Ace Tim Lincecum went seven innings, striking out ten, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-3, taking two of three in a weekend home series.
Lincecum (2-0) worked around a four plus hour rain delay and a two run homerun (2) by Brian McCann in the first, surrendering only five hits and a walk over seven innings. The defending Cy Young winner ended with a flourish, striking out the side in his final inning of work. He was backed by a two run single by Mark DeRosa in the sixth and a two run homerun (1) by Pablo Sandoval in the eighth that put the game out of reach. Jeremy Affeldt pitched the final two innings, only surrendering a homerun to rookie sensation Jason Heyward (3) and picked up his first save of the season. Kenshin Kawakami (0-1) pitched well but picked up the loss for the Braves.
In the opener, it took thirteen innings but the Giants prevailed, 5-4. Starter Tim Hudson pitched seven stellar innings for the Braves, but his bullpen couldn’t hold a 4-2 lead as Edgar Renteria blasted a two run round tripper (1) off closer Billy Wagner, sending the game into extra innings. In the bottom of the thirteenth, Aaron Rowand sent the teams home with an RBI infield single off losing pitcher Kris Medlen (0-1), scoring Juan Uribe from third with the winning run. Jeremy Affeldt (1-0) pitched the thirteenth for the win.
In the middle game, newcomer Todd Wellemeyer (0-1) pitched well into the seventh but the Braves eventually got to him and beat the Giants 7-2. Derek Lowe (1-0) worked around seven walks and pitched six innings for the win. He was backed by Jason Heyward’s second homerun of the year and three hit day.
Another great series. Pitching did well. Jonathan Sanchez couldn’t get out of the fifth but was taken out by hits and not wildness. That’s a good thing. Lincecum was a stud (of course). Sandoval was awesome. This team doesn’t seem to quit. That’s a good thing that we haven’t seen in the past few years. After two series, they have some momentum that they can hopefully push into when they start playing divisional competition. Also, got to give some credit to Heyward. This guy’s going to be a star. Great job by him this weekend.
The Giants will next play host to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Braves travel to San Diego to meet the Padres.
