Matt Cain followed up what might be the best game of he career with what might be his worst last night. The offense was game, but the baseball gods weren't having it as a lot of hard hit balls found their way into Padre gloves. A raucous sellout crowd who came hoping to celebrate a NL West Division Championship went away disappointed. Key lines:
Andres Torres- 1 for 4, BB, SB(26). BA= .270. Torres, who before the game accepted the Willie Mac Award as the team's most inspirational player, got it started in the right way with an 11 pitch AB ending in a BB. Unfortunately, he was stranded when some hard hit balls went right at Padre defenders, a trend that would continue throughout the game.
Aubrey Huff- 1 for 4, BB. BA= .290. For an instant as the ball left Huff Daddy's bat in the bottom of the 9'th inning, I thought the Giants were going to complete their comeback. Freddy Sanchez, who was on first base apparently thought so too and took off, planning to try to score on the play. Alas, Will Venable was guarding the corner, something you rarely, if ever, see in AT&T and didn't have to run very far to catch a line drive at the base of the wall that got out there is a big hurry. Either Venable was playing a hunch and got away with it, or else Tony Gwynn Jr's speed in CF(he had just entered the game as defensive replacement) allowed Venable to cheat toward the line more than most RF's in AT&T. Freddy was easily doubled off first base and the Giants went from what should have been a 6-5 ballgame, runner at 2'nd with no outs to 6-4, bases empty, 2 outs. This one will go into the books right up there Willie Mac's line drive out in the 1962 World Series, Jose Cruz Jr's dropped fly ball, JT trying to score from 2B against the Marlins and Steve Finley's grand slam in the annals of Giants fans' heartbreak.
Buster Posey- 0 for 5. BA= .309. An ugly looking line in the middle of the lineup, but Buster hit the ball hard all night. He just hit them right at the Padres' fielders. Buster's luck will turn, we just don't know if it will be in time save the season.
Aaron Rowand- 1 for 1, HR(11). BA= .230. The Phoenix rises! Gamer hadn't had so much as an AB since, well, I can't remember when, comes off the bench and crushes one to left to drive in 2 and get the Giants back in the game. Hopefully this didn't buy him a ticket onto the playoff roster, should the Giants make it.
Cody Ross- 3 for 3, 2 2B. Even I am losing patience with Bochy not starting Cody Ross over Jose Guillen. Granted, Guillen has hit the ball hard but right at people, but Ross is red hot, hot enough to carry the team for awhile. Plus, he's a much better fielder. He should have been in the starting lineup against a LHP last night. Great performance, but too little,too late. If Guillen throws a fit at not playing, who cares? It's not like he's in the Giants long term plans, at least I hope not! Cody Ross is much better option as a keeper for next year.
Matt Cain- 4 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 1 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 3.14. Cainer just didn't have it tonight, leaving way too many balls up and over the fat part of the plate. The Padres jumped on him for 3 dingers putting the Giants in a hole they were not quite able to climb out of.
Guillermo Mota- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 4.42. When was the last time Mota pitched? Very well rested, he came in and blew away the Padres' hitters for 2 innings. After seeing him like this, it's hard to understand how he has an ERA above 2! Man, what a dominating performance! Again, too little, too late.
With the Loss, the Giants lead shrank to 2 games with 2 left to play. In the Wild Card race, Atlanta lost to the Phils 11-5 as their lead shrank to 1 game over the Padres. The playoff permutations are too numerous to enumerate here. Check out Extra Baggs, linked over on the left, for a full rundown.
Barry Zito now takes the mound after a week of living with disrespect for his pitching abilities. You have to wonder how he is going to respond. His opponent, Tim Stauffer, picked a great time for finally start living up to his former high first round draft pick status and has been pitching like an ace for a month now. Can't be too thrilled about the Giants chances of wrapping it up today which would leave things in the hands of Jonathan Sanchez on Sunday. Sanchez certainly has the talent to shut the Padres down, but is still a work in progress when it comes to controlling his emotions in a big game. Buckle your seatbelts, Giants fans! It's going to be a rough ride!!
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