Travis Ishikawa’s extra-inning single led the San Francisco Giants to a 3-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks and capped off a four game sweep in the desert.

Batting with two out in the tenth and the score knotted at three, Ishikawa stroked a single to right field, driving home pinch-runner Eli Whiteside as the Giants continued their post-All-Star game tear.  Rookie phenom Buster Posey culminated a four-hit day with a double to lead off the inning before being lifted for pinch-runner.   Posey also drove in a run with a double in the first and extended his hit streak to 18 games.  Tim Lincecum went eight dominant innings, striking out five, but ended up with a no decision.  Sergio Romo (3-3) struck out two in the bottom of the ninth for the victory and Brian Wilson pitched a perfect tenth for his 29th save.  Esmerling Vasquez (1-3) picked up the loss.   Barry Enright pitched well for the Diamondbacks and drove in two runs with a double and two hits.

In the openeer, Matt Cain (8-8) shone, evening up his record while striking out nine over eight shutout innings, as the Giants won 3-0.  Andres Torres homered (9) and Buster Posey had two hits.  Brian Wilson tossed the ninth for his 27th save.  Rodrigo Lopez (5-9) took the loss, despite seven solid innings.

In the second game, Aubrey Huff homered twice (18, 19), driving in three and the Giants withstood Kelly Johnson hitting for the cycle and driving in three runs, as San Francisco prevailed 7-4.  Jonathan Sanchez was wild but struck out ten in five innings and Chris Ray (3-0) picked up the victory.  The Giants took advantage of two throwing errors by starter Edwin Jackson (6-9) in a three run seventh inning, highlighted by a two run triple off the bat off Andres Torres.   Brian Wilson tossed the ninth for his 28th save.

In the third game, the Giants worked around a scare with Juan Uribe hitting a grand slam (13) and rookie Madison Bumgarner dominating for seven innings as San Francisco won, 10-4.  Bumgarner (4-2)  struck out seven over seven strong innings.  Ian Kennedy (5-8) picked up the loss.  The scare came in the fourth inning when Eugenio Velez, in the dugout, was struck in the face by a line drive foul off the bat of teammate Pat Burrell.  He was conscious and taken to the hospital for tests.  Preliminary results were negative.

Well, great series for the Orange and Black.  Nice to see the perfect combination of offense and incredible pitching.  A little more focus from Jonathan Sanchez would be nice.  Walks are killers.  Prayers with Velez as this was a fluke injury.  He was placed on the DL for this and the team recalled Ryan Rohlinger.  Get back soon, Pharoah.  Also, Pablo Sandoval took off after yesterday’s game.  I guess he was heading back to Venezuela to take care of personal issues.  Again, prayers that he gets this taken care of.  Such things might be contributors to his slow start this season.  Again, great series by the Giants, especially on the road.  No real complaints.  Posey is awesome.  The team needed him and he hasn’t disappointed.  Go Giants!!!!

The Giants will next host the Florida Marlins on Monday night.  The Arizona Diamondbacks will travel and play the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday evening.

The San Francisco Giants overcame a domination at the hands of rookie phenom Stephen Strasburg to win the final two games and take the weekend road series from the Washington Nationals. 

In the opener, Strasburg (3-2), facing the Giants for the first time, shook off a leadoff homerun by Andres Torres (7) to win, 8-1.  The Washington hurler went six innings, striking out eight and giving up only three hits and one run.  Adam Dunn homered twice (21,22) off Matt Cain (6-8), driving in three runs and Willie Harris rapped out three hits as the Nationals offense came alive in support of the rookie.   Torres left the game in the fifth with a left groin strain and will be day to day.   The Giants need him healthy. 

For the middle game, the Giant bats returned to the world of the living, riding an offensive fireworks show by San Francisco’s own rookie phenom, Buster Posey, to a 10-5 victory.   Posey went 4-5 with three RBI on a double and homerun (7) to pace an eleven hit outpouring.  Aaron Rowand also homered (8) and Juan Uribe drove in three runs as the Giants lifted Jonathan Sanchez up from an early hook and rallied against reliever Tyler Clippard (8-6).  Santiago Casilla (2-2) picked up the victory.  Mike Morse homered (4) in a losing effort.

In the rubber match, another Giant rookie, Madison Bumgarner (2-2) evened up his record, taking a shutout into the seventh inning as the Giants won, 6-2.  Bumgarner went six-plus innings, scattering seven hits and one run, striking out six, and walking none as he won his second straight start.  Travis Ishikawa continued his torrid hitting, driving in three runs on a 2-3 performance.  Buster Posey continued to impress, driving in two with a triple off Livan Hernandez (6-5).  Sergio Romo pitched the Giants out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh and Brian Wilson collected the last four outs for his 23rd save. 

Where to start?  First things, Strasburg looked awesome for the Nationals.  Too bad that they don’t have five of him in their rotation.  Good thing for the Giants, actually.  Bumgarner looked great.  I can’t wait to see how he does in the second half.  Ditto Posey.  This guy’s been awesome.  Let’s keep those accolades coming with Ishikawa.  Anybody who reads this knows I’m a big Ishi guy.  I think the Giants finally are, too.  Last year, he destroyed pitchers at home.  These last few games, he’s doing it on the road.  Keep it up!!!  Only concerns, what’s up with Cain and Sanchez?  Both have been getting shelled of late.  Hope the break will give them a chance to reflect and regroup.  Ditto Pablo Sandoval.  Maybe it’s time for him to return to his hacking roots.  Just a thought. 

The Giants will next play the New York Mets at home on Thursday evening.  The Nationals will host the Florida Marlins on Friday evening.  Enjoy the All-Star Game.  Here’s hoping the orange and black representatives (Brian Wilson and Tim Lincecum) do awesome.  Go Giants!!!  Catch you all on the other side.

The San Francisco Giant bats awoke as the team erupted in four straight games against the Brewers, outscoring them 36-7 in a series sweep capped off by a 9-3 daytime win on Thursday.

The Giants rode a homerun and four RBI by Aubrey Huff  (17) to an early 6-0 lead off Manny Parra (3-6).  Starter Barry Zito was wild, however, walking in a run in the fourth innings and walking the bases loaded in the fifth.  Overall, the lefty surrendered six free passes while leaving before being eligible for the win.   The bullpen took over with Dan Runzler (3-0) pitching out of a jam in the sixth for the victory.  The win was bittersweet for the rookie as he dislocated his left knee on a swing while batting in the seventh.  It popped back into place, but he left the game and will be tested before his next outing.  Buster Posey (6) and Andres Torres (6) each homered late for the Giants. 

In the opener, Jonathan Sanchez (7-6) pitched around trouble all day, walking six and striking out six through six innings and leaving with the score tied 1-1.  However, the Giants put up four runs, all off Kameron Loe (0-1) in the top of the seventh inning, to prevail 6-1.  Aubrey Huff spearheaded the charge with a two run RBI single.  The scoring began with a bases-loaded, one-out error by Alcides Escobar, who misplayed a  potential double-play grounder off the bat off Freddy Sanchez into a run scoring error.  Huff followed with the single.  The Giants tacked on another in the next inning with a solo homerun by rookie Buster Posey (3).

In the second game, rookie Madison Bumgarner (1-2) pitched eight shutout innings to earn his first career victory as the Giants won 6-1.   The lefty struck out five and walked three, surrendering a scant three singles, as the San Francisco won their second straight.   Randy Wolf (6-8) matched zeros for five innings before the Giants touched him up for five runs in the sixth inning behind a two run RBI single by Travis Ishikawa and run scoring single by Bumgarner.

In the third game, the Giants scored early and often, tallying four runs in the first inning on three homeruns as San Francisco won, 15-2.  Andres Torres (5), Aubrey Huff (16), and Buster Posey (4) each lifted off in the opening frame, against Chris Narveson (7-6).  Posey added a second homerun (5) in a seven run fourth inning, stepping up with the bases loaded against Chris Capuano and launching his first career grand slam.  Not to be outdone by the offense, Tim Lincecum (9-4) went seven dominating innings, striking out ten and stingily only giving up four hits and a run in the victory. 

Well, the team looked awesome.  They needed this sweep.  Period.  Didn’t hurt that the rest of the division stumbled this week, either.  The offense appears to have waken.  Huff is mashing.  Ditto the kid, Posey.  Now, if they could just get Pablo Sandoval hammering the ball, we’d be in business.  They need to keep this momentum going as they draw Stephen Strasburg tomorrow evening.  Let’s keep going, Giants.   On a side note, Jeremy Affeldt looked very good pitching in the 15-2 affair.  Great.  The team needs him to return to form in order to compete. 

The Giants will next play on the road, Friday night, against the Washington Nationals.  The Brewers will host the Pittsburgh Pirates Friday.

The San Francisco Giants had a perfect set up, starting the top of their rotation for a home weekend series against the Oakland Athletics.  The results were equally perfect as the Giants beat the A’s in three straight, exacting revenge on an Oakland team that swept them not two weeks earlier. 

In the opener, Tim Lincecum (6-2), who of late had appeared human, regained his usual dominance.  The two time Cy Young winning phenom went eight innings, surrendering two runs and striking out seven while walking only one as the San Francisco won 6-2.  Pat Burrell hit his first homerun for the Giants (3) and Bengie Molina added a blast (3) for good measure off loser Gio Gonzalez (6-4).  After Jeremy Affeldt had trouble to start the ninth, Brian Wilson came in to put out the fire, recording the final out via strikeout for his 16th save.

In the middle game, Barry Zito (7-2) finally beat his old team, winning by a margin of 5-4.  The Giants staked Zito to a 5-1 lead behind two RBI by Juan Uribe and a homerun off the bat of Pablo Sandoval (5), all off loser Ben Sheets (2-6).   Zito struck out six in seven innings,  giving up two runs.   The Athletics made it close, rallying against Guillermo Mota in the seventh, but never got closer than one run.  Brian Wilson entered in the eighth, picking up the final five outs for his 17th save.   Matt Carson hit his first homerun of the season off Zito in a losing effort.

In the finale, Matt Cain (6-4) continued his dominance of anybody holding a bat, winning his fourth straight start, 6-2.  Cain pitched seven dominant innings, scattering eight hits and striking out four.  The Giants backed him with power as Aubrey Huff (9,10) and Juan Uribe (10) each homered to back the right-hander.  Guillermo Mota had another shaky outing but newcomer Santiago Casilla pitched the last 1 2/3 innings for his second save.  Vin Mazzaro (2-1) picked up his first loss of the season for the A’s.  Kevin Kouzmanoff had hits in each game to extend his career best hitting streak to 14 games.   

Wow.  What a difference a few games makes.  The orange and black played awesome this weekend.   The pitching was on and dominating.  We like to see that.  Cain is in a groove.  Here’s hoping he continues what he’s doing.  Ditto Brian Wilson.  Not sure what to make of Guillermo Mota’s latest struggles.  Perhaps his early success was not representative of what we were getting.  Where’s Sergio Romo in the eighth?  Jeremy Affeldt was okay, but it’s pretty obvious that the team doesn’t have total faith in him, as yet.  But, the big story is undoubtably that Lincecum’s back.  Only one walk through eight is nice.  This is more expected than what we’ve been seeing lately.   Nice to see Panda slamming the ball again.  Ditto Huff.  He’s truly been a nice surprise, as has Pat Burrell.  Aaron Rowand’s starts seem to be dwindling.  I think that’s only a good thing for the offense.   Perhaps a DFA in the future?  2 1/2 years is a lot of patience to save face for a bad signing.  It only a few weeks (games?) to tell Travis Ishikawa, Nate Schierholtz, and John Bowker that they weren’t up to par.  I wonder what is taking them so long for Rowand.  Hmmmm.

The Giants will next play host to the team with the worst record in the majors, the Baltimore Orioles, on Monday night.  Here’s hoping that they don’t let up the intensity.  The Oakland Athletics will travel to Chicago to play the Cubs on Tuesday evening.  On a roster note, Todd Wellemeyer went on the 15-day disable list after his last start.  His roster and rotation spot will be filled by second year player Joseph Martinez, who will make his first major league appearance of the season on Tuesday evening.   He’s been pitching alright in AAA Fresno.  Here’s hoping his return to the majors will pay dividends.

The Giant bats came alive in a noteworthy four game set against the Cincinnati Reds.  Unfortunately, the pitching didn’t follow suit to a T and the teams ended up splitting the series. 

In the opener, the bullpen lifted up starter Barry Zito, pitching 3 1/3 shutout innings as the Giants won, 6-5.  Zito couldn’t hold an early 4-1 lead, falling behind 5-4 in the sixth after Miguel Cairo hit a pinch-hit two-run single.  Juan Uribe gave San Francisco the lead in the seventh, hitting his second two run single of the day and setting the final tally.  Sergio Romo (2-3) pitched 2/3 perfect innings for the win.  Brian Wilson tossed a perfect ninth for his 15th save.  Danny Herrera (0-3) picked up the loss for the Reds.

The second game can be summed up in  two words:  Matt Cain.  The right hander (5-4) tossed his second complete game shutout in three starts as the Giants prevailed, 3-0.   In the victory, Cain scattered seven hits and struck out five.  Juan Uribe homered (9) off Sam Lecure (1-2) for the only necessary offense on the day.  The Giants added two runs in the top of the eighth on run scoring singles by Bengie Molina and Cain (more on Molina later).  Brandon Phillips had three hits in a losing effort for the Reds.

In the third game, Aaron Harang (5-5) overcame the first career homerun by Buster Posey (1) in the second inning and pitched seven strong innings, striking out three, as the Reds won 6-3.   Cincinnati plated runs in five separate innings and Orlando Cabrera had four hits, scoring three runs.  Jonathan Sanchez (4-5) was uncharacteristically hittable, lasting only five innings and picking up the loss. 

In the closer, the Giants bats staked Todd Wellemeyer to an early 4-0 lead behind homeruns by Aaron Rowand (6) and Aubrey Huff (8) before losing, 7-6.   However, following the starter leaving due to a hamstring injury from running out a third inning grounder, the bullpen, behind Denny Bautista, coughed up the lead almost immediately.  The Giants rallied, leading by two entering the eighth.  However, again the Reds struck, scoring three runs off Guillermo Mota (0-2) in the bottom of the eighth on a two run triple by Brandon Phillips and run scoring single by Joey Votto to set the final score.  Francisco Cordero pitched the ninth for his 17th save.  Arthur Rhodes (2-1) picked up the win. 

Okay, a road split is always nice.  However, I’d have rather enjoyed a 3-1 series edge.  But, such is life.  Also, great job by Buster Posey.  The first homerun is always the toughest.  Let’s see some more.  Bengie Molina had an RBI single and a few hits.  However, I’d like him to be playing somewhere else.  No reason to keep him on the team when he can’t hit, run, or play defense.  Ditto Rowand.  I know he homered today.  However, one hit does not make a year (or three) of relative ineptitude productive.   I’d like to see Burrell, Schierholtz, and Torres in the outfield with Huff at first and Posey behind the plate.  Also, it appears that Wellemeyer might be headed to the DL.  What better time to bring up Madison Bumgarner?  He’s smoking AAA right now.  Take note of Posey.  We can have that same thing in the starting rotation.  Think about it.  Also, when Wellemeyer is, umm…well, he can be a long reliever, taking Bautista’s spot in the bullpen.  Just some thoughts. 

Both teams will next play on Friday evening with the Giants hosting Oakland and the Reds hosting the Kansas City Royals.

A late homerun by Manny Ramirez sunk the San Francisco Giants, 2-1, and kept them from gleaning the fruits of victory from back to back excellent starts Tim Lincecum and Barry Zito against the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Staked to a 1-0 lead via a solo shot by Juan Uribe (2), Zito spun 7 1/3 shutout innings and exited, ahead 1-0, following a one out walk to Garret Anderson.  Sergio Romo (0-1) came on to face pinch hitter Manny Ramirez who launched a two run homerun (2) for the final tally, 2-1.  Clayton Kershaw tossed seven excellent innings for a no decision.  Ramon Troncoso (1-0) pitched 1/3 of a inning and backed into the victory for Los Angeles.  Jonathan Broxton pitched the ninth for his first save of the season.

In the opener, the Dodgers jumped all over Todd Wellemeyer (0-2) early, scoring seven runs in the first two innings, winning 10-8 after the Giants scored five meaningless runs in the ninth.  Adam Ethier blasted two homeruns (2,3) including a grand slam to back Vicente Padilla (1-1), who went seven solid innings, striking out seven Giants.   He also hit Aaron Rowand in the helmet with a pitch in the fifth inning.  Rowand exited and was taken for examinations which revealed several fractures around his nose.  He was placed on the 15-day disabled list.  Matt Downs was recalled from AAA Fresno to take his roster spot.

In the middle game, Tim Lincecum (3-0) shone for the third straight game, pitching six shutout innings, striking out seven, as the Giants won 9-0.   Giant hitters tore apart knuckleballer Charlie Haeger (0-1) to the tune of seven runs on seven hits and five walks in three innings.  With the bat, Lincecum went 3-4 with three RBI, to support his own cause.  Juan Uribe, Bengie Molina, Eugenio Velez, and Edgar Renteria all drove in a run to back Lincecum.

To be honest, this is the best I’ve felt after losing a series in quite a while.  Pitching was above average.  Hitting was adequate to good.  Per the games lost, the second could have gone either way.  Of course, there’s the argument, why wasn’t closer Brian Wilson brought on?  Why was Manny pitched to?  While both are legitimate, Romo is a quality pitcher and worthy of being trusted in the eighth in such a situation.   Per the first game, yes the bats weren’t there for a slugfest.  However, my only complaint is Wellemeyer (though he did alright after the early stumbling).   I’m starting to doubt he’s up to the task to be the team’s number five starter.   I think he did well enough in spring training to be here now.  However, I say that if he doesn’t start producing in the next game or two, he should get a few reps in the bullpen and they should look to the minor leagues for a replacement (probably Kevin Pucetas).  After all is said and done, the Giants went toe to toe with the Dodgers and came out of it looking pretty good (if even with less victories than losses). 

The Giants will next travel to San Diego to play the Padres.  The Dodgers will travel to Cincinnati to play the Reds on Tuesday night.

Youngster phenom Madison Bumgarner will start the middle game of the Padres series tonight, bumping an ‘injured’ Tim Lincecum, and making his major league debut.   Lincecum will be rested for two days and then re-evaluated.  No long term outage is expected. 

First of all, Timmy’s back seems to have flared up with spasms.  If this is true, I, along with the entire Giants fan base, pray it flares down.  However, more on that later.

Second, it’s awesome that Bumgarner will get a start.  I’m excited too see him pitch. 

The Giants will need to keep close tabs on Lincecum.  This guy’s the franchise.  No need to overpitch him (even if he can do it).  However, there was no warning of this injury.  Could it be a smokescreen?  Pushing the kid back to face the Dodgers?  I don’t know.  This is the pennant race.  It’s imperative that the team is clicking on all cylinders and, to be honest, the starting pitching is doing just that.  The inclusion of a rookie (no matter how good) into the mix might be a bit risky.  However, assuming that this is legit, then this is the biggest hammer the Giants can bring down in this situation.  It definitely looks better than either Ryan Sadowski, Joseph Martines, Justin Miller, or Kevin Pucetas.  The kid’s getting baptized by fire tonight.  We’ll see if he remembers his asbestos underwear. 

After a wildly swung at-bat sent Randy Johnson to an early shower against Houston on Sunday, the San Francisco Giants placed the future hall of famer on the 15 day disabled list with a strained shoulder.  Manager Bruce Bochy gave a two to three week estimate for a time of recovery with former starter Jonathan Sanchez taking his rotation spot and infielder Kevin Frandsen being recalled from Fresno to take fill his roster spot. 

Now, what does that mean for us? 

1.  A solid #2 on the year (and southpaw, too) is gone for several turns in the rotation.  Other than this last start (where he was injured), he’s pitched good on the season.  He will be missed in this capacity.

2.  Sanchez is back in the rotation.  He’s pitched well in the bullpen but poorly in the rotation.  We’ll see if he’s learned anything in the time away from starting.

3.  The role of rookie Ryan Sadowski is now more important.  Without Johnson, he’s now a #4.  Not meaning to pressure him, but it’s very important now that the first two starts weren’t flukes.

How Sanchez responds to this is very important.  If he flops, then perhaps they’ll need to go to AAA and grab Kevin Pucetas.  If he does well enough, then this bad news will be minimized.  I guess it’s all up to Sanchez (and his mental toughness) at this time.  Of course, Joe Martinez also might be back soon.  After all is said and done, if this is just a tweak and Johnson can come back 100%, then that will bode best for the Giants.   

Pinch hitter Rich Aurilia singled home catcher Steve Holm in the bottom of the tenth, giving the Giants a 1-0 extra innings victory over the Colorado Rockies.  The win showcased another outstanding effort by starter Barry Zito who, in spite of another no-decision, turned in his third consecutive quality appearance, throwing seven shutout innings while surrendering only two hits.  With the outcome, the Giants won their fifth consecutive series, taking two of three at home against the division rivals. 

In the opener, Randy Johnson struck out nine in seven shutout innings, stingily allowing only four hits and walking none as the Giants rode and RBI double by Travis Ishikawa and sacrifice flies by Randy Winn and Bengie Molina to a 3-2 victory.  Brian Wilson tallied his sixth save of the season, closing out the Rockies in the ninth after quelling an eighth inning uprising against Bob Howry and Jeremy Affeldt with a bases loaded strikeout of Ryan Spilborghs.  

In the middle game, Spilborghs got a measure of revenge, homering twice off Matt Cain, as the Rockies topped the tally, 5-1.  Starter Jason Marquis threw a complete game five-hitter, surrendering only a ninth inning homerun to Pablo Sandoval.  Brad Hawpe also homered to back Marquis. 

I was impressed by the Giants starting pitching (again) this series.  Zito and Johnson were dominant.  For Zito, he did it with Steve Holm behind the dish, showing that perhaps his recent success was more than just Sandoval catching.  Hopefully he can continue it with Molina as his backstop.  Also, though it was the first time in five starts this season that Cain wasn’t dominant, aside from the homers, he only allowed four other hits and four walks.  An off day, but for a three, such an off day is acceptable every now and again.  Finally, it’s nice to see Fred Lewis and Ishikawa making some solid contact.  Ditto Nate Schierholtz.  On an injury note, Winn sat out the final game of the series with a sore side.   We’ll watch that one and keep you posted. 

The Giants will next travel to Chicago for a two game set against the Cubs.   The Rockies will go down the shore to San Diego for a two game series against the Padres. 

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.