Game Wrap 08-13-2010: Padres 3 Giants 2

A very tough loss. This was Jonathan Sanchez' put up or shut up game. He came up short. He didn't exactly pitch terribly. It wasn't quite a QS, but with a lot of help from the bullpen, it should have been good enough to the W, except that after a 2 run first inning, the Giants bats went into hibernation. Key lines:

First inning- Torres walks, advances to 3B on a WP and throwing error. Sanchez out on a sharp comebacker. Huff doubles down the LF line scoring Torres. Posey singles to left putting runners at first and third. Burrell grounds into a force out at 2B scoring Huff. Sandoval lines out to RF. Great start, huh? The only problem is these were the only runs the offense would generate against Clayton Richard and the Padres' bullpen all night.

Aaron Rowand- 1 for 4, CS. BA= .247 Some fans thought Torres might have caught Headley's fly ball triple to CF in the second inning that helped erase the Giants 2 run lead from the first. Together with the CS, not a good night for The Gamer.

Jonathan Sanchez- 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 4 K's, HBP. ERA= 3.60. Decent work, but not nearly enough to back up smack like he was running last week. Dude needs to shut his mouth and pitch.

Santiago Casilla= 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 2.20.
Ramon Ramirez- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 3.94. Casilla and Ramirez have both been solid in the bullpen.

The loss dropped the Giants 3.5 games behind the division leading Padres who win their 6'th 1 run game vs the Giants this year. Colorado Rockies edged the BrewCrew 5-4 to drop 8.5 games behind the leaders, while the Dodgers were blanked by Tim Hudson and the Braves 1-0 to drop 10 games behind. Arizona lost to Washington 4-2 to drop to 23.5 games behind. In the Wild Card race, the Phillies were blanked by RA Dickey and the Mets 1-0 to stay 1 game behind the Giants while Cincinnati defeated Florida 7-2 to climb within 0.5 games of the Giants.

Madison Bumgarner takes the mound against Mat Latos who has dominated the Giants in 2 starts already this year in the Fox Game of the Week. Hopefully Latos' arm is getting tired from all the innings, otherwise, this one appears to be a mismatch and with Timmy's recent struggles, a series sweep by the Padres looms as a possibility.