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.

After suffering from a first half of non-production from the catcher spot, the San Francisco Giants shipped Bengie Molina to the Texas Rangers in exchange for reliever Chris Ray and minor league pitcher Michael Main. 

Okay, first things first, I love this move.  It clears up a log-jam in the lineup.  Molina had some good years in San Francisco but, this season, was doing 1) very little with the bat 2) less on defense and probably 3) minimal with his ability to call a game.  Those things, combined, mean one thing.  He wasn’t helping the team.  His movement opens up the catcher position for uber-blue-chipper Buster Posey.   Baptism by fire?  Yes.  However, I have little doubt that he can do it.  Also, Eli Whiteside is still in the mix to mentor and spell the rookie (probably when Jonathan Sanchez pitches, actually).  Since Posey is now playing catcher, first base is open.   Will Aubrey Huff return to the position?  He might, but I think that the team is probably happier with Travis Ishikawa at first base than Nate Schierholtz in right field, a position currently occupied by Huff.  Being a fan of both Ishikawa and Schierholtz, I’d be happy with either in their respective positions.  Perhaps this is the beginning of more beneficial moves.  Who knows?  Perhaps next, the team could ship off Aaron Rowand.  Stranger things have happened. 

Oh, and by the way, Ray is a former closer for Baltimore.  He should do well to shore up the bullpen.  Another bonus.

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.

Matt Cain dominated over eight innings and Aaron Rowand drove in two with an RBI double as the Giants managed to take the final game of their three game home set with the Colorado Rockies, 4-1.

Cain (4-4) surrendered a mere four hits and three walks while striking out five and dropped his ERA to 2.36 on the season.  His only blemish on the evening was a solo homerun by Troy Tulowitzki (7) in the fourth, giving the Rockies an early 1-0 lead.  The Giants charged back behind three two-out hits in the fifth, capped off by Aaron Rowand’s bullet to center off Jeff Francis (1-2), scoring Aubrey Huff and Buster Posey and giving Cain a lead that he would not relinquish.  The Giants extended the advantage in the sixth behind an RBI double by Pablo Sandoval, followed by a run scoring single by Bengie Molina.   Brian Wilson made short work of Colorado in the ninth, retiring three straight on eight pitches, for his 13th save.

In the opener, the much hyped (including by yours truly) pitcher’s duel ended up being rather one-sided as Ubaldo Jiminez (10-1) went the distance, striking out nine, as the Rockies beat the Giants, 4-0.  Clint Barmes drove in two to back the Colorado ace.  Tim Lincecum (5-2) had his fourth straight rough outing, surrendering four runs and walking five through 5 2/3 innings while only striking out three.  Pablo Sandoval accounted for almost all of the San Francisco offense, collecting three hits in a losing effort. 

In the middle game, both teams matched impressive pitching through ten innings, deadlocked at one, entering the eleventh.  In this inning, Clint Barmes broke the tie, stroking a two-out double off Santiago Casilla (1-1), driving in his second run of the game as the Rockies won, 2-1 in eleven innings.  Rafael Betancourt (1-1) pitched the tenth for the victory.  Manuel Corpas surrendered an infield single to Freddy Sanchez before inducing Pablo Sandoval to ground into a game-ending double play, earning him his fifth save of the season.  

Well, it could have been worse.  The Giants lost two of three, but the scores were close.  Middle game could have gone either way.   Cain was great in the third game.  Only concern I have is Tim Lincecum.  Something’s wrong with the Freak.  I think it’s mechanical.  On Monday, he was throwing almost exclusively breaking balls.  While they are superior pitches, he needs his fastball in the mix to be effective.  There’s only two people who can fix his mechanical issues.  Fortunately, neither of them is on the Giants coaching staff.  Hopefully Lincecum will dissect his motion and have it fixed before his next start. 

The Giants get an off day on Thursday and will next travel to Pittsburgh to play the Pirates.   On Friday, the Rockies will travel to Arizona to face the Diamondbacks.

The San Francisco Giants apparently forgot to pack bats as they appeared ill-prepared to face the Oakland Athletics, who promptly slapped the Orange and Black around with a sweep in the East Bay. 

I’m not going game by game.  The scores speak for themselves.  The Giants lost 6-1, 1-0, and 3-0.  They were beaten by Trevor Cahill (2-2), Gio Gonzalez (5-3), and reliever Michael Wuertz (1-0) (though they were thoroughly handcuffed by starter Ben Sheets).  Losses went to Barry Zito (6-2), Matt Cain (2-4), and Jonathan Sanchez (2-4). 

Pathetic.  The bats are past stale right now.  Couple this series with that sad showing against the Diamondbacks and this team is floundering.  The only (and I mean ONLY) pitcher who deserved a loss this weekend was Barry Zito.  Yes, you run into bad pitching, but this is not a stellar rotation they went up against.  It would be one thing if they were falling like this to the Yankees, Phillies, and Cardinals.  However, they handled the latter two quite easily.  This is beyond sad.  Why is Rowand out there?  He’s hitting .240-.250.  Why is Bowker in the field?  He’s stiff with the stick.  At least Pablo’s doing SOMETHING at the plate, but still isn’t his normal self.  Why isn’t Schierholtz out there?  He should be healed by now.  And why, please tell me why, do we have Matt Downs trotted out at DH while perhaps the organization’s TOP hitter is currently in AAA, murdering any pitcher who tosses him a ball?  Yeah, I mean Buster Posey.  Give the kid the call.  Put him at catcher.  Put Ishikawa somewhere.  He’s stinging the ball (when he gets to play) and he sits on the bench.  Todd Wellemeyer?  Hopefully, with the off day, they will have the good sense to sit him on Tuesday and let Lincecum pitch.  This is beyond sad.  Fix this mess. 

The Giants will next host the Washington Nationals on Tuesday.  The Athletics will travel to Baltimore to play the Orioles.

The San Francisco Giants rallied from one sweep with one of their own, culminating with a 4-3 victory over the Houston Astros, behind Barry Zito’s 6th victory of the season.

Zito (6-1) tossed seven innings, scattering six hits and one run and besting Brett Myers (2-3), who tossed a complete game in a losing effort.  Aaron Rowand (5) and Andres Torres (1) hit solo and two run homeruns, respectively, in support of Zito’s outing.  Brian Wilson worked around a pair of two out hits and striking out Kazuo Matsui with runners on the corners for his ninth save.

In the opener, Todd Wellemeyer (2-3) pitched into the eighth and the Giant bats erupted against Felipe Paulino (0-6) as San Francisco ended a three game losing streak with an 8-2 victory.  Andres Torres doubled twice and tripled and Nate Schierholtz and Pablo Sandoval each had two hits.   Hunter Pence (6) homered for the Astros. 

The middle game of the series was a pitchers duel as Tim Lincecum (5-0) finally picked up his elusive fifth victory of the year, beating Roy Oswalt (2-5) and the Astros, 2-1.  Lincecum pitched eight innings, striking out five and surrendering only one run.  Juan Uribe supplied all the offense, hitting a two run homerun (4) to give the Giants the lead for good in the fourth inning.  Brian Wilson supplied drama in the ninth as the Astros loaded the bases and Kazuo Matsui coaxed a 15 pitch at bat off the closer before flying out to left field, giving the Giants the victory and Wilson his eighth save of the season.

First things first, great series.  A victory is always nice.  A sweep is always better.  Couple this with the Dodgers sweep of the Padres and it’s a win-win all round.   Pablo isn’t fully back, but it appears as if he’s doing better.  That’s great news.   Now that we’re feeling better, let me point out how much that earlier Padres sweep hurts the team.  If they win one game in that series, they are now in first place.  Also, the Dodgers aren’t breathing down their necks as much if that’s the case.  The race is tightened due to the team’s inability to take one from the front runners at home.  This series was a gift as the Astros are pretty horrible.  They need to start playing up to this level against ALL in-division competition.   They better get started immediately as they send the bottom of the rotation against the Padres on the road starting tomorrow.   Get on this one!!  Go Giants!!!!!

The Giants next travel to San Diego to play the Padres tomorrow evening.  The Astros go to Los Angeles to take on the Dodgers tomorrow night.

The Giant bullpen lost another lead handed to them by Tim Lincecum, but a late homerun by Aaron Rowand, coupled with ace closing, allowed San Francisco to salvage the final game in New York, against the Mets, by a score of 6-5.

Lincecum tossed six innings, scattering seven hits and two runs while striking out eight Mets.   The Giants staked the ace to a 4-0 lead following a wild outing by Oliver Perez, who walked seven batters in 3 1/3 innings, putting together two run second and fourth innings.   The Mets rallied in the sixth, cutting the Giant lead in half with a run scoring single by Jason Bay and a sacrifice fly by David Wright.  Dan Runzler relieved in the seventh and the Mets erupted for three runs off two hits and three walks from the rookie and Sergio Romo (1-3).  However, Aaron Rowand returned the lead to the Giants with a two run blast (4) off Jenrry Mejia (0-2) in the top of the eighth inning.  Brian Wilson came on with one out in the bottom of the inning and proceeded to strike out five of the next six hitters, picking up his seventh save of the season. 

In the opener, the Mets used the long ball to get to Jonathan Sanchez early, with Ike Davis (2,3) and Rod Barajas (8,9) each homering twice, Barajas’s second being a walkoff, as New York beat the Giants 6-4.  The Mets took a 4-3 lead into the ninth where John Bowker tied the game by stroking a pinch homerun (2) off closer Francisco Rodriguez (2-0).  In the bottom of the inning, Davis coaxed a one out walk off Sergio Romo (0-3) before Barajas followed with his second homerun of the game to seal the victory for the home team.

In the second game, Henry Blanco hit a solo shot (1) in the bottom of the eleventh inning off reliever Guillermo Mota (0-1), breaking a 4 all tie and giving the Mets a 5-4 win.   Hisanori Takahashi (3-1) pitched a perfect top of the eleventh for the victory. 

Okay.  A lost series, but a winning road trip.  All in all, it’s alright.  Two games lost in the final at bat.  That hurts.  I am impressed that the team is fighting every inning.  Seems like they are taking these games personal.  Todd Wellemeyer was blasted again.  With the off day, let’s see if they can skip him for a turn.  Hopefully so.  A big series coming up tomorrow night.  The rest should do the bullpen well.   Hopefully also for a badly slumping Pablo Sandoval.  However, I have a feeling he is due for a tear.  Mark me down for this one.  What better time than against the NL West leading San Diego Padres. 

The Giants will next host the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night.  The Mets will host the Nationals Monday evening.

Matt Cain turned in the third consecutive strong pitching performance and Nate Schierholtz continued his torrid streak with his first homerun of the season as the Giants beat the Florida Marlins 6-3, sweeping the three game series on the road.

Cain (2-1) pitched no-hit ball into the sixth and lasted into the eighth inning, surrendering two runs on four hits while striking out six Marlins en route to the victory.  Schierholtz went 3-3 to raise his average to .381 on the season and blasted a solo shot in the fifth (1) off loser Ricky Nolasco (2-2) to make the score 3-0.   Aaron Rowand had two hits and drove in two, continuing his own personal tear since returning from the disabled list earlier this week.  Brian Wilson recorded the final out for his sixth save of the season.

In the opener, the Giants bullpen squandered a dominating thirteen strikeout performance by Tim Lincecum as Sergio Romo gave up a three run eighth inning blast to Dan Uggla (6) that temporarily gave the Marlins a 6-5 lead.  However, Rowand hit his second homerun of the season off closer Leo Nunez with two outs in the ninth, sending the game into extra innings.  A two run single by Aubrey Huff in the top of the 12th followed by a bases loaded hit by pitch by Schierholtz staked the Giants to a 9-6 lead against Burke Badenhop (0-3).  Guillermo Mota pitched a perfect bottom of the twelfth for his first save of the season.  Dan Runzler (1-0) struck out the side in the bottom of the eleventh for his first major league victory.

In the middle game, Barry Zito (5-0) pitched dominating ball into the eighth and Aaron Rowand homered (3) for the second straight game as the Giants won, 3-2.   Sergio Romo redeemed himself from the previous evening, inheriting a bases loaded, no out situation in the eighth.  He responded by striking out slugger Hanley Ramirez on three pitches and then inducing a double play by Jorge Cantu to retire the side.  Brian Wilson created a situation then got out of it, surrendering one run and picking up the save (5).   Nate Robertson (2-3) pitched well, but picked up the loss.

SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!  That felt good.  I was concerned at first when the bully gave up the lead for Lincecum.  However, timely hitting appears to be the name of the game on this road trip.  That’s not a bad thing.  Schierholtz, Rowand, and Huff all appear to be scalding the ball right now.  Matt Downs too.  In fact, the only person who is NOT bashing at this time is Pablo Sandoval.  He went 2-6 in the opener with a crucial double.  However, he was rather quiet in the last two games.  Not worried yet.  We’ll keep our eyes on that situation.  Great job by Romo to come back in the middle game.  Gotta take our hats off to that one.  Edgar Renteria started in the third game but it appears that he re-injured his groin as he left early tonight.  Let’s watch those developments, too.  There’s only one thing I can think of that would be great to follow a sweep.  Let’s bring our brooms up north to New York.  Go Giants!!!!

The Giants will next venture to New York City to take on the Mets on Friday evening.  The Marlins travel to the capital to take on the Nationals, also on Friday.

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.