Game Wrap 5/4/2013: Giants 10 Dodgers 9

Seldom used backup Catcher Guillermo Quiroz ended a wild see-saw battle that neither team seemed to want to win with a walk-off HR in the bottom of the 10'th inning.  Key Lines:

Angel Pagan- 1 for 4, 2B.  BA= .275.  You knew it was going to be one of those games when Pagan led off the bottom of the first with a pop-fly double that the Dodgers did not see due to the evening sun shining directly into the eyes of the fielders.  Pagan himself had battled a long fly ball in the top of the first that he somehow managed to catch.  Pagan left this one early with a hammy, but it sounds like it's not a bad one.  If it is, Pagan may be a big part of this team, but the Giants OF is well set up to absorb the loss as both Blanco and Torres can play CF.

Francisco Peguero- 1 for 2, 2B, SB(1).  BA= .500.  Peguero made a contribution in his first start action since being called up.  He doubled up the left-center alley and eventually scored.  He also stole 2B to pick himself up after turning a sacrifice bunt into a fielder's choice.  He eventually made it to 3B but Buster inexplicably tapped into a bases loaded DP to end the threat.

Marco Scutaro- 2 for 3, 3 BB.  BA= .252.  Scooter is hitting .293/.383 over his last 10 games.

Pablo Sandoval- 3 for 4, BB, SF.  BA= .331.  Still not hitting with as much power as you might want to see, but he's absolutely peppering the field with basehits.

Buster Posey- 2 for 4, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .290.  Another long, busy night for Buster.  Do you think he might have been just a bit fatigued when he tapped into that DP in the bottom of the 9'th?

Gregor Blanco- 1 for 2, SF.  BA= .288.  Bochy was pushing the right buttons here.  Blanco drove in 3 runs then was replaced by Andres Torres who promptly hit a HR. 

Andres Torres- 1 for 2, HR(1). BB.  BA= .236.  Torres serves notice that he is not going to give ground to Pegs without a fight.

Quillermo Quiroz- 1 for 1, HR(1).  BA= .444.  Wouldn't you know it?  A game like this ends with the guy who seems least likely to hit a walk-off HR doing just that.  Gotta say, I've been impressed by Q's bat as well as his defense.  Wonder why he was begging for a job this spring?

Ryan Vogelsong- 4.2 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 7.20.  Vogie appeared to be in command through 4, although in retrospect, he did not have any pristine innings.  The wheels came off in a 7 run 5'th.  There was talk after the game of fatigue finally catching up to Vogie.  That may be the case, but there was significant BABIP issues in early in the inning and Machi brought a gas can with him when he replaced Vogie.

Santiago Casilla- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.20.  For some reason it did not seem like Casilla pitched shutout ball in his two innings.  The game was that frustrating to watch, but these 2 innings were as responsible for the Win as anything.  Well deserved W here.

With the Win, the Giants remained tied for first place in the NL West with the Rockies who pounded the Rays 9-3.  The D'Backs remained 2 games behind in 3'rd place with an 8-1 win over the Pathetic Padres.  The Dodgers slipped to 4.5 games off the pace and the Padres bring up the rear at a 6 game deficit.

Matt Cain tries for the sweep against Jumbo Hyun-Jin Ryu in another twilight game at AT&T.  They ought to ban starting times between 2 and 6:30 PM on the West Coast.  That sun is brutal for the first few innings.  The problem will last for about 6 innings with a 5 PM start.

I guess there are two ways of looking at the Giants situation:  1.  They are winning despite subpar performances from several starters.  Once that gets fixed they will be unstoppable.  2.  Those starters have logged way too many innings over the last 3 seasons and are about to collapse.  I'm guessing the truth lies somewhere in between.