Giantsblog

After being on a lengthy winning streak, the Giants offense looks to have run out of gas. Last night’s 7-2 loss to Colorado marked the second game in a row that Giants hitters have been able to produce just two runs.
Matt Palmer’s Major League stint was shortlived as he was quickly demoted following last night’s start. Palmer cruised through the first two innings, but then got knocked around in the third for four runs after the Giants were able to take a 1-0 lead in the second. His final line included five runs (four earned) on four hits, he also issued six walks in just four and a third innings pitched. Sergio Romo did a good job in relief, finishing off the fifth inning and pitching through the sixth allowing no baserunners. Jack Taschner attempted to pitch the seventh, but was able to record just one out after allowing two more runs to score on two hits and a walk. Keiichi Yabu relieved him and finished off the seventh inning, and took care of the eighth inning while allowing four hits. Tyler Walker pitched a perfect ninth inning, but by then the Giants were already down by five.
The offense was weak for the second straight night, collecting just five hits, three of which came off Rich Aurilia’s bat. Aurilia went three-for-four with a double and singles, he also scored both Giants runs. Randy Winn scored Aurilia in the second inning with a double, his only hit of the game. Aurilia scored the Giants second run in the fourth inning, it was unearned when Rockies first baseman Garrett Atkins missed a catch. Shortstop Ivan Ochoa had the other Giants hit, an unproductive single.
Tim Lincecum will be looking to salvage a win from this series and earn his fifteenth win of the season tonight at 7:15 p.m. Veteran Livan Hernandez will pitch for the Rockies.

The win streak finally came to an end last night at the hands of the visiting Rockies. Colorado defeated the Giants 4-2, limiting their offensive production for much of the game.
Matt Cain had been hot lately, and continued to pitch well last night, but he just did not get the run support he needed to keep the Giants winning streak alive. After being given a 2-0 lead to work with, Cain let the Rockies tie it up in the second inning on a two-run shot by former Giant Yorvit Torrealba. The Rockies were able to add another run off Cain in the fourth inning to take a lead, and then would never look back. Cain ended up allowing three runs on six hits and four walks through six innings of work while getting four strikeouts. Sergio Romo pitched a scoreless seventh inning in which he struck out two batters and allowed just a harmless single. Alex Hinshaw faced four hitters in the eighth inning, but was only able to retire one of them. A hit, two walks, and a groundout later a fourth Rockies run had scored and Billy Sadler took over the game. Sadler pitched an inning and two-thirds, allowing just one single and recording a strikeout, he kept the deficit to two runs, but the offense was unable to make anything happen of Rockies closer Brian Fuentes.
The Giants did a good job getting on the board first again, but then only had the first inning to show for. Randy Winn led off the game with a single (one of three on the day), and then came around to score on Fred Lewis’ triple. Lewis would score later in the inning on Bengie Molina’s sacrifice fly. Emmanuel Burriss picked up two singles, but San Francisco was only able to scatter eight hits throughout the game, and failed to string together any more rallies. The Giants hurt themselves by grounding into three doubleplays that killed any scoring threats.
Rookie Matt Palmer will look to start a new win streak tonight at 7:15 p.m. Filling in for injured Jonathan Sanchez, Palmer won his last outing, but is still unproven at the big league level. Lefty Jorge De La Rosa is scheduled to get the start for Colorado.

Kevin Correia and Bengie Molina helped San Francisco extend their winning streak to five games with a 7-4 Sunday afternoon victory over the Padres. The Giants had a successful weekend as they swept a weak San Diego team.
Correia celebrated his birthday with his third win of the season, but allowed the Padres to take a 3-0 lead. He went six innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out four. It looked as if he was going to have a rough day when Brian Giles led off the game with a homerun, but Correia quickly settled in. Jack Taschner pitched two-thirds innings, starting in the seventh inning, and allowed two hits before being rescued by Keiichi Yabu. Yabu pitched the Giants out of the seventh, but then gave up the fourth Padres run to start the eighth. Alex Hinshaw finished off the eighth inning, giving up just one hit to set up Brian Wilson for yet another save situation. Looking effortless, Wilson pitched a perfect ninth inning to earn his thrty-fifth save of the season while recording one strikeout.
Leadoff man Randy Winn had a good day at the plate, going three-for-four with singles, a walk, a run scored, and an RBI, but Molina really stole the show. Molina also went three-for-four with a run scored, but doubled in two runs before giving the Giants a comfortable lead in the sixth inning with a three-run shot, giving him five runs batted in on the day. Batting in front of Molina, Fred Lewis also collected three hits, and scored three times on Molina’s hits.
The Giants have not had a day off in over two weeks, but with the way they are playing now, they might not want one. The next three days will wrap up their homestand with a series against the Rockies. Matt Cain will pitch against Jeff Francis in game one tonight at 7:15 p.m.

All of a sudden the Giants have gotten hot, winning seven of their last eight games! The playoffs are still a long shot, unless something goes terribly wrong for Arizona or Los Angeles. A close 4-3 win this afternoon gave the Giants a four-game win streak, and puts them a win away from sweeping the Padres.
Barry Zito has managed to put together back-to-back quality starts. Today he went eight solid innings in which he allowed just three runs on four hits and three walks. He struck out five San Diego hitters. The Giants and Padres traded runs throughout most of the game, but after taking the lead in the eighth inning, Brian Wilson saved the game. Wilson earned his thirty-fourth save of the game with a perfect ninth inning that included two strikeouts.
Aaron Rowand had a two-for-three day that consisted of two doubles, an RBI, and a walk. He drove in one of the two runs in the first inning that gave the Giants an early 2-0 lead. Barry Zito also contributed with a single to score Sandoval in the fourth inning after San Diego tied the game at two. Pablo Sandoval scored two runs, reaching base on a double and fielder’s choice. Rich Aurilia’s lone hit in the game was an RBI triple that came in eighth inning, scoring Sandoval and putting the Giants up 4-3.
Kevin Correia will attempt to get the Giants the sweep tomorrow afternoon at 1:05 p.m. He is 2-7 on the year, with a 5.15 earned run average. Josh Banks is scheduled to get the start for San Diego.

Tim Lincecum continues to impress, last night picked up his fourteenth win of the season, improving his record to 14-3, and also struck out his two-hundredth batter in San Francisco’s 5-0 win over San Diego.
The game went by rather quickly, much thanks to Lincecum’s dominance. The right-hander went eight innings, limiting the Padres to just four hits and three walks. He struck out eight hitters to become the first Major Leaguer this season with two hundred strikeouts. Lincecum also contributed offensively, hitting a double earlier in the game. Keiichi Yabu sealed the deal, pitching a perfect ninth inning to secure a 5-0 victory.
All five Giants runs came in the big fourth inning, three of them were scored on a three-run homer by Travis Ishikawa. Emmanuel Burriss, Bengie Molina, and Pablo Sandoval each had two hits; Burriss, two singles; Molina, a double and single; and Sandoval, two singles. Molina’s double in the fourth inning drove in the other two Giants runs.
This afternoon Barry Zito will face Padres rookie Dirk Hayhurst, who will be making his Major League debut. Zito has been showing signs of improvement all season, but tends to take two steps back after taking one forward. Game time is set for 1:05 p.m.

After a dramatic win Wednesday night, the Giants pulled off another one last night. San Francisco traded runs with Florida for most of the game, and in the end Emmanuel Burriss came around to score the winning run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning, winning the game 4-3.
Rookie Matt Palmer did a nice job, he went six solid innings and gave up just two runs on six hits. He let Florida get on the board in the second inning when Dan Uggla took him deep for a solo homer, the other run scored off him came in the fourth. Keiichi Yabu relieved him in the seventh inning, and got just one out before allowing a double to Cody Ross, turning the game over to Jack Taschner. Ross was able to move over to third before pinch-hitting Luis Gonzalez brought him in to tie the game on a sacrifice fly. Taschner gave up a single in the eighth inning before leaving the game. Tyler Walker finished off the eighth inning with two strikeouts and two walks. Brian Wilson took the game into his hands in the ninth inning, and pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout to give the Giants a chance at another walk-off win.
Randy Winn and Aaron Rowand each had two singles, Winn scored a run, and Rowand had one of the RBI’s. After falling into a 0-2 hole, the Giants tied things up in their half of the fourth inning, and then took the lead in the fifth with a run. Ryan Rohlinger had the only extra-base hit of the game for San Francisco, a triple that drove in a run. Rohlinger could have made more of the situation, but got caught stealing home. The ninth inning looked like trouble from the start for Florida when speedster Burriss got on base on a walk to leadoff the inning, and moved to second base with his eleventh steal of the season. Burriss tagged up on a fly by Winn to get over to third base. Pinch-hitter Bengie Molina was walked, and that set up a good situation for Fred Lewis to win the game, but he did not even need to swing the bat. A wild pitch by Kevin Gregg allowed Burriss to dash home, winning the game for the Giants in walk-off style for the second night in a row.
Tonight the Giants will send Tim Lincecum to the mound as they host the Padres. San Diego has had a disappointing year coming within one game of the playoffs last year. Cha Seung Baek will pitch for the Padres at 7:15 p.m.

Matt Cain continued to perform well in the second half of the season last night, but Brian Wilson’s success was certain to run out at some point. After allowing Florida to tie the game at five in the top of the ninth inning, San Francisco won in walk-off fashion in the bottom half of the frame with a sacrifice fly, winning 6-5.
Cain pitched through a good seven and two-thirds innings, in which he allowed just two runs to score. In total he gave up five hits, walked four, and struck out four more hitters. The only real mistake he made was in the fourth inning when he gave Florida a 2-1 lead when Jeremy Hermida took him deep for two runs. Tyler Walker bailed him out of the eighth inning, to set the game up for Brian Wilson. After being sharp in his last couple save opportunities, Wilson finally blew one by allowing a pinch-hit, three-run homerun to John Baker that tied the game at five. All three outs that he recorded in the inning were strikeouts. The Giants offense would take him off the hook in the bottom half of the ninth, winning in walk-off style, 6-5!
San Francisco stepped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the first inning, thanks to a leadoff homer by Randy Winn. Winn added two more hits, singles, and scored a run to give him a three-for-five day. The Giants regained the lead in the sixth inning, scoring three runs. Aaron Rowand also collected two hits, a double and a single while scoring a run. Brian Roberts scored the winning run in the ninth inning after leading off with a walk, and continued to score later in the inning on a sacrifice fly by Bengie Molina. Pablo Sandoval played at first base and raised his average to an even .500 with two hits (a two-bagger, and a single) since being called up to the Major’s.
Rookie Matt Palmer will get the start this afternoon at 12:45 p.m. He was roughed up in his debut, but hopefully he has learned something since Saturday’s work out of the bullpen. Josh Johnson will start for the Marlins, he is 3-0 with a 3.38 earned run average this season.

Looking to build on a great road trip, the Giants were miserable starting the homestand against Florida last night. The team committed four errors, and only managed two hits, being shutout 6-0.
Kevin Correia allowed two quick runs, one in the first inning, and another in the second. He appeared to have settled down, but then defensive mistakes cost him in the fifth inning, and he left the game after just four and two-thirds innings pitched. In the fifth inning three more runs came across for Florida, one of which was earned. Alex Hinshaw took over for Correia and finished off the inning, he proceeded to pitch the sixth inning. The only hit he gave up was a solo shot to Jorge Cantu, giving Florida a 6-0 lead. He did however strikeout two batters in his inning and a third. Billy Sadler pitched two scoreless innings, and allowed just one hit and a walk. Tyler Walker got in the game in the ninth inning, and pitched a scoreless frame in which he allowed just one hit.
Giants hitters had a hard time dealing with Ricky Nolasco, who allowed just three baserunners. Emmanuel Burriss reached base on a walk, and Randy Winn had a single. The only other hit came in the ninth inning, a double by pinch-hitter Pablo Sandoval. The rookies in the lineup made four errors that cost the Giants two runs, two of the errors were fielding miscues by first baseman Travis Ishikawa. Burriss also made a fielding error. The fourth error was committed by third baseman Ryan Rohlinger, this time making a wild throw across the diamond. However, the Giants did somehow manage to turn three doubleplays.
Tonight Matt Cain will look to get the Giants back on track. Cain has been hot this second half of the season and if he can keep performing the way he has so far, the Marlins might be in trouble. Scott Olsen will pitch for Florida at 7:15 p.m.

Barry Zito pitched his best game of the season today, maybe even his best game in his last two years. San Francisco rolled over Atlanta with a 5-0 shutout to take three of four games.
Zito looked like the old Zito, the one that used to play for Oakland. He scattered five hits over seven innings while walking just two, and striking out three hitters. The bullpen secured the shutout as Zito earned his seventh win of the season, improving his record to 7-15. Perhaps this time Zito has finally figured himself out, and fixed what was wrong. Keiichi Yabu allowed two hits in the eighth inning, but also struck out two batters to keep the Braves off the board. Sergio Romo had a perfect ninth inning in which he also struck out two hitters.
San Francisco got on the board right away in the first inning, scoring three runs for Zito, who has been known for having to pitch with little run support. Rookie catcher Pablo Sandoval was two-for-four with singles and a RBI. Aaron Rowand drove in two runs, one on a solo homer in the sixth inning, and then another on a sacrifice fly. Dave Roberts picked up his first triple of the season, kind of late in the year for such a speedy guy. Travis Ishikawa got a stolen base after reaching base on a single, and also recorded an unassisted doubleplay.
The Giants will return home tomorrow for a three-game series against a plus .500 Marlins team. Ricky Nolasco will pitch against Kevin Correia in game one at 7:15 p.m. The Giants are hot after dominating the Braves at home, and need to continue to play well when they get back to San Francisco.

San Francisco was pounded Saturday night, but came back today behind Tim Lincecum’s quality start and won 3-1. The Giants were not sure what they were going to get out of Lincecum after he took a liner off his knee in his last start, but he came up big for them.
Lincecum pitched a real good seven and two-thirds innings to give the Giants a shot at earning a win. He struck out ten batters while allowing just one run on three hits and four walks. Jack Taschner attempted to end the eighth inning threat, but gave up a single that forced Brian Wilson to enter the game for a four-out save. Wilson earned his thirty-third save of the season while walking two and striking out two hitters.
Travis Ishikawa provided the Giants with a two-run homer in the second inning to give them a 2-0 lead. He also added a single as he went two-for-four on the day. Emmanuel Burriss was the only other Giant to have a multi-hit game, he also went two-for-four with a single and double, one that scored an extra run in the fifth inning. Burriss stole second base, but was then thrown out trying to take third as well.
Barry Zito will try to get the Giants three wins out of four tomorrow in the series finale. With today’s victory, San Francisco earned at least a series split, but coming away with three wins out of four games would be a real confidence builder. Jorge Campillo will pitch for Atlanta at 1:30 p.m.