Matt Cain pitched a QS and got all the run support he could reasonably ask for. So he won the game, right? Wrong! This time, the normally reliable Giants bullpen blew a 4 run lead in the late innings requiring a walk-off, bases-loaded single by Andres Torres in the bottom of the 9'th inning to scratch out a win. Oh, you know that big bat the Giants were looking for at the trade deadline? He's on the team and his name is Pat Burrell. I mean, Pat Burrell is absolutely carrying this team right now! Key lines:
Freddy Sanchez- 2 for 2, 2B, BB, 2 S. BA= .261. Back in the 2 hole, Freddy had a pretty good game.
Pat Burrell- 2 for 4, 2 HR. Burrell's grand slam in the 5'th inning after going back-to-back with Panda in the 4'th appeared to put the game away for the Giants. He came out of the game for Nate to play defense. In the end, Torres came through in Pat's spot in the order.
Andres Torres- 1 for 1. BA= .292. What more can I say about this guy? I know Huff is having a great year, and Burrell is carrying the team this year, but Torres is my team MVP and should be in the running for NL MVP, IMO.
Pablo Sandoval- 2 for 4, 3B, HR(7). BA= .272. Does Panda have his groove back? The Giants will need it against San Diego!
Aaron Rowand- 1 for 5, SB(5). BA= .247. I just about blew a gasket when I saw Rowand listed in the leadoff spot. He did score two runs including the winning run in the 9'th, despite not having a very good game.
Matt Cain- 6 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 9 K's. ERA= 3.11. Wow! What does Cainer have to do go get a W, anyway?
Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K's. ERA= 2.06. The hit Romoman gave up allowed the tying run to score. Even though it was charged to Mota, Romo was charged with a BS.
Brian Wilson- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K's. ERA= 2.10. Wilson comes into a tie game and gets the W when the Giants score in the bottom of the 9'th.
With the Win, the Giants keep pace, 2.5 games behind the NL West leading San Diego Padres, who Cruised over PIttsburgh 3-0 behind Jon Garland and a 2 run dinger by Ryan Ludwick. The Rockies were blanked by Johan Santana and the Mets 4-0 to fall 8.5 games behind the Pads while the Chokers lived up to their reputation losing to Philly 10-9 to fall 9 games behind. In the Wild Card race, the Phillies win kept them 1 game behind the Giants while Cincinnati was idle to fall 1.5 games behind.
The Giants start the biggest series of the season so far tomorrow night against the stubborn Padres. Jonathan Sanchez gets the chance to put his money where his mouth is after his ill-considered guarantee of a Giants sweep and eventual NL West victory. I will be deliriously happy if the Giants take 2 of 3, and Sanchez better be on the wining end of his game. The Giants could probably withstand a 2-1 series loss, but a sweep by the Padres would likely doom the Giants chances of winning the NL West, if not a Wild Card birth too. Go Giants!!
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I think what Cain needed to do was not give up a run scoring double to the opposing pitcher!
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Eh, as he said in interview, as long as the Giants win, that's all that matters.
Yeah, that would help. Seems like I recall that Cainer has let down against the opposing pitcher several times this season. That has to be a mental thing.
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