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. 

The Washington Nationals combined timely hitting with a strong outing by rookie starter Shairon Martis to turn back the San Fracisco Giants bid for a series sweep, 6-3.  Martis improved to 5-0, throwing seven innings while surrendering two hits and a run.  The Nationals scored three of their runs with two out to beat Barry Zito (1-3).   Elijah Dukes drove in three runs and Nick Johnson had four hits on the day.  Ryan Zimmerman’s hitting streak ended at 30 games. 

In the opener, Randy Johnson (3-3) struck out nine in five innings for his 298th career victory, while Randy Winn and Travis Ishikawa collected three hits apiece as the Giants bullied starter Daniel Cabrera and withstood a late ninth inning rally to beat the Nationals 11-7.  The 11 runs were the most scored by the Giants thus far this season.  Reliever Osiris Matos batted in the bottom of the eighth and collected his first major league hit, an infield single.  Ryan Zimmerman homered twice for the Nationals.  Brian Wilson pitched the final out for his eighth save of the season.

In the middle game, Pablo Sandoval lifted the bullpen with a two out, three run, walk off homerun, as the Giants prevailed 9-7.  Matt Cain pitched well, going seven innings and surrendering only four runs, three on a seventh inning home run by Nick Johnson, who finished with five RBI on the game.  He turned a 5-4 lead over to Bob Howry and the San Francisco bullpen, which promptly gave it and three runs up in the eighth inning, creating a 7-5 deficit.  Benjie Molina hit a solo home run in the eighth, his eighth on the season.   Losing pitcher Joe Beimel (0-2) came on for the save in the bottom of the ninth.  After retiring pinch hitters Juan Uribe and Rich Aurilia, Emmanuel Burriss singled and advanced to second on Beimel’s throwing error.  Edgar Renteria followed with a walk, setting the stage for Sandoval’s blast.  Brandon Medders (2-1) pitched the last two outs of the ninth for the victory. 

My impressions of this series are several fold.  Yes, it’s great to win another series.  It would have been even better to get a sweep, but such is life.  Zito looked good again, but not great.  Cain pitched good up until the three run blast.  The bullpen, however, has to hold that thing.  It is good that Sergio Romo should be back soon.  It appears as if Ishikawa’s starting to hit.  That’s excellent news.  However, it is against the Nationals.  Let’s see if he can keep up this pace.  Johnson keeps running out of gas around the fifth inning.  That’s somewhat disheartening.  We’ll see if this is a trend that he might remedy.   The bullpen (sans Wilson, who creates his own drama but tends to fix it, too) has been developing a habit of turning ’safe’ leads into nail-biters and small leads into deficits.  This needs to be turned around.  Sandoval’s a good hitter.  He’s a really good hitter. 

The Giants will next play host to the New York Mets for four games.  The Nationals will go home and host the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday in the first game of a three game set. 

Matt Cain threw six shutout innings and Benjie Molina homered twice as the San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies 8-3 to earn a split in the mid-week, two game series.  Molina hit blasts in the second and third innings as the Giants opened up an early 5-0 lead against Colorado starter Jason Marquis (4-2).  Cain (3-1) benefitted from a double play to work around three first inning walks.  He allowed only one hit, a leadoff Todd Helton single in the fourth.  

In the first game, the Rockies used a ten run explosion between the fifth and eighth innings to trounce Randy Johnson (2-3) and the Giants, 11-1.  Todd Helton, Matt Murton, and Yorvit Torrealba homered to back a dominating seven inning, five hit performance by Ubaldo Jimenez (2-4), who won for the first time in about a month.   For the first time since 2006, Johnson didn’t strike out a batter in a start. 

The Giants will travel to Los Angeles next to play the Dodgers.  The Rockies will play host to the Florida Marlins. 

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. 

Pinch hitter Rich Aurilia singled home catcher Steve Holm in the bottom of the tenth, giving the Giants a 1-0 extra innings victory over the Colorado Rockies.  The win showcased another outstanding effort by starter Barry Zito who, in spite of another no-decision, turned in his third consecutive quality appearance, throwing seven shutout innings while surrendering only two hits.  With the outcome, the Giants won their fifth consecutive series, taking two of three at home against the division rivals. 

In the opener, Randy Johnson struck out nine in seven shutout innings, stingily allowing only four hits and walking none as the Giants rode and RBI double by Travis Ishikawa and sacrifice flies by Randy Winn and Bengie Molina to a 3-2 victory.  Brian Wilson tallied his sixth save of the season, closing out the Rockies in the ninth after quelling an eighth inning uprising against Bob Howry and Jeremy Affeldt with a bases loaded strikeout of Ryan Spilborghs.  

In the middle game, Spilborghs got a measure of revenge, homering twice off Matt Cain, as the Rockies topped the tally, 5-1.  Starter Jason Marquis threw a complete game five-hitter, surrendering only a ninth inning homerun to Pablo Sandoval.  Brad Hawpe also homered to back Marquis. 

I was impressed by the Giants starting pitching (again) this series.  Zito and Johnson were dominant.  For Zito, he did it with Steve Holm behind the dish, showing that perhaps his recent success was more than just Sandoval catching.  Hopefully he can continue it with Molina as his backstop.  Also, though it was the first time in five starts this season that Cain wasn’t dominant, aside from the homers, he only allowed four other hits and four walks.  An off day, but for a three, such an off day is acceptable every now and again.  Finally, it’s nice to see Fred Lewis and Ishikawa making some solid contact.  Ditto Nate Schierholtz.  On an injury note, Winn sat out the final game of the series with a sore side.   We’ll watch that one and keep you posted. 

The Giants will next travel to Chicago for a two game set against the Cubs.   The Rockies will go down the shore to San Diego for a two game series against the Padres. 

Outstanding performances by Pablo Sandoval and Matt Cain went for naught as the Diamondbacks rallied against closer Brian Wilson and went on to salvage the finale of the weekend three game set from the Giants by a final score of 5-4 in 12 innings.

Sandoval went 4-4 and crushed a three run homer to put the Giants ahead 4-1 in the eighth.  Cain turned in his fourth consecutive quality start, going seven innings, scattering four hits and a run.  He was turned away from his third victory of the season when Justin Upton capped a three run, ninth inning rally against Wilson with a two run homerun, his second of the year.  The teams exchanged zeros for the next two innings until the Diamondbacks loaded the bases on three straight walks and a sacrifice in the twelfth.  Conor Jackson followed with a single to deep left field, scoring Miguel Montero for the final score.

In the opener, Tim Lincecum was again sharp, striking out twelve in eight innings and giving up one run while picking up his first victory of the season, 5-1.  He was backed with homeruns by Benjie Molina and Edgar Renteria as the Giants won their fourth straight. 

In the middle game, Randy Johnson was anything but spectacular, walking seven in 3 1/3 innings, but the Giants rallied for four in the fifth inning, capped by a Randy Winn two run homerun, his second of the year.  Justin Miller and the bullpen shook off a homerun by Eric Byrnes to shut down Arizona for the last four innings as the Giants took the game 5-3. 

My reactions are such:  1)  the starting pitching is looking incredible.  The two headed monster of Cain and Lincecum was unstoppable.  If these two are clicking like this all season, good things are in store.  2)  nice to see that Sandoval is snapping out of his slump.  Today’s performance brought him up to .292 on the season.  3)  Travis Ishikawa, while still slumping at the plate, turned in some outstanding defense.  He also hit a few lasers (though right at defenders).  He’ll come around.  4)  Johnson’s wildness was a bit troubling.  However, he’s been in the game a few years.  I’m sure it’s just mechanics or perhaps the pressure from returning to the desert.  Should be straightened out by his next start.  5) Today’s effort by Wilson was an anomaly.  He’s been pitching well up until this appearance.  Again, all closers have periodic bad outings.  I wouldn’t worry too badly, yet.  6) I still don’t like Fred Lewis leading off.   Just something about it leaves a bad taste and all.  7) It was nice to see Nate Schierholtz not only start but contribute Sunday. 

Great overall performance.  Perfect momentum as they now go home to face the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Zito vs. Wolf.  See ya’ there!!