Tim Lincecum spent the entire evening throwing bb’s past the bemused Los Angeles Dodgers and Benjie Molina drove in four runs as the Giants won the rubber game of the teams’ three game set with a convincing 9-4 victory. 

Lincecum was practically unhittable until the eighth inning, when the Dodgers loaded the bases with none out, eventually going on to score three times along with giving the starter a ticket to the showers.  After Jeremy Affeldt induced a double play, closer Brian Wilson got the final out of the inning, then pitched the ninth, surrending one run, for his fifth save of the season.  Edgar Renteria gathered four hits on the evening while Molina tripled and homered.  The much ballyhooed matchup between Lincecum and LA’s Manny Ramirez ended with the slugger 1 for 3 with a single and walk.  Hence, the outcome of that rivalry is obviously still in the air.

The opener saw Barry Zito with his second consecutive solid outing, carrying a 3-0 shutout into the seventh.  In that set, the Dodgers rallied, highlighted by a two run Casey Blake homer to chase Zito.  Reliever Merkin Valdez couldn’t put out the fire in the inning, surrendering the lead and allowing a 4-3 deficit, after a Manny Ramirez RBI single, and leaving the reliever on the hook for the decision.  However, the Giant bats came alive in the bottom of the eighth.  After singles by Fred Lewis and Renteria, Randy Winn struck out.  Then, with runners on the corners, Rich Aurilia, inexplicably starting at cleanup, hit a dribbler up the first base line.  Dodger reliever Ronald Belisario gloved the ball and attempted to flip it to catcher Russell Martin.  The ball had air under it and Martin was unable to handle it cleanly, allowing Lewis to score with Aurilia ending up at first.  After a wild pitch, Molina grounded out to third, bringing Renteria home, and giving the Giants the lead, 5-4.  Brian Wilson struck out the side in order in the ninth for the save.

The middle game saw a dominating performance by Chad Billingsley as the Dodger ace threw 7 1/3 quality innings before being chased in the eighth with the Giants tying the score at three.  The bullpen unraveled in the top of the ninth and the Dodgers scored twice, leading to a final score of 5-3 in favor of Los Angeles.

All in all, the series gives the Giants much to grow on.  It’s their fourth straight series win.  Also, Pablo Sandoval’s officially hot.  However, he ended up leaving Wednesday’s game with a tight groin and will be day to day.  Zito’s outing featured Sandoval at catcher.  I think it evidences that these two need to be paired every fifth day.   Going back to last season, Zito pitches better when Sandoval’s behind the plate.  Something the team needs to keep in mind.

The Giants start their next series on Friday when they play host to the Colorado Rockies.  The Dodgers will host the San Diego Padres on Thursday evening. 

The San Francisco Giants placed backup outfielder Andres Torres on the 15 day disabled list with a strained left hamstring.  To replace his roster spot, the team recalled recently optioned utilityman Eugenio Velez from Fresno. 

Going back to a 12 man staff, the Giants optioned utility man Eugenio Velez to Fresno and recalled right handed reliever Osiris Matos.  Velez was hitting .154 this year in sparse play.  The optioning should give him some time to stay fresh with the stick.  Matos, who had a nice run last year with the parent club, had an ERA of 1.04 in eight outings. 

Outstanding performances by Pablo Sandoval and Matt Cain went for naught as the Diamondbacks rallied against closer Brian Wilson and went on to salvage the finale of the weekend three game set from the Giants by a final score of 5-4 in 12 innings.

Sandoval went 4-4 and crushed a three run homer to put the Giants ahead 4-1 in the eighth.  Cain turned in his fourth consecutive quality start, going seven innings, scattering four hits and a run.  He was turned away from his third victory of the season when Justin Upton capped a three run, ninth inning rally against Wilson with a two run homerun, his second of the year.  The teams exchanged zeros for the next two innings until the Diamondbacks loaded the bases on three straight walks and a sacrifice in the twelfth.  Conor Jackson followed with a single to deep left field, scoring Miguel Montero for the final score.

In the opener, Tim Lincecum was again sharp, striking out twelve in eight innings and giving up one run while picking up his first victory of the season, 5-1.  He was backed with homeruns by Benjie Molina and Edgar Renteria as the Giants won their fourth straight. 

In the middle game, Randy Johnson was anything but spectacular, walking seven in 3 1/3 innings, but the Giants rallied for four in the fifth inning, capped by a Randy Winn two run homerun, his second of the year.  Justin Miller and the bullpen shook off a homerun by Eric Byrnes to shut down Arizona for the last four innings as the Giants took the game 5-3. 

My reactions are such:  1)  the starting pitching is looking incredible.  The two headed monster of Cain and Lincecum was unstoppable.  If these two are clicking like this all season, good things are in store.  2)  nice to see that Sandoval is snapping out of his slump.  Today’s performance brought him up to .292 on the season.  3)  Travis Ishikawa, while still slumping at the plate, turned in some outstanding defense.  He also hit a few lasers (though right at defenders).  He’ll come around.  4)  Johnson’s wildness was a bit troubling.  However, he’s been in the game a few years.  I’m sure it’s just mechanics or perhaps the pressure from returning to the desert.  Should be straightened out by his next start.  5) Today’s effort by Wilson was an anomaly.  He’s been pitching well up until this appearance.  Again, all closers have periodic bad outings.  I wouldn’t worry too badly, yet.  6) I still don’t like Fred Lewis leading off.   Just something about it leaves a bad taste and all.  7) It was nice to see Nate Schierholtz not only start but contribute Sunday. 

Great overall performance.  Perfect momentum as they now go home to face the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Zito vs. Wolf.  See ya’ there!!

Pinch Hitter Benjie Molina drove in Andres Torres with a deep single to provide for the only run in a 1-0, ten inning win for the San Francisco Giants over the San Diego Padres.  The win, the third in a row and fourth in a five game home stand for the Giants, completed a sweep of the two game series with the Padres.  Much maligned starter Barry Zito threw seven dominating innings and Brian Wilson tossed two innings for the victory in relief. 

In the first game of the series, Edgar Renteria smacked a grand slam off Jake Peavy and Matt Cain turned in his third consecutive quality start as the Giants drubbed San Diego, 8-3.  

Zito’s outing is the fifth straight quality start turned in by the Giants staff.  With an off day on Thursday, the Giants will skip Jonathan Sanchez’s spot in the rotation for the series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix on Friday.  Instead, ace Tim Lincecum will seek out his first win of 2009, facing Doug Davis for the second time in a week.  The two exchanged zeros for eight innings last Saturday before Arizona broke through against the Giant bullpen, prevailing 2-0 and giving Lincecum a no-decision. 

In other news, the Giants optioned left-handed reliever Alex Hinshaw to AAA Fresno and recalled catcher Steve Holm.  Hinshaw walked 5 batters in 7 appearances this year while compiling an ERA of 8.44.  In my opinion, he’ll be back soon, should he get his control back in the minors.  Holm will serve as a backup catcher to Molina.  He has yet to play a game in the major leagues this season.  For today’s game, Pablo Sandoval donned the mask behind the plate, his first such appearance this season. 

A trio of strong pitching performances overcame tepid hitting as the San Francisco Giants took two out of three games at home over the Arizona Diamondbacks this weekend. 

In the opener, Jonathan Sanchez threw 6 2/3 shutout innings, surrendering two hits as the Giants stopped a six game skid with a 2-0 victory. 

In the middle game, Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum corrected his mechanics and struck out 13 over 8 shutout innings, surrendering a mere five hits and walking none.  Unfortunately, counterpart Doug Davis was equally as stingy, scattering 8 hits over 8 shutout innings, as the floor fell through for the combination of Jeremy Affeldt and Brian Wilson in the ninth, each giving up a run, as Arizona prevailed 2-0. 

In the rubber match, Randy Johnson carried a no-hitter into the seventh, striking out 7.  The complete gem was foiled by a leadoff double by Augie Ojeda in that frame.  However, Johnson worked around the jam and teamed with Bob Howry and Brian Wilson to complete the one-hit, 2-0 victory. 

The good news from the series:  1)  the starting pitching was awesome.  21 2/3 shutout innings is nothing to sneeze at.  This is what was expected of the staff this year.  Brian Wilson had two saves in the series.  Excellent.  2) Pablo Sandoval seems to be snapping out of his slump.  He went 3-4 in the final game with a triple.  Maybe that can end up being contagious. 

The bad news from the series:  1)  the lineup was atrocious.  For the series, they scored a whopping 4 runs.  If the starting pitching wasn’t insanely awesome, we’re looking at a nine game skid.  Travis Ishikawa had an RBI via sacrifice fly on Sunday.  That was nice.  However, he’s been on a horrible stretch for the last nine games.  I love him as a starter, but he needs to start taking first pitches.  They’re tossing him breaking balls at the ankles and he ends up down 0-1 right off the bat (this comes from scouting reports).  If he took the first pitch on five straight at bats, he’d notice improved results at the plate.  Almost guaranteed.  2)  Brian Wilson gave more evidence that that, if it’s not a save situation, he probably shouldn’t be out there.   He got beat up in those situations last season and did on Saturday.  However, a job of a closer is to strand inherited runners.  Perhaps he just needs a little more work in non-save situations.   Dunno.

All in all, good results this weekend.  Just would like to see the bats come alive.  The flip-flopping of Emmanuel Burriss and Edgar Renteria in the lineup is a great idea.  I think that Ishikawa should be dropped in the lineup.  Leave him at seven until he learns how to hit again.  Aaron Rowand’s earned moving up to six.  I didn’t like seeing Fred Lewis lead off on Sunday.  Hopefully this is only a one game thing.  Sandoval flashed some nice leather this weekend.  He’s picking up the position quite well.

Giants off on Monday.  Resume play on Tuesday as they send sizzling Matt Cain against Jake Peavey and the likewise hot San Diego Padres.  Let’s remember to bring some bats this time around, guys.  See you there.

Jonathan Sanchez dominated into the seventh inning, Andres Torres homered, and Brian Wilson recorded his first save as the San Francisco Giants beat Dan Haren and the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-0, putting an end to a six game losing streak. 

Sanchez last 6 2/3 shutout innings, surrendering two hits and four walks while striking out four as he notched his first victory of the season.  Catcher Benjie Molina’s run scoring single in the fourth proved to be the only run necessary.  Jeremy Affeldt, Bob Howry, and Brian Wilson slammed the door, combing for 2 1/3 innings of shutout relief with Wilson pitching the final 1 1/3 for the save. 

Haren, the evening’s Matt Cain, picked up the tough loss, surrendering five hits and one walk in six innings, falling to 0-3 while his ERA dropped to 1.89 for the season.   The teams will meet again on Saturday afternoon as Tim Lincecum faces lefty Doug Davis. 

Chris Young limited the Giants to four hits over seven innings, Chase Headley hit a two run homerun, and Nick Hundley had four hits as the San Diego Padres completed the three game weekend sweep with a 6-1 victory on Sunday.  Defending Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum picked up his first loss of the year, giving up 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings in his second straight rough outing.    

In the opener, the Padres battered Barry Zito for seven hits and four runs in four innings, riding a Sean Hairston homerun and a three run first inning to a 7-3 victory. 

In the middle game, Jonathan Sanchez dueled expertly with Jake Peavy for four innings until inexplicably losing his control and giving up two home runs to journeyman Henry Blanco, eventually losing 6-3.  

All in all, this was a depressing series.  First, the offense didn’t seem to have bothered showing up.  Travis Ishikawa and Pablo Sandoval were horrible overall.  The starting staff was equally bad, with all three starters looking incredibly outclassed.  The first time around the rotation, with the exception of Matt Cain’s seven inning performance, was frown inducing.  Fred Lewis and Randy Winn were bright spots, offensively.  However, two bats doesn’t an offensive explosion make.  Three games, seven runs scored.  Those are  the numbers that count here.  Lincecum’s second outing was better than his first, but that’s not saying much. 

The Giants owned the Padres last year, both at home and on the road.  If this is what we have to look forward to this season, my optimism might have been wrongly founded.  True, it’s only three games in April.  However, up next is the buzzsaw known as the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Hopefully the bats and the combination of Randy Johnson and Matt Cain will show up en force.  If not, 2-7 is an awfully lonely place. 

The San Francisco Giants signed minor league slugger Dallas McPherson to a minor league deal, assigning him to triple-A Fresno.  In 2008, McPherson hit 42 homeruns for Albuquerque, Florida’s AAA affiliate.  However, the third baseman also struck out 162 times, a theme that has followed him through his injury marred minor league career.  The 29 year old had several looks at the major league level and, while not horrible, has yet to dazzle.  I think he’s a younger version of Scott McClain, without the warm fuzzies we get when his name is mentioned.  Perhaps this is one we shouldn’t get overly excited about. 

In other news, doctors said that they want Joe Martinez to wait one month before resuming strenuous activities and two weeks before traveling via airplane.  This places the rookie reliever’s possible return to mid to late May. 

The San Francisco Giants placed rookie relief pitcher Joseph Martinez on the 15 day disabled list Friday, one day after he was struck by a batted ball.  After being diagnosed with a concussion and three hairline fractures on the right side of his head, Martinez remains in the hospital, where he is expected to spend the next three to four days under observation.

The Giants purchased the contract of veteran reliever Justin Miller to fill Martinez’s spot.  Miller pitched well in the spring training and was one of the last players to be cut from the roster.