Tim Lincecum and two Giants relievers completed a series sweep of the Dodgers. So epic and complete was this beatdown of the Hated Ones, it was the first 3 game series shutout by the Giants against any team since 1954 and the first ever against the Dodgers! The fact that the Dodgers came in with a 3 game division lead makes it all the more satisfying and significant. I have a friend at work who is the eternally optimistic Dodger fan and he is in complete shock. I have to say I came into this series with major reservations about the pitching matchups. Man, maybe I should express those kinds of reservations before every series! I have been an avid Giants fan for a long time and I cannot remember a more complete beatdown in a more important series, ever! Key Lines:
Ryan Theriot- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .273 Theriot continues to provide solid production from the 2 hole as well as good D. No need to hurry back, Freddy!
Melky Cabrera- 1 for 4, 2B. BA= .351. Just another ho-hum game for Melky.
Angel Pagan- 1 for 3, BB, SB(14). BA= .295. Pagan drove in the second run of the third inning with a bases-loaded walk and drove in the insurance run with a single.
Brandon Crawford- 3 for 4, 3B. BA= .233. Alas, hittting in the 8 hole means a lot of your offensive effort goes for naught. It will be interesting to see if this game pushes his WAR up a notch.
Tim Lincecum- 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K's. ERA= 5.60. Hopefully, Timmy has finally turned a corner here. The Giants are going to need a strong second half from him. BTW, not to take anything away from what the
Giants pitchers have just accomplished, but that Dodger lineup is pretty bad!
Sergio Romo- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(4). ERA= 0.83. Romo is making the case to be at least a co-closer.
The Win pulled the Giants into a tie for first place in the NL West with the Dodgers. The D'Backs lost to the Braves so they remain 5 games behind the co-leaders. Who cares about the Wild Card race?
The Giants now begin a 4 game series against the Cincinnati Reds who always seem to give them a tough time. Madison Bumgarner faces Johnny Cueto in game 1.
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remember how you said, "i dont understand the interest in the players wives"? well, craw's wife helped him pick out a new walk up song...bam
ReplyDeletei really think they should consider letting hector catch both zito and timmy so that buster can rest his legs. catching timmy, one takes a pounding
ethier is going on the dl...boohoo
giants made donnie baseball cry...that makes me happy
reason i didnt comment last nite is cuz i totally missed the game...another late night and i didnt have a radio...but i watched the post game interviews...comparing people, i would much prefer hanging with vogie over kershaw
tuff stretch coming up...should be fun
I'm sure the walk up song made all the difference, so kudos to Crawford's wifey.
DeleteI would be happy with Posey catching 3 games sitting 1 and playing first 1 out of every 5. I agree that would go a long ways toward saving the legs and preserving that bat in the middle of the lineup.
Don Mattingly cried? I gotta see that!
I think the Dodgers knew they were beaten down the moment Buster lined one off Kershaw's back. You could just see the fight go out of them after that.
Cincy has been very tough on the Giants in recent years, but this seems like a deeper, more balanced Giants team. Still have great pitching but not as dependent on the pitching as the last few years.
maybe you should mention the possibility of an opponents sweep more often Drb, LOL! I think I heard this is the 1st time the Dodgers have been shut out in a 3 game series in their history! You can't take away what the Giants pitchers did because the Bums do play in MLB. It would be sweet if Posey can get on the type of hitting streak he had back in 2010, where he carried the team for a month.. Can't get too high after this cause 3 tough series remain before the break. This team will need a good 2nd half from Timmy to win the division.
ReplyDeleteLG
Yup, Giants need a strong second half from Timmy. Hopefully today was the start of just that.
DeleteTimmy is BACK!!!
ReplyDeleteThree straight zeros, first place, Bums down. Sign me up!
I think the Giants are just hitting their stride. Timmy solidifies the starting rotation - 4.3 aces. Kontos has stepped in nicely to Mota's role and shore up the bottom of the pen. The offense is starting to be long and deep with Pablo back, Belt stepping up, and Theriot bringing the vet grit. SS is the only weak bat, and I can live with the +D by Crawrias.
Nearly half way there, gonna enjoy the ride...
Huge smiles all around. Very sweet to hand them their first 3 game shutout series in franchise history. Timmy pitching with purpose. Scrappin' up runz. Just a great day.
ReplyDeleteHope they don't have a let down. That Reds series last year was a gigantic part of the crash. Beat down the Phils, get Beltran, on top of everything and then...
Need to bring their A game and beat down Dusty. These guys can hit better than the Doyers. Pitching? Remains to be seen.
Well, hopefully we won't have a heat wave in SF for the Cincy series like we did a couple of years ago and balls started flying out of the yard making the Reds think they were in their home ballpark.
DeleteYeah, I can't remember a similar beatdown in an important series either. It was pretty epic.
ReplyDeleteEpic is right. Very hard to find words to describe it, but I can't remember a Dodger team leaving town with their tails between their legs quite like this EVER in the past.
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