Tim Lincecum tossed seven strong innings and Andres Torres homered as the San Francisco Giants completed a three game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks with a 7-3 victory, finishing a National League best 52-29 at home. 

Lincecum (15-7) allowed two hits and two earned runs while striking out seven, increasing his National League leading strikeout total to 254.  Torres led an eleven hit assault against Dan Haren (14-10) with his sixth homerun of the season.  He also added a triple.  Randy Winn, playing in perhaps his final game for the Giants, collected two hits in the effort.  Randy Johnson closed out the ninth.  Rich Aurilia, facing his finale as a Giant, started at first base and was applauded loudly by the home crowd each time up to the plate. 

In the opener, Benjie Molina had four hits and homered twice (19, 20) as the Giants lifted Jonathan Sanchez (8-12) to a 8-4 victory.  Pablo Sandoval also collected four hits lifted a ball into orbit for his 23rd of the season.  Doug Davis (8-14) was pummeled for seven hits and four runs in four innings for the loss.  Ryan Garko and Randy Winn each had two hits for the Giants.  Miguel Montero homered twice (15, 16) off Sanchez for the Diamondbacks in a losing effort.

In the middle game, Brad Penny (4-1/11-9) went the distance, striking out five, as the Giants won 4-1.  His only run allowed was unearned.  Eli Whiteside hit his second homerun of the season off Kevin Mulvey (0-3). 

Okay, they got the sweep, but the Rockies are in the playoffs (good luck, gents).  Therefore, what do we say?  If I came up in spring training and told you that the Giants would be in it until the second to last series of the season, would you have believed me?  I rest my case.  Full season recaps are for later, but let’s touch on what we see from the series.  First, Lincecum is awesome.  However, he will not win the Cy Young.  Neither will my fave horse of the season (Matt Cain).  No, that award belongs in St. Louis this year.  For who should get it, check out their blog.  Probably Carpenter.  Second, it’s time to say goodbye to some veterans.  I’m thinking of Winn and Aurilia.  Probably Molina, too.  However, the front office and manager love Benjie.  Therefore, he’ll probably get another year.  However, let’s bat him where he should be batting.  Seventh.  Finally, about the front office and manager.  The lineups were questionable at times.  The Renteria signing was pointless.  The Garko trade?  Pointless.  Freddy Sanchez?  Well, I hope Alderson was worth it.  Yes, the Giants overachieved this season.  However, was it because of or in spite of the front office and management?   I hope it’s the former but fear it is the latter. 

One more series on the season.  The Giants will travel to San Diego to face the Padres.  The Diamondbacks travel to Chicago to face the Cubs.  Finish strong.  GO GIANTS!!!!

Freddy Sanchez waited several days to make his debut for the San Francisco Giants.  However, his performance Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies not only helped boost the team to a 7-3 victory, but also helped endear him to Giant faithful as the team took three of four games at home against the NL East leaders. 

Sanchez singled and doubled, driving in two critical runs and scoring once as the Giants rallied from an early 3-1 deficit with six unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth innings off losing pitcher Cole Hamels (7-6).   Barry Zito (7-10) went six strong innings, limiting the high powered Phillies offense to six hits and three runs (two earned), striking out five and walking none.   Eugenio Velez continued his torid hitting, driving in two runs with a bases loaded single in the sixth that tallied the final runs.  Aaron Rowand also contributed an RBI triple in the second. 

In the opener, Pablo Sandoval drove in four runs with a sacrifice fly, double, and homerun (16) as the Giants won 7-2.  Rodrigo Lopez (3-1) was hit early and often in losing his first decision on the season.  Eugenio Velez had three hits and drove in three with a double and two singles.  Jonathan Sanchez (4-9) pitched into the sixth, surrendering three hits and striking out seven.  The only real blemish on Sanchez was Chase Utley’s 23rd homerun of the season in the sixth.  Giant outfielder Andres Torres left the game after the bottom of the second with a strained left hamstring.  He was replaced by Randy Winn.

In the second match of the series, newcomer and defending AL Cy Young winner Cliff Lee (8-9) handcuffed the Giants on four hits, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth.  Jayson Werth drove in three and launched a homerun (22) in the 5-1 Phillie victory.  Rookie Ryan Sadowski (2-4) didn’t pitch poorly, but lost his fourth straight decision, leaving after four innings with shoulder tightness, surrendering one run on three hits and three walks.   

In the third game, Tim Lincecum (12-3) stymied the Phillies through eight shutout innings, winning 2-0.  Lincecum struck out eight and scattered seven hits and walked one.  Joe Blanton (7-5) was the hard luck loser, pitching seven strong innings, blemished only by two sacrifice flies by Juan Uribe.  Brian Wilson pitched the ninth for his 27th save. 

Great series for the Giants.  I can’t really think of too many complaints.  The pitching was awesome.  Even in the loss, Sadowski pitched well.  A lot of good momentum to end the home stand with a 6-1 mark.  The staff did an impressive job with turning back an incredibly potent offense.   Sanchez was great in his debut.  This is what the team needs.  Velez has been a sparkplug since his recall.  Nice to see that he’s over .300 and doing what was expected when coming out of spring training last year. 

In moves to make room for Sanchez, the Giants optioned Jesus Guzman and Ryan Sadowski to Fresno, recalling reliever Waldis Joaquin from Connecticut.  Joaquin has pitched well in the minors but is most likely holding a spot until they either recall Kevin Pucetas or Joseph Martinez to make the start on Wednesday or look to a reliever, such as Justin Miller, to make a spot start.  Not sure if this is a demotion for Sadowski or a chance for him to work on pitching in the minors for a bit (and to take a closer look at his injury).  I think it’s a good opportunity for either Pucetas or Martinez to have a shot in the rotation, but we’ll know for sure on Wednesday.

The Giants travel to Houston to begin a three game set with the Astros Monday night.  The Phillies will go to Denver to start a three game set with the Rockies on Tuesday.  The Giants and Rockies each sport identical 58-47 marks to lead the National League wild card chase.  Go Giants.  Go Phillies. 

On a day when they acquired all-star second baseman Freddy Sanchez from Pittsburgh, Randy Winn singled in Eugenio Velez with two out in the bottom of the tenth inning for a 1-0 victory as the San Francisco Giants completed a three game sweep of the Pirates. 

Brian Wilson (3-4) pitched the tenth for the victory, striking out two while retiring the Pirates in order.   In the presence of run support, Cy Young candidate (check the record…I did call this shot in the preseason) Matt Cain would have had a complete game, three hit shutout.  Without it, he ended up with a no decision that drove his ERA down further, to 2.12.   Can’t get wins every time.  This way is the best way to go when that doesn’t happen, I guess.  Newly acquired first baseman Ryan Garko picked up his first hit for the Giants, a second inning one out single. 

In the opener, Tim Lincecum (11-3) threw a complete game four-hitter, striking out a career high 15 batters, as the Giants won, 4-2.  Pablo Sandoval went 3 for 4 with a double and Andres Torres tripled and drove in two as the Giants got a measure of revenge on Paul Maholm (6-5) who masterfully beat the Giants the last time he faced them in Pittsburgh.   San Francisco piled up four runs in the first two innings and Lincecum cruised the rest of the way. 

In the middle game, newly recalled Eugenio Velez homered (1) and drove in a run with a double as the Giants beat the Pirates 3-2.  Starter Charlie Morton (2-3) was the target of Velez’s success, losing despite giving up only two runs in six innings.  Sandoval drove in another run with two hits and Sergio Romo (3-1) struck out Andrew McCutchen with two on, stranding runners inherited from starter Barry Zito, for the victory.  Brian Wilson worked the ninth, striking out two, for the save, his 26th.  Zito didn’t have his best stuff, but worked around base runners all day, surrending nine hits and only one run in 5 2/3 innings. 

They needed this sweep.  After that horrific road trip (which began in Pittsburgh), the Giants REALLY needed this sweep.  In addition to the sweep that was handed the Dodgers in St. Louis, this sweep is incredibly profitable.  The pitching was nice.  Good to see Romo come back from his recent troubles.  Also, Wilson is the man in the bully.  Jeremy Affeldt lost his consecutive innings scoreless streak (at around 250 or so, I think).  That’s alright.  Regain the focus.  The only homerun in this series was Eugenio Velez.  Eugenio Velez?  Really?  Hmmm.  Perhaps Pablo (who is hitting well, by the way) can start pumping blasts out when the world champs hit town tomorrow night.  We’ll see.  Oh, and Ryan Garko needs to start producing.  The honeymoon won’t be a long one.  Results will be expected about last Thursday.  For the record, I’m not overly enthused with this pickup and still think that Travis Ishikawa is the answer at first.  However, it also doesn’t look like they’re planning on moving him and both are cheap employees.  May the better first baseman win.  Platoon until that is determined. 

The Giants will next begin a four game series with the visiting Philadelphia Phillies (and newly acquired starter Cliff Lee) on Thursday night.  The Pirates travel home to host the Washington Nationals. 

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? 

Seeking to improve their bench, the San Francisco Giants assigned outfielder Andres Torres to San Jose and recalled infielder Kevin Frandsen from AAA Fresno.  Frandsen, who competed for the second base job in spring training, hit .291 with 3 homeruns for the Grizzlies this season. 

In an earlier move, the club sent struggling reliever Osiris Matos to class A San Jose and recalled middle reliever Pat Misch to the Giants.  This is obviously a calculated move as 2008 rookie phenom Sergio Romo was also sent to San Jose to rehab an injury that sidelined him for most of spring training.  His return will be greatly welcomed. 

Pinch Hitter Benjie Molina drove in Andres Torres with a deep single to provide for the only run in a 1-0, ten inning win for the San Francisco Giants over the San Diego Padres.  The win, the third in a row and fourth in a five game home stand for the Giants, completed a sweep of the two game series with the Padres.  Much maligned starter Barry Zito threw seven dominating innings and Brian Wilson tossed two innings for the victory in relief. 

In the first game of the series, Edgar Renteria smacked a grand slam off Jake Peavy and Matt Cain turned in his third consecutive quality start as the Giants drubbed San Diego, 8-3.  

Zito’s outing is the fifth straight quality start turned in by the Giants staff.  With an off day on Thursday, the Giants will skip Jonathan Sanchez’s spot in the rotation for the series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix on Friday.  Instead, ace Tim Lincecum will seek out his first win of 2009, facing Doug Davis for the second time in a week.  The two exchanged zeros for eight innings last Saturday before Arizona broke through against the Giant bullpen, prevailing 2-0 and giving Lincecum a no-decision. 

In other news, the Giants optioned left-handed reliever Alex Hinshaw to AAA Fresno and recalled catcher Steve Holm.  Hinshaw walked 5 batters in 7 appearances this year while compiling an ERA of 8.44.  In my opinion, he’ll be back soon, should he get his control back in the minors.  Holm will serve as a backup catcher to Molina.  He has yet to play a game in the major leagues this season.  For today’s game, Pablo Sandoval donned the mask behind the plate, his first such appearance this season. 

Jonathan Sanchez dominated into the seventh inning, Andres Torres homered, and Brian Wilson recorded his first save as the San Francisco Giants beat Dan Haren and the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-0, putting an end to a six game losing streak. 

Sanchez last 6 2/3 shutout innings, surrendering two hits and four walks while striking out four as he notched his first victory of the season.  Catcher Benjie Molina’s run scoring single in the fourth proved to be the only run necessary.  Jeremy Affeldt, Bob Howry, and Brian Wilson slammed the door, combing for 2 1/3 innings of shutout relief with Wilson pitching the final 1 1/3 for the save. 

Haren, the evening’s Matt Cain, picked up the tough loss, surrendering five hits and one walk in six innings, falling to 0-3 while his ERA dropped to 1.89 for the season.   The teams will meet again on Saturday afternoon as Tim Lincecum faces lefty Doug Davis. 

The San Francisco Giants made their final roster moves, with some surprises, heading in to Tuesday’s opener against the Milwaukee Brewers. 

In trimming back to the final 25, the team decided to go with a 12 man pitching staff, designating Luis Perdomo for assignment while purchasing the contract of Brandon Medders from AAA Fresno.  As Perdomo is a Rule 5 pickup, they will have to offer him back to the St. Louis Cardinals since he’s not remaining on the 25 man roster.  More on that as it develops. 

In other moves, the Giants optioned catcher Steve Holm to Fresno, leaving them with just one full time catcher in Benjie Molina.  Third baseman Pablo Sandoval will moonlight as a backup backstop until later in the season (probably right after the first month, which is laden with off days, and at which time the Giants will have a little better idea of the type of team that they are fielding), when Holm is expected to be recalled.  Relief pitcher Justin Miller was reassigned to minor league camp.  Expect him back some time this season.  Also, the contracts of Juan Uribe and Rich Aurilia were purchased from Fresno.  Both veterans will start the season on the Giants roster.  Finally, pitcher Noah Lowry and reliever Sergio Romo will both open the season on the 15 day disabled list. 

The 2009 San Francisco Giants opening day roster is as follows:

Starting Rotation: Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, Randy Johnson, Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito.

Bullpen: Alex Hinshaw, Bob Howry,  Joseph Martinez, Brandon Medders,  Merkin Valdez, Brian Wilson, Jeremy Affeldt,

Starters:

C: Benjie Molina.

1B:  Travis Ishikawa

2B:  Emmanuel Burriss

SS:  Edgar Renteria

3B:  Pablo Sandoval

RF:  Randy Winn

CF:  Aaron Rowand

LF:  Fred Lewis

Bench: Rich Aurilia (IF), Juan Uribe (IF), Eugenio Velez (UT), Nate Schierholtz (OF), Andres Torres (OF)

With the release of Dave Roberts (coupled with the team not signing Manny Ramirez in the off-season), the log jam in the outfield has been cleared up a bit.  However, aside from some spells of Eugenio Velez on the lawn, there are still four potential starters for three spots. 

In left field roams Fred Lewis.  I love this guy.  His bunion concerns seem to be cleared up and he’ll should be close to 100% for the season.  Also, it looks like he’ll be batting 3, which can only serve to help his numbers.  Leading off for the majority of last season stifled him a bit (though the 21 steals, 11 triples, and 81 runs scored were very nice).  While he’s a ravenous first pitch hitter, leading off requires taking pitches.   However, let’s not forget that the Pirates used to hit the Giants previous left fielder in the leadoff spot in 1986 and he did quite well when dropped down in the order.  Just sayin’.  Hitting 3 should help Lewis in 2009.

In center is the $12 million dollar man, Aaron Rowand.  2008 wasn’t exactly a great season for Rowand.  He got off to a fast start and then tailed off appreciably as the summer wore on.  Also, his defense wasn’t as incredible as the Giants were counting on.  If I sound like I’m not a huge fan hey, $12 million SHOULD buy .300, 25, 120.  The Giants didn’t get an wonderful return on investment last season.  I can’t claim that 2009 will be better, but it couldn’t hurt.

Right field is the the territory of Randy Winn.  He’s hit .300 each of the last two seasons and is a solid player and team leader.  In 2008, he helped with speed, too (25 steals with only twice being caught and 84 runs scored).   So far this spring, he’s been leading off consistently (and performing poorly in doing so).  If he can get his game together, he’ll be a good, if not spectacular, contributer in 2009.  If not, then perhaps it’s time for a changing of the guard.

Said change would be found in Nate Schierholtz.  This guy has murdered pitching wherever he’s wielded a bat (minor leagues, major leagues, and olympics).  He’s recorded back to back .300 seasons in limited major league action and is probably ready to be the starter in right.  However, right now he’ll have to bide his time.  As the fourth outfielder, he’ll get his share of at bats and a good chance to prove his worth.  He missed some time in the spring training with a tweaked back.  Hopefully, that’s behind him and exciting things are to come from Schierholtz.  Even as the fourth outfielder, he’s still incredibly more lethal than either Dave Roberts or Rajai Davis.  Something to look forward to. 

It’s also important to note that non-roster invitee veteran Andres Torres is making a push for a spot on the major league club.  He’s been playing well and leads the Cactus League in runs scored, thus far.  However, his age (31) might work against him.  Also, as a runner, the spot he’s gunning for might well be the one that appears to belong to Velez, who has proven himself to be a more adept hitter.  However, the Giant management seems to have a warm spot for veterans.  As a result, he might get to bring his cleats to AT&T park when the team opens the season.  If that happens, look for either Velez or Burriss to get a ticket to Fresno.  However, Torres will still have to prove himself, regardless.  It’s not his job to lose (or at least, shouldn’t be).