Why SF Giants supervisor Gabe Kapler isn’t shaking up his lineup or transferring Brandon Crawford up so as – The Reporter

SAN FRANCISCO – Brandon Crawford opened July with 12 hits in his first 23 at-bats and released 1,371 OPS, making him the most dangerous hitter in the Giants lineup of the past week.

Despite Crawford’s persistence, Giants manager Gabe Kapler routinely put him fifth on the line-up and did so for Wednesday’s series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals. It seems Crawford’s production, coupled with Buster Posey, Brandon Belt and Evan Longoria Kapler’s injuries, would justify bringing the club’s top home run hitter up in order, but the Giants have no plans to do so.

Against right-handed starters, the Giants prefer the bat cleanup of left field player Alex Dickerson. Against left-handers, the Giants racket want to bring Darin Ruf to fourth place. With Dickerson hitting .227 with a 94 OPS + for the season, which is six percent below the league average, Giants fans have wondered why the club won’t make a change.

Before the game on Wednesday, Kapler shared his perspective.

“This is about how the opposing team plays against us late in the game, what we can do with our freedom and flexibility,” said Kapler. “It’s not about the best hitters hitting the highest in order. If that were the main consideration, we would write the lineup differently every day. ”

The Giants prioritize flexibility in order to achieve a cheap matchup against relief mugs in situations with high leverage. So if an opponent brings in a left-handed player to gain a draw advantage over Dickerson and Crawford, the Giants can counter that by replacing Ruf or another right-handed outfielder, Austin Slater, from the bench.

“It’s nice to have the guy who you are going to hit (the bat) for at the start of the left-handed run,” Kapler said. “I’m not saying we will always do anything or we will never do anything, but you saw that we are going to hit Dickerson really consistently.”

The Giants usually use a pinch hitter for Dickerson late in the games, as Kapler has replaced him in nine of his last 13 games. They also regularly replace LaMonte Wade Jr., their left-hander who has never scored a hit in 24 careers against left-handers.

By hitting Wade and Dickerson near the top of the line-up, the Giants give them more chances to hit right-handed starters before turning off the bench to their right-handed thugs when the teams are left-handed.

Dickerson arrived in San Francisco after being abandoned by the Padres in 2019 and immediately became an offensive catalyst. Despite fighting injuries and a handful of break-ins, he posted an OPS of around 0.900 in his first two years at the club.

The left-handed hitting the bat has yet to go the kind of run on the plate this year where he put the Giants offensive on his back, but the coaching staff know they can.

“I think in the past few days (Dickerson) had some of the better bats we’ve seen from him in a long time. I think we’re seeing a more confident person at the plate. I think you can feel his energy in the shelter. He knows that his swing is better at the moment than it was a few days ago. ”

Dickerson’s disappointing numbers in 2021 are currently more blatant than ever during the season as the Giants are without so many of their best players, including three in Longoria, Belt and Posey who usually stay in the line-up whether the club is right or right facing left-handed pitchers.

A healthier line-up that doesn’t rely as much on taking advantage of move advantages or covering up discrepancies could have Crawford in the cleanup, but for now the Giants will have to rely on fill-ins like third baseman Jason Vosler and backup catcher Curt Casali more Production to offer.

Vosler won the Triple-A West Player of the Week Award with 12 hits, including three home runs in 25 at-bats, before being recalled to the Giants on Tuesday. The rookie infielder sent a flyball onto the warning lane, which required left fielder Dylan Carlson of the Cardinals with a game-saving, jumping grip in the ninth inning towards the end of the game, but the Giants hope he will propel the ball further while Longoria is out .

With Belt and Longoria may be ready to return from the injured list by the third or fourth week of July, and Posey may be available by the weekend, the Giants believe help is on the way. Meanwhile, players in critical spots will be counted on in order like Dickerson to help the Giants overcome the injuries.

“It’s hard to safely replace these guys,” said Crawford of the team’s injured starters. “It is definitely great to try to get through this with a few wins and not throw off too much would be huge. We have good players who stepped in and did well. We just have to try to keep it that way. ”