Results tagged ‘ Ryan Garko ’
The Giants vs. The Freebies
I don’t know why they call them “free” agents. They seem pretty darn expensive to me. Maybe they should categorize them from “relatively inexpensive agents” for players who sign for under two million dollars per year all the way up to “exorbitantly expensive agents” for players who sign for over ten million dollars per year. But I digress…
Never Before Seen, Ladies and Gentlemen!
It
was a beautiful, sunny Wednesday afternoon out at the end of the South Beach
Harbor Pier as crabbers tossed their nets into the bay and strollers walked and
rolled baby buggies along the gray concrete causeway. The mellow ambience
followed into AT&T Park where I watched the end of the Giants batting
practice and the entirety of Diamondbacks warm up session. They didn’t hit too
many home runs into the stands except Mark Reynolds who consistently lofted bombs
into the stands. What surprised me later was that Diamondbacks manager A. J.
Hinch chose not to play that owner of 38 round trippers this evening.
But
it may have mattered not the way the game began. Jonathan Sanchez threw two
straight strikes to lead off hitter second baseman Ryan Roberts who then turned
around the next pitch pumping it into the left field stand. The anomalies
continued when Jonathan struck out the next batter, third baseman Augie Ojeda,
on a wild pitch in the dirt and to the backstop. But catcher Eli Whiteside got
to it in plenty of time to throw out the tardy runner at first except that he
short-armed a lollypop throw that bounced in front and then beyond first
baseman Ryan Garko. After shortstop Stephan Drew fouled out to third baseman Ryan
Rohlinger (who was making his first appearance thise season), Augie Ojeda stole
second base on Jonathan’s second pitch to rightfielder Justin Upton (who was
making his first appearance since coming off the injured list) and kept
motoring to third base on Eli Whiteside‘s second throwing error of the inning.
However, Jonathan Sanchez promptly struck out both Justin Upton and catcher
Miguel Montero with his next five pitches and the bleeding was staunched.
On
the other hand, the Giants could barely produce a scratch on Diamondback
pitcher Doug Davis who mowed through the first two innings on nineteen pitched
and a Ryan Rohlinger double play. He needed only eleven pitches to finish the
third inning despite two out singles by Jonathan Sanchez and leftfielder Eugenio
Velez. He then needed only six pitches to get through the heart of the Giants
batting order in the fourth inning. The game was moving fast and seemed to be
moving away from the Giants. In fact, the Giants didn’t get their next hit
until the seventh inning when second baseman Juan Uribe blasted a two out home
run deep into the left field bleachers that finally gave the Giants fans
something to cheer about.
Juan
Uribe‘s seventh inning home run would have tied the game up were it not for the
fact that Jonathan Sanchez walked Justin Upton on four pitches with one out in
the sixth inning and, after striking out Miguel Montero for the third time in
the game, was ordered to intentionally walk rookie first baseman Rusty Ryal
which I thought was a curious decision by Giants manager Bruce Bochy since Jonathan
was far from pinpoint in his control that night. Consequently, the Diamondbacks
increased their lead to 3-0 with successive singles by rookie leftfielder
Gerardo Parra and centerfielder Alex Romero before Doug Davis struck out on
three pitches.
It
was a credit to Jonathan Sanchez that he limited the Diamondbacks to just three
runs when he left the game before the eighth inning. He fought through errors,
wildness, and a high pitch count (108) to keep the Giants in the game by the
time reliever Justin Miller took over. He got through the middle of the
Diamondbacks order as a ballhawk sold me an autographed team ball of the 2008
Diamondbacks (including Randy Johnson) for just $40. Such a deal.
And
then the old adage “When you go to a baseball game, you’ll see something you’ve
never seen before” invoked itself. With Doug Davis cruising along in the eighth
inning on eighty-eight pitches and two outs in the book, he walked shortstop
Edgar Renteria on a full count and then rightfielder Randy Winn blooped a
single into rightfield on his first pitch. At that point, A.J. Hinch brought in
his closer Chad Qualls to face clean up man Ryan Garko but Bruce Bochy
countered by bringing in his normal but injured clean up hitter Bengie Molina.
It seemed all for naught when Bengie got two quick strikes on his. But while
the crowd cheered and I was pondering which pitcher Bruce Bochy would bring in
to pinch run for Bengie in the event he should get on base, Bengie Molina swung and
sent a flyball deep into leftfield that kept going… and kept going… and barely
cleared the leftfield fence for a three run homer and a 4-3 lead. The crowd
went absolutely wild.
And
then I saw something I had not seen before… at least something I can’t remember
the last time I saw it: A Giants closer came into the ninth inning and
protected a one run lead for the victory by throwing seven pitches… and all
strikes! And the closer was Brandon Medders getting the first save of his five-year career. Perhaps the Giants have turned this thing around. Maybe their mojo has
changed for the better. Could it be we will catch up to the Rockies? And there I
go believing again. I know it would be too good to be true. But wouldn’t it be fun if it
did happen? Go Giants!
A Crisis Of Faith
Reality
slapped me hard in the face this week. It was the Reality of the eventual fate
of our Giants’ hard-fought 2009 season. Specifically, it ruthlessly slapped my
metaphorical jowls last Friday when the Giants’ bullpen could not protect a 5-3
lead for Tim Lincecum‘s win. The Giants lost 10-5 after giving up five runs on
only one hit. Ouch! And that harsh realization was strongly reinforced last
Sunday when I watched Tim Cain‘s lackluster 5-2 loss to the comparatively
lowly, injured-riddled Cincinnati Reds from the plush comfort from my living
room couch rather that dragging my old, battered, sagging and sore body out to
cook in the blazing afternoon aluminum bleachers-reflected sun as I originally
had intended to before logic and reason was unmercifully imparted
intra-epidermally into the nether reaches of my until-then stubborn and hopeful
gray (and orange) matter that makes up a significant part of my unseen nervous
oblongata. And what (un)prodded me not to utilize my sole season ticket to
venture forth and claim my Giants Trading Cards Day prize was that I had come
to the personal realization that the Giants’ most improbable 2009 run had final
run its due course this year.
Let
me back, back, back track (with due apology to ESPN’s Chris Berman) to my youth
and state that based upon my personal experience as a Giants fan since I first
saw them over fifty years ago in Seals Stadium, I’ve seen this scene many times
before. Many seemingly strong and healthy Giants teams have faded on me late in
the summer as the other National League teams are making the home turn and
start sprinting for the October finish line. A stumble here, a falter there,
and the Giants slip back in the pack inexorably hobbled eventually to limp
nobly into Fan Appreciation Day.
Make
no mistake. I am not bitter. Nor am I particularly disappointed. In Spring, the
Giants were not expected to be doing this well this far into the season but I
bought a single season ticket nonetheless expecting something Tim Cain‘s lackluster 5-2 loss to the comparatively lowly, injured-riddled Cincinnati Reds
extraordinary might happen and something extraordinary did: Tim Lincecum, Matt
Cain, Pablo Sandoval, Jonathan Sanchez, and Nate Schierholtz to name a few. But
the tell tale signs of cracks in the engine are beginning to show. Randy Winn
is finishing his Giants career both weakly and inconsistently unfortunately.
Bengie Molina is still swinging hard but is either missing or pooping up (until
recently!). And ersatz rookie Pablo Sandoval is hitting only singles now
intermittently. And the temporary lift that the new additions Ryan Garko and
Freddy Sanchez provided the club when they first arrived this month were short
lived and mostly gone now.
So
it has come to this. Jonathan Sanchez pitched a very fine game last night if
you don’t count the fourth inning. His no hitting-vaunted arm slot inexplicably
slid down into an arm “slop” that one inning as he walked two batters before
allowing rightfielder Matt Kemp to clear the bases on a double that leftfielder
Fred Lewis all-too-typically had trouble digging out of the corner. Oh, the
Giants did hold their heads up high as first baseman Travis Ishikawa and
catcher Bengie Molina hit solo home runs both early and late in the game for a
4-2 loss. But it was too little too early and too late. No one was on. Nor was
I sitting in the bleachers. It was fun being a spectator listening to the
chatter of female Dodgers fans sitting behind me all night long. And there was
the spectacle of Giants-Dodgers fights always in play as the Dodgers protect
their lead in these home night games. But in my heart-of-Giants-fan-hearts, I
know this season is over for all practicable purposes.
I
hope I am wrong. I’d like to be surprised. But barring some miraculous
September turn around caused by the call up of rookies like catcher Buster
Posey and pitcher Tim Bumgarner and perhaps others, we will be watching the
collective behinds of the Rockies, Cubs, Cardinals, Marlins, and (baseball-gods-forbid)
Brewers finishing the season ahead of us. Ah, Cassandra cries and Giants fans
cry. But I will keep my dauber up and support my Giants as I continue to enjoy
this most improbable of seasons here. Go Giants!
The Redlegs Are Coming… The Redlegs Are Coming…
I
got to the ballpark early enough to get my Jon Miller bobble head doll. The
gates opened an hour early like they do every Friday afternoon when the Giants
are returning from a road trip. It gives the fans and the players extra time to
bask in each other’s presence during batting practice. I watched Brian Wilson
shag fly balls like he’d been playing the outfield position all his life. I
also watched the relief pitchers run wind sprints. The Giants seemed very
relaxed this evening. And why shouldn’t they? They had the third best record in
the national league and sat atop the burgeoning NL wild card race.
And
then the Cincinnati Redlegs (“Reds” for short) took the field. They are the
oldest professional baseball team in the world. But for the life of me, I would
recognize any of their members if I ran into them on the street save for their
current (and our former) manager Dusty Baker. The Reds were in the thick of the
pennant race until about a month ago when injuries decimated their lineup. In
fact, the Reds were starting a pitcher, Homer Bailey, who had only pitched in
26 games during his career and was currently sporting a 7.06 ERA. The Giants
were starting their 2009 Cy Young winner, Tim Lincecum, who had a 12-3 record
and wore a gaudy 2.18 ERA. Before the game, KNBR personality Damon Bruce
guaranteed a Giants victory tonight several times which struck me as wrong. He
obviously wasn’t a long-time Giants fan because these were the types of match
ups that the Giants notoriously lost. I would never make such an assumption
lest it anger the baseball gods. But there it was wafting across the
50,000-Watt Flamethrower (as KNBR 680 AM likes to call itself): a genuine Giants
jinx! But after the LGBT Freedom Band played the National Anthem and exited the field amidst Reds and Giants players hugging each other (which I felt was symbolic, ironic, and progessive all at once), the game began.
Tim
Lincecum started out strong enough by striking out centerfield Willie Taveras
in a 1-2-3 inning. And then he struck out two Reds in the second inning while
he walked rightfielder Wladimir Balentien in a1-2-4 inning. And after his 1-2-3
third inning, Tim gave up singles to every other batter in the fourth inning
for their first run of the game. Then shortstop Edgar Renteria overthrew first
baseman Ryan Garko for a two base error after two were out in the fifth inning
and Willie Taveras then scored on shortstop Alex Gonzalez‘s single. Again in
the sixth inning, Tim Lincecum gave up a one-out double to third baseman Scott
Rolen, a single to Wladimir Balentien, and allowed leftfielder Jonny Gomes to
bat in Scott Rolen for their third run on a fielder’s choice to third baseman
Pablo Sandoval.
But
those three runs the Reds scored by the time Tim Lincecum finished his seventh
and last inning would have come to naught if the Giants could have protected
their two run lead. Catcher Bengie Molina hit a two run homer in the first
inning after Pablo Sandoval worked a walk against Homer Bailey. And leftfielder
Eugenio Velez hit a two run homer in the fifth inning after Tim Lincecum worked
a one-out single. Then Eugenio Velez scored the Giants’ fifth and final run in
the seventh inning when Pablo Sandoval hit a single to centerfield.
A
5-3 lead in the eighth inning has been very safe for the Giants this season.
But tonight they had to work through the Damon Bruce jinx and the jinx went to
work as reliever Jeremy Affeldt walked the first batter, first baseman Joey
Votto. And then the jinx went to work against reliever Sergio Romo who allowed
second baseman Brandon Phillips to hit a double. Enter Brian Wilson. Pinch
hitter Laynce Nix drove them on a single to left field against to tie the
score. No win for Tim Lincecum tonight.
But
the jinx was not over. Pinch hitter Drew Sutton led off the ninth inning
against Brian Wilson with a single and was sacrificed to second base. And then
Brian Wilson walked three batters in a row to force in Drew Sutton with the go
ahead run. Exit Brian Wilson. In all fairness to Brian Wilson, several of his
pitches were called balls that earlier in the game had been called strikes by
umpire Jerry Layne; especially the fourth ball thrown to Joey Votto. It was a
belt-high fastball that struck Bengie Molina‘s glove without moving it. Unless
Bengie set up his target on a full count with two on and one out in the ninth
inning of a tied game, the entire stadium had a right to boo Jerry Layne‘s
non-strike call which they did lustily. After that, Brian lost it and walked
Brandon Phillips on five pitches.
However,
the jinx was not over even then! Both Scott Rolen and Wladimir Balentien hit
ground balls against reliever Brandon Medders to Pablo Sandoval who threw home
for the force out. But both times, Bengie Molina dropped the throw. A sacrifice
fly later and the damage was all done: five runs scored on just one hit. I
don’t think I’ve ever seen that before in a ball game. But to the Giants’
credit, they did not go down with out a fight. They loaded the bases in the
bottom of the ninth inning to a cheering crowd but could not bring in a run
before the third out. The Reds won 10-5. Thank you Jerry Layne. Thank you Damon Bruce. Thank you jinx.
Who Let The Dogs In??? … (Woof! Woof!)
I
got to the ballpark early but there was no batting practice as I had expected
because it was The Dog Days of Summer promotion where hundreds and hundreds of
dog owners bring their four footed dependents to parade around on the field
before the game and have their costume judged. It is a highly amusing affair
and I’m basically a cat person. The looks of the first-time visiting Phillies
fans walking around the stadium were also very amusing. I’m sure they thought
this might have been an everyday occurrence in a city as consistently weird as
San Francisco.
And
to accentuate the weird was The Freak who is more formally known as Tim
Lincecum pitching for the Giants this Saturday night. Opposing him could be
nicknamed The Hulk because Joe Blanton is one big landmass of a man. I have
never seen any pitcher throw a longer long toss warming up before the game than
Joe Blanton. In comparison, Tim Lincecum wasn’t even on the field by the time
Joe Blanton had finished long tossing with his catcher Paul Bako.
During
the first half of the game, Joe Blanton pitched more like the reigning Cy Young
pitcher going just one batter over the minimum in the first four innings while
throwing 46 pitches. Meanwhile, Tim Lincecum threw 18 pitches in the first
inning because centerfielder Jason Werth hit a single; threw 16 pitches in the
second inning, threw 14 pitches in the third inning because Jimmy Rollins hit a
two out single and stole a couple bases as Jason Werth was being walked; threw
12 pitches in the fourth inning despite giving up two singles; and 24 pitches
in the fifth inning while giving up three singles including one to opposing
pitcher Joe Blanton.
But
Tim Lincecum gave up no runs while he played rope-a-dope with the Phillies
through the first five innings. And in the bottom of the fifth inning,
now-backup first baseman rookie Travis Ishikawa led off with a single but was
thrown out barely (if that) at second base trying to steal the pitch before our
centerfielder Aaron Rowand hit a double into right field. Aaron moved to third
on left fielder Fred Lewis‘ infield single off of Joe Blanton. And then
shortstop Jose Uribe hit a high fly ball into shallow right field that Matt
Stairs made a basket catch on while running in and then momentarily bobbled
before throwing home just a split second too late stop Aaron Rowand from
sliding around the tag for the first run of the game.
And
it was déjà vu all over again in the seventh inning when Travis Ishikawa led
off with an infielder squibber for a single again. But before he had a chance
to duplicate his double as before, Joe Blanton drilled Aaron Rowand on his left
forearm. That got everyone in the stands (and maybe in the dugout) riled up
because Ryan Garko was drilled high up his left shoulder near his head with a
Tyler Walker fastball. That was not cool. So Travis Ishikawa advanced to third
base on Fred Lewis‘ fly ball to centerfield and scored the Giants’ second run
on another fly ball by Juan Uribe to left field.
In
response to getting a run in the fifth inning, Tim Lincecum muscled up and set
down the next nine Phillies batters in the sixth through eighth innings. But
with 117 pitches thrown, Giants manager took out his starter in the ninth
inning for his closer. Enter Brian Wilson. I was expecting a little drama from
the World Champion Phillies. They had gone hitless for their last ten batters.
But Brian Wilson got Matt Stairs to fly out to Fred Lewis on four pitches; got
former Giants third baseman Pedro Feliz to ground out to new shortstop Edgar Renteria (because Aaron Rowand had to be taken out of the game); and finally ended the game on two more pitches when pinch hitter All
Star Shane Victorino grounded out to the game hero, Juan Uribe, to end the
game. Unleash the Dogs of Victory!
It
was a gutty win by Tim Lincecum, whose record rose to 12-3, because he was not
sharp to begin the game but found a way to battle through it without giving up
a run and close out his performance strong. And it was nice to see Brian Wilson
come in and take care of business against a good hitting team. So it will be up
to Barry Zito to see if the Giants can close out the home stand with a victory
over the World Champs. And as I yelled to Jason Werth after Aaron Rowand walked
to first base in the seventh inning, “Watch out tomorrow, Jason! Barry Zito’s
going to plant a 75 mile an hour fastball under your ribs!” Go Giants!
David vs. Goliath
I
entered the ballpark at 5:00 p.m. for the Friday night pitching match up
between the American League’s 2008 Cy Young winner Cliff Lee, just newly
acquired from the Cleveland Indians, and the Giants’ Twelfth Round Pick in the
2003 Amateur baseball Draft, rookie Ryan Sadowski. It was also a match up
between the 2008 reigning World Champion Philadelphia Phillies against the
sixth worst team in all of baseball last year, the San Francisco Giants. If
ever there was an underdog, it was this skinny kid making his sixth career
start while coming off three straight losses in which he suffered a combined
10.33 ERA. But hope springs eternal which is why they play these games and we
fans keep coming back to watch.
Ryan
Sadowski got into trouble in the very first inning when former Indian,
centerfielder Ben Francisco, clanked a shot off of third baseman Pablo
Sandoval‘s ankle for a tough error and went to second when Ryan then walked
second baseman Chase Utley on five pitches. But he struck out menacing clean up
hitter, first baseman Ryan Howard, swinging at a full count pitch and retired
home run hitting left fielder Raul Ibanez on a long, long fly ball that
returning Giants centerfielder and former Phillie, Aaron Rowand, tracked down on
the warning track. But Ryan Sadowski had no such luck against the next batter,
right fielder and former Dodger Jason Werth, who cranked Ryan’s 2-1 pitch even
further than Raul Ibanez‘s and into the stands just beyond the glove of leaping
Aaron Rowand. Ryan Sadowski was so rattled, that he walked the next batter,
third baseman and former Giants Pedro Feliz, on four straight pitches. But
Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti came out to calm Ryan down which resulted
in three straight ground ball outs to end the second inning.
The
Giants had no such luck against Cliff Lee. Three up, three down in the first
inning. Three up, three down in the second inning (although first baseman and
former Indian Ryan Garko worked a twelve pitch walk but he was wiped out on an
inning ending double play.) Three up, three down in the third inning. Three up,
three down in the fourth inning. Three up, three down in the fifth inning. It
was quite a contrast with Ryan Sadowski who struggle in each of the third and
fourth innings allowing a walk and two hits (including one to opposing pitcher
Cliff Lee who, coming over from the American League, had no at bats this season
until tonight.) But to his credit, Ryan Sadowski battled through these
adversities and held the Phillies to the solitary run when Giants manager Bruce
Bochy took him and replaced him with Merkin Valdez in the top if the fifth
inning. Merking pitched superbly getting through the fifth and sixth innings
giving up just a single to Pedro Feliz.
The
Giants finally broke up Cliff Lee‘s no hitter with one out in the sixth inning
on a double down the right field line by second baseman Juan Uribe. However
that hit was sandwiched between two strikeouts (looking) by shortstop Edgar
Renteria and pinch hitter Jesus Guzman. Right fielder Randy Winn then grounded
out weakly to Chase Utley to end the inning. That was as close the Giants would
come to getting back into the game tonight. Giants reliever Brandon Medders
walked two Phillies while getting only one out to open up the seventh inning
and then the usually reliable Jeremy Affeldt walked Ryan Howard before giving
up an RBI single to Raul Ibanez. And then Jeremy Affeldt came in to give Jason
Werth his coup de grace with a two run single to centerfield.
At
this point, the game was over. I was immersed in the raucous bleacher crowd. My
neighbor fixed my little Canon Powershot that I dropped earlier and thought I’d
broken. He then took a sudden picture of us to test it out for which I mugged.
Does it show? In fact, that group had me going for beer and rum and coke up at
the concession stands so by the time we had a group picture taken, I looked
totally out of it. And in a sense, I was. The orange rally wig was certainly
not working; neither for the Giants nor for me (obviously). I had stopped
keeping score once I went for the drinks. And even Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee,
making only his fourth plate appearance of the season, slapped a double off of
Bobby Howry in the eighth inning and came around to score their fifth run of
the game on Ben Francisco‘s sacrifice fly.
Luckily,
or perhaps pyrrhically, the Giants did score a run in the bottom of the eighth
inning on Aaron Rowand‘s double for which he came around to score on Juan
Uribe‘s single. Other than that, it was Cliff Lee‘s evening to savor as he
pitched the complete game victory and made his National League debut seem oh so
easy against the San Francisco Giants. But despite the outcome, I had a roaring
good time out in the bleachers shouting encouragement to the Giants players,
discouragement to the Phillies players, and taking a little liquid courage
myself for my efforts. So the Phillies series is tied 1-1. The Giants are tied
with the Colorado Rockies in the still-early National League wildcard race. And
we will have our 2008 Cy Young winner, Tim Lincecum, going tonight against the
World Champion Philadelphia Phillies. It should be quite a game. Goliath vs.
Goliath. Go Giants!
How Sweep It Is!
I
entered the ballpark at 12:15, a half hour before the game. The morning skies
were gray but the clouds parted as the game began and Matt Cain threw seven
straight strikes to get through the first inning. However, leftfielder Garrett
Jones led off the second inning with a single up the middle and stole second
base five pitches later. But Matt Cain struck out both first baseman Steve
Pearce and right fielder Brandon Moss, both looking, and induced shortstop Ramon
Vazquez to ground out on a nifty play by second baseman Juan Uribe. And then
catcher Jason Jaramillo led off the second inning with a single to right field
and was immediately sacrificed to second base by pitcher Zach Duke. But there
Jason Jaramillo remained as Matt Cain retired both centerfielder Andrew McCutchen and third
baseman Andy LaRoche hit fly balls outs to right fielder Randy Winn and catcher
Benji Molina, respectively. Additionally, Brandon Moss led off the fifth inning
with a single to left field but Matt Cain retired the bottom third of the
Pirates batting order in order so as not incur any damage. And in the same
vein, Garrett Jones led off the seventh inning with a walk but he was out
trying to steal second base four pitches later. Other than that, Matt Cain
allowed pinch hitter Jeff Salazar to reach base on a five-pitch walk only after
two were out in the eighth inning which was ironic since Jeff’s batting average
of .067 was 144 points lower than Zach Duke‘s for whom he was batting.
Meanwhile,
Zach Duke was pitching an equally skilled game escaping multiple Giants runners
on base in innings two, four and seven (the latter being a one out, bases
loaded situation). I’ll spare the readers from a detailed description of their
failed efforts but it was frustrating to watch the Giants hit into two double
plays and again unable to get that clutch base hit with runners in scoring
position. But much of that credit belongs to All Star pitcher Zach Duke who
pitched at least as well as All Star pitcher Matt Cain whom he (Zach Duke)
replaced a few weeks ago. Perhaps some of the blame belongs to the Wednesday
afternoon crowd who were very low energy and lackadaisical which is their want.
Especially during summer days when school is out, much of a weekday afternoon
crowd AT&T Park consists of school kids hanging out with each other and
only peripherally interested in the action on the field as opposed to the
personal interaction in the stands. But I do enjoy these weekday day games and
try to attend as many as I can so I will not complain. I will only observe. At
it was nice watching the Giants’ new first baseman from the Cleveland Indians,
Ryan Garko, get his first base hit and first base on balls as a San Francisco
Giant.
It was interesting that Pirates manager John Russell
pulled Zach Duke out of the game in the eighth inning with two outs for a
weaker batter because he had only thrown 85 pitches up to that point. But he
did bring in John Grabow who pitched flawless eighth and ninth innings against
the top of the Giants batting order in a scoreless game with only eighteen
pitches and two strikeouts. And it was equally interesting that Giants manager
Bruce Bochy decided to let Matt Cain bat for himself in the bottom of the
seventh inning of a scoreless game with runners on first and third bases and
two outs having only thrown 87 pitches up to that point. But those runners Matt
Cain stranded were the last runners the Giants would have on base until after
Matt Cain was removed from the game in the top of the tenth inning.
Enter Brian Wilson who was called on to pitch the top
of the tenth inning and got Steve Pearce to pop up to Juan Uribe on the first
pitch of the inning. And then he got Brandon Moss to swing at miss at a 97 mph
fastball ending his nine-pitch at bat. But Brian Wilson threw a wild pitch to
Ramon Vazquez when he swung for his third strike and got to first base before
Benji Molina could retrieve the ball. Luckily, the Giants avoided catastrophe
when Jason Jaramillo grounded out to third baseman Pablo Sandoval for the final
out. Left fielder Eugenio Velez opened the bottom of the tenth inning with a
hot smash up the middle for a single and then was promptly sacrificed to second
base by Juan Uribe. And although pinch hitter Fred Lewis eventually strike out
swinging at Matt Capps sliders down and in off the strike zone. However, when
centerfielder Andres Torres drew a walk, Randy Winn came up with a chance to
“Winn” the game. And “Winn” it Winn did by dropping the bat head on Matt Capps‘
first offering lining the ball past Steve Pearce‘s desperate dive in vain and down the
right filed line for the victory.
Walking back to the Ferry Building for the ride home,
I listened to the radio when, less than an hour after the game ended, it was
announced that the Giants traded their AA hot pitching prospect Tim Alderson
for the Pirates’ All Star second baseman Freddy Sanchez who missed this series
with a sore knee. All the Giants fans I spoke to on the ferry thought it was a
good trade. In the radio interviews, he sounded like a solid upright guy. I
just hope he gets healthy and starts hitting. Then I’ll be very happy. It’s
uncertain whether he’ll be available for the upcoming weekend series against
the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies. If not, I hope the other Giants start
hitting because the Phillies with not go down on a few singles and walks like
they did today. Go Giants!
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