Tim Lincecum shrugged off his August woes with an impressive outing, leading the Giants to a 2-1 victory and a home series win over the Colorado Rockies.

The two-time Cy Young winner locked horns with Ubaldo Jiminez (17-6) for the entire evening.  Each starter tossed 8 innings, with Lincecum (12-9) striking out nine and stingily only surrendering one run on five hits and a walk.  Carlos Gonzalez’s solo shot (30) leading off the fourth was the only runs the Rockies would score.  The Giants got to Jiminez after a two-out single by Mike Fontenot scored Jose Guillen from second in the fifth inning.   Pinch-runner, speedster Darren Ford, recalled from the minors earlier in the day for the expansion of rosters, took third on a wild pitch by Jiminez and scored when Miguel Olivo’s throw went into left field, setting the final score.  Brian Wilson threw a 1-2-3 ninth for his 38th save.  Jiminez struck out ten in the losing effort.

In the opener, Jonathan Sanchez brought a shutout into the ninth but the Rockies rallied for two off Wilson and won, 2-1.  After Sanchez walked Dexter Fowler to lead off the inning, Wilson (3-2) entered and gave up a run scoring triple to Carlos Gonzalez who subsequently scored after a throwing error by Freddy Sanchez on the play.   Huston Street pitched a perfect ninth for his thirteenth save of the season.  Rafael Bettencourt (5-1) picked up the victory for pitching the eighth.  Jorge De La Rosa pitched seven strong innings, striking out nine, for the no-decision.

In the second game, Andres Torres broke a 2-2, eighth inning tie with his thirteenth homerun of the season and the Giants won, 5-2.  After Torres’ shot off Matt Belisle (6-5) the Giants loaded the bases and Buster Posey followed with a two run double off Joe Beimel.   Jeremy Affeldt (4-3) gave up the lead in the eighth on a solo homer by Melvin Mora (4), but picked up the win after the Giants rallied.  Madison Bumgarner was dominant, tossing six innings of quality ball, surrendering only one run on five hits.   Esmil Rogers was equally good, giving up only two runs in the same span of innings.  Wilson redeemed himself by pitching a perfect ninth for his 37th save.

Great series.  Timely, too.  Even the blown opener was alright.  The Giants showed heart and that says a lot.  Perfect timing, too, as the Padres appear to be falling apart.  The best part of this series was seeing Lincecum back.  Wow, that is huge.  Also nice to see that Pablo Sandoval’s bat is doing its thing again.  Nice call inserting Ford into this game.  His speed is a difference maker on the paths.  However, the starting pitching is the story from this series.  If they are starting to heat up, this is a perfect time.  Bring on the rest of the west.  This team is ready. 

The Giants will next travel to Los Angeles to play the Dodgers on Friday night.  The Rockies will travel to San Diego to play the Padres, also on Friday evening.  Go Giants!!!  Go Rockies!!!

The San Francisco Giants added much-needed help to their depleted bullpen, pulling the trigger on two deals as the July 31st deadline came and went. 

With injuries sidelining lefties Jeremy Affeldt and Dan Runzler, the Giants traded for relievers Javier Lopez and Ramon Ramirez from the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Red Sox, respectively. 

Lopez is a left-handed specialist, suited for pitching exclusively to tough-out southpaw hitters.  From what I understand, he’s really good at this, which is big due to the aforementioned injuries.  He cost a pretty penny too, as San Francisco sent outfielder John Bowker and starting pitcher Joe Martinez to the Pirates in return.  Both were bouncing between Fresno and the home club all season, so I can’t say that they’ll be horribly missed.  Bowker never really showed that he was capable of hitting at the major league level, despite ample opportunities.  Martinez both never performed in the majors and, to be honest, wasn’t really needed as the Giants have a full starting five.  Good move made.

Ramirez is a right handed thrower and less exciting of a pickup than Lopez.  He had a 4.46 ERA in 44 games for the Red Sox this season and is just a piece to toss into the mix.  Can’t say he’ll do well.  Can’t say he’ll crash and burn.  Just a matter of wait and see.  He was good in the two previous seasons and probably is an upgrade over either Denny Bautista or Santiago Casilla, so that’s something.  I can’t imagine being disappointed with such a low expectation level.  He also only cost the team minor league pitcher Daniel Turpen (who?).  Exactly.  This won’t seal their visit to the World Series, but it also won’t be a bummer if it flames. 

Go Orange and Black.

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.

A ninth inning rally by the Philadelphia Phillies, coupled with several extra inning efforts, kept the Giants from sweeping the defending NL champions in San Francisco, as Philadelphia prevailed 7-6 in eleven innings.

Tim Lincecum entered the ninth riding a dominating effort and leading, 4-1.  After a walk, he was lifted and closer Brian Wilson entered.  However, he couldn’t continue his dominating 2010 performance as the Phillies loaded the bases, then tied the score on a bases clearing double by Jason Werth.   The game went to extra innings, where the Phillies took a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the tenth on a run scoring wild pitch by Jeremy Affeldt.  However, Andres Torres tied the score, driving home Nate Schierholtz with an RBI single in the bottom frame.  The Phillies responded with two runs against Sergio Romo (0-2) in the top of the eleventh.  The Giants could only muster one off Nelson Figueroa in the bottom of the inning, via Schierholtz’s second double (and fifth hit overall) of the day.   Figueroa got his first save of the season.   Ryan Madson (1-0) picked up the victory.

In the opener, the Giants scored early off of previously undefeated Roy Halladay (4-1), plating two runs in the first and one in the second inning en route to a 5-1 San Francisco victory.  Mark DeRosa hit a two out, two run single to start the scoring and Eli Whiteside homered and doubled in a second run.  Jonathan Sanchez (2-1) picked up the victory despite wildness (five walks), striking out six in five innings while only surrendering one run.  The bullpen dominated, with three pitchers combining to toss four shutout innings of relief.

In the middle game, the Giant bats came alive against Jamie Moyer (2-2), winning 6-2.  Aubrey Huff (2) and Matt Downs (1) hit solo homeruns to put the Giants ahead for good in the second inning.   Nate Schierholtz starred in the field, throwing out two runners at second base and making a diving catch in the first inning.  Todd Wellemeyer (1-3) picked up his first victory as a Giant, pitching seven plus innings of three hit, two run ball.   Pablo Sandoval and Edgar Renteria each drove in two runs to add to the final tally.

I would have liked the sweep.  However, a series victory is nice.  Great pitching up until they pulled Lincecum.  I’d like to know why he was yanked after a walk.  Why not Wilson in either to begin the inning or let Lincecum take care of his own game.  The Wellemeyer start was good, too.  However, I still am not sure that I trust him.  Schierholtz is blasting the ball.  Good job, Nate.  He should be moved up in the lineup, NOW!!!!  Perhaps he could swap spots with Mark DeRosa at five.  Just a thought. 

The Giants will next play host to the Colorado Rockies on Friday night.  Philadelphia will host the New York Mets on Friday evening.

The San Francisco Giants dropped their fourth straight game as the San Diego Padres topped them 5-2 in San Diego, winning their sixth straight and completing a three game sweep over the Orange and Black. 

Adrian Gonzalez blasted a solo homerun (3) in the first inning to start the hit parade against loser Todd Wellemeyer (0-3).  The Padres tacked on another run when Wellemeyer walked four consecutive batters in the second.  Meanwhile, winner Jon Garland (1-2) was tossing BB’s across the plate, going seven innings while surrendering only one run.  Pablo Sandoval homered (3) in the ninth to cinch the final score a little closer.

In the opening game, David Eckstein blasted a solo homerun (1) off Jeremy Affeldt (2-2) in the tenth inning, breaking a 2-2 tie and leading the Padres to victory, 3-2.  Juan Uribe tied the score in the ninth, homering (2) off closer Heath Bell.   Matt Cain went six strong innings and Clayton Richard matched him for 7 1/3 as both starters picked up no-decisions.  Tim Stauffer (2-0) pitched the tenth for the victory.

In the middle game, Jonathan Sanchez (1-1) almost encored his no-hitter from 2009, tossing seven dominant innings, surrendering one hit and one run while striking out ten.  On most days, this would have been enough for victory.  However, the Giants left their bats at the hotel and the Padres won, 1-0.  The Padres only hit was a single by Chase Headley leading off the fourth.  After a stolen base and two sacrifice flies, Headley came home to score the only run of the day.  Mat Latos (1-1) tossed zeroes for seven innings, giving up four hits and no runs.  Heath Bell pitched the ninth, working around a runner on third and one out for his fourth save on the season. 

Where to start?  This series almost made me physically ill.  I’m not shocked that Wellemeyer lost.  That’s what he’s been doing this season.  I am shocked that they got two superior pitching performances and have nothing to show for it.  The Sanchez game was shameful.  What more could be expected of him?  Nate Schierholtz led off the eighth with a triple, down 1-0.  They didn’t get him home.  How hard is the concept of ’sacrifice fly’ to the team?  In the Giants seventh on Monday, they had runners on second and third with one out and TWO STRAIGHT BATTERS STRUCK OUT!!!  This is unacceptable.  I’d say that I’m excited that Tim Lincecum can be the stopper on Friday, but I question if they’ll score him any runs.  Disturbing.  Oh, and by the way, the Padres are now in first place. 

The Giants will next host the St. Louis Cardinals Friday night.  The Padres will travel to Cincinnati (do all our opponents go there after playing us???) to play the Reds.  GO GIANTS!!!!

The San Francisco Giants blasted three homeruns and Jonathan Sanchez dominated as the NL West leaders beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, Wednesday afternoon, by a tally of 6-0. 

The hit parade began in the second as Aubrey Huff hit his first homerun as a Giant;  a solo inside the park number that caromed off the wall in triples alley off loser Charlie Morton (0-2).  Eli Whiteside followed four batter later with a three run blast, giving winning pitcher Jonathan Sanchez (1-0) all the runs he would need on this day.  Sanchez was masterful, tossing eight shutout innings while giving up only three hits and three walks and tying his career high with eleven strikeouts.  Aaron Rowand closed the scoring with his first homerun, a two run shot in the fifth.

In the opener, Barry Zito (2-0) won his second consecutive strong start, pitching into the seventh, while Bengie Molina went 4-4, driving in four and hitting his first homerun of the season as the Giants prevailed, 9-3.  The team hit early and often off losing pitcher Brian Burres (0-1), chasing him after four innings.  Mark DeRosa drove in two and Pablo Sandoval went 3-4 on the day as San Francisco rapped out twelve hits.  Aubrey Huff scored three runs in the effort. 

In the middle game, Matt Cain played well, pitching six innings of five hit ball.  After he left, the Giants rallied to tie the score at three, giving Cain a no-decision on the day.  However, the bullpen couldn’t hold the Pirates down as loser Jeremy Affeldt (2-1) gave up an unearned run as Garret Jones singled in Andrew McCutchen in the eighth.  The Pirates tacked on two in the ninth off Brandon Medders and closer Octavio Dotel withstood a two run homerun by Eugenio Velez (1) in the ninth to collect the save (2) as the Pirates won, 6-5.  Evan Meek (1-0) bounced back from a blown save to pitch two shutout innings for the win and Andy Laroche (1) and Akinori Iwamura (2) lifted homeruns in the winning effort. 

Well, all in all, a good series.  The pitching is still clicking and Huff is contributing.  That’s all good.  They gave Brian Wilson an inning of work today.  Again, good idea.  No need to get him rusty.  It seems like this team can beat you with whoever they send to the hill.  Sanchez’s outing today echoes that.  When they win, it’s a no-doubter.  When they lose, it’s up in the air.  That’s how they’ll keep the momentum as they head into division play this weekend.  Keep it up, guys. 

The Giants get an off day and then will travel to Los Angeles to play the Dodgers on Friday.  This should be a true test to how ‘for real’ the team is.  The Pirates go home and host the Cincinnati Reds  on Friday.  GO GIANTS!!!!

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.

The San Francisco used a combination of stellar pitching and clutch hitting to beat the Houston Astros 10-4, culminating the season opening three game sweep for the Giants.

In the opener, Tim Lincecum (1-0) tossed seven shutout innings, surrendering only four hits, striking out seven and walking none as the Giants prevailed 5-2. He was bolstered by a three run second inning, featuring RBI singles by Bengie Molina and John Bowker and a sacrifice fly by Juan Uribe off losing pitcher Roy Oswalt (0-1). In the eighth, newcomer Mark DeRosa hit his first homerun of the season for the Giants, extending the lead to 5-0. The Astros rallied for two runs in the ninth before closer Brian Wilson came in and slammed the door for his first save of 2010.

In the middle game, Barry Zito (1-0) pitched six innings of shutout, three-hit ball, and combined with four other Giants relievers on a 3-0 shutout victory. San Francisco put a three spot on the board in the sixth, behind run scoring single by Aubrey Huff and Juan Uribe, sandwiching a sacrifice fly by Bengie Molina, off losing pitcher Wandy Ramirez (0-1) for their only scoring of the day. Brian Wilson pitched a perfect ninth for his second save of the season.

In the finale, the Giants bats erupted for six runs in the final two innings, breaking a 4-4 tie and crushing the Astros 10-4. John Bowker lifted a two-run homer (1) in the second as the Giants opened up an early 2-0 advantage. After increasing the lead to 3-0 following a run scoring double play ground out by Mark DeRosa, former Giant Pedro Feliz stroked a double to make it 3-1 in the fourth. Edgar Renteria pushed the lead back to 4-1 in 7th, driving in Aaron Rowand with one of his five singles on the day. All the while, Matt Cain was sharp, pitching into the seventh, surrendering only one unearned run. However, the Astros rallied behind a two out triple by Cory Sullivan, pulling to 4-3. Jeremy Affeldt (1-0) relieved and surrendered a run scoring infield single to Michael Bourn, knotting the score at 4-4. That’s when the fun began. In the top of the eighth, the Giants teed off on reliever Sammy Gervacio (0-1), scoring once on an error on a bunted ball off the bat of Eli Whiteside by Gervacio and another time on an RBI single by Aaron Rowand. In the ninth, the Giants piled on four more runs, with a leadoff homerun by pinch hitter Travis Ishikawa (1) and run scoring singles by Renteria and Rowand following an RBI double by Juan Uribe for the final tally.

Wow!!! What can I say? Awesome series by the orange and black. Great pitching by all starters (Cain should have won as that triple should have been caught). Edgar Renteria and Juan Uribe are both on fire. John Bowker is looking great. DeRosa blasted his first. Even Travis Ishikawa got into the act. Brian Wilson was nails in the first two games. Not needed today. Incredible stuff!!! Let’s see if they can keep it going. If we see more of this in 2010, we will be looking at a post-season visit.

The Giants will head home on Friday to play the Atlanta Braves. The Astros will play host to NL champ Philadelphia Phillies. Let’s keep it up!!! Go Giants!!!

The San Francisco Giants clubbed 18 hits and beat the New York Mets 10-1 to earn a split in the four game set. 

Aaron Rowand had four hits and launched his tenth homerun of the season as the Giants hitters feasted early and often on former San Francisco rotation stalwart Livan Hernandez (7-8), touching the veteran up for six runs in 5 1/3 innings.  Joe Martinez (3-1), a New York native, had a successful homecoming, tossing five innings of five hit ball while surrendering one run.   Nate Schierholtz added a two run pinch-hit double and Randy Winn had three hits to pace the Giants offense.

In the Friday night opener, Met rookie Bobby Parnell (3-4), making only his second start on the year (against 54 relief appearances) was masterful, tossing six shutout innings, striking out seven while walking none, as the Mets won 3-0.  Angel Pagan led off the game with a homerun (3) off Barry Zito (8-11) and Francisco Rodriguez tossed a perfect ninth for his 26th save. 

In the second game of the set, Benjie Molina broke a 4-4 tie in the top of the tenth with a homerun (15) off Francisco Rodriguez (2-4) as the Giants prevailed 5-4 in ten innings.  Brian Wilson (5-5) blew a long save for Matt Cain, but tossed 2 2/3 shutout innings for the win.  Cain was strong again, notching 7 1/3 strong innings and leaving with the lead.  Earlier in the game, Cain hit David Wright in the helmet with a fastball, knocking the slugger out and sending him to the hospital.   Mets starter Johan Santana retaliated, throwing behind Pablo Sandoval in the seventh.  The Giant third baseman responded by depositing the next pitch over the left field fence for his 18th homerun of the season. 

The third game was likewise a pitcher’s duel as Jonathan Sanchez and Mike Pelfrey matched pitches for more than seven innings, each leaving with the score tied 2-2.   Daniel Murphy drove home Jeff Francoeur, singling off Jeremy Affeldt in the bottom of the ninth to win the game for the Mets 3-2 and make a loser off Sergio Romo (3-2).  Francisco Rodriguez (3-4) struck out the side in the top of the ninth for the victory.

Well, they got the split.  That’s what you ask for on the road, right?  But the bats (with the exception of the last game) were silent.  Four good outings and two wins to show for it.  I don’t know.  I’m amazed more the more I watch this.  Come on guys.  Cain losing a three run lead was a bit of a shocker, too.  I pray that David Wright is okay.  It appears as if he is.  Ended up on the disabled list with a concussion.  Martinez played well.  That’s nice to see.  Let’s keep this momentum going into the next series.  Heck, the Dodgers keep losing.  Perhaps the Giants can win this thing yet. 

The Giants will next travel to Cincinnati on Tuesday to play the Reds.  The Mets host the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday.