Ryan Sadowski, in his major league debut, threw six shutout innings as the San Francisco Giants beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-0 to avoid a sweep in Milwaukee. 

Sadowski (1-0), starting in the rotation spot regularly occupied by Jonathan Sanchez, surrendered only three hits and four walks in the effort.  He was supported by two RBI by Randy Winn, an RBI single by Travis Ishikawa, four hits by Nate Schierholtz (including his third homerun of the season), and the first major league roundtripper by second baseman Matt Downs.   Jeff Suppan (5-6) picked up the loss and Sanchez threw the ninth, striking out the side to end the game. 

In the opener, Matt Cain (9-2) had an uncharacteristically poor outing, surrendering five runs in seven innings as the Brewers rallied behind ace Yovanni Gallardo (8-4) for a 5-1 victory.   Gallardo worked around a first inning homerun by Pablo Sandoval (9), allowing only four hits in 7 2/3 innings.  J.J. Hardy added his seventh homerun of the season for Milwaukee.

Giant closer Brian Wilson (2-4) couldn’t hold a two run, ninth inning lead in the middle game as the Brewers rallied for a 7-6 victory.   Milwaukee countered two homeruns by Pablo Sandoval (10,11) with two of their own in a four run sixth, as Prince Fielder (19) and Casey McGehee (4) launched back to back shots off Barry Zito and Brandon Medders, respectively (Fielder’s a three run variety), in a four run sixth inning that turned a 4-0 deficit into a 4-4 tie.  The Giants rallied to score twice in the top of the ninth with sacrifice flies by Benjie Molina and Edgar Renteria off Trevor Hoffman (1-1).  In the bottom of the frame, following a Wilson strikeout of Mike Rivera, pinch hitter Craig Counsell hit an infield single.  After Mat Gamel drew a walk, Corey Hart singled home pinch runner Jason Kendall with a single to center.  J.J. Hardy followed with an RBI single to center to tie the score at six.  After a strikeout of Ryan Braun, Fielder followed with a double down the right field line, driving in Hart from second with the winning run, 7-6.

Where to start?  Where to start?  I guess kudos have to be given to the kid, Sadowski.  Way to man up and stop the losing skid.  For whatever reason, I don’t see us getting the same results from Sanchez in a similar position.  I’ll be honest.  I consider myself somewhat savvy with regards to the young Giants on the farm and I had never even heard of him.  Shows what I know.  However, before I get too excited, I’ll recall the debut efforts by Salmon Torres, Mike Remlinger, and Dennis Cook.  For now, the moment should be savored by Sadowski.  However, I think I’d like a second one before I get too worked up. 

Cain had a bad outing.  So did Wilson.  Such is life.  Again, let’s see if it’s a hiccup or a trend.  I have a feeling that it’s the former.  Until it’s been proven otherwise, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. 

Back to Sanchez.  It’s nice to see him work the ninth as he did today.  I don’t want him back in the rotation but he looked nice out of the bullpen. 

Sandoval left the game today with an upset stomach.  That’s better than the jammed wrist I was worried about him having last night.  He’ll be back tomorrow. 

Schierholtz is excelling as a starter.  Between him, Sandoval, and Ishikawa, I think the Giants might have a promising core nucleus of talent.  Sweet.   Was nice to see them batting three through five today.  Perhaps this should be attempted again.  Bat Molina at six, where his wheels won’t slow many people down but his bat may still shine.

The Giants next travel to St. Louis Monday to play the Cardinals.  The Brewers will host the New York Mets. 

Randy Johnson and Tim Lincecum continued their dominant stretches as the Giants rallied from an early loss to take two of three from the Athletics in Oakland. 

In the opener, the Athletics rallied from a solo homerun by Travis Ishikawa (4) to take the game 5-1.   Former Giant Rajai Davis tripled and scored twice, Orlando Cabrera doubled twice, and rookie Trevor Cahill (5-5) pitched seven quality innings as the Athletics sent Jonathan Sanchez (2-8) to his fourth consecutive loss.   Cahill was stingy, only allowing four hits and one run while striking out four.  Brad Ziegler pitched two innings for the save, his sixth on the season.

In the middle game, Tim Lincecum (7-2) shone, pitching a complete game,  striking out twelve, and only surrendering a solo homerun to Jason Giambi (10) as the Giants prevailed 4-1.  The Giants got to Vin Mazarro (2-2) early, scoring twice in the first and second innings on RBI doubles by Pablo Sandoval and Edgar Renteria and sacrifice flies by Benjie Molina and rookie Matt Downs.  Lincecum was helped out of two late jams by double plays as he completed his second game of the season, both against Oakland. 

In the rubber match, Randy Johnson (7-5) threw seven dominant innings and Nate Schierholtz smacked a two run homerun as the Giants feasted off Gio Gonzalez (0-1) for ten hits and six runs over 3 2/3 innings en route to a 6-3 victory.   Aaron Rowand added an RBI double.  Brian Wilson pitched the final out for his 20th save of the season. 

Nice to see the Giants pitching step up to the plate for them.  You knew that Lincecum was going to be mad after his loss to the Angels.  He let nobody down this series.  Johnson looked good, too.  The kids are getting some looks.  Schierholtz smacked the ball around and Ishikawa kept up his torrid stretch.  Per Sandoval, he is bashing.  This guy is definitely an incredible all round hitter.  My only complaint is Sanchez.  He just looks lost out there.  One thing goes wrong, such as not getting a strike called, and he seems to flip out and walk the world.  Perhaps he could use some time in Fresno, getting his psyche in order.  If he goes down, Kevin Pucetas is ready.  If not Pucetas, there’s a handful of others who could be up to the task.  Just something to keep in mind.  If they got dominant starts, consistently, out of all five pitchers, this team could really be rolling.  As of right now, it’s four good starts (even from Zito) and then a consistent hiccup.  That’s not good. 

Good news for San Francisco.   After the series, they now stand at 39-32 on the season.  That’s good enough for:  1) the second best record in the National League and 2) the current wild card lead.  They also now stand seven games behind the Dodgers for the National League West lead.  Nice stuff.  Whoda thunk this could have happened before the season?

The Giants, finished with interleague play for the season, will next travel to Milwaukee to play the Brewers on Friday.  The Athletics will host the Colorado Rockies Friday night. 

The San Francisco Giants beat the Texas Rangers Sunday, 3-2, to complete the three game sweep over the American League West leaders, the third such series outcome in a row for the Giants after being swept in three straight by the Los Angeles Angels.  

Barry Zito (4-7) pitched no-hit ball into the seventh before surrendering a two run homerun to Andruw Jones (8) to tie the score.  Randy Winn drove in Aaron Rowand with an RBI single off losing pitcher Kevin Millwood (7-5) in the bottom of the frame for the final score.   Brian Wilson pitched a perfect ninth for his 19th save of the season.

In the opener, the Giants rallied around homeruns by Aaron Rowand (7), Travis Ishikawa (3), and a go ahead, two-run shot by Fred Lewis (4) in the bottom of the sixth off Rangers starter Scott Feldman (5-2) to get starter Randy Johnson off the hook and make a winner out of Sergio Romo (1-0).  Romo combined with four other relievers to toss 3 1/3 shutout innings with Brian Wilson pitching the ninth for the save.  Michael Young hit a homerun, his tenth, in a losing effort. 

In the middle game, Matt Cain continued his dominance of MLB, surrendering one run in eight innings, striking out eight.  However, Rangers starter Dexter Holland matched him, going seven strong.  The game went into extra innings and ended in the eleventh, when Nate Schierholtz scooted home with the winning run on a wild pitch by Jason Jennings (2-3).  Sergio Romo tossed a shutout inning for the win (2-0). 

It was nice to see the pitching return after the series with the Angels.  The biggest litmus test will be how Jonathan Sanchez does on his next start against the Athletics.  Ishikawa’s RBI between the homerun in the opener and the fielders choice groundout tonight were welcomed and should give the team more confidence in him.  Also, he made some nice plays that I don’t think Pablo Sandoval would have.  Still don’t like seeing Rich Aurilia starting at first, as he did in the middle game.  Again, nice to see them do well against a stacked AL offense who were leading their division coming in.   Hopefully they can continue the momentum going into the next series.  Final thought, between Brian Wilson and Romo, this team has the back two innings sealed.  They’re both awesome. 

The Giants next play on the road, Monday night, against the Oakland Athletics.  The Rangers will play on Tuesday at Arizona. 

Stellar pitching, combined with clutch hitting, helped the Giants to sweep a three game set with the Oakland Athletics.  Complete games by Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain bookended Randy Johnson’s 301st career victory. 

In the opener, the Lincecum (6-1) tossed a complete game shutout, surrendering only seven hits while striking out eight as the Giants prevailed 3-0.  Lincecum also singled in a run, with the bases loaded, in the fifth, driving home Juan Uribe from third base, to break a scoreless tie.  Aaron Rowand followed with a two run single off losing Athletics rookie, Vin Mazzaro (2-1), supplying Lincecum with all the offense he would need for the victory.   The runs were the first surrendered by Mazzaro on the season. 

In the middle game, Randy Johnson (6-5) pitched seven strong innings, surrendering only four hits and two runs, en route to a 5-2 victory.   Benjie Molina hit his tenth homerun of the season in the first and Juan Uribe broke a 2-2 tie with a single in the seventh.  The hit was followed closely by a sacrifice fly by Emmanuel Burriss and an RBI single by Nate Schierholtz for the final score of 5-2.  Brian Wilson pitched the ninth for his 17th save.  Josh Outman (4-1) picked up his first loss of the season for Oakland. 

In the final game, Matt Cain (9-1) went the distance, throwing a four hitter.  He shook off a first inning homerun by Jack Cust (11) for his seventh straight decision victory, 7-1.   After Randy Winn erased the deficit with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first, Pablo Sandoval followed, two batters later, with a two run bomb, his sixth, to give the Giants a 3-1 lead.  Nate Schierholtz hit a three run, inside the park homerun, his first, off Brett Anderson (3-7) to put the game out of reach, 6-1.  Andres Torres doubled and tripled for the offense.  Cain struck out nine as he tossed his third complete game of the season. 

What can I say?  Absolutely nothing to complain about in this series.  The bats were working.  The pitching was doing what the pitching did.  I think that Schierholtz instead of Fred Lewis in left field is a good idea.  He’s being given a chance and running with it.  Again, would have been nice to see Travis Ishikawa get an at bat.  However, they won.  Such concerns will be kept for a later date.  Great job by the Giants in this weekend set.  Let’s see if they can continue it in the next series. 

The Giants will next play at home against the LA Angels on Monday evening.  The Athletics will have an off day before traveling to Los Angeles to play the Dodgers.  Let’s hope the Athletic bats come alive now for our benefit, m’kay? 

A strong outing by Max Scherzer, combined by a homerun from Justin Upton, kept the Giants from completing a three game sweep on the road against the Arizona Diamondbacks with a 2-1 victory in the desert. 

Scherzer (3-4), a rookie, tossed 7 2/3 shutout innings, surrendering only three hits while striking out six.  In the third inning, Upton hit his twelfth homer off hard luck loser Jonathan Sanchez (2-6).  Sanchez limited the Diamondbacks to three hits and one run in 5 2/3 innings while striking out five.  However, he also walked a season high seven batters, inflating his pitch count and leading to the early exit.  Closer Paul Quantrill worked around a wild pitch and run scored in the ninth, striking out Edgar Renteria with the tying run on third to end the ball game and secure the save, his thirteenth of the year. 

In the opener, Matt Cain worked around early homeruns to Mark Reynolds (15) and Stephen Drew (3) to continue his dominant march, striking out six in 6 1/3 innings and improving to 8-1 on the season as the Giants prevailed 9-4.  Pablo Sandoval hit a two run homerun in the fifth to pull the Giants ahead 5-4.  Juan Uribe added his first blast of the season in the second, doubled twice, and scored twice as the Giants offense rocked losing pitcher Billy Buckner (2-2) for thirteen hits and eight runs in 5 2/3 innings.   Sandoval finished the day 4-5 with three RBI. 

In the middle matchup, the Giants took advantage of three Arizona errors to beat the Snakes, 6-4.  Barry Zito (3-6) went five for the victory.  Benjie Molina slammed a two run homerun (9) in a four run third inning.  Doug Davis (2-5) picked up the loss, surrendering 5 runs (3 unearned) in four innings.  Brian Wilson came on to strike out the side in the ninth for his 16th save of the season. 

All in all, combined with the split in Florida and the win in Washington, the road trip went well.  6-4 isn’t horrible.  I think I’ll take it.  However, the bats not showing up tonight to finish off the Diamondbacks for the sweep is a hard pill to swallow.   But then 2-1 is anybody’s ball game.  Seven walks in five innings is also a bit hard to accept.  Cain was a bit wild, too, but the Giants bats picked him up.  Travis Ishikawa comes back from bereavement leave soon.  Perhaps that can charge the offense a bit.  Uribe at short, Sandoval at third, Ishikawa at first anybody?  Just a thought. 

The Giants will next kick off some interleague action, hosting the Oakland Athletics on Friday night.  On that same night, the Diamondbacks will host the Houston Astros.

The San Francisco Giants used stellar back-to-back pitching performances to rally from a bullpen meltdown and win game #300 for Randy Johnson’s career and the three game series from the Washington Nationals. 

The middle game, delayed by a day due to rain, featured Johnson (5-4), the six foot ten veteran, with all baseball eyes upon him, tossing six dominant innings, surrendering a scant two hits and one run (unearned) in a winning effort, 5-1.  The Giants used a two run, second inning rally off Nationals starter Jordan Zimmerman (2-3) to provide Johnson all the necessary offense.  In the second, Travis Ishikawa followed a one-out single by Fred Lewis with a double to right field, setting the stage for an RBI groundout by Juan Uribe and an RBI single by Emmanuel Burriss, making the score 2-0.   Johnson did the rest, cruising through the sixth, when he was roughed up by an RBI double by Nick Johnson, cutting the lead in half, 2-1.  The only real threat from that point on was when the Nationals loaded the bases against Giant closer Brian Wilson in the eighth with slugger Adam Dunn coming up to bat.  Wilson responded by striking out Dunn looking on a full count pitch, ending the threat.  After the Giants tacked on three more runs in their half of the ninth, Wilson struck out the side for his thirteenth save of the season.  Johnson’s win is even more poignant when taking into account that he originally came up through the Montreal Expos organization. 

In the second game of the double header, the Giants won 4-1 in a truncated game, ended after the top of the sixth.  Matt Cain (7-1) went the distance for another dominating performance.  Aaron Rowand, Pablo Sandoval, and Rich Aurilia drove in runs off Ross Detwiler (0-2) in a three run fifth.  The game was called with the Giants batting in the top of the sixth inning. 

Game one featured a quality start by Tim Lincecum going for naught as the Nationals rallied for six runs in the bottom of the tenth, turning a 5-4 deficit into a 10-5 advantage and going on to win 10-6.   Losing pitcher Bob Howry (0-3) and Merkin Valdez each gave up three runs in the set, featuring RBI doubles by Elijah Dukes and Ryan Zimmerman and an absolute implosion of the Giant middle relief corps.  Justin Miller, though not officially scored upon, was lit up in the effort, to the tune of an RBI double, walk, and sacrifice fly.  Ron Villone (3-0) tossed one and two thirds innings of perfect relief for the victory.   Aaron Rowand hit a leadoff homerun (6), in the losing effort.

Great to see a win in the series.  Also nice to see Ishikawa back at first base and performing well in such a position.  Sandoval played well.  Bullpen meltdowns, like what happened in the first game, happen.  However, an eye should be kept on Howry.  Free agent signing or not, he’s having rough outings more times than makes me comfortable.  Hopefully he can turn it around.  Still, a series win is great.  Let’s see if the Giants can continue their winning ways. 

The next Giant series will begin on Friday night as they venture to Florida to face the Marlins.  The same night, the Nationals will welcome the New York Mets to town. 

Rich Aurilia hit his first homerun of the season and the bullpen turned in 4 2/3 innings of shutout ball as the San Francisco Giants rallied to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-3, taking the weekend series, two games to one.  Aurilia’s shot off Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright (5-3) broke a 3-3 tie in the seventh inning and made a winner of Merkin Valdez (2-0).  The Giants rallied behind Pablo Sandoval, whose RBI single erased a two run deficit in the fifth.  Brian Wilson threw the ninth for the save (12). 

In the opener, Matt Cain (6-1) continued to dominate, pitching into the seventh inning while giving up only two runs (one earned) on six hits, striking out five and lowering his team leading ERA to 2.31.  Pablo Sandoval drove in two in the winning effort and Brian Wilson threw a scoreless ninth for the save.

In the middle game, Albert Pujols stroked two homeruns (15, 16) as the Cardinals rallied to beat Barry Zito (1-6), 6-2.  The Giants scored on winning pitcher Chris Carpenter (3-0), becoming the first team to tack an earned run this season on the St. Louis ace.  Sergio Romo made his first appearance of the season, throwing 2/3 of an inning while surrendering two runs. 

Analysis, a series win is always great.  Nice to see that the team overcame the early deficit to win on Sunday.  Also nice to see Romo come back, though he had some rust, to be sure.  Equally great that Sandoval is back in the lineup, albeit at first base.   This is my criticism.  I understand that they want to play Sandoval at first to rest his sore arm (as opposed to having him hurl throws across the diamond from third base).  I get that.  However, Travis Ishikawa, who was swinging a scorching hot bat against Atlanta, didn’t pick up the stick one time against the Cards.  That’s not smart.  We’ll see if he can get some at bats this next series.   Brian Wilson was nails this series.  Also great to see that Cain continues to dominate.  He was my preseason pick for Cy Young and I’m not changing it now.

The Giants will next travel to Washington DC to play the Nationals as Randy Johnson shoots for win number 300.  The Cardinals will next host the Cincinnati Reds.