Sandoval got off to a poor start, batting .213 over the first three weeks of the season until the knee injury sidelined him for more than a month. He didn’t hit much upon his return, his fielding deteriorated further, and finally the Red Sox had enough, cutting ties with him.

Discussing the news on the MLB Network, former Giants recalled the ups and downs of Sandoval’s tenure in San Francisco, said “he has some addiction issues when it comes to food’’ and mentioned how athletic a player he was despite his girth.

And time and again, Flannery used a term that captures how sad he was to see such a talent go to waste, saying repeatedly, “I’m heartbroken.’’

A terrible waste, indeed.

ESPN.com Giants must take wrecking ball to lineup at trade deadline Joe Peta

All across MLB front offices, general managers are huddled with their staffs and plotting their teams' courses through the July 31 trade deadline. Columnists and commentators play along, with virtually all discussions revolving around whether teams should be buyers or sellers.

Thanks to their being a perennial contender for a postseason berth since 2010, the San Francisco Giants have for years been identified as buyers. But this year, with the team on pace to lose 100 games and sitting an astounding 27 games out of first place, the Giants are generating discussion about whether they should be sellers. Inevitably, that discussion leads to the trade value of a couple of specific players, but that misses the point entirely. The Giants shouldn’t be buyers or sellers -- they need to be a wrecking crew. Thanks to the changing nature of the game, the roster philosophy the Giants used in constructing three world championships in five years -- exceptional defense and contact hitting

23 from their everyday players -- is obsolete. Stated more starkly, the Giants could have every player on their roster healthy and playing to expectations, and they’d still have a hard time playing .500 baseball, let alone making it to the postseason. It’s not that the players have gotten old or even that their skills have eroded; it’s that the Giants have no more chance to be a top-tier MLB team than does an NBA team that is exceptional in every aspect of the game except shooting 3-pointers.

I think I can prove that to you with one example. In 2014, when the Giants won their third World Series, San Francisco hit 132 home runs. Last year, it hit 130, and this year, it is on pace to hit 135. Let’s look at what that means in terms of placing the team at a competitive advantage or disadvantage.

In 2014, the average MLB team scored 659 runs. In that environment, 8.9 runs equal a win. In other words, for each 8.9 runs a player generated in excess of the so-called replacement player, he would be credited with 1 WAR. (Thinking about it from a team perspective, a run differential of plus-nine would result in a team expected to win 82 games, plus-18 would equal 83 wins and so on.) Scoring has increased each year since 2014, however, so runs are less scarce, and a team needs to create more of them to generate a win. In 2016, 9.8 runs equaled one win, and so far this season, it takes 10.2 runs to create a win.

Let’s put a pin in those figures and move to some home run math. Baseball is unmistakably turning into a three-outcome game, with at-bats more likely than ever to result in a home run, a strikeout or a walk, and the first two outcomes are growing at a faster pace than walks. As a result, there are fewer baserunners than ever, which means the value of a single home run is slowly decreasing, even as a lot more of them are being hit. Skip a few math steps, and it can be summarized like this:

In 2014, by hitting 130 home runs, the Giants could very credibly say that their low-strikeout offense and exceptional defense combined with solid starting and relief pitching easily made up the win deficit they spotted the league through reduced home runs. But that’s not remotely true anymore, and that's why the Giants have started losing with alarming frequency since the second half of the 2016 season. There is no way, mathematically, to play good enough defense or put enough balls into play to overcome the huge competitive disadvantage they face on offense. The margin of error to make up nearly 14 games just to get to .500 is too small. The were the greatest defensive team in the history of modern baseball last year, and they created only eight more wins than the average team with their defense. I am certain that, for the most part, manager Bruce Bochy and the players don’t feel this way. They’re almost certainly convinced that, if all the regulars are healthy and playing to their peak potential, the team will find itself right back in the 90-win range. Regardless of whether that type of performance is realistic, it doesn’t matter because it’s false hope. The math doesn’t work.

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That’s why, if the Giants want to be a postseason threat anytime before the next generation of players comes in the clubhouse during the 2020s, they need to blow up the current roster, sell off any part that returns value and start acquiring players with the skills that can help them win games from 2018 to 2020.

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