That sure wasn’t the way the Giants wanted to finish up their three game series with the Dodgers.  Chad Billingsley tossed a complete game shutout to beat the Giants 4-0.  After winning the first game of the series, the Giants then lost the next to to lose the overall series.

The Giants hitters had problems with Billingsley all night long as they only had five hits in the entire game.  The hitters did not take and walks and struckout eight times.  That just isn’t going to get the job done.

Jonathan Sanchez gave up all four runs to the Dodgers in the first four innings of the game.  He allowed one run in the first inning on a rbi single to Russell Martin and then three more runs crossed the plate in the third inning.  Martin had another rbi single while Jeff Kent had a rbi double and James Loney hit a rbi sac fly.

The Giants will now play the San Diego Padres.  I will not be around to blog about that series or any others until around August 12th as I have to head out of state for a couple of week long conferences.  If there is a Giants fan out there that would like to write some game recaps and do general blogging on the site, please email me by clicking the contact us link at the top of the site.  I will be able to check my email while I’m away so we can still communicate.

Thanks – Cliff

What a disappointing showing for the Giants offense on Tuesday night as they were shut out by the Los Angeles Dodgers.  The 2-0 loss evened up the three game series and now the two teams will play the rubber match on Wednesday to se who will win the series.

Matt Cain threw the ball good for the Giants he just didnt’ get any run support.  Cain gave up eight hits but only two runs in seven innings of action.  Cain did not walk a batter and struck out eight Dodgers.  It is really too bad he had to take the loss and fall to 6-9 on the year.

Randy Winn and Rich Aurilia both had two hits to lead the Giants at the plate.  Aaron Rowand had the other hit and that was all the offense there was for the Giants.

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Matt Cain was marvelous on Thursday afternoon as he limited the Washington Nationals to only four hit and zero runs.  The win by Cain was his sixth of the season and he is now 6-8.  What made the win that much more special was the Giants took all three games against the Nationals.  The Giants are now sitting at 43-58 on the season.

The one run that the Giants got came in the bottom of the 8th inning when Dave Roberts singled and pitch runner Eugenio Velez scored.  The offense was lucky to get that one run against Tim Redding who was matching Cain all game long.  Luckily for the offense, Cain didn’t allow a run and the Giants were able to get the victory.

The Giants will now welcome in the Arizona Diamondbacks for a weekend series.  The D-backs just got done beating the Chicago Cubs in two out of three games so they are playing some good baseball this week.

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Rich Aurilia and Omar Vizquel both hit doubles in the 8th inning as the San Francisco Giants came from behind to beat the Washington Nationals 6-4.  Aurilia’s two run double put the Giants ahead by one run and then Vizquel knocked in Aurlia to put the Giants by two runs.  The Giants have now beaten the Nationals the first two games of the three game series and will be looking for the sweep on Thursday afternoon.

Giants starting pitcher Kevin Correia did not have a very good game as he gave up 12 hits and four runs in only 5 2/3 innings.  The bullpen did a great job however as they held the Nationals to those four runs the rest of the game.  Alex Hinshaw, Osiris Matos, E Espineli, and Brian Wilson all pitched out of th pen. Espineli ended up getting the win while Wilson picked up his 27th save.

To go along with Aurilia’s two rbi, Bengie Molina also had two rbi.  Both of his rbi came on two seperate doubles in the 1st and 5th innings.  Aaron Rowand also had a rbi double in the 1st inning for the Giants.  The Giants weren’t hitting the long ball but they sure hit plenty of doubles to score some runs.

Root on the Giants Thursday afternoon as they play the Nationals once more and will be trying for the three game sweep!  Giants Baseball Blog

Barry Zito has finally won his 5th game of the season as the San Francisco Giants beat the Washington Nationals by the score of 6-3 on Tuesday evening.  Zito is now 5-12 on the season with a 5.56 era.  Great win for the Giants as they have now taken the first two games in a three game series against the visiting Nationals.

Zito threw six innings while giving up seven hits and three runs.  He did walk three batters but also struckout five others.  It was a decent start for Zito as it was enough to pick up the victory.  Four different relief pitchers combined to throw the final four innings of the game and did not allow a run.  Jack Taschner and Sergio Romo combined to throw the 7th inning while Tyler Walker threw the 8th inning and Brian Wilson notched his 26th save in the 9th inning.

At the plate for the Giants, Bengie Molina hit a two run home run and a solo home run to finish the game with three rbi.  Both of Molina’s home runs came against Nationals starting pitcher Jason Bergmann.  Fred Lewis also hit a solo home run off of Bergmann in the 1st inning.  Omar Vizquel had a rbi double in the 4th inning and Aaron Rowand tacked on a rbi single in the 8th inning.  That was enough offense for the Giants as they doubled up the Nationals.

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I’m sure the Giants felt like they could not get out of New York fast enough after the three game sweep in which San Francisco dropped the last game of the series 7-3.   

 The Giants were held scoreless for 21 innings, and had been outscored 18-0 before finally scoring one run in the top of the fourth.  John Bowker doubled to left field and advanced to third on a ground out by Eliezer Alfonzo.  Bowker would score on a wild pitch by John Maine.  The Giants tacked on two more in the top of the fifth to tie the game at three.  Barry Zito had a good at bat and worked a walk and would advance to second when Maine walked Fred Lewis.  Randy Winn would drive in both runs with his 23 double of the season.  However, the Mets bullpen kept the Giants in check and they failed to score from then on.  The Giants left six guys on base, so there were some opportunities for them to score runs and failed to take advantage of the six walks allowed by Mets pitching.

Barry Zito did not figure in the decision.  In his five innings of work he allowed three runs, 2 earned, on four hits while walking six and striking out two.  Three of those six walks came in the same inning when Zito walked three Mets hitters but was able to work out of the bases loaded jam.  The Giants’ bullpen was unable to keep San Francisco in the game.  Sergio Romo came into a 3-3 game and worked just one and two thirds innings giving up three runs, two earned on three hits, Romo was charged with the loss.  Jack Taschner also allowed one run in his one third inning of work.

Ok, so here is my thing on the umps-they have done a terrible job this year.  I think it shows you that something is terribly wrong when both starting pitchers in a game throw a ton of pitches (both Zito and Maine threw over 100 pitches and neither made it past the 5^th).  Not only did both starters throw a ton of pitches, they also had ball to strike ratios that were nearly 50/50.  And while you can say that neither one of the guys had the great stuff, and certainly both of these guys have had their issues this season, if you watched the game you would have seen that much of what happened to Maine and Zito today had a lot to do with the miniscule strike zone.  It isn’t just that the strike zones are largely inconsistent or sometime just way too small, but it bas been some other things as well.  The call in Tuesday night’s game (and I forget which ump was at second base and which Giants’ runner was on), but, the runner was clearly out of the base path, not just a little out of the base path, he was on the grass and the ump was standing right there and did not bother to call it.  And how many blown calls have we seen on homeruns this year, calling homeruns on balls that clearly aren’t, and calling back homeruns that clearly are.  What are these guys doing out there?  I have watched a lot of baseball, and I have to say this is about one of the worst years of all around umpiring that we’ve seen.  I guess the umps really do want instant replay and at this rate, maybe the players association should demand it.    

The Giants continue their road trip with a visit to Wrigley Field.  Matt Cain will be on the hill for the Giants and Jason Marquis will pitch for the cubs.  Game time is scheduled for 1:20 p.m.

Giants Blog

The Giants are in a bad way right now.  Their offense is struggling mightily as they were shut out for a second consecutive game, only able to muster three hits against the Mets in Wednesday night 5-0 loss. 

The Giants got a good effort from starter Jonathan Sanchez, he kept the Mets scoreless until the bottom of the fourth when he gave up a three run shot to Met’s catcher Ramon Castro.  There was a 42 minute rain delay in the bottom of the fifth, and Sanchez did not return to the mound.  In his four innings of work, he allowed three earned runs on three hits while walking three and striking out six.  Keiichi Yabu worked an inning and a third and allowed two runs on five hits-however, he got no help from second baseman Ray Durham, that guy has no range!

Johan Santana and the rest of the Met’s pitching staff kept the Giants’ offense in check shutting them out for a second straight night.  As a team the Giants left 6 guys on base.  The only real time the Giants looked as if they might score was in the top of the fourth, with two out Rich Aurilla hit a double to left and Jose Castillo walked, but Santana got rookie Emmanuel Burris grounded into a force play at short to end the inning.  In the top of the fifth, with the rain pouring down on Shea Stadium, Ray Durham worked a two out walk, but Randy Winn flied out to center to end the inning.  All in all the entire Giants’ offense never looked like they were even in the game. 

San Francisco will try to salvage a win in the third game of the series before heading off to meet up with a hot Cubs team.  Barry Zito will be on the hill for the Giants and the Mets will counter with John Maine.  First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. 

Giants Blog

The San Francisco Giants lost 7-0 to the New York Mets in the opener of a three game series at Shea Stadium.  Thanks to Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo heard on WFAN in New York, most Mets fans knew a little about Tim Lincecum, and were hoping the Mets offense would take care of him.

If you watched the game last night, you know in fact that the Mets offense did indeed take care of Lincecum.  In the first inning, Carlos Beltran hit a three run homer to give the Mets a 3-0 lead, a lead they would not relinquish.  In his six innings of work, Lincecum allowed four earned runs on 9 hits (two of which were homers), while walking two and striking out four.  The bull pen didn’t fare much better.  In 2/3 of an inning Jack Taschner gave up runs and Kevin Corrieia also gave up a run. 

The Giants’ offense was nonexistant against the Mets’ Mike Pelfrey last night.  The Giants did load the bases in the top of the first inning, but failed to score and really didn’t do much after that.  San Francisco had just three hits all evening and I think at one point Pelfrey had retired something like 17 or 18 straight. 

Jonathan Sanchez will be on the hill for the Giants this evening.  He will be opposed by Johan Santana.  First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. 

Giants Blog

The San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs were tied at 5-5 heading into the eighth inning but Giants relief pitcher Tyler Walker gave up a home run to Mike Fontenot and the Cubs went on to beat the Giants 6-5.  The Cubs have now won two of the first three games in the four game series and will go for the series win on Thursday.

Giants starting pitcher Kevin Correia pitched 6 1/3 innings as he gave up seven hits and four runs including one home run to get the no decision.  Sergio Romo and Walker both gave up a run each as both players pitched one inning.  Keiichi Yabu was finally able to slow the Cubs down in the ninth inning as he pitched a scoreless inning.

All of the Giants runs came via the home run ball as John Bowker hit a two run home run in the sixth inning off of Cubs starting pitcher Ryan Dempster.  Ray Durham then hit a big three run home run off of Carlos Marmol in the seventh inning that tied the game at 5-5.  The Giants didn’t have an answer however in the eighth or ninth innings and lost the game 6-5.

The Giants can still get a split in the series with a win against the Cubs as they plate a very late afternoon game to finish up the series.

Giants Blog

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Matt Cain had things working for him on Tuesday night as he pitched eighth great innings and only gave up two hits to pick up the win.  The Giants beat the Cubs by the score of 2-1 behind great pitching from Cain and evened up the four game series at one game each.

The game almost got away from the Giants in the ninth inning however as Brian Wilson gave up three hits and one run.  Wilson was able to get a groundball to end the game with tying run at second base and record his 23rd save of the season.

Fred Lewis stole home in the first inning for the Giants first run of the game and then Randy Winn had a rbi single in the sixth inning to score Lewis for the Giants second run.  They didn’t have much offense but it was enough to get the win the way Cain pitched the first eight innings of the game.

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