SF Giants Press Clips Saturday, June 17, 2017
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SF Giants Press Clips Saturday, June 17, 2017 San Francisco Chronicle Buster Posey making quick recovery John Shea DENVER — The Giants received favorable news Friday on Buster Posey , who hurt his left ankle on Thursday night’s home-run swing and exited after jogging around the bases. The catcher could return to the lineup at first base Saturday. “Oh, I don’t know if we could’ve gotten better news,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “I thought it was going to be quite a while.” At first, that was the fear. It was the same ankle that was surgically repaired in 2011. By the end of Thursday’s game, after getting treatment, Posey was feeling much better and continued to improve Friday. He pinch hit in the ninth Friday night and walked. The injury to Posey left the Giants with one healthy catcher, Nick Hundley . What if something had happened to Hundley? The emergency catcher was... “He doesn’t know it, but it’s ( Gorkys ) Hernandez right now,” Bochy said. “I think you’re better off not telling somebody.” 1 The news also was favorable on Eduardo Nuñez , who left Thursday’s game with left hamstring tightness after he legged out an infield single. The third baseman could pinch hit over the weekend and perhaps return to the lineup Monday in Atlanta. Bumgarner to Arizona: Rather than waiting until Sunday at Coors Field, Madison Bumgarner will pitch his simulated game Saturday in Scottsdale, Ariz. The Giants couldn’t get the field in Denver on Saturday and initially set it up for Sunday, but Bumgarner didn’t want to wait. He’s to throw 30 pitches and face hitters for the first time since his April 20 dirt-bike accident. Strickland update: The Giants would like a decision on Hunter Strickland ’s suspension appeal, which was heard Tuesday. But still no word from Major League Baseball. While fans might think it’s strange that Bryce Harper completed his suspension two weeks ago and Strickland remains in limbo, there’s a reason. Harper didn’t have an appeal hearing because he settled with MLB, which agreed to knock his suspension from four games to three rather than going through with a hearing. The timetable worked for Washington because Harper was able to miss three games against struggling teams (Giants, A’s) and be ready for an upcoming series against the Dodgers. If Harper did appeal, he would have gone through a process similar to Strickland’s, and it could have been equally as long. John Shea is The San Francisco Chronicle’s national baseball writer. On deck Saturday at Rockies 12:10 p.m. NBCSBA Cain (3-5) vs. Freeland (7-4) Sunday 2 vs. Rockies 12:10 p.m. NBCSBA Blach (4-4) vs. Chatwood (6-7) Monday at Braves 4:35 p.m. NBCSBA Cueto (5-6) vs. TBA Leading off Road woes: The Giants have not had a winning trip this season. They’ve gone 2-5, 1-4, 3-6, 3-4 and 3-4. They’re 0-2 with six games left on their current trip. San Francisco Chronicle Giants becoming historically bad, lose to Rockies John Shea The Giants are playing like it’s 1985. That’s not a compliment. All bad Giants teams are measured against the 1985 team, the only one in franchise history to lose 100 games. The 2017 Giants are on pace to lose 101 games. Friday night’s score from Coors Field: Rockies 10, Giants 8. 3 Make that four straight losses, 13 losses in 17 games and a season-high 17 games below .500. They’re 17 ½ games out of first place. The last time they were so far back before an All-Star break? Yes, 1985. Manager Bruce Bochy, who has little patience left, was ejected in the seventh inning during a heated argument with plate umpire Gary Cederstrom, whose strike zone during a DJ LeMahieu plate appearance ticked off Jeff Samardzija. Samardzija followed Bochy off the field but not before barking at Cederstrom, having been pulled after he walked LeMahieu. For the second straight game, the Giants rallied late to make it close. Thursday, they rallied from a 9-1 deficit to tie it only to lose on a walk-off single. Friday, they scored three runs the final two innings, and Buster Posey was given a chance to a game-tying homer in the ninth. Posey, who felt much better a day after Posey hurt his ankle on a home-run swing, drew a walk off Greg Holland to put Denard Span at the plate with two aboard. Holland ended the game by striking out Span and retiring Joe Panik on a grounder. It was a frustrating night - the latest of many - as the Giants grabbed a 4-1 lead on home runs by Panik, Span and Samardzija, the pitcher’s third of his career and first since he was a Cub in 2013. The lead quickly evaporated when the Rockies scored five times in the fifth inning, a rally featuring Ian Desmond’s three-run homer that made Samardzija furious. He seemed to be thinking it was a normal fly ball, but it didn’t come down until it cleared the wall. A frustrated Samardzija returned to the mound and kicked the dirt. A half-inning earlier, after all, was his no-doubter, estimated at 446 feet, the longest homer by a pitcher since Statcast began measuring these things in 2015. He went 191 plate appearances between homers. 4 Samardzija gave up eight runs on 11 hits and was tagged with his ninth loss. It wasn’t all his fault. The outfield had one of its worst defensive performances in recent memory, and Hunter Pence didn’t look like his old self pursing balls in any direction. The 1985 Giants finished 33 games behind the first-place Dodgers. Those Giants, like the current Giants, were out of the race in June. The difference was, the ‘85 Giants were coming off a last-place finish, leading to the dismissal of manager Frank Robinson. These Giants were supposed to contend. So when summer turns to fall, we could be talking about the possibility of the Giants setting a new standard for futility. San Francisco Chronicle Giants get good news from sickbay on Posey, Nunez John Shea DENVER - The Giants received favorable news on Buster Posey, who hurt his left ankle on Thursday night’s home-run swing and exited after jogging around the bases. The catcher is available to pinch hit Friday night and could return to the lineup Saturday. “Oh, I don’t know if we could’ve gotten better news,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “I thought it was going to be quite a while.” At first, that was the fear. It was the same ankle that was surgically repaired in 2011. By the end of Thursday’s game, after getting treatment, Posey was feeling much better. He had inflammation caused by impinged scar tissue, and he continued to improve Friday. “We’ll just give it tonight, and hopefully we’re ready to go tomorrow,” Posey said. The absence of Posey leaves the Giants with one healthy catcher, Nick Hundley, for at least one game. What if something happens to Hundley. The emergency catcher is … 5 “He doesn’t know it, but it’s (Gorkys) Hernandez right now,” Bochy said. “I think you’re better off not telling somebody.” The only other healthy hitter off the bench is Kelby Tomlinson. The news also was favorable on Eduardo Nuñez, who left Thursday’s game with left hamstring tightness after he legged out an infield single. The third baseman isn’t to be available Friday but could pinch hit over the weekend and perhaps return to the lineup Monday in Atlanta. Bumgarner flies to Arizona: Rather than waiting until Sunday at Coors Field, Madison Bumgarner will pitch his simulated game Saturday at Scottsdale, Ariz. The Giants couldn’t get the Coors field Saturday and initially set it up for Sunday, but Bumgarner didn’t want to wait. He’s to throw 30 pitches and face hitters for the first time since his April 20 dirt-bike accident. Strickland update: The Giants would like an answer on Hunter Strickland’s appeal, which was Tuesday. But still no word from Major League Baseball. While fans might think it’s strange that Bryce Harper completed his suspension two weeks ago and Strickland remains in limbo, there’s a reason. Harper didn’t have an appeal hearing because he settled with MLB, which agreed to knock his suspension from four games to three rather than going through with a hearing and risk losing the appeal to the Nationals’ right fielder. The timetable worked for Washington because Harper was able to miss three games against struggling teams (Giants, A’s) and be ready for an upcoming series against the Dodgers. If Harper did appeal, he would have gone through a similar process to Strickland’s, and it could have been equally as long. Lengths of appeals and when they’re heard and decided are unpredictable. So Strickland continues to wait. 6 San Jose Mercury News Samardzija homers, but Giants’ shaky outfield defense dooms tem in another loss at Coors field Andrew Baggarly DENVER – Jeff Samardzija’s bat flew out of his hands like a spinning tire iron. He did not hide his glee upon hitting his third career home run Friday night. He borrowed from Jeffrey Leonard by trotting with one flap down around second base. He barked encouragement into the Giants dugout as he came around third.