SF Giants Press Clips Saturday, June 30, 2018

San Francisco Chronicle Giants beat first-place D’backs behind rookies Suarez, Slater Henry Schulman

PHOENIX — Will Smith’s first major-league save in 2014 was memorable because he had no idea he earned one. He faced one hitter, Pittsburgh’s Pedro Alvarez, and struck him after Milwaukee starter Kyle Lohse dominated for 82/3 innings.

“Everyone was congratulating me, and I’m going, for what?” Smith said Friday night after his second career save. He threw a perfect ninth in an important 2-1 victory against the Diamondbacks at Chase Field.

Beating the first-place team in the division to gain a game in the standings, on the road, is big enough. Friday’s circumstances made it feel bigger.

The Giants earned a one-run win behind rookies Andrew Suarez and Austin Slater, and got three perfect innings from the a night after blew a one-run lead against the Rockies at home and declared he would open the closing job to others.

Reyes Moronta, a third rookie who made an impact, got three groundballs in the seventh, the last of them ’s to get him out of the way. Tony Watson pitched the eighth because he had warmed up in case Moronta needed help in the seventh.

Smith then struck out two of his three hitters to save the win, the Giants’ ninth in 12 games.

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“We were able to bring some energy and help win a ballgame,” Slater said. “It’s great to see the young guys get in and make an impact.”

Slater drove in both Giants runs with opposite-field doubles, in the second against Patrick Corbin and in the seventh against equally tough left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin. That one broke a 1-1 tie.

Slater added a broken-bat single in the eighth for his third , against a third lefty, T.J. McFarland.

Slater’s doubles made a winner of Suarez, who beat the team that beat him in his April 11 major-league debut. He allowed four runs and two homers that night, one by Goldschmidt, whom he held to a walk, an infield hit and a deep fly to right in his six innings Friday.

Five of the seven hits against Suarez did not leave the infield. Giving up so bleeders could make even a 10-year veteran cuckoo, but it did not faze the 25-year-old left-hander.

“The kid is not in awe of anything,” Bochy said. “He pitched his heart out.”

Bochy then danced like Fred Astaire when asked to assess Suarez’s bid to be the one young’ un who is expected to keep his place in the rotation when Jeff Samardzija and return in the next couple of weeks.

Bochy is not ready to rank Suarez, Chris Stratton and Dereck Rodriguez, who will start Tuesday night, but Suarez has to be the clubhouse leader after the run of starts he is cobbling. He has a 2.35 ERA over his past four games, which do not include his seven shutout innings against the Phillies to start the month.

Suarez has the stuff and command to stick.

The Slater issue is equally complicated. He is the pup on a roster that includes fellow outfielders Hunter Pence and Austin Jackson, the former earning $18.5 million this year, the latter just signed for two years, $6 million.

Bochy will have to be Astaire and Ginger Rogers in that dance.

For now, Alen Hanson will be the left fielder against right-handed starters. Slater can buy more starts against lefties with games like Friday’s.

“You’ve got to go with who’s swinging the bat well,” Bochy said, “and hope the other guys understand.”

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Jackson went 0-for-3 in a rare start, his first since June 15 and sixth in the club’s past 35 games. Bochy said Gorkys Hernandez got a planned day off and Jackson “has been held hostage long enough.”

San Francisco Chronicle Would Giants’ Samardzija make a good closer? Henry Schulman

PHOENIX — Anytime the Giants fall into a ninth-inning “crisis,” JeffSamardzija ’s name arises as a potential closer. The idea has its appeal. He throws hard, and when healthy last year he threw strikes.

Looking deeper, the issue that persuaded the Giants to have Samardzija make a fourth rehab start Monday makes him less suited to short relief: Samardzija is not a good first-inning . A closer has to charge out of the chute.

“He knows that’s an area where he’s got to come out letting it go because that’s something that can determine the game,” manager Bruce Bochy said Friday.

In 2017, Samardzija’s first-inning ERA was 6.47, the worst of any inning. Opponents had a first- inning OPS of .883. His third rehab game for Sacramento on Tuesday night was a lot like his first. He walked one and allowed two homers in a five-run first inning, although Bochy said he was told the homers were altitude-aided and would have been flyballs outside of Albuquerque.

Still, Samardzija surrenders a lot of homers, which a closer also cannot do.

Samardzija, recovering from a shoulder injury, retired 12 of his final 14 hitters in Albuquerque and struck out six in four innings.

Bochy expects Samardzija to rejoin the Giants’ rotation next weekend at home against the Cardinals.

Johnny Cueto (elbow sprain) threw four shutout innings in his second rehab start in Sacramento on Friday night, throwing 69 pitches. In two games he has thrown 72/3 innings without allowing a run, walking one and striking out 10. Cueto wanted two rehab games, while the club has pushed for three and essentially said, “We’ll see.”

“We’ll evaluate his work and see how he comes out of it,” Bochy said. “This is a bigger test because he’s throwing 70 pitches. Forty, 45 pitches, you can get through that. With seventy pitches, you better be in shape.”

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More bullpen: The bullpen could look different soon with Samardzija and Cueto returning because one or two of the young starters who have held down rotation spots could be moved to long relief.

Also, the Giants increasingly are looking at a big power option from -A. Ray Black , who routinely hits 100 mph despite a smorgasbord of arm injuries that have held him back, has struck out 50 in 282/3 combined innings for Sacramento and -A Richmond, Va., this year.

“No question he’s on the radar,” Bochy said. “The way he’s throwing the ball, sure, he’s going to be talked about because he’s done a good job of getting his career back on track. He’s got good stuff, he’s healthy, and he’s pitched back-to-back games.”

However, Bochy said the club is not looking to add a one-inning reliever now.

San Francisco Chronicle Giants must take advantage of their shot against first-place D’backs Henry Schulman

PHOENIX - Lookee here. The West is not so bad after all.

The division-leading Diamondbacks carry a .580 winning percentage into Friday night's game against the Giants, not much different than the Central-leading Brewers (.588) and East-leading Braves (.570).

All three divisions have three winning teams.

Also, look at the league's June win-percentage leaderboard:

1. Arizona, 19-7, .731

2. Los Angeles, 17-7, .708

3. San Francisco, 16-10, .615

Since June featured a lot of inter-division competition, one can argue the West is best and cleaned up against inferior teams in the other divisions.

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All of which underscores why this weekend's series at Chase Field is important to the Giants. If they are going to make up serious ground in the division, they have to beat their divisional foes, especially the two above them.

The Giants have a tall task, starting Friday, when they face Patrick Corbin, who is coming off seven shutout innings at Pittsburgh and pitched a one-hitter against the Giants here April 10.

Andrew Suarez faces Arizona for the first time since they got him for four runs over 5 1/3 innings in his April 11 big-league debut.

The four possible weekend outcomes for the Giants create quite a range.

Giants sweep = 2½ games behind Arizona in the West, very unlikely given how poorly they have played at Chase Field the past two seasons and on the road in general.

Giants take two of three = 4½ games back, a bit more conceivable. The Giants have taken just three road series this year, but two have come against tough teams (Atlanta, Washington).

Giants lose two of three = 6½ games back. That seems to be their road M.O.

Giants get swept = 8½ games back. Now, they have a serious problem.

If this series were ending on, say, July 25 instead of July 1, the outcome might have carried more serious implications for the team's direction right before the trade deadline.

A .500 trip would be a huge victory for the Giants. They have not had a break-even trip yet, aside from the four-gamer in Los Angeles to open the season.

As always, the numbers will look better if they can play their best ball, which is true anywhere.

Who closes? Amid the big debate of the day, some fans have suggested Jeff Samardzija close when he returns. He has been a reliever and has the stuff.

It might be a good idea, but not this year.

As Samardzija returns from a shoulder injury the team needs to control his innings. Besides, first innings have killed him, in the majors and during his minor-league rehab games. His velocity is lower and command worse to start the game.

Last year, when healthy, his first-inning ERA was the worst of any inning (.647), but he did have one of his best /walk ratios (7.25). He had just four first-inning walks in 32 starts.

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Speaking of , Triple-A prospect Ray Black, he of the 100-mph fastball, has 50 strikeouts against 10 walks in 29 innings combined for Sacramento and Double-A Richmond, Va. this year.

But the oft-injured right-hander has the same issue as . He has pitched back-to- back just twice this season, and in the second game of his first back-to-back he allowed two runs without a strikeout in one-third of an inning. That was on June 7. In the second game of his second back-to-back he pitched a perfect innings and struck out two.

He has not allowed a run since June 7.

Yes, Black has to be considered a "prospect" at 28 because of his stuff, and the fact that he has been held back by injuries.

San Jose Mercury News Prospect with 100-mile per hour fastball ‘on the radar. For Giants Kerry Crowley

PHOENIX–The Giants don’t need to add another relief pitcher to a crowded bullpen.

But Ray Black is forcing the franchise’s key decision-makers to pay attention to his performance anyway.

The right-handed flamethrower was a seventh round draft choice back in 2011 and had never pitched above Double-A before this year due to a rough injury history.

Black, 28, has only logged 122 minor league innings since joining the organization, and fell off the radar after appearing in just three games last season.

Though the Giants already have eight relievers on their staff, Black’s recent success with Triple- A Sacramento has officially landed him back “on the radar” according to manager Bruce Bochy.

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“The way he’s throwing the ball, sure he’s going to be talked about,” Bochy said. “This guy has really done a good job getting his career back on track. You look at the stuff, he’s gone back to back so he’s healthy.”

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Black isn’t on the 40-man roster, so the Giants would need to create space to promote him to the big league level. With 30 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings for Triple-A and a fastball that routinely hits 100 miles per hour, adding Black to the mix is tempting for the club.

However, Bochy acknowledged the Giants don’t have space for Black as the club already has several relievers who pitch one inning at a time. Right-hander Cory Gearrin has pitched just once in the last 16 days and in August the Giants anticipate closer Hunter Strickland to return to the roster, further complicating Black’s path to the majors.

“With our needs right now, it’s not quite a need,” Bochy said. “If you’re looking for another one inning guy, it would be a bit different. But we’re covered there with four or five guys.”

Rotation in flux

Right-hander Johnny Cueto (elbow sprain) will make his second rehab start for Triple-A Sacramento Friday after Cueto tossed 3 2/3 innings of one-hit ball in his first appearance for the River Cats.

The Giants planned to take a cautious approach to Cueto’s rehab process, but he was the most dominant pitcher in baseball through the month of April and demonstrated similar form in his return to the mound Saturday.

Bochy admitted that if Cueto fares well during a 70-pitch stint Friday, the right-hander could rejoin the rotation during the club’s series against the Cardinals next weekend.

Fellow righty Jeff Samardzija (shoulder tightness) is also poised to start against the Cardinals next weekend as he’ll make his fourth and final rehab start for Sacramento Monday.

Samardzija’s rehab assignment was expected to last three games, but he needed 88 pitches to complete four innings in Albuquerque Tuesday and the Giants want him to work deeper into a game before he returns.

With Cueto and Samardzija set to make starts in the near future, Bochy said the Giants have discussed moving rookie starters Andrew Suárez and Dereck Rodríguez to the bullpen.

“We’re looking at everything,” Bochy said. “We don’t have to quite yet but when they come back, we’ll look at all the options.”

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Panik, Hernández resting against D’Backs

Second baseman Joe Panik and center fielder Gorkys Hernández will ride the bench for Friday’s series- against Arizona.

Panik is 1-for-13 in his career against D’Backs starter Patrick Corbin while Hernández is 3-for-15 against Corbin and needed a day off after playing in all three games against the Rockies.

Austin Jackson will start for the first time since June 15 as he’ll fill in for Hernández while switch-hitter Alen Hanson will play second base after recording a pair of doubles in Thursday’s loss to Colorado.

Austin Slater will start in left field for the second time since earning a promotion from Triple-A last weekend.

San Jose Mercury News Slater, Suarez state cases to hold onto jobs as Giants defeat first-place D’backs Kerry Crowley

PHOENIX–It’s no secret the Giants have fielded one of the oldest rosters in baseball, relying on a core group of experienced veterans who are tasked with forging a path into contention in the National League.

That roster took a big step forward with a series-opening 2-1 win against the first-place Friday, but the Giants took that step thanks to their youngest players.

Rookies Austin Slater and Andrew Suárez weren’t projected for major roles this season, but they shared the spotlight in an impressive effort that helped the Giants move to 4.5 games behind Arizona in the standings.

“It was a great win and it started with Suárez,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “What a terrific job he did today. Had everything going and had some tough luck with five infield hits but that kid pitched his heart out and Slater stepped up.”

Slater opened the scoring for the night with an RBI double in the second before ripping another opposite field double to break a 1-1 tie in the seventh. Suárez did the rest of the heavy lifting, working six innings against a tough Arizona lineup that tagged him for four earned runs in his

8 major league debut April 11.

The duo received a lift from a third rookie, reliever , who tossed a scoreless seventh inning and retired D’Backs slugger Paul Goldschmidt to end a 1-2-3 frame. San Francisco did need a few veterans to pitch in, as left-hander Tony Watson worked the eighth before Will Smith picked up his second career save and his first since April 13, 2014 when he played for the Brewers.

“It’s fun to see young guys come up and have success like that,” Smith said. “Slater had an incredible night, Reyes did what he’s been doing all year and Andy threw the ball great tonight too.”

With veterans Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija set to rejoin the Giants rotation within the next two weeks, Suárez understands each outing is an opportunity to prove he belongs on the starting staff. Manager Bruce Bochy indicated the Giants have discussed shifting Suárez and some of the other young starters to the bullpen to clear space for Cueto and Samardzija, but Suárez’s most recent outings have made that move increasingly difficult.

Suárez was a victim of bad luck for the first half of Friday’s contest, allowing five infield hits including one in the third that allowed Arizona to load the bases and one in the fifth that advanced Jon Jay into scoring position. The rookie managed to keep his poise, ending both innings by inducing groundouts that prevented the D’Backs from scratching a run across.

“It happens but I just made sure not to overreact,” Suárez said of the infield hits. “After that I just made sure to minimize damage and try to get some groundouts.”

The Giants struck first against Corbin as Slater roped a one-out double into the right field corner in the top of the second. Slater’s hit scored , but the Giants’ opportunity to bring Slater in from scoring position was short-lived.

After hit a groundball to shortstop Nick Ahmed, Slater took off toward third base. The D’Backs infielder easily threw him out, robbing the Giants of a scoring opportunity and highlighting a costly mental error on the base paths from Slater.

Slater’s torrid first half with Triple-A Sacramento helped him earn a promotion to the big leagues, but the Giants have been reluctant to reward him with regular starting opportunities since he joined the club a week ago. His start in left field Friday was just his second since his call-up, and while Slater deserves an extended chance to play, it’s harder for inexperienced

9 players to overcome their mistakes on a Giants team with several veterans competing for starts.

“Good at-bats up there and in the clutch, too,” Bochy said. “The really delivered. He did the damage today and you’re looking for someone to come through against (Patrick) Corbin.”

Arizona finally did even the score against Suárez in the sixth inning after second baseman Ketel Marte led off the frame with a double over Andrew McCutchen’s head in right field. The D’Backs’ fifth infield hit of the night moved Marte to third before he raced home on a Jake Lamb sacrifice fly.

That was all the damage the D’Backs did against Suárez, who lowered his ERA to 4.18 with six innings of one-run ball. After his ERA skyrocketed to 5.68 following a loss to the Astros May 22, the left-hander posted impressive numbers throughout the month of June, compiling three quality starts while allowing two runs or fewer in five of his six outings.

“I’ve had a feel for everything lately,” Suárez said. “I’ve been working in between starts on staying like that and keep making my pitches.”

For decision-makers who will undoubtedly rely on recency bias to determine who loses a spot in the Giants rotation, the résumé Suárez built over the last several weeks is hard to ignore. With a June ERA of 2.62, Suárez stated his case to continue starting, and the rest is now out of his hands.

“We have some difficult decisions to make the way these guys are throwing,” Bochy said. “They’re doing what they hope you do and that’s make these decisions tough.”

Cueto impresses

Cueto took the mound for Triple-A Sacramento Friday for his second rehab start as he recovers from a sprained elbow.

After allowing just one hit in his first outing, the right-hander scattered four hits over four scoreless innings of work against the Houston Astros’ Triple-A affiliate, the Fresno Grizzlies.

Bochy said prior to Friday’s game that he was open to the possibility of Cueto rejoining the rotation if the veteran demonstrated he was completely healthy and demonstrated enough consistency in Sacramento.

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MLB.com Rookie’s two doubles all Giants need in win Jack Magruder

PHOENIX -- With out for maybe another six weeks, the Giants are hoping to identify another right-handed bat for the several quality left-handers in the National League West.

They found one in rookie outfielder Austin Slater on Friday.

View Full Game Coverage Slater had three hits and both RBIs in the Giants' 2-1 victory over Arizona and tough left- hander Patrick Corbin , when the Giants extended their best month since June 2016 while winning for the fifth time in six games and eighth in the last 10.

Slater, in his fourth tour with the team this season, doubled in a run in the second inning for a early lead off Corbin and doubled in the tiebreaking run off left-hander Andrew Chafin in the seventh inning in support of rookie Andrew Suarez and three relievers.

"We're missing a right-handed bat, and he could provide that," manager Bruce Bochy said.

"Not that other guys can't, but you look at what he did tonight and what he's been doing. He's going to help stretch out this lineup and give us some added offense, which we need against lefties."

Slater has been an equal-opportunity attacker this season at Triple-A Sacramento in between his four short promotions to the parent Giants this season, hitting at least .300 against righties and lefties. During his short stay with the Giants before a leg injury last season, Slater hit .333 in 38 plate appearances against lefties.

He is slashing .344/.417/.564 with 24 doubles and five homers in 53 games with the River Cats. Like Friday, his doubles have come in bunches. His 24 doubles were second in the league, and his average was sixth when he was promoted again last Saturday.

He went the other way with both of his doubles Friday, lining a ball down the right-field line off Corbin and into the gap in right-center against Chafin.

"That's kind of always been my approach, especially against lefties," said Slater, an eighth- round Draft pick out of Stanford in 2014.

"Both guys had pretty good run and sink to their fastballs, and they actually are both similar in that they get a lot of chases down and in with their breaking stuff. So for me, it was

11 seeing something up and out over the plate. Had two very hittable fastballs and was able to put it that [other] way and do some damage.

"Just trying to keep the same routine, the same approach" as in Sacramento. "Kind of keep everything as is."

Slater has made three starts since his most recent promotion.

"The first couple of times up and down, it is easy to lose focus," Slater said. "But for me it was try to prove a point that it wasn't a fluke, that I was here to stay."

The outfield is crowded with veterans such as Hunter Pence and Austin Jackson , but playing time will be dispensed according to performance, Bochy said.

"You have to go with the guys who are swinging the bat well," Bochy said.

"They dictate their lineup. [Slater] is a good hitter. The ball jumps off his bat. He uses the whole field well. He's a smart hitter."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Suarez used a four-pitch mix effectively, and it helped him get out of jams in the second, third and fifth innings before the D-backs got their one run in the sixth.

With two outs and runners on first and second in the second inning, Suarez got Jeff Mathis to ground into a forceout at third with a 2-2 . Suarez got Ketel Marte to ground weakly to shortstop on a 1-0 with the bases loaded to end the third. With two on on and two out in the fifth, David Peralta grounded out on a first-pitch four-seamer. SOUND SMART Five of the seven hits Suarez gave up did not get out of the infield, barely hard enough to dent grass and rendering his line very deceiving.

Chris Owings ' dribbler down the third-base line in the second inning had an exit velocity of 75 mph. Jake Lamb 's chopper to shortstop in the second was timed at 76 mph. Peralta's grounder toward the second-base bag in the third registered at 85 mph.

Paul Goldschmidt 's single behind second base in the fifth was timed at 84 mph. Owings' grounder in the sixth toward third was clocked at 87 mph.

HE SAID IT "Buster told me my responsibility to the team was to get better, and I took that seriously." -- left- hander Will Smith , who was given that advice after being told that he would need surgery in

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Spring Training of 2017. Smith pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save of the season Friday UP NEXT The Giants will look to put the finishing touches on their first winning month since June 2016 when right- hander Dereck Rodriguez -- son of Pudge -- takes the mound in the second game of a three-game series in Arizona. The Giants have won four of Rodriguez's first five starts. He gave up one run in a career-high seven innings in a no-decision in his last start Sunday.

MLB.com Cueto, Samardzija nearing final rehab outings Jack Magruder

PHOENIX -- The Giants are close to adding Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto to a rotation that has kept the Giants in contention despite receiving only 18 of 82 starts from the expected top three this season.

Cueto is slated to make a rehabilitation start at Triple-A Sacramento on Friday, his second rehab outing, and manager Bruce Bochy left open the possibility that Cueto could make his next appearance in the Majors, as Cueto has said he would like.

View Full Game Coverage Samardzija will make his final rehab start Monday, with a likely return to the rotation the following weekend when St. Louis visits AT&T Park in a four-game series that begins Thursday.

"We'll evaluate his work and see how he comes out of it," Bochy said of Cueto, who is scheduled to throw about 70 pitches. "This is a bigger test. We'll see how he feels afterward. Forty, 45 pitches, you can get through that. Seventy, you better be in pretty good shape to throw 70 pitches in a competitive situation."

Cueto, who went on the disabled list with right elbow inflammation the first week of May, struck out four and gave up one hit in 3 2/3 scoreless innings in his first rehab start. He was 3-0 with an 0.84 ERA in five starts with the Giants before feeling discomfort in his elbow.

Samardzija, who opened the season on the disabled list with a pectoral injury and has been out since May 30 with a shoulder injury, will be making his fourth rehab start.

He gave up seven hits, including two homers, and six runs in four innings in his last appearance for Sacramento at Albuquerque, where the high altitude can skew the statistics in a hitter's favor.

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"More than anything, he was just missing location," Bochy said. "It wasn't so much velocity. He gave up a couple of home runs. ... They were fly balls that probably wouldn't have been out."

That being said, both homers came in the first inning, when Samardzija gave up five runs, and the Giants will be paying particular attention to his early performance Monday.

"The first inning is a big inning," Bochy said. "He knows that's an area that he has to come out letting it go. That can determine the game, that first inning. The critical innings to me usually are the first, fifth and eighth innings. Now you look at the sixth, that seems to be a big one now."

Samardzija is 1-4 with a 6.56 ERA in eight starts for the Giants this season.

In the absence of Cueto and Samardzija, the Giants have received nice work from rookies Albert Suarez and Dereck Rodriguez . Suarez, promoted early, entered his Friday start in Arizona at 2-4 with a 4.43 ERA in 12 starts. Rodriguez, scheduled to start Saturday, is 2-1 with a 3.82 ERA in six appearances.

"These kids have done a nice job," Bochy said. "They've gotten better since they've been up here, too. That's what has to happen. To stay in it, you have to throw the ball well. Overall I think they've done a pretty good job."

The Giants could move one of the young starters to the bullpen after both Cueto and Samardzija rejoin the rotation.

"We're looking at everything," Bochy said. "When they come back, we'll look at all the options. We'll see where we are at at that point."

NBCsportsbayarea.com, As Giants try to make a run, it’s time to lean on a couple of young players Alex Pavlovic

PHOENIX — The Giants are trying desperately to make one last run with an aging group. Practically the entire lineup is on the wrong side of 30, two starters in their 30s are on rehab assignments after arm injuries, and the bullpen is full of guys who are generally pitching well but need plenty of rest days.

And hey…it’s working.

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The all-in plan has this group just 4 1/2 games out of first place in late June, with reinforcements on the way. The plan is working. It also could use an alteration. At some point, the Giants will have to part ways with some veterans in favor of young players who are simply better, and perhaps that process started Friday night at Chase Field.

Andrew Suarez capped a strong month with one last gem, throwing six innings and doing the heavy lifting in a 2-1 win over the Diamondbacks. Both runs came courtesy of Austin Slater, who, like Suarez, is just 25. On this team, that practically makes you a teenager, and another 25-year-old, Reyes Moronta, pitched a scoreless frame out of the bullpen.

“It’s fun,” said Will Smith, the closer-for-the-night. “It’s fun to see young guys come up and have success like that.”

Will it continue, though? Suarez and Slater look more than capable, but they also need an opportunity.

Suarez, who had a 2.62 ERA in June, appears to have vaulted to the front of the line in the race to stay in the rotation. His last four starts, coming with Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto just about ready to return, have been particularly sharp: 23 innings, six earned runs. But this goes deeper than numbers.

Few young pitchers called up by the Giants in recent years have competed better than Suarez, who has the stuff to match his makeup. Five of the seven Diamondbacks hits came on infield singles, often because the defense had taken a poor step, but Suarez buckled down and allowed just one run on a sacrifice fly.

“That kid pitched his heart out,” Bochy said. “The kid is not in awe of anything. He’s got a quiet demeanor there, but he’s very confident.”

Asked about all the infield singles, Suarez shrugged, smiled, and said, “It happens.”

“I made sure to minimize the damage,” he continued. “It was weird. I’ve never seen it like that. It worked out, thankfully.”

Moronta, Tony Watson and Smith carried it home, making a winner of Suarez for the third time in his rookie season. He certainly looks more than worthy of continuing on, but Bochy is hesitant to publicly set any rotation plans with so much uncertainty. Samardzija will make a final rehab start Monday. Cueto threw four shutout innings in Sacramento on Friday and will be evaluated when he arrives in Phoenix.

“We have some difficult decisions,” Bochy said.

The decision in left field appears cut and dry. Slater has hit at every level, and he might have won this job last season if not for an injury. He had two opposite-field doubles against Patrick Corbin, the Diamondbacks’ ace, and later added a single. Bochy indicated that Slater and Alen Hanson have pulled ahead in left field.

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“You’ve got to go with the guys swinging the bat well, and you hope the other guys understand and have patience,” he said.

The Giants have had plenty of that this season. But it’s almost July, the season is more than half over, and it’s time to ride the hot hands, no matter how young they might be.

NBCsportsbayarea.com Suarez, Slater lead Giants to win in road trip opener Alex Pavlovic

SAN FRANCISCO — This had the potential to be a disastrous weekend for the Giants. They flew to Phoenix trailing the first-place Diamondbacks by 5 1/2 games, and a bad series could have led to some “should we sell?” talk as the calendar turns to July. But the team’s youngest position player and youngest starting pitcher pumped the brakes.

Andy Suarez finished a strong month with another big-time performance and Austin Slater drove in a pair of runs with doubles, leading the Giants to a 2-1 win at Chase Field. After a 7-3 homestand, the Giants started a sneaky-big road trip with a big one. Here are the details...

—- With a little luck, and some better defense behind him, Suarez would have had a career night. As it was, he allowed just one run over six innings, working around seven hits. Five of the seven hits were infield singles. In his last four starts, Suarez has a 2.35 ERA.

—- Slater has three extra-base hits in 21 at-bats. He already has as many doubles as Hunter Pence, and he’s four away from Austin Jackson, who has 145 at-bats. He added a single in the eighth, getting a three-hit night.

—- The Giants made a couple of poor base running mistakes, one by a player who is generally just about flawless on the bases. With two outs in the fourth, ventured too far off second base and was back-picked to end the inning. Earlier, Slater tried to take third on a grounder to short. He was thrown out.

—- With Sam Dyson getting a rest day, Bruce Bochy turned to a pair of lefties late. Tony Watson pitched the eighth and Will Smith ended it with a perfect ninth. He picked up his second career save.

—- The most important action for the Giants might have taken place back in California. Johnny Cueto made his second rehab start and it went well: 4 shutout innings, 4 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts. Cueto is expected to make one more rehab appearance before returning to the rotation.

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NBCsportsbayarea.com Could reliever with 100 mph fastball provide a boost for Giants bullpen Alex Pavlovic

PHOENIX — For years, Ray Black was a story every time he stepped on the mound in . With a fastball that regularly sits in triple digits and has touched 104 mph, how could he not be?

Black’s progression towards the big leagues was slowed, repeatedly, by injuries, but finally the 28-year-old appears to have found momentum. After missing just about the entire 2017 season, Black has made 29 appearances at Double-A and Triple-A, and he’s dominating. In 19 appearances since a promotion to the River Cats, Black has a 3.38 ERA and five saves in six chances. For so long, Black struggled with his command, but he has just six walks in 18 2/3 innings and an eye-opening 30 strikeouts. He struck out 20 in his 10 innings in Double-A.

“No question he’s on the radar,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “The way he’s throwing the ball, sure, he’s talked about. This guy has really done a great job of getting his career back on track.”

Black seems like a perfect fit for a bullpen that could use a boost. Giants relievers rank 12th in the National League in strikeout rate, and Bochy has had to put together a daily puzzle to try and navigate the late innings. But the slow-playing of certain pitchers at the big league level is actually not a positive for Black, who has only pitched on back-to-back days twice in the minors because of his own injury history. Bochy said those restraints were recently taken off.

“He’s not being treated with kid gloves so much anymore,” he said. “You can’t do that up here. There are times you have to get stretched out or go back-to-back so that’s why he’s checking off these boxes.”

Of more importance might be the fact that Black has recorded more than three outs on three occasions this year. He’s never going to be a consistent multi-inning guy, but he has one two- inning appearance this season and a few more would certainly help his cause. At the big league level, innings are being watched closely. Sam Dyson is off Friday to get another rest day, and Mark Melancon and Will Smith have had plenty of designated off days. While Cory Gearrin and Pierce Johnson would seem to be guys who could be moved, the staff values the fact that both can soak up innings.

“With our needs right now, it’s not quite a need right now,” Bochy said of Black. “If we were looking for another one-inning guy, it would be different, but we’re covered there with four or five guys.”

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ESPN.com Midseason awards, bad All-Star positrions and MLB’s next big thing Bradford Doolittle

At some point Friday evening, the 1,215th final score of the 2018 championship season will be entered in the logs. It's the natural halfway point -- peak baseball - - when we have as many games behind us as we do ahead. The first half of the season has gone as expected and has been completely surprising. It's been thrilling, and it's been staid. It's been heartening and disappointing. It's been just another season -- unlike any before it, but somehow very much familiar.

It feels like there has been more chatter than usual about the state of baseball, with attendance down and debates over tweaks to the game popping up almost daily. The drop in attendance is real, though the theories about it are not. The fact is, we don't know why attendance is down. We suspect the likely factors -- the weather, the stratification of the leagues, the lack of action generated from balls in play -- but we don't really know what is behind the slowly clicking turnstiles. We also don't know if it's a trend or a blip.

It's always good to take these wide-lens surveys of the game, whether you're a writer, a fan or the commissioner. We should always be open to discussion about baseball's place in the culture and its bid for your disposable dollars. Baseball has always been subject to evolutionary forces, is evolving right now as these words sink into your left cerebral hemisphere, and will evolve in the future even after we've all tapped into the universal subconscious. You can't stop it.

ADVERTISEMENT While we've been preoccupied with the possible directions of this evolution, it feels like a couple of key parts have been overlooked.

One: The game is still really fun and compelling. Sure, you run into contests where the strikeouts and pitching changes seem interminable. There are a few markets where there are currently too many low-stakes games, an unfortunate by-product of too many teams rebuilding at the same time. But in a few years, those same teams will be all-in trying to win.

And two: There are legions of people all over the world who still totally dig it.

With that lullaby out of the way, let's run through some first-half awards. All of them are made up. There will be no ceremony and no cash prizes. Recognition is its own reward.

Most Emergent Team: The boring way to put this is that it goes to the team that has increased its average win total in my simulation model since the beginning of the season. That team would be the , who have improved their forecast from 73.2 wins to 89.0. This is real, Braves fans.

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The Vanishing Team: The converse of the Braves has been the Baltimore Orioles, whose forecast has dropped from a sad 72.7 to a tragic 56.6. And they haven't even traded Manny Machado, Zach Britton and yet. Rocky Balboa Award: This is the team whose title odds have jumped the most from Opening Day. It's different from the change in win forecast because it's more of a knockout game. The winner is ... the Houston Astros. There's a certain amount of randomness built into the simulation model to capture the likelihood of breakouts, collapses and such. The Astros were my preseason favorite, with a 19 percent shot of repeating as champions. That rate is up to 32 percent. Houston is currently winning an average of 107 games in the model. The Astros are good. The Cream Power Trio: Yes, it's a classic-rock reference you probably don't get unless your vinyl-record collection is not meant to be ironic. In most years, the title odds of the Astros' juggernaut would near 40 percent by now. But they're not, because the second- and third-best teams in baseball are also in the American League and are also exceedingly strong. Boston currently has the second-best title odds (13 percent) and the Yankees are third (12 percent). Since you're wondering, in this power trio, the Astros are clearly Eric Clapton, the jazzy Red Sox are Jack Bruce and the bam-bam Yankees are the perfect Ginger Baker. Look it up, kids. Jake LaMotta Award: This recognizes the team whose odds have taken the biggest dive, though this club can't use LaMotta's excuse that it was intentional. Baseball's first-half Stumbling Bull is the Dodgers, whose title odds have slipped from 14 percent to 8 percent. But this club isn't about to hit the nightclub circuit. L.A. is showing increasing rage potential with each passing week.

The Rush Power Trio: Seriously, you can't stop me from doing this. There has been lots of talk about Mike Trout's pursuit of the best season ever. And there's good reason for that, even though as we reach the midpoint, his pace has slowed a bit. But he's not the only one having a historically epic season. During the divisional era, there have been just 16 players to crack double digits in fWAR. Only once during that span have two players done it in the same season: In 2001, Barry Bonds (12.5) and Randy Johnson (10.4) both got there. At the moment, there are three players on pace to do it in 2018. There's Trout, of course, who is currently on a 12.2 WAR trajectory. But Jose Ramirez (10.3) and Max Scherzer (10.2) are on target, too. Sure, it probably won't last, but don't lose track of Mookie Betts (9.2), whose pace took a hit when he was on the disabled list. But if he doesn't miss anymore time and keeps doing what he's doing, he can get there as well. The MVP Award That Does Not Seem Obvious: That would be the National League, of course, or the league that does not have Trout. Let's rule out pitchers for now. We can have that debate later. The top position players in fWAR pace are Atlanta's Freddie Freeman (7.0), Milwaukee's Lorenzo Cain (6.8) and Colorado's (6.3). Freeman and Cain play for division leaders. It's shaping up as a good race but is also ripe for a surprise contender. Here's

19 one: Miami J.T. Realmuto(6.0). No, he has no chance if he remains on the Marlins. But what if he gets dealt to, say, the Nationals and helps put them over the top with a big finish? Max Mercy Award: It's . Clearly. I mean, doubles, triples (OK, walks), homers ... whatever he wants to do, he does. I mean, how could a guy be this good who came from nowhere? The Cy Young Award That Does Not Seem Obvious: The AL candidates are a beastly group. New York's Luis Severino might have emerged as the favorite, but this could change with each turn of the proverbial rotation. Houston's Justin Verlander is right there. So is Boston's . Cleveland has both Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer. Of all the awards races, this one might be my favorite. The Gilligan Award for Top Skipper: The National League has all the best candidates here. Two of them are so dissimilar in appearance, style and personality that they should be paired on the next great reality show: Philadelphia's (Phillies fans are hating this right now, but you know what haters do) and Atlanta's Brian Snitker, who is not a likely candidate to be suggesting possible uses for coconut oil. Milwaukee's Craig Counsell is a great pick as well and might be the most unsung skipper in baseball right now. But my at-the-moment pick has to be Arizona's Torey Lovullo. A.J. Pollock has missed much of the first half. Paul Goldschmidt has had a down season. Taijuan Walker is out for the year. The Diamondbacks' offense ranks 29th in OPS+. Yet here we are, with Arizona 12 games over .500 and playing better than anybody in the National League. (Except for Cincinnati. No, really.) Offseason Move That Paid Off in a Way You Never Saw Coming: The Dodgers' acquisition of Matt Kemp is certainly a great choice here. But I'm going with Detroit's Leonys Martin. From 2015 to 2017, Martin hit .228/.283/.345 in more than 1,000 plate appearances while bouncing from the Rangers to the Mariners to the Cubs. Detroit picked him up on a one-year, $1.75 million deal over the winter because they didn't want to put Al Kaline's statue in center field. Well, Martin has hit .257/.329/.438 and is on pace for 4.4 WAR. With his wheels and cheap contract, the Tigers might actually be able to flip Martin for something before the trade deadline.

What the numbers say

Is this what an All-Star starter looks like?

Baseball released its final All-Star voting update the other day, the last tally before we find out who the fans have picked to start in this season's Midseason Classic. I generally don't get worked up about All-Star voting. Now that the game once again has no real-world consequences, it truly is a contest for the fans, and whoever they want to put in it is just fine with me.

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Still, I can't help but view askew the American League balloting at a couple of positions:

AL NO. PLAYER TEAM VOTES

1. Wilson Ramos Rays 1,063,708

2. Gary Sanchez Yankees 904,678

3. Brian McCann Astros 680,351

4. Salvador Perez Royals 497,711

5. Yan Gomes Indians 345,015 That's a lame, race, no? Let's start with catcher. Gary Sanchez is the AL leader here by fWAR, and Wilson Ramos is second, so the fans are mostly on the money, but this isn't about them -- it's about what they have to choose from. Sanchez is hitting .190/.291/.433, and there was even some talk he might be sent to the minors. I think there are a couple of things going on here. First, teams have increasingly been doling out for catchers strong in pitch-framing, while ignoring the offensive end of the equation. But even more than that, teams are just much more reluctant to play catchers every day.

Since 1969, there have been 178 instances in which an AL player who was primarily a catcher had at least 500 plate appearances in a season. Last season, there was one: Sanchez. This season, only Sanchez and Ramos are on pace to get there.

This might simply be a by-product of the fact that the best catchers in the game right now -- Willson Contreras, Buster Posey, Realmuto, Francisco Cervelli, Yasmani Grandal, Tucker Barnhart -- all happen to play in the National League. As big as that schism is between the leagues right now, it's nothing compared to what's happening at first base:

AL First Base NO. PLAYER TEAM VOTES

1. Jose Abreu White Sox 1,032,748

2. Yuli Gurriel Astros 714,361

3. Mitch Moreland Red Sox 644,728

4. Albert Pujols Angels 516,550

5. Miguel Cabrera Tigers 415,891 Jose Abreu and Yuli Gurriel are good players, but there is no depth at this position. Mitch Moreland is having a fine season, but he was an afterthought in last winter's free-agent

21 market. Albert Pujols is an all-time great but is on pace for his second consecutive sub- replacement performance. And Miguel Cabrera isn't even playing! He's done for the season with a ruptured biceps and hasn't appeared in a game since June 12. The top six first-sackers by fWAR (prorated to 162 games) all reside in the National League: Freeman, Joey Votto, Goldschmidt, Jesus Aguilar, and Cody Bellinger. And that list doesn't even include disappointing Cubs 1B Anthony Rizzo, who could jump back toward the top of this leaderboard before long. According to Baseball-Reference.com, there are five positions that have posted a higher collective OPS in the AL than first base, which is at .734. Those positions are third base (.773), designated hitter (.762), shortstop (.759), right field (.759) and left field (.744).

Shortstop! Has the defensive spectrum flipped?

That could be, but one thing you see is that there are a lot of established American League first basemen producing very little. In addition to Pujols and Cabrera, who was doing fine before he was injured, you have Minnesota's Joe Mauer (.215 average with one homer in 35 games) and the horrific problems of Baltimore's Chris Davis (.150 average with six homers). Together, the Pujols-Cabrera-Mauer-Davis quartet is due to earn a combined $104.1 million this season. They are on pace to produce a collective minus-2.7 fWAR.

Since you asked

Jon Lester and what advanced metrics say

You see me frame topics in a results vs. expectations manner frequently, which I suppose is a natural by-product of maintaining a system that fruitlessly tries to calculate what's going to happen. The past few years, as Statcast data has matured and the related leaderboards available at BaseballSavant.mlb.com have expanded, my WAR-based processes have become augmented by the tracking data, which is more of a fundamental bridge between the quantitative prism and more scout-based approaches.

So, I'll peek a few times a week at the leaders and laggards in WOBA minus xWOBA, for both hitters and pitchers. The former is a measure of what a player has actually produced, while the latter is a measure of what he should have produced based on the quality of his pitches (or the quality of the balls he's hit into play, if he's a hitter).

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That's why I wasn't surprised when I read the deep dive into the underlying indicators for Cubs lefty , written by Jay Jaffe at Fangraphs.com. According to that WOBA minus xWOBA metric, only Oakland's Sean Manaea has outperformed his fundamentals more than Lester. From the perspective of traditional stats, Lester's season has been manna for a beleaguered Chicago rotation. In fact, those old measures might even mark Lester as a Cy Young contender if he weren't in the same league as Scherzer and Jacob deGrom. Through Wednesday, Lester is 10-2 with a 2.18 ERA. But it's been a season built on moxie for Lester -- a player regarded as one of baseball's fiercest competitors -- whose average fastball velocity (90.9 mph, per Fangraphs) is the lowest it's been since 2007. I saw this firsthand last week, when Lester beat the Dodgers, throwing seven scoreless innings in a 4-0 Cubs win. Lester struck out just one of the 28 batters he faced, but got outs, aided by a dynamic defense that made four plays I underlined in my scorebook. Trust me, I'm stingy with those underlines. Before that, the most batters Lester had ever faced in a start with zero or one strikeouts was 26. He's now had 12 career starts with that many (or fewer) whiffs. In the other 11, his ERA is 11.06.

Here's the thing: None of this is news to Lester, which makes his comments after that outing against the Dodgers so interesting. The questions were in a news-conference setting.

How much do you marvel at that defense behind you?

JON LESTER: It wasn't exactly ideal on my end, with pitching. Really didn't have much today and kind of grinded through that one. The defense, they've been picking us up all year. It's kind of like, here, I don't have anything, so just hit it and hopefully those guys will run it down and catch it.

Joe Maddon was saying it seemed like you looked very calm on the mound.

JL: I'm glad it looks that way. Today was definitely not calm internally. Just very thankful that's a W. I think maybe two years ago, maybe even last year, I don't know that I get past the fourth inning with what I was dealing with, just mechanically and stuff-wise.

What comfort do you take in the reality that you've been worth every penny of that contract you signed? You had to hear so much about that contract the first year.

JL: Oh, I'm not worried about that. I've got two, maybe three, more years to screw it up on the other end, I guess. I was very fortunate to fall into a year where I had some people bidding against each other. In no way, shape or form did I expect a contract like what I got, and I'm very

23 grateful for it every day. But the last thing I'm worried about is that. I'm worried about my teammates and performing and the city and doing my job.

Jon, your record is almost the same as it was two years ago, and your ERA is, in fact, better. How do you compare the way you're pitching now to the way you were pitching two years ago?

JL: Very different. Now I'm relying a lot more on my defense. In '16 I had a lot better stuff, consistently better stuff. I've had starts this year where I've felt really good and physically been able to repeat and do the things that I've done in the past. But obviously I've thrown a lot of . There is some wear and tear there. Obviously I'm not going to be the same pitcher I was last year, or two years ago. We're making adjustments. We're figuring out new ways to get guys out. I know people are making a big deal how hard balls are hit or whatever, but an out is an out. I really don't care. I'm still yet to have a homer robbed, so hopefully I get that somewhere down the line the next couple of years. That would be nice.

Coming right up

Who could forget the Vic Delmore game?

Saturday marks the 59th anniversary of the Vic Delmore game. You probably have no idea what I'm talking about, so allow me to explain in narrative fashion. This was mostly pieced together from the archives of the , the book "Take Me Out to the Cubs Game," by John C. Skipper, and a New York Times obituary. Details vary according to account, so what I've got here is my best interpretation of how it played out.

It's June 30, 1959. The Cardinals are playing the Cubs at Wrigley Field, back in the days when there were no lights, so it's a Tuesday afternoon. It's the top of the fourth, with St. Louis up 2-1, bases empty and one out. Up to the plate steps , facing Chicago's . Musial, well, you've probably heard of him.

Behind the plate is a man named Vic Delmore, who umpired in the National League from 1956- 59 and, apparently, had a salty relationshipwith Reds manager Birdie Tebbetts. In a published obituary, Delmore is quoted as once saying, "Umpires, like ballplayers, have bad days, too. Sometimes, if you make a wrong decision, you feel badly about it -- worse than anybody else." These comments will come to take on an ominous portent.

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With the count 3-1, Musial checks his swing on an Anderson pitch well off the inside corner of the strike zone. The ball evades Cubs catcher Sammy Taylor, rattles around the backstop and ends up near Chicago public-address announcer Pat Pieper, who, by most accounts, has the ball tossed to him by the Cubs' bat boy. Some accounts say Pieper picked up the ball, but he said after the game that he never touched it. However it happens, the ball ends up near Pieper.

Pieper is a fascinating story in his own right. He first worked for the Cubs as a vendor in 1904 at the West Side Grounds. He followed them to Wrigley Field in 1916, when he took over the P.A. job, which he then held for 58 years, all the way until 1974. Wrigley Field regulars will know the voice; it's the old-timey recording the Cubs play just before the introduction of starting lineups, uttering the words "Attention! Attention, please! Have your pencils and scorecards ready, and I will give you the correct lineups for today's game." In those days, Pieper performed those duties from a bench near the Cubs' dugout.

Anyway, believing Musial contacted the pitch and that ball four should have been ruled a foul ball, Taylor lays into Delmore and is joined by Anderson coming in from the mound. As Musial reaches first, the St. Louis coach there notices the ball is still somewhere near the backstop, and that the Chicago catcher and pitcher are embroiled in an argument. So he waves his arm windmill style, spurring Musial to try for second base. So far, we're still in the terrain of odd but not weird. Until ...

With the FIRST ball still live, and maybe or maybe not in the mitts of the P.A. announcer, Delmore decides it's a good time to pull out a SECOND ball and hand it to Anderson. Quickly, the hurler realizes that Musial is trying for second. He wheels and throws in the direction of Cubs second baseman . That SECOND ball flies over Taylor's head into center field.

Watching all this from his position at third base is Chicago's , one of the better infielders of the 1950s. He went on to manage the Oakland A's to the 1974 crown. As the scene around home plate is playing out, Dark races toward the backstop, yells at Pieper to unhand the FIRST ball -- the one Pieper said he never actually touched -- and the ball remains on the ground. Dark snags it and uncorks a throw to Hall of Fame Cubs shortstop , who is somewhere between second and third base, but closer to second. This throw is accurate, so the FIRST ball is in Banks' glove between the bases, while the SECOND ball is soaring into center field.

Musial does not notice Dark's throw to Banks, but does see Anderson's errant throw flying into center. So Stan the Man does what any heady baserunner would do and takes off for third base. Waiting for him, with the FIRST ball, is Banks, who tags Musial. After a delay, Musial is ruled out by second-base Bill Jackowski, leading to an on-field melee.

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"I never knew there was a second ball," Musial said afterward. "And darned if I felt Banks tag me!"

The Cardinals won the game 4-1, though they finished it under protest. The lead on the game story the next day by Tribune writer Edward Prell read, "Baseball reached a daffiness ceiling in Wrigley field Tuesday." (Yes, the "field" was in lowercase.) He added, "Not even Bill Veeck of the White Sox could have conjured up such a zany episode."

Zany, indeed. There's more, but it's not so zany.

After the season, Delmore didn't see his contract renewed by the National League, so he was out of a job. Some say it was because of the Wrigley Field debacle. Others say it was because of a conflict of interest: He had married a secretary who worked in the office of NL president Warren Giles, where umpiring assignments were doled out.

Whatever the reasons, there was a mild outrage over Delmore's dismissal. Very mild. In his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, it was reported that 2,000 to 3,000 angry fans had sent telegrams and letters of protest to Giles on Delmore's behalf. Giles said it was more like a dozen. He added that Delmore was a "fine gentleman" but he had told the poor umpire there had been "three or four incidents which broke down my confidence and that of others in you."

A harsh assessment for an umpire. According to Dark, the incident "ruined [Delmore], and he was a great fellow and a good umpire." On June 10, 1960, just under a year after the Wrigley Field incident, Delmore, age 44, died at home of a heart attack.

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