Giantsblog

San Francisco— The Giants failed at a series sweep of the Reds but the effort was there. After taking the first two games of the series the Giants fell in 12 innings on Wednesday. This is not to say they didn’t go down without a fight, as they battled back from a 10-1 hole. The team took the lead 11-10 thanks to a six run eighth inning only to lose the lead and the game in extras. In fact the team amassed 38 runs in the three game series, an impressive mark. Despite the loss on Wednesday the team has to be full of confidence heading into the off day.

The Giants will enjoy the off day before the Arizona Diamondbacks head into AT&T Park. The Giants swept the Diamondbacks last month in a four game set in Arizona. Combined with the recent success at the plate and the confidence of last months sweep, the Giants look to continue their push for the playoffs.

Tim Lincecum will take the hill on Friday looking to get back on track. The two time Cy Young winner is 11-8 on the season, and is in the middle of the worst month of his career. Lincecum will duel with Arizona pitcher Barry Enright, which happens to be the last pitcher Lincecum beat, dating back to July 25.

The Giants are now tied with the Philadelphia Phillies for the NL Wildcard lead. The St. Louis Cardinals trail both teams by one game. The Phillies face the Houston Astros on Thursday before heading to San Diego. The Giants now trail the Padres by 6.5 games and it’s becoming apparent that the Giants will have to win the Wildcard in order to make the playoffs. The Padres are 76-49, winning eight of their last 10. The weekend series between the Padres and the Phillies will be a showdown, and a tough one for Giants fans. Does one root for the Phillies to win to make up ground on the Padres in the West, or does one root for the divisional foe to open up a lead in the NL Wildcard? Tough choice, none-the-less, the Giants must beat the Diamondbacks. The Giants are 7-2(seven in a row) against Arizona this year, with nine more games to be played against the divisional opponent.

Let’s hope for the runs to keep pouring in and Lincecum to get back to his dominant ways.

Go Giants.

San Francisco— After going 2-4 on a road trip to Philadelphia and St. Louis, the Giants hope that the friendly confines of AT&T Park treat them well. To be honest, the Giants didn’t look like a playoff team on the road. The team lost 9-0 on Sunday and only managed three hits. The team is now third in the NL Wildcard race behind their two most recent opponents, Philly and St. Louis. Philadelphia leads the race while St. Louis and the Giants sit two games behind. At this point, the NL West is somewhat of an afterthought, as the Giants trail by six games to the San Diego Padres. Although the Giants are not out of the race by any means, the last 37 games have to be played with playoff intensity.

This has to begin tonight as Matt Cain takes the reigns against Edison Volquez and the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds are no joke this season, as they are the surprise team in the MLB. The Reds are also coming off a series win against the Dodgers in LA, a place where the Reds previously dropped 12 straight. The Reds currently lead the NL Central by 3 1/2 games over the St. Louis Cardinals.

This three-game series will be a must for the Giants, the team has to win at least two-of-three. This is the fourth consecutive series the Giants have faced a playoff contender, and the Giants are 3-7 in those games. The team has 21 games remaining at home, which is a plus for the stumbling team. The Giants also have 28 games against divisional opponents. If the team is worthy of a playoff appearance, the team must win at least 25-of-37 remaining games. In order for this to occur, everyone on the team must have the best six weeks of their careers. This includes Tim Lincecum, who is having the worst month of his young career. Lincecum’s ERA is 8.38 in August and he hasn’t won in four consecutive starts.Lincecum has already allowed more earned runs this year than he did in his two previous Cy Young seasons. Regardless, Lincecum must put his struggles behind him if the Giants are to make and succeed in the playoffs.

On Sunday, the Giants acquired OF Cody Ross off of waivers from the Florida Marlins. This brings some confusion due to the recent acquisition of Jose Guillen( who is 10-26 with the Giants) and now a crowded outfield. As a fan one would hope that the team doesn’t decide to let Nate Schierholtz go. Schierholtz is the only member of the outfield that will be under the age of 30 at the beginning of next season. Whatever the reasoning, the Giants hope Ross can have an impact when called upon and give them the push the team needs.

Go Giants.

Philadelphia— Jonathon Sanchez pitched eight stellar innings as the Giants managed a win in Philadelphia Thursday evening, 5-2.  In the past week the Giants have went from one game ahead in the NL Wildcard to one game back. Not only have they lost ground to the NL West leaders San Diego, they have also forfeited the Wildcard to the Phillies. The Giants are now trailing the Padres by six games in the NL West. The team went 2-4 in the last week against these two teams, which partially explains the deficit in the standings. The other reason for the deficit is that the Padres and the Phillies are the two hottest teams in baseball. The Padres have won 10-of-11, building their lead in the West, while the Phillies have won 20-of-26.

Things won’t be easy from here on out for the Giants, as they head to St. Louis for a weekend series against the Cardinals. The Cardinals are nipping at the heals of the Giants in the Wildcard. The Cardinals trail the Giants by one game in the race, and two overall.  Madison Bumgarner will take the hill this afternoon in arguably the biggest start in his young career. Every game from here on out for the Giants will be of major importance, every game becomes more crucial than the last.

The Giants head home to the Bay after the three game series in St. Louis. This is when the season will be make-or-break for the 2010 Giants. The NL Central-leading Cincinnati Reds  come to San Francisco. That means by the middle of next week the last four series have been against SD, Philly, St. Louis, and Cincinatti, all playoff contenders. So far the Giants are 2-4 in those games, but good news for the Giants they are 22-8 against the NL Central this year. If the Giants can win four-of-six in the next two series, then .500 record in the last four series will not look so bad.

After the Reds come to town, the Giants have 19 straight games against divisional opponents. This is why the series in St. Louis and the one against the Reds is so critical, for the confidence. The Giants need to be consistent in these next 25 games. The club needs hitting and pitching to be at their best, and of course,  a little bit of luck.

Go Giants.

The Giants have picked up Jose Guillen from the Kansas City Royals. The change of scenery may do Guillen justice, who is notorious for being a pain to his own management, clubhouse. Hopefully it works out for the Guillen and the Giants.

Go Giants.

San Francisco– The Giants got the job done this afternoon, winning 8-7 in dramatic fashion. Andres Torres hit a deep single with the bases loaded to drive home the winning run, Aaron Rowand.

The Giants got off to a bad start, as pitcher Matt Cain allowed two runs in the first. In a back-and-forth game the Giants battled back to tie and then take the lead, only to forfeit a four run lead by the time the ninth inning came along. When Cain left after six innings, the Giants owned a 7-3 lead.  The bullpen wasn’t stellar this afternoon, as Ray, Lopez, Mota, and Romo all failed to get the job done. Closer Brian Wilson pitched the ninth and ended up with the win. None-the-less the Giants showed resiliency and left with the “W”.

The Giants now sit 66-50, two games back of the Padres, and hold 1 1/2 over the Phillies and Reds, respectively. These numbers are due to change as games are still in progress. It’s a good thing that the Giants made it out of today’s games in nine innings, as the Padres head to town. The team is running on all cylinders after today’s win, taking the four game series from the Cubs.

Leading the charge for the Giants was Pat Burrell today. Once again the slugger came up huge for the boys from the bay. Burrell went 2-4 with two home runs, two runs scored, and a mammoth five RBI. Burrell now has 12 RBI in the last 10 games. Juan Uribe and Pablo Sandoval, along with Torres put the other RBI’s in the Giants score column.

Jonathon Sanchez will begin the most important series this year for the Giants. Sanchez will square-off against the Padres tomorrow night. It will be important for Sanchez to keep his pitch count down and go at least six innings. The Giants have to be thrilled to be put in this situation at home. With 51 games left, the Giants could claim the NL West lead from the Padres over the weekend and have the chance to not look back. Look for the Giants to continue their second half roll.

Go Giants.

The Giants made a trade Wednesday with their opponent. The Giants acquired infielder Mike Fontenot from the Cubs for Minor League outfielder Evan Crawford. Easy enough for Fontenot, all he had to do is walk across to the home dugout and throw on his new Giants gear. This comes a day after Fontenot had a key pinch-hit, two RBI knock against the Giants on Tuesday, making the difference in the game.

With the recent injury to Edgar Renteria( hitting the DL again), Fontenot will add depth, experience,  and a left-handed bat to the line-up. Welcome Mike Fontenot.

Go Giants.

San Francisco– The Giants got back to their winning ways Wednesday night, thanks-in-part to the bat of Pat Burrell. The Giants got the offense rolling in the first when Buster Posey came to the plate with the bases loaded. Posey added an RBI to his total of 41 with a ground ball to shortstop scoring Andres Torres. Pat Burrell was due up next, and he did not disappoint.

Burrell wasted no time extending his hit streak to six games. Burrell roped a single to left, scoring Freddy Sanchez and Aubrey Huff. Fast forward to the eighth inning in a 4-4 ballgame, Burrell stepped up and belted a solo shot to put the Giants up for good, as they took the game 5-4 over the Cubs. Burrell has been on fire in his last 10 games, hitting a healthy .375. Pat Burrell has scored five runs, knocked in seven, and most impressively, walked seven times. It looks like the aging slugger from the bay area senses that this may be his last chance to make a run for the title, and he is making the most of it.

With the help from Pat Burrell, the Giants moved their record to 65-50. The boys from the bay also retained a one game lead in the NL Wildcard over the Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia Phillies.  Every game will be tense the rest of the season, but what more could fans ask for other than a pennant race.

Matt Cain takes the hill today looking to earn his tenth win of the season. Cain has a 9-9 record, and an impressive 3.06 ERA. The Giants bats will have to give Cain some help this afternoon, as  they face Randy Wells and the Cubs, first pitch is slated for 12:45 p.m.  A win today would mean a series win for the Giants, and the confidence they need going into the weekend series against division front runners, the San Diego Padres. The Padres currently hold a 2 1/2 game lead in the NL West, as the Giants look to take first place for good.

Go Giants.

San Francisco– The Giants fell to the Chicago Cubs 8-6 on Tuesday night and fell back into a tie for the NL Wildcard. On a pivotal day, Tim Lincecum looked like he had never been in a pressure situation before, lasting only four innings, and allowing six runs. No need to worry about Lincecum, he will take the mound looking to win in his next outing against San Diego, Sunday.

The Giants are now 5-5 in their last ten, losing three-of- four in Atlanta, and need to win the remaining two games against the Cubs before the NL West leaders, San Diego Padres come to town.

The Giants put up a fight Tuesday night, for they never quit. Once again, Buster Posey was the star, knocking in four RBI Tuesday night. The Giants scored two in the ninth, but left two on with one out to end the game. Regardless, Giants fans have to like the never-say-die attitude that the Giants hold within themselves. Posey is no hitting .345, with 80 hits and 42 RBI in just 63 games this season. With the injury to Nationals phenom Stephen Strasburg, and the Giants in contention, the Rookie of the Year should go to Posey. Buster is something the Giants fans can look forward to for years to come.

The Giants are tied with Cincinnati and St. Louis for the NL Wildcard lead. Those teams are tied for the top of the NL Central and proved to hate each other on Tuesday, getting into a brawl before the first pitch was thrown. The Giants have to be aware of Philadelphia also, who lurk only a game behind in the race. The Giants will hop a jet to Philly next week after the San Diego series. The Giants trail the Padres by 2 1/2 games and the upcoming series with be the biggest of the season to date.

Barry Zito will take the hill looking to right the ship on Wednesday. Zito will duel with Tom Gorzelanny.

Go Giants.

Colorado– The Giants fell short against Rockies pitcher Ubaldo Jiminez on Wednesday afternoon. Quite frankly the Giants had a hard time touching the ball. The SF bats struck out 14 times against the Rockies, nine times coming from the Major League leader in wins. Jiminez now is 17-2 on the season as the Giants fell 6-1 to the Rockies. The Giants are now two games up in the NL Wild Card race, and still one game back of the Padres in the NL West. The Giants are an MLB best 15-5 since the break, which gives them no reason to fret over Wednesday’s loss.

Pitcher Madison Bumgarner only lasted four innings, allowing four runs and nine hits. Not the best outing for the young, up-and-coming pitcher, but none the less Bumgarner should keep his head held high. Jiminez is no easy task and after the Rockies bats only managed three hits on Tuesday, you bet the ball club in Denver was ready to come out swinging. The Rockies hit three homers on the day, two from CF Carlos Gonzalez, including back-to-back jacks with Troy Tulowitzski in the sixth off of Giants pitcher, Denny Bautista. Regardless of the outcome Wednesday, the Giants are still looking good as they head to Atlanta to face the NL East leaders.

The lone bright spot Wednesday came from Giants rookie phenom Buster Posey, who else. Posey had an RBI double in the sixth inning, scoring Aubrey Huff. Buster also through out a base-runner from behind the dish, proving that he has more in his bag of tricks than just a .355 average. Buster Posey was named NL Rookie of the Month for July, which is quite an honor. The young catcher from Georgia also earned NL Player of the Month.  Posey hit .417 in July, with 43 hits, 20 runs scored, 24 RBI, and 72 total bases. With numbers like that he may give Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg a run for NL Rookie of the Year. If the Giants make the playoffs, Posey should earn the award. There’s no better place than home, as Buster heads to Georgia for the four game series against the Braves. Posey is hitting .426 on the road this year, a ridiculous mark.

Tim Lincecum will be on the mound in Hotlanta today, where temperatures are expected to be in the 90′s for the four game series. Lincecum will go for his twelve win on the season, facing Jair Jurrjens of the Braves.  As long as Lincecum stays around the strike zone and the Giants bats get a few runs they should be victorious once again.

Go Giants.

Colorado– The San Francisco Giants continued to be the hottest team in baseball this second half of the 2010 season. The Giants scored early and late, with a few runs sprinkled in the middle. The Giants got a stellar start from the lefty Jonathon Sanchez. Sanchez went six innings, allowing only three hits while striking out nine. With the combination of solid pitching and a potent offense, the Giants are 21-5 since they last left Colorado a month ago.

The Giants offense put a 10 spot on the board Tuesday night, amassing 19 hits and winning, 10-0. The offense came out swinging, scoring four in the first. Torres, Huff, Posey, Burrell, Ishikawa,  Sandoval, and Sanchez all reached base in the first. Ishikawa was thrown out at home after a Sanchez single, but it didn’t matter, as Sanchez got all he needed in the first. Burrell bopped a homer in the third, Posey plated Huff in the fourth, and Freddy Sanchez homered in the light Denver night in the sixth. Just for kicks, Juan Uribe, pinch hit in the ninth, after a couple of days rest with a tight hamstring. Uribe piled on a run with a single. The next batter, Andres Torres went deep to put the icing on the cake and the double digit victory for the Giants.

The Giants need to keep that confidence as they face possible Cy Young winner, Ubaldo Jiminez, who is 16-2 on the year. Facing the foe with be Madison Bumgarner. Bumgarner is coming into his own recently, winning four out of his last five starts. With a win today, this could give Bumgarner the confidence he needs down the stretch and solidify the Giants as a contender that’s here to stay. The two squads square off at noon.

The Giants now sit at 62-45, just one game back of NL West leader San Diego. The SF Giants have played more road games than SD and have more off days down the stretch. The boys from the bay have a three game lead in the Wildcard, but the Giants can not become content, as the dog days of summer are here and the remaining 55 games will be tight. A win today just may put the confidence meter into overdrive, which is what they’ll need the final two months of the season.

Go Giants.