Tune in at 8:15 PM ET as the Giants take on the Cardinals. Matthias Koster will be liveblogging for your enjoyment.
SFG
Pagan
Scutaro
Cabrera
Posey
Pence
Belt
Theriot
Crawford
Vogelsong
STL
Jay
Carpenter
Holliday
Beltran
Freese
Molina
Descalso
Greene
Kelly
4 game series. Teams split the first two games. Both teams are 60-50. Vegas money line is nearly even. So.... this is shaping up to be a close game for both clubs
I don't know what I did. Honesty. My MLB.tv is down. I will do everything in my power to get a live feed.
This does not appear to be an isolated incident. Upcoming is a tweet from the official MLB twitter account
Alrighty. In the meantime I'll do my best to recap the games events from various sources and MLB gameday
Joe Kelly is the starter for STL. He started the season in the bullpen and has transitioned into the rotation. Whether he'll remain here long-term is anyone's guess
He features a fastball (low-mid 90's), a change-up in the low 80's, as well as a slider in the low 80's
He strikes out Angel Pagan to start the game. 1 out, former Blue Jay/A/Red Sox/Rockie Marco Scutaro is up. He's playing the hot corner tonight for SF
Kelly records his 2nd strikeout, forcing Scutaro to foul tip a low FB into the catchers mitt. Two down, Melky at the plate
Melky, batting .353, also has one of the majors highest batting averages on balls in play (BABIP)
Linedrive single into CF for Cabrera. Stepping to the plate is Buster Posey, former Florida State product
And we have another single, this time to LF. Cabrera advances to 2nd on the play. This brings up recently acquired Hunter Pence
Home plate ump tonight is Tim McClelland. Game time temp is 93 degrees
Kelly throws a curveball low and away. This does not faze Pence, as hits a single past infielders and into LF. Cabrera scores and SF is up 1-0
Posey moves up to 2nd. Pence on 1st via RBI single. 2 down, Brandon Belt up
Belt hasn't had much of a season but he has been walking more of late, and at least provides some OBP to the SFG lineup
Fly out to LF ends the inning. Kelly struck out the first 2 batters of the inning, then allowed 3 consecutive singles before finally ending the inning. SFG take a 1-0 lead into the bottom 1st
Due up for STL: Jay, Carpenter, Holliday
An odd lineup choice. Jay was hitting 7th on Sunday, Carpenter is giving Craig a night off.
Vogelsong is pitching for SFG. Much has been written about his career resurgence. In a nutshell: He went to Japan, found a cutter and is now a legitimate MLB starter
Jay improves upon his .300 batting average, hitting a curveball on a line into RF for a leadoff single. This brings up Matt Carpenter
Carpenter is your standard Cardinal farm-hand. He can play multiple positions, and this flexibility has given him two stints on the MLB roster this season
Carpenter hit into a DP, with the play developing after a groundball back to the pitcher. 2 outs, Matt Holliday up
Inning ends via a groundout to SS Crawford. The DP changed the inning. Heading to the 2nd, SF up 1-0
We're back. Ryan Theriot (playing 2B tonight) leads off the inning for SF. He's the #7 hitter this evening
Kelly threw 21 pitches in the 1st inning
Groundout to SS Descalso for the first out of the inning. SS Brandon Crawford is coming up. After a semi-hot start, Crawford has come back down to earth, hitting .233 with next to no power
Another groundout, this time to Tyler Greene at 2nd. Two down, pitcher Vogelsong coming up. He's hitting a mighty .077 on the season
Another groundout, once again to Greene ends the inning. 1-2-3 inning, all via groundout
4/5/6 due for STL this inning. Carlos Beltran leads off
In related divisional news, CIN lost, PIT is tied in the 5th. The LAD game starts at 10 eastern
My feed is back. Vogelsong throws a low cutter, Beltran just throws the bat head out, hits a weak fly out the other way into LF. One down, David Freese coming to bat
Vogelsong is just pumping his cutter in at 93, 94. He must be throwing it 80% of the time tonight
Yet another cutter, this time in on the hands. Freese can't do much with it, hitting a flyout into RF. Quickly 2 down, Molina coming up
Rare change-up, Molina hits it out to SS Crawford, who fields, spins and throws out Molina at 1st for the final out of the inning
We're back. Top of the order due up for SF. Angel Pagan leads off
Allen Craig update: He hit 2 HR last night. I assumed he was given the night off. But in actuality, Craig, hit by a ball last week, was given X-Rays and is day-to-day.
It's not as bad as it sounds: He's available to pinch hit tonight
Mike Matheny has taken some slack for his bullpen management. However, I think he's done a decent job guiding this team to 10 games over .500 without Carpenter and Berkman for most of the season
Groundball up the middle. Greene ranges, dives for the ball and it goes off the lip of his glove, past him and into the OF for a single
That's a play he should make. Scored a hit. This brings up Scutaro
