The San Francisco Giants look to win Sunday and avoid the sweep in Toronto. Through two games in Canada, the Giants only have nine hits and two runs.
In Friday’s event pitcher Barry Zito threw a complete game on the road but fell 3-2. Saturday, Matt Cain, the hottest pitcher in the big league’s was cooled off by the Blue Jays. Cain pitched 7.2 innings, allowing three runs, but gave up a two run shot to Toronto 2B Aaron Hill in the eighth innings, sealing the victory for the Blue Jays. Cain is now 4-2 in his last six starts, pitching a stellar 48.2 innings, allowing just five earned runs. In both losses during this time, the Giants failed to score a run.
After recent success, the Giants bats have grown cold once again in Toronto. The team is 1-9 with RISP in the two games. The Giants have had only 13 base runners in that span. The problem is becoming clear, the Giants struggle on the road. The team is 24-12 @ AT&T Park, but only 13-18 on the road. Good teams find ways to win on the road, throughout the 2010 campaign the Giants will need to learn how to do so. The Giants are fourth in the NL with a batting average of .263, but the team is twelve in runs scored. The team is fourteenth in base-on-balls in the NL. The Giants have scored only 125 runs on the road, good for 25th best in baseball. The boys from the Bay have hit into 30 double-plays in 31 road games. They are 26th in the MLB in extra-base hits. What seems to haunt the Giants is their plate discipline and their inability to produce runs in big situations.
Jonathon Sanchez will look to solve the Giants problems versus Shaun Marcum and the Toronto Blue Jays @ 10:07 a.m., Sunday. Despite having a 2.78 ERA, Sanchez is 5-5 on the season. Look for the Giants hitters to get back on track and put Sanchez over the hump on the season.
Go Giants.
