Game Wrap 6/3/2012: Giants 2 Cubs 0

The Giants got a great game from Barry Zito and a multitude of sparkling defensive plays, but the difference in this game was speed, team speed on the part of the Giants, particularly from Gregor Blanco and Angel Pagan.  Key Lines:

Gregor Blanco- 0 for 3, BB.  BA= .266.  Blanco made a nice running catch of a ball hit into Triples Alley by Starlin Castro that I think probably would have been fairly routine for Nate too, but there's no way Nate scores the insurance run in the bottom of the 8'th inning. After Blanco drew a 1 out walk and Theriot flied out to CF, Melky hit a fairly routine single to LF.  Blanco was running with the pitch and by the time Soriano fielded the ball in medium-deep LF, Blanco was already a blur approaching 3B.  Tim Flannery waived him on, but I'm not sure Flannery was anything more than an interested bystander.  The play was in front of Blanco all the way and I'm pretty sure he would not and possibly could not have stopped if Flannery gave him the stop sign.  I don't know if Soriano had a brain cramp of if he didn't think he had a chance to get Blanco, but his throw came into 2B holding Melky to a single.

Angel Pagan- 1 for 3, 2B.  BA= .314.  Pagan made a nice running acrobatic catch(he might have misjudged the ball a bit) on another long drive by Starlin Castro, but again, it was his speed on the basepaths that was the real difference.  Pagan doubled with one out in the 5'th.  After a strikeout by Hector, Arias poked a grounder through the hole into RF.  With 2 outs, Pagan was running on contact, but the ball didn't go deep and the RF was charging.  The throw appeared to beat Pagan by a couple of steps but he as coming fast and slid into home plate.  I'm not sure if the catcher bobbled the ball or if he tried to apply the tag on Pagan before he caught the ball.  At any rate the ball rolled loose and Pagan had scored the first run of the game.

Hector Sanchez- 0 for 3.  BA= .273.  Hector was once again the Zito Whisperer, and earned some toughness points with his AB in the 7'th.  He fouled a ball off his left leg just above the ankle that dropped him to the ground in severe pain.  It looked like he might have to come out of the game, but he managed to shake it off and get back in the batter's box.  Next pitch he fouled off the same shin about 4 inches below the knee.  Down on the ground again.  Fortunately it wasn't in the same location as the first blow, but you had to think Hector was coming out of the game.  He picked himself back up, belatedly put on a shin guard and finished the AB with a flyout to CF.  He stayed in the game and finished it up the behind the plate too.  Gamer!  I'm guessing that earned some serious respect from his teammates.  Wear a shin guard up there, Hector!

Barry Zito- 8.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 2.98.  Zito was very locked in today.  He's pitched some pretty good games over the years in between a lot of bad ones. This one ranks up there with some of his best ones.

Sergio Romo- 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(2).  ERA= 0.57.  There was some pretty loud booing when Bochy came out and got Zito, but he made the right move.  Romo was a much better choice to face Castro  and Soriano, 2 RH hitters with the potential to tie the game with one swing.  Castro, in particular, had hit the ball very hard twice already in the game.  It appeared Romo might have re-injured his knee on the final comebacker by Soriano.

With the Win, the Giants climbed  to 6 games over .500 and to 3 games behind the NL West leading Dodgers who lost to the Rockies 3-2.  D'Backs are 8 games back after a 6-0 win over the Pathetic Padres while the Rockies are 9.5 games off the pace.  The Pathetic ones are 15.5 games behind in last place.  Giants have won 7 of their last 10 while the Dodgers have lost 7 of 10.  The Giants still trail in the Wild Card race depending on the outcome of the Mets game against the Cardinals tonight.

The series against the Cubs extends into Monday as Ryan Vogelsong goes for the sweep facing Jeff "Mullet Boy" Samardzija.