Juan Uribe lifted his fifth homerun of the season to left field, sinking the Dodgers 4-2 in ten innings and allowing the Giants to salvage the final game of the three game set with division leader Los Angeles.
The Dodgers forced extra innings when Adam Ethier singled home Rafael Furcal, tying the score against Tim Lincecum with two outs in the ninth. Winner Brian Wilson (4-5) quelled the rally and pitched the tenth for the win. Uribe blasted an 0-2 offering from loser Guillermo Mota (3-4) into the seats for the final tally. Lincecum finished the day surrendering four hits, two runs, and striking out seven. Great day for the game’s top pitcher. He should have had the win. Ended up with a no decision.
In the first game, the Giants jumped out to an early 1-0 advantage when Travis Ishikawa blasted an offering from HIroki Kuroda (5-5) over the right field fence in the second inning. However, the Giants would get little else as Matt Kemp banged a three run double off loser Jonathan Sanchez (5-10) in the fourth en route to a 4-2 victory. Mark Loretta followed with a run scoring single to give the Dodgers a 4-1 advantage. Benjie Molina hit a rather meaningless solo homerun (14) off closer Jonathan Broxton in the ninth. However, after allowing a single to Randy Winn, Broxton slammed the door the rest of the way for his 25th save of the season.
In the middle game, the Giants again struck first, jumping out to a third inning 1-0 advantage over Randy Wolf (6-6). However, rookie Joe Martinez (2-1) couldn’t hold the lead through the fifth and the Dodgers prevailed 9-1. Martinez shut the Dodgers out through the first four frames but was chased after Ethier and Manny Ramirez blasted back to back run scoring doubles to give the Dodgers a 3-1 lead. The hit parade continued in full swing in the seventh when Ramirez (13) and Matt Kemp (16) sent balls into orbit off Brandon Medders for the final numbers.
All in all, the Giants looked atrocious this series. Yes, I know that the umpires blew some (A LOT) of calls this series. However, that doesn’t excuse Sanchez’s wildness (two walks before the back breaking double) or the inept offense shown by the Giants. Questionable managerial moves, too. Such as, in the first game, Ishikawa blasted a homerun and drew the team’s only walk on the day. He had a chance to come up with runners on base but late, because a lefty was on for the Dodgers, he was lifted for a right hand hitter (Ryan Garko). STUPID!!! Does the concept of ‘hot hand’ mean nothing to Bochy? Guess not. And another thing. I think I’m tired of seeing Garko in the lineup. I don’t care if he was a deadline pickup. He’s been playing horrible. There’s a reason Ishikawa’s had more reps recently. I won’t hold the feet of Martinez to the fire too much. He did a servicable job for four innings. But the pressure might have gotten to him in the fifth. He’s young. However, he needs to get through that frame. If not, tickets to Fresno can be bought at a premium. Did I see Randy Winn batting fifth this series? Wow!!! That’s a sure fire way to protect Molina at four. Incredible. This was a huge series. They needed two or three wins and got one. Amazing. I guess there’s always the wild card. Timmy should have had the victory today. Perhaps there’s a reason why they call the umps ‘blue’. Did I just say that? Strike that from the record.
The Giants next travel to New York to take on the Mets Friday night. The Dodgers will hopefully lose to the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix. We can hope, right?
