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? 

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. 

Randy Johnson took one step closer to history as the San Francisco Giants completed a three game sweep of the Atlanta Braves with a 6-3 victory, Wednesday night.  The towering lefty hurled six innings, giving up only three hits and a run while striking out five and walking none as he evened his record (4-4) on the season.  Brian Wilson pitched the ninth for his tenth save.  Aaron Rowand continued his hitting renaissance since moving to the leadoff spot, doubling twice, scoring twice, and driving in a run.  Emmanuel Burriss contributed three hits as the Giants made a loser of Kenshin Kawakami (3-6).  Chipper Jones struck out four times in the loss. 

In the opener, rookie first baseman Travis Ishikawa had four hits, including his first homerun of the season, driving in three and scoring three times as the Giants prevailed 8-2.   Burriss broke a scoreless tie with an RBI single in the fifth inning and, three batters later, Edgar Renteria stroked a two run double as the Giants battered losing pitcher Javier Vasquez (4-4) for five runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings.  Ishikawa’s blast came off reliever Buddy Carlyle with two on in the eighth.  Jonathan Sanchez picked up the victory (2-4), striking out six while only allowing two runs in five plus innings.  Braves catcher Brian McCann had three hits and an RBI in a losing effort. 

In the middle matchup, the Giants rode a four run second inning and a dominant effort by ace Tim Lincecum to a 4-0 victory.  Lincecum (4-1) pitched eight innings, surrendering only five hits and two walks while striking out eight.  The Giants were paced in the second by two out, two run hits by Aaron Rowand and Edgar Renteria.   After Lincecum followed a single by Travis Ishikawa and a double by Emmanuel Burriss with a five pitch walk to load the bases, Rowand doubled off the fence in left field, bringing home two.  Renteria then followed with a single to plate two more.   Brave hurler Kris Medlen (0-2) pitched into the sixth and, with the exception of the second inning, was relatively solid in his performance. 

First impression is that this was an awesome series.  A series win is nice.  A sweep is even better (ask the Padres).  This was a good set of games.  The Giants are continuing the timely hitting trend that they started in Seattle.  That’s nice to see.  Also, great to see both Burriss and Ishikawa start to swing the stick solidly.  Rowand is also excelling nicely in the leadoff spot.  Several spots for concern.  First, Bengie Molina’s cold with the stick.  He might be a bit tired, however.  He’s been catching a lot and, for now, with Eli Whiteside the only other catcher playing, he’ll get a little more duty.   The staff is doing well.  So, it’s not effecting his game calling much.  However, Molina hits cleanup.   Therefore, Molina not hitting is problematic.  Right now Pablo Sandoval is banged up a bit (he didn’t play in the Braves series but might be back on Friday) and Randy Winn’s been hitting third.  I think that Molina is a little better with Panda in the three slot.  Also, Sandoval can spell him behind the plate.  On the up side, the team’s not feeling this lack of offense horribly, as yet.  However, perhaps a lineup shuffle might be in order.  Again, great pitching and timely hitting in this series. 

Something to note:  Giant reliever Sergio Romo should be available for Friday night’s game.  He has yet to pitch this season due to injury.   His presence should more than help the Giants pen. 

The Giants next play Friday night as they host the St. Louis Cardinals.  The Braves will venture to Phoenix to take on the Arizona Diamondbacks Thursday night. 

The San Francisco Giants found their hitting stroke, scoring five and four runs in the second and third games of the series, respective.  However, they only won the middle game and bowed out of the series to the Seattle Mariners, two games to one.  

In the opener, the hitting malaise continued as the Giants wasted a strong start by Randy Johnson, who struck out seven and pitched shutout ball into the sixth inning, but the Giants fell in twelve innings, 2-1.   Jose Lopez drove in two:  including an RBI single that chased Johnson with one out in the sixth and a walkoff RBI single off Pat Misch in the final frame, making a loser of Justin Miller (1-1), despite two innings of no-hit ball.   Mariners starter Jason Vargas was dominant, shaking off a leadoff homerun by Aaron Rowand (5) to handcuff the Giants for seven innings of three hit ball, while picking up a no decision.  Sean White (1-0) pitched two shutout innings for the victory.

In the middle game, a bases loaded double by Juan Uribe sparked a five run, eighth inning rally off Mark Lowe (0-2), making a winner of Matt Cain (5-1) who tossed a complete game, striking out seven and scattering ten hits for the victory.   Fred Lewis added to the rally with a two run homerun (2). 

In the finale, Lewis continued his slugging with a solo shot (3) off Felix Hernandez (5-3).  However, Barry Zito (1-5) couldn’t hold a slim 3-2 lead in the fifth, surrendering the lead on a three run homerun by Adrian Beltre (3) in the bottom of the frame.  Ken Griffey Jr. homered (5) in the bottom of the first to start the scoring.   Hernandez struck out ten in eight innings. 

Overall, it’s nice to see the bats wake up a bit.  Two one run losses are hard to take, but it’s better to lose by a run if you score four than if you only score one, I guess.  The two out hitting is also coming alive as all four Giants runs in the finale came with two outs.  That’s nice to see.  Also nice to see Lewis starting to come alive.  Can’t beat that.  Ditto Rowand.  Pablo Sandoval missed the last 2 1/2 games with a tender elbow.  That’s going to require watching as it could be a key.  He’s necessary for the team to do anything.  He was designated hitter and went 2-2 with a double on Friday before being pulled for Rich Aurilia. 

The Giants made a few roster moves, moving Joe Martinez and Noah Lowry to the 60 day disabled list.  They also recalled catcher Eli Whiteside from Fresno and optioned Pat Misch back to the AAA affiliate.  They also activated Juan Uribe from the bereavement list and optioned Eugenio Velez to Fresno to make room. 

The Giants will next send Jonathan Sanchez against the visiting Atlanta Braves.   The Mariners will travel to Oakland, tomorrow night, to play the Athletics. 

The San Francisco Giants apparently forgot to pack baseball bats for their three game set in San Diego, scoring only four runs in the series while losing three in a row and wasting dominant starts by Jonathan Sanchez, Barry Zito, and Tim Lincecum. 

In the opener, Zito (1-4) threw a complete game, surrendering only early solo homeruns to Scott Hairston (5) and Nick Hundley (3) in the first and second innings, respectively.  Padres starter Chris Young (3-2) was up to the task, striking out six in six innings while scattering five hits and a run in a 2-1 victory.  Heath Bell tossed the ninth for his tenth save.

In the middle game, Chad Gaudin (1-3) went six innings and again the Giants offense faltered, producing only one run in support of Jonathan Sanchez (1-4) who lost in spite of only allowing two hits in six innings.  However, both hits, a solo home run by Kevin Kouzmanoff (3) and a run scoring double by Chris Burke, produced runs, creating the difference in a second straight 2-1 San Diego victory.  Aaron Rowand, relocated into the leadoff spot, had three hits for the Giants.   Bell again pitched the ninth for his eleventh save.

In the finale, Tim Lincecum brought his A game and tore through the Padres lineup, striking out ten and surrendering only four hits and one run in seven innings.   Rowand continued his torrid hitting with a homerun (4) in support and the Giants broke through against Bell (2-0) for a run and a 2-1 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth.  However, closer Brian Wilson (2-3)couldn’t hold the fort.  After Brian Giles walked to load the bases with two out, Wilson plunked David Eckstein to tie the score, setting the stage for Giant killer Hairston, who followed with a single to left to give the Padres the win, 3-2.  It was Wilson’s third blown save of the season. 

Okay, where to begin?  First, the Giants NEED to start hitting, both overall and situational.  I see base runners all over the place and that’s where they stay.  The number of times they had a runner on third who ended up taking off his helmet and jogging back to the dugout after out number three was unacceptable.  Horrible.  I know many Giants fans are excited about the arrival of Jesus Guzman, but if we’re to expect more of what I saw last night, I am concerned.  At bat with runners on the corners and one out and he grounds into a double play.  At first base and misplays a pivot toss for a double play from Kevin Frandsen that Travis Ishikawa probably would have picked.  At least we’ll get to see his stick exclusively this weekend in Seattle.  However, I will not attack him as much as the ineptness that has Rich Aurilia still in the lineup.  Unacceptable.  Ishikawa stings the ball while Aurilia strikes out.  One of those will turn into hits, eventually.  Nice to see Nate Schierholtz get a few at bats.  He did alright.  The moving of Rowand to leadoff, while it raised my eyebrow, was a good call.   We’ll see if it continues.  The pitching was excellent with the exception of Wilson last night.  But then, he’s a closer.  He’ll be back.   If he’s not, we’re in more trouble.  Most of all, let’s hope the Giants remember to pack bats for Seattle this weekend. 

This weekend, interleague play begins as the Giants venture north to play the Mariners.  Randy Johnson will start, for the Giants, against his former club Friday night.   The Padres will play host to the Chicago Cubs. 

A two run, bases loaded double by Randy Winn in the 13th led to the final decision as the San Francisco Giants beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-5, winning the three game set in LA, two games to one.   Brian Wilson (2-0), who blew the save in the bottom of the 12th, surrendering a solo homerun to Casey Blake, earned redemption and the victory by retiring the side in order in the bottom of the 13th.  Guillermo Mota picked up the loss.

In the opener, the Giants benefitted from yet another strong outing by Barry Zito (1-2), going six innings and scattering 8 hits while holding the Dodgers to one run.  This time, however, he actually picked up the winning decision as the Giants played excellent small ball, scoring twice on sacrifice flies by Aaron Rowand and Edgar Renteria.   Dodgers ace Chad Billingsley (5-1) was the hard luck loser, tossing seven quality innings while picking up his first loss of 2009.

In the middle game, Dodger starter Eric Stults (4-1) completely handcuffed the Giants, surrendering only four hits while striking out five in a complete game, 8-0 victory.  Juan Pierre drove in three with two doubles and Juan Castro had two doubles and three hits overall, driving in two and scoring twice as the Dodgers hitters feasted upon Giant starter Jonathan Sanchez (1-3) for six hits and five runs in five innings. 

Initial impressions of this series are that they played very well.  Tim Lincecum didn’t pitch particularily well in the rubber match, but they didn’t panic and actually came from behing for the victory.  Emmanuel Burriss is starting to heat up.  He had four hits on Sunday and hitting .287 going into tonight’s game (and is actually slated at leadoff tonight).  Travis Ishikawa is starting to put some good wood on the ball.  Let’s see if he can get out of this slump.  Brian Wilson came back from the homerun nicely on Sunday.  Nice to see he has some thick skin.  Good closers need that.   Sanchez is scuffling with his control.  He needs to get this worked out.  No need to make a change at the #5 spot in the rotation, at this time.  

For the Dodgers, Juan Pierre wasn’t horrible replacing Manny Ramirez.  However, the balance of power shifts back to the pack with the next 46 games.  This series win leaves the Giants 4 1/2 games off the pace.  We’ll see how it works out. 

The Giants will next host the Washington Nationals on Monday to begin a three game set.  The Dodgers travel to Philadelphia to play the world champion Phillies for three, starting Tuesday.

Backed by a three run, first inning homerun by Benjie Molina and a dominating performance by Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum, the San Francisco Giants beat the Cubs 6-2 to earn a split in the series and end Chicago’s four game winning streak. 

Lincecum struck out seven Cubs in seven innings, surrendering only four hits, two walks, and two runs in his fourth consecutive quality start.  It was also Lincecum’s third consecutive victory (3-1) after two shaky starts to begin the year.  Molina’s homer, his fifth on the season, provided enough runs to make a loser of starter Sean Marshall (0-2).   The Giants added three in the eighth with an two run double by Aaron Rowand and a run scoring single by Randy Winn for the final margin.

In the opener, the Cubs took advantage of wildness (six walks in four innings) by Giant starter Jonathan Sanchez (1-2) and Ryan Theriot hit his third homerun of the season en route to a 4-2 Chicago victory.   Ryan Dempster (2-1) pitched seven solid innings for the win and Kevin Gregg closed out the ninth for his fourth save of the season.

The Chicago Cubs will travel to Houston to take on the Astros on Wednesday night.  The San Francisco Giants go to Denver to face the Colorado Rockies with Randy Johnson scheduled to start Wednesday. 

All in all, not a horribly exciting series.  It was nice to see a split over a sweep, however.  This was the get away day to get away.   Horrible lineup.  Am a bit shocked they put up six.  At least it appears that the Cubs were also answering with a skeleton crew.  Lincecum’s still a stud and showed it again today.  Sanchez would have been good, if not for the walks.  With them, he was horribly vulnerable.  Very unfortunate.  He needs to get that under control. 

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.

The San Francisco Giants, led by a strong outing by starter Matt Cain, took the rubber match of their opening series with the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-1.  

Cain went seven innings and gave up one run on five hits, striking out five and only walking two.  He was backed by a 3-3 performance by Fred Lewis and four RBI from catcher Benjie Molina.  Aaron Rowand continued his torid start with a pair of hits.   The only down note on the day was rookie reliever Joseph Martinez being struck in the head with a line drive off the bat of Brewer centerfielder Mike Cameron. 

In the first game, the Giants survived a shaky start by Tim Lincecum by putting up a ten spot, highlighted by three home runs by Molina, Rowand, and Randy Winn and an energizing, bases clearing triple by rookie Travis Ishikawa.  Despite Lincecum, the defending Cy Young winner, only lasting three innings, the Giants prevailed 10-6. 

In game two, newcomer Randy Johnson dominated, but fell victim to two untimely homeruns, the second a three run variety off the bat of Brewer counterpart Yovani Gallardo, that gave Milwaukee a lead that they never relinqueshed in beating the Orange and Black, 4-2.  Johnson looked great in five innings, only giving up four hits while striking out seven.  However, Gallardo looked better, pitching into the seventh inning, allowing only two runs. 

Thoughts from the series:  The only thing that brings any concern to me is Lincecum getting hit around a little.  However, he admitted that he didn’t have great stuff.  He should be back to throwing laser guided BB’s on his next go around the rotation.  No cause for concern there yet.  It was nice to see the offense show up as they did in games one and three.  As yet, the kids are doing great.  They seem to be answering their critics rather loudly.  Very nice.  Keep it up.  Also, it was nice to see Rowand hitting well.  He started like this last season and tailed off.  Here’s to him doing this for a complete season. 

Overall, this was a great series to kick off 2009 for the Giants.  They will next host the San Diego Padres on Friday night, with Barry Zito starting against Shawn Hill.  First pitch at 9:05, central.