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Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen is set to hit free agency after his one-year, $10.65 million contract expires at the end of the 2016 season, per Spotrac. 

Having spent his entire seven-year career with the Dodgers, Jansen revealed to Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball that he isn’t automatically committing to Los Angeles in the winter:

LA’s nice. LA’s great. LA gave me the opportunity. LA converted me when I failed as a catcher. I’m grateful about it, and will never forget LA. But at the same time, we’ll have to see what’s good for the family… It’s going to be a tough decision. It’s not going to only be me.

Jansen originally joined the Dodgers organization as a catcher, though he was unable to find success at the plate in the minors. It was there he moved from behind the plate to the mound, joining the Dodgers bullpen in 2010. 

After two years as a middle reliever and setup man, Jansen became the team’s closer in 2012 and hasn’t relinquished the role since. 

Over the past five years, the Curacao native has recorded 177 saves, including 44 in 2014. In total, his 186 career saves are a Dodgers all-time record. He also hasn’t recorded an ERA over 2.76 in that span and is experiencing a career year in 2016. 

In 65 games, Jansen has already tied his career high with 44 saves while posting an ERA of 1.72, which will be the lowest of his career in a season in which he appeared in over 25 games. 

It warranted his first-ever All-Star selection and has helped the Dodgers open up a four-game lead in the National League West over the San Francisco Giants entering Friday night. 

He doesn’t have the most overpowering stuff compared to other premier closers around the game such as Aroldis Chapman of the Chicago Cubs and Jeurys Familia of the New York Mets. But a fastball that tops out around 94 miles per hour is supported by a seldom-used slider that is more than 10 miles per hour slower, per Fangraphs, which has made him so tough to figure out:

Excelling at a position that has become a hot commodity in a game that stresses pitch counts from its starters, Jansen will surely garner plenty of attention during free agency this winter. 

If a team that is desperate for late-inning help comes along, a bidding war might decide where Jansen lands in 2017. 

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com. 

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MLB suspended San Diego Padres general manager A.J. Preller on Thursday for 30 days, per Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal.

ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reported earlier in the day members of San Diego’s front office could face punishment for failing to properly disclose players’ medical information when negotiating trades with other teams.

In a statement on MLB.com, the league cited the July trade that sent pitcher Drew Pomeranz to the Boston Red Sox:

Major League Baseball has completed an investigation into the July 14th transaction in which [Pomeranz] was traded from the San Diego Padres to the Boston Red Sox. MLB’s Department of Investigations conducted the thorough review, which included interviews with relevant individuals from both Clubs. The findings were submitted to Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr.

As a result of this matter, Major League Baseball announced today that A.J. Preller, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Padres, has received a 30-day suspension without pay.

MLB considers the matter closed and will have no further comment.

The Padres released the following statements after the announcement:

According to Olney, the Red Sox, along with the Miami Marlins and Chicago White Sox, complained about potential deception by the Padres.

Olney explained that MLB teams are supposed to log any medical information about a player into the Athlete Health Management System (formerly known as Sutton Medical System). The database is then used by other teams interested in trading for a certain player. The Padres, however, used a separate database in addition to the Sutton Medical System to gain a competitive edge:

The athletic trainers were told to post the details of any disabled-list-related medical situations on MLB’s central system, but they also were instructed to keep the specifics about preventive treatments only on the Padres’ internal notes. One source defined the distinction in this way: If a player was treated for a sore hamstring or shoulder without being placed on the disabled list, that sort of information was to be kept in-house, for use within the organization only.

According to the two sources with direct knowledge of the meetings, the athletic trainers were told that by splitting the medical files into two categories, the Padres would benefit in trade discussions.

After going 8-7 with a 2.47 ERA in 17 starts with San Diego this year, Pomeranz was 2-5 with a 4.60 ERA in 11 starts in Boston entering Thursday. His FIP has also climbed over a full run (4.81) from his half-season with the Padres (3.14), per Baseball-Reference.com.

“Sources within the Boston organization say it wasn’t until after the deal was made that they became aware of some of the preventive measures that had been provided for Pomeranz,” Olney wrote.

Colin Rea is a more clear-cut case of the Padres’ strategy backfiring. San Diego agreed to a deal with the Miami Marlins on July 29, which sent Rea and Andrew Cashner to South Florida. Days later, the Marlins traded Rea back to the Padres in exchange for pitching prospect Luis Castillo.

Rea exited his only start with the Marlins on July 30 with right elbow soreness and hasn’t pitched since.

It’s not a stretch to say Preller’s job could be in jeopardy.

Hardball Talk’s Craig Calcaterra highlighted one potential problem the GM will face going forward:

Preller’s 30-day suspension comes on top of what has been an underwhelming two years with the team.

His initial strategy to turn the Padres into a World Series contender overnight failed, as almost all of his marquee moves were busts. San Diego gave up the farm to add Justin Upton, Craig Kimbrel, Derek Norris, Matt Kemp, B.J. Upton and Wil Myers.

In return, the team won 74 games in 2015 and had a 62-84 record this year entering Thursday. While Preller bolstered the minor league system by flipping Kimbrel and trading Pomeranz, few teams have a bleaker long-term outlook than San Diego.

If ownership was looking for any more pretext to consider firing Preller, the revelations about the Padres’ trade tactics could be the tipping point that results in his departure.

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Vin Scully has one of the most familiar voices in sports, but it won’t be heard in the 2016 MLB postseason.

While the longtime Los Angeles Dodgers announcer had already called this his final year in the booth, he explained his final game will be the regular-season finale on Oct. 2, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. 

“Otherwise, I’d be saying goodbye like in grand opera, where you say goodbye 12 different times,” Scully said.

“I’m going to say goodbye at Dodger Stadium the last game with Colorado. I will say goodbye in San Francisco. And then that will be it,” Scully added. “And then I will go home.”

The Dodgers have a four-game lead in the National League West. According to ESPN.com, they have a 99.9 percent chance of qualifying for the postseason either as the division winner or through the Wild Card.

The 88-year-old announcer began his career with the Dodgers in 1950, calling a number of the biggest moments in baseball over the last 67 years. He announced perfect games from Don Larsen, Sandy Koufax and Dennis Martinez as well as a handful of World Series games, including Kirk Gibson’s famous walk-off home run in 1988.

He also announced Hank Aaron’s record-breaking 715th home run and Barry Bonds’ record-breaking 71st single-season home run.

MLB Network provided a heartfelt tribute to the legendary broadcaster:

By electing to forgo the postseason, Scully’s retirement won’t be dependent the Dodgers’ success in the playoffs, giving the veteran announcer the sendoff he deserves.

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Officially, the San Francisco Giants‘ mascot is Lou Seal—a beer-bellied, semi-aquatic marine mammal in an oversized T-shirt.

In reality, the team’s mascot, spark plug and beating heart is Hunter Andrew Pence.

In Sunday’s 5-3, sweep-sealing win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, Pence went 1-for-3 with a walk, a run scored and a two-RBI double that proved to be the difference.

Scaling back a tad further, Pence is 12 for his last 20 with a home run, four doubles, four RBI and eight runs scored.

Not coincidentally, San Francisco has gone 4-1 over that stretch, righting a ship that was sinking faster than a greased boulder in quicksand.

After finishing an MLB-best 57-33 at the All-Star break, the Giants have gone a dismal 20-32 since. Their recent sweep of the D-backs—owners of the NL’s second-worst record—doesn’t wipe the malaise board clean.

It’s something, however, and they’ll take it.

Sunday’s win, coupled with the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ 3-0 loss to the Miami Marlins, moved the Giants (77-65) to within three games of the NL West lead.

They also maintained a 1.5-game cushion for the Senior Circuit’s top wild-card spot, ahead of the New York Mets (76-67) and St. Louis Cardinals (75-67). 

Everything is up in the air with 20 games left, including six between the Giants and Dodgers. But if you’re a San Francisco fan casting about for optimism, fix your gaze squarely on Pence.

Yes, that can be frightening. Pence is an unconventional dude. There’s the springy hair. The wild eyes. The kale munching and the herky-jerk mechanics that seem to defy both the rules of baseball fundamentals and, at times, the laws of physics.

Ultimately, though, Pence is a three-time All-Star with the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies and, finally, the Giants, and a linchpin in San Francisco’s 2012 and 2014 championship runs.

Recall the inspirational postseason sermon he delivered in 2012, which led then-third-base coach Tim Flannery to dub him “the Reverend Hunter Pence,” per USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale. 

He pulled a similar gambit in 2014, and fans and his teammates bought into it.

Anyone can shout. It takes finesse to get people to listen.

Of course, what Pence does between the lines is more important than anything he says in the locker room or into a microphone. Right now, he’s showing signs of going on a tear.

Granted, much of his recent flurry came against a lousy Arizona team at hitter-friendly Chase Field. But he looked like the Pence who has reeled off hot streaks in the past—working counts, punishing mistakes and slashing the ball to all fields.

Forget the June hamstring surgery that cost the 33-year-old seven weeks. Forget the foul ball off the face that left him with a nasty shiner. This is vintage Pence.

Apparently, it’s contagious. The Giants plated 23 runs in three games in the desert. They received contributions from up and down the lineup, with catcher Buster Posey, first baseman Brandon Belt and second baseman Joe Panik, among others, finding their strokes. 

This Giants offense ranks sixth in the NL in runs scored and ninth in OPS. Still, they have capable hitters up and down the lineup. Seven of their position-player regulars have double-digit home runs.

There’s no single stat-stuffing superstar, but there are a lot of guys who can hurt you.

The starting rotation is anchored by October demigod Madison Bumgarner and co-ace Johnny Cueto, with Jeff Samardzija and trade-deadline addition Matt Moore rounding out a solid top four. The bullpen, despite closer Santiago Casilla’s struggles, has valuable pieces such as veterans Sergio Romo and Javier Lopez and hard-throwing Hunter Strickland.

If the Giants can score, in other words, they’re a threat. The prospect of Pence strapping them to his back for the next few weeks in this—wait for it—even year should leave possible playoff opponents fretting.

“You start with the talent and the way he’s swinging the bat,” manager Bruce Bochy said of Pence, per Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area. “But just the energy he brings [is big]. I talk about it so many times, but he brings it every day.”

Pence can’t constantly beat the fire and brimstone drum. But he can light subtle sparks, as Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News outlined:

Pence knows he cannot go Pentecostal every night. But even amid two of the worst months of baseball in Giants history, his optimism has been impossible to slay. He has done most of his motivational work on a quieter and more individual basis in recent weeks, taking Matt Moore aside in the kitchen or speaking to Eduardo Nunez in the trainer’s room or enthusiastically offering free samples of his latest cold brewed coffee concoction from his enormous thermal mug.

That’s typically idiosyncratic and typically Pence. The question now is can he be a mascot, a spark plug and, more to the point, a three-time champion?

All statistics current as of Sunday and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.

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Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Scott Kazmir was diagnosed with thoracic spine inflammation and could be out indefinitely as the regular season draws to a close. 

Continue for updates:

Kazmir Has No Timetable For Return

Saturday, Sept. 10

MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick relayed the update. 

The 31-year-old is in his first season with the Dodgers after signing a three-year, $48 million deal in the offseason, via Spotrac.com, which is his third team in the past two seasons. 

After starting 2016 off slow with a 2-3 record, Kazmir won his next five decisions before splitting his six. He’s now 10-6 with a 4.59 ERA and 1.35 WHIP. 

He also helped keep the Dodgers afloat when they lost ace Clayton Kershaw on June 30 before he returned in a limited capacity on Sept. 9. 

Before this most recent knock, Kazmir looked like he was putting his injury woes behind him. Since 2008, nagging elbow issues had limited him at times. But in each of the past two seasons, Kazmir had recorded over 30 starts.

With the loss of Zack Greinke to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Dodgers were in search of a No. 2 starter who could support Kershaw. They brought in Kazmir and Japanese product Kenta Maeda to try to fill the void. 

It looks like Maeda will take Kazmir’s spot as the Dodgers’ primary ace until Kershaw is back at 100 percent and pitching at an All-Star-caliber level again following an extended stretch on the shelf. 

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com

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Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder A.J. Pollock suffered a strained groin during Friday’s game against the San Francisco Giants and will miss an extended period of time down the stretch.

Continue for updates.

Pollock Out at Least a Week Before Starting Rehab

Saturday, Sept. 10

According to MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert, Pollock will not start rehab for at least a week but could return before the regular season comes to a close. However, Jack Magruder of FanRag Sports noted the team will not rush him back to the field.

Pollock suffered a fractured right elbow before the start of the 2016 season, but he returned to the lineup Aug. 26.

“It’s tough going through an injury and saying you’re really fortunate to be where you’re at, but it’s the truth,” Pollock said, per MLB.com’s Jake Rill. “The cards I was dealt wasn’t really the most ideal, but I had an unbelievable doctor that went in there and just did a great job with my arm.”

Since returning, Pollock has batted .244 with two home runs and four RBI. 

Before his 2016 season was marred by injuries, Pollock emerged as a dynamic force in the outfield for the Diamondbacks. In 157 games during the 2015 campaign, the 2009 first-round pick clubbed 20 home runs and drove in 76 runs while stealing 39 bases en route to his first All-Star Game nod. 

Now on the shelf again, Pollock will need to focus his energy on getting healthy as he seeks to make the most of a lost year.

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There was neither a red carpet nor a flourish of trumpets at Marlins Park on Friday night, but there might as well have been. For the mighty Clayton Kershaw had returned.     

… For three innings.

Out since June 26 with a bad back, the Los Angeles Dodgers ace was going to have a tight pitch count no matter what. The Marlins’ tough at-bats hastened the speed with which he racked ’em up, so he was done after throwing 66 pitches and allowing two runs on five hits. The Dodgers mustered just three hits of their own against Jose Fernandez, who struck out 14 in seven innings, before going down 4-1.

So, yeah. It wasn’t a prodigal-son-level return for Kershaw. But then, that’s what any rational person would have been prepared for after such a long layoff. It’s what Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and pitching coach Rick Honeycutt expected.

“Rick pointed out to expect him to be in midseason form is unfair,” Roberts said, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. “We all know Clayton is going to expect himself to be dialed in. We’ll see. I think we all hope for the best and expect to see a lot of good things from Clayton. But I think the most important thing, the most encouraging thing is to make sure he gets out of the start feeling well.”

There are positive takeaways from the left-hander’s oh-so-brief return. After Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball reported Thursday that Kershaw is still “pretty banged up,” the biggest is that his back didn’t break down. He didn’t look like he was struggling physically, and he walked away unharmed when he had to make a tough play on a swinging bunt by Christian Yelich in the third inning.

And right out of the gate, Kershaw showed that the long layoff hadn’t robbed him of any electricity. Mike Petriello of MLB.com noted he came out spinning some A-OK heat:

Kershaw also featured some good breaking balls, and he wasn’t wild, having 46 strikes out of 66 pitches. With five strikeouts and no walks Friday, he has 150 strikeouts to just nine walks all season. The two runs he allowed only pushed his ERA to 1.89. On balance, his 2016 season is still worth gawking at.

It’s not going to have a happy ending unless he and the Dodgers go out on a high note, though. And that’s not happening unless Kershaw fixes the ills that plagued him against Miami.

Kershaw may have been throwing strikes, but his three-inning stint is a case study for the difference between throwing strikes and throwing good strikes. He had trouble hitting catcher Yasmani Grandal’s targets with his fastball. Considering he was throwing a career-high 63.1 percent of his fastballs in the strike zone before Friday, it’s not like Kershaw had this problem before he got hurt.

His breaking stuff, meanwhile, was a mixed bag. Here’s Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times:

Those bad breakers included two the Marlins whacked for run-scoring hits: a solo home run off a hanging slider by J.T. Realmuto and an RBI single off a hanging curveball by Chris Johnson.

In so many words: Kershaw looked partially like himself and partially like he had some rust.

I know—I’m also wearing my surprised face. His three National League Cy Youngs, his MVP and his numerous statistical achievements make Kershaw a pitching god among his peers, but a little over two months is a long time to spend on the disabled list. He made just one rehab start that lasted three innings and 34 pitches prior to his major league return, which should count as his second rehab start despite the hype.

The Dodgers can be cool for now. They have 22 regular-season games remaining, giving Kershaw space for up to four more starts. That could give him enough time to build up his stamina and find his bearings.

L.A. holds a 4.5-game lead (as of this writing) in the NL West that the San Francisco Giants seem incapable of erasing, so he could be back to his usual self in time for the National League Division Series.

It’ll be time to worry if/when Kershaw isn’t up to speed for October. Maybe his back will give out again. Maybe he won’t be able to get back in a groove. Or maybe both. One way or the other, it wouldn’t be good.

No one doubts the Dodgers can muster up some hits. With runs typically at a premium in October, though, they’re not going to go far unless they can pitch. It won’t be easy to do that without Kershaw. His absence would up the pressure on Kenta Maeda and Rich Hill. That’s not to mention L.A.’s bullpen, which went from a league-leading 2.83 ERA in the first half of the season to a 4.11 ERA in the second half.

Things would look different with a healthy and operational Kershaw in the Dodgers’ plans for the postseason. Cliff Corcoran for USA Today noted how well a trio of Kershaw, Maeda and Hill would match up against the Washington Nationals, who just lost Stephen Strasburg to injury indefinitely. That would give the Dodgers the chance to start off on the right foot.

And while having Kershaw in the rotation wouldn’t fix the Dodgers’ bullpen, it would shorten the bridge to Kenley Jansen on days he pitches. That plus their surging offense could allow for a deep trip into October.

However, Kershaw’s thud-like return to action is a reminder that all of this is theoretical until he shakes off the rust. The Dodgers didn’t need him to be his best right out of the gate, but they need him to get better as soon as he can.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked.

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Yasiel Puig said what he needed to say upon his return to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was humble; he was contrite.

“I earned the demotion,” he acknowledged Friday after getting the call from Triple-A, per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. “I feel like I am a better person, and I am here now to show it.”

In an admittedly brief stint back with the big club, here’s what Puig has shown: He can still hit a baseball.

In two games, Puig has gone 3-for-6 with two walks and three runs scored. On Sunday, he cracked his first MLB home run since July 4, a three-run shot in the third inning of the Dodgers’ 7-4 win over the San Diego Padres.

Here’s the strong-man swing, courtesy of the Dodgers’ official Twitter feed: 

It’s a small-sample flash. But Puig resembles the guy who took the league by storm in 2013, the preternaturally gifted orb of energy who played like he had the cheat codes scribbled under the brim of his cap.

That version of Puig, or something approximating it, would be an immeasurable boon for the Dodgers as they battle the San Francisco Giants for National League West supremacy. Entering play Monday, L.A. holds a three-game lead over its archrival. 

He’s still Puig. A few conciliatory quotes and a couple of solid games don’t erase the issues that landed him in the minors and made yours truly wonder if he’d ever again don Dodger blue.

There’s no need to recount the entire Puig saga. Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller summed it up succinctly in December 2015:

Tucked somewhere among the salacious stories of Greinke tossing Puig’s suitcase off the bus and onto a street in Chicago, ace Clayton Kershaw allegedly advising the Dodgers front office this winter to dump the outfielder and third baseman Justin Turner almost getting into a fight with Puig last spring looms one of the biggest questions facing the Dodgers for 2016:

Is the relationship between Puig and his teammates inside the Dodgers’ clubhouse irreparably broken?

That was before the season started. Clearly, things didn’t get better.

Puig wrestled with injuries and inconsistency. On Aug. 2, the Dodgers sent him down, as manager Dave Roberts phrased it, “to improve him as a player and a person,” per MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick.

Puig stirred up controversy with the Oklahoma City Dodgers as well, but he torched Pacific Coast League pitching to the tune of a .348 average and .994 OPS. 

The Dodgers lineup was struggling against southpaws. At a certain point, it just made too much sense to give the right-handed Puig another crack.

In both of his starts so far, he’s slotted into right field against southpaw starters in place of lefty-swinging trade acquisition Josh Reddick. Puig has logged MLB innings at all three outfield positions, however, which will allow Roberts to mix and match.

Puig’s return was unceremonious, as Shaikin detailed:

It was an awkward homecoming for Puig. He had conquered the minor leagues in the month since the Dodgers had banished him, but they did not treat him as a conquering hero. They tried to trade him before they sent him down, and they tried again before they called him back up. They had moved his locker clear across the clubhouse, and no longer did he enjoy a vacant locker next to his own.

This is a marriage of necessity. The Dodgers need Puig’s bat. Puig needs to cast aside the distractions and prove he deserves to stay in the Show.

He’s only 25 years old and two seasons removed from an All-Star campaign. A hot streak down the stretch and into the postseason could cement a role with Los Angeles next season. Or it could boost his trade stock if the Dodgers opt to dangle him this winter in a weak free-agent class. 

We already know there’ll be interest, based on reports that the Milwaukee Brewers claimed him off waivers prior to his call-up and engaged in “legitimate” talks involving outfielder Ryan Braun, per Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. 

Either way, Puig can benefit himself and his employer by keeping his head down and his stick scalding. 

Add ace Clayton Kershaw’s impending return—he’s set to start Friday, per Alanna Rizzo of SportsNet Los Angeles—and the Dodgers may be getting the band back together at precisely the right time.

Is Puig a changed man? Did a month riding the MiLB bus show him the light? Those are questions for another day.

Can he help the Dodgers win games from here to late October? The early returns point toward yes.

All statistics current as of Sept. 4 and courtesy of MLB.com and Baseball-Reference.com.

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After spending a month in Triple-A, Yasiel Puig has returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times first broke the news on Thursday, which the Dodgers confirmed on Friday. Puig was placed in the starting lineup, will bat fifth and play right field against the San Diego Padres.

Los Angeles sent the outfielder down to Triple-A at the start of August after a poor first four months of the season. He responded by hitting .348 with four home runs in 19 games for the Oklahoma City Dodgers.

Of course, his play on the field wasn’t the only reason for the demotion.

Per McCullough, Puig showed up late to meetings and was inconsistent with his work habits, and manager Dave Roberts wanted the 25-year-old to “be a better person and baseball player.”

The first couple of weeks in the Pacific Coast League didn’t seem to change his attitude, as he posted partying videos on Snapchat.

However, he appeared to have a change of heart in recent days. He told ESPN.com’s Marly Rivera that playing in the minors taught him humility and added his thoughts on his improved attitude:

I keep hitting. I’m behaving. I’m doing the work I have to do. What I did wrong before and I have been doing better the last two or three weeks that I’ve been here. [Being called up] does not depend on me. All I can do is try to improve what I did wrong, the things that got me sent me here. The rest does not depend on me, that’s [a decision for] the GM, the president. Only God knows where I will end up.

“Yasiel has done everything we asked of him,” Roberts said, per MLB Network Radio. “We felt ultimately that he makes us better, that was the deciding factor.” 

Roberts also noted he and team president Andrew Friedman brought veteran players in to discuss the move with them, per MLB Network Radio. 

The Dodgers were reportedly still undecided about Puig’s fate earlier in the week, per Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. They then placed him on waivers, where he was claimed by a team before the Dodgers decided to bring him back to the big league roster, per Today’s Knuckleball (h/t ESPN.com).

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports explained L.A. can still trade him in the winter:

Until then, he will likely be a part of the Dodgers and could play an important role down the stretch. With the squad involved in a tight division race with the San Francisco Giants in the NL West, L.A. will hope Puig not only plays well but also avoids being a distraction in the clubhouse.

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When San Francisco Giants left-hander Matt Moore left the field in the sixth inning of Wednesday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the AT&T Park faithful stood and offered him a hearty cheer.

They were applauding Moore’s effort—5.1 innings of five-hit, one-run ball that keyed a 4-2 Giants win. But they were also officially welcoming Moore into the fold exactly one month after the Giants acquired him from the Tampa Bay Rays.

That trade—which sent popular homegrown third baseman Matt Duffy and two prospects to Tampa Bay—didn’t click right away.

Moore wobbled initially in the orange and black, surrendering 17 hits and 12 earned runs in his first four starts and running his Giants record to 0-3. 

Then, last Thursday, he came within one jam-shot Corey Seager single of tossing a no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.

If you’re making a list of things Giants fans appreciate, put that near the top.

Moore settled for an 8.2-inning, one-hit, seven-strikeout gem that helped San Francisco avoid a sweep at Chavez Ravine.

His Wednesday encore wasn’t as sexy, but it was solid nonetheless. He located his mid-90s fastball. His cutter cut. His curveball missed bats. He kept the D-backs in check and threw like the guy the Giants hoped they were getting at the deadline.

As Grant Brisbee of SB Nation’s McCovey Chronicles pointed out:

Moore picked up 14 swinging strikes on the afternoon, which is just one short of Johnny Cueto’s best game of the season, for perspective. It’s what Madison Bumgarner had when he struck out 11 in a complete game against the Padres. It’s what Moore had when he almost no-hit the Dodgers. It’s a fair amount of whiffs.

“It feels great,” Moore said of Wednesday’s standing ovation, per Justin Wise and Rick Eymer of MLB.com. “This is the first time I’ve won at this ballpark. It feels great to be accepted.”

Once upon a time, Moore was among the hottest young arms around. As a 24-year-old in 2013, he posted a 17-4 record and 3.29 ERA with Tampa Bay and finished ninth in American League Cy Young Award balloting.

Then came Tommy John surgery in April 2014 and an up-and-down comeback during which he showed flashes but never quite put it together.

He posted a 2.41 ERA in July, however, seemingly prompting the Giants to pull the trigger on a deal that included Duffy, the 2015 NL Rookie of the Year runner-up. 

Moore’s contract has a series of affordable team options through 2019, so the swap was about much more than the short term.

San Francisco, though, was also seeking to bolster its starting rotation for the stretch run.

Ace Madison Bumgarner boasts superlative numbers overall but has faltered in August. Johnny Cueto has lost four of his last five decisions. Jeff Samardzija sports a 4.00 ERA. And veterans Matt Cain and Jake Peavy are on the disabled list.

A run of brilliance from Moore would take some pressure off the rest of the starting corps. That could make all the difference in an NL West battle with the archrival Dodgers that appears destined to go the distance.

Moore doesn’t fix all the Giants’ problems. He can’t single-handedly re-create the 6.5-game lead they held over Los Angeles at the All-Star break. He can’t jump-start an offense that has scored the third-fewest runs in the NL during that span. 

Despite its second-half swoon, San Francisco is in position for a postseason run. The Giants have won four of their last six. And we’re in a year divisible by two, in case you hadn’t heard.

“I think August was the month that gave us a test to see where our heads were,” closer Santiago Casilla said after nailing down Moore’s win Wednesday, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. “Now comes September.”

Welcome to the Bay Area, Matt Moore. Pull up a seat and stay awhile.

All statistics current as of Wednesday and courtesy of MLB.com and Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

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