© Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Following the 4-2 submission of the Los Angeles Dodgers Monday night, Murph & Mac brought on San Francisco Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper to talk about last night’s game. He sung the praises of starter Drew Pomeranz, while also providing a sober approach when analyzing a post-injury Buster Posey.
Despite a shaky fifth inning in which he gave up two solo home runs, Giants pitcher Drew Pomeranz comfortably cruised through his first outing of the season, recording six strikeouts and only one walk in his five-inning debut. Kuiper says his performance, as well as the dominant showing by the bullpen, comes as no surprise to the broadcast booth.
“The way (Pomeranz) was throwing in Spring Training; I don’t think any of us were surprised by this,” Kuiper said. “Mike (Krukow), the other night at dinner, told everybody that he’s the second best starter on this team, and everybody was like, ‘What are you talking about?” And he’s right. The way he’s throwing the ball, he’s your second best starter. Hopefully it stays that way for while because when you’re offensively challenged, you’re going to need starts like that in order to stay in the game.
“This is one of the better bullpens in baseball. If you look around the major leagues, there are some bullpens this year that are very shaky, and the Giants are fortunate that they’re not one of those teams. Their bullpen is really, really good.”
Kuiper went on to discuss Giants superstar Buster Posey’s underwhelming performance so far. While it’s fair to say that his start to 2019 has been somewhat disappointing, batting only .133 in his first five games, Kuiper emphasizes the importance of patience, saying that a return from these kinds of injuries takes time.
“I think that over the course of last season and the season before, because his hip was an issue, I think it messed with his swing, and he became a different Buster Posey,” Kuiper said. “And it wasn’t from any other reason than he was banged up. If you’ve got a normal job, and you’re walking down the street and you’re back is bothering you, you’re going to walk differently. It’s the same as hitting.
“I think he’s coming back now, because he feels fine, but it’s going to take him a little while to get that very confident Buster Posey swing.”
To hear the the entire interview, listen below: