Following a rock-solid home stand with only one loss in seven tries, the Giants got off on the wrong foot (once again) away from A.T.& T. Park.  San Francisco began a mini three game road trip in Houston with a 4-3 loss to Mike Hampton and the Astros.  The Giants, who fall to 21-and-32 on the road had to be feeling good after taking three of four from the Phillies, improving their home record to 37-and-16.  All-Star Matt Cain was on the mound tonight, but it didn't materialize thanks to a lack of timely offense.   Cain worked 8-innings, allowed 8 hits, 4 earned runs, no walks, and 5 strike outs, falling to 12-and-3 on the season.  He did make a couple of mistakes, allowing home runs to Geoff Blum and Kaz Matsui - the latter home run

Continue reading ""Same Old Story for the Giants on the Road""

  

  How cool is this Eli Whiteside story?  The Giants' rookie back-up catcher, who plays sparingly behind Bengie Molina, has had some big moments in recent weeks.  After catching the Jonathan Sanchez no-hitter last month, Whiteside launched a grand slam today -- his first career home run -- helping the Giants to a 10-6 victory over the Astros.  San Francisco improves to 60-and-48, taking two of three games ON THE ROAD, and now return home to open a weekend set against Dusty Baker's Cincinnati Reds.  Thursday's off-day, by the way, is the first for the team since the all-star break in mid-July.

  The offense, which was non-existent in Monday's loss, bounced back with 18 runs Tuesday and Wednesday combined.  Wednesday's 13-hit attack featured three hits apiece for Pablo Sandoval and Freddy Sanchez, and two more hits for Ryan Garko, who appears to be finding his comfort level in the National League.   

Continue reading ""The Giants Get it Done in Houston""

  The Giants were turning the corner and heading home with a 2-1 victory in the bag behind another strong outing from Tim Lincecum. Then, the umpiring crew (once again) blew a call, and opened the door for a 9th-inning Dodger rally that plated a run, and denied Lincecum the victory.  With one out in the 9th, Rafael Furcal attempted to leg out an infield hit, and was called safe by umpire Gary Darling when it appeared he was out. Bench Coach Ron Wotus came out to argue the call, and was ejected from the game.  Wotus was managing the team in place of the earlier-ejected Bruce Bochy; third base boach Tim Flannery ended up managing the last inning-and-a-half.  It was the second time in the series Bochy had been ejected.  Monday night, the skipper was tossed

Continue reading ""Giants Escape With A Win over the Dodgers in Extra-Innings""

  The Giants escaped from New York with a four-game split Monday, and grabbed the first game of a mid-week series in Cincinnati Tuesday thanks to plenty of offense.  How about 18 runs and 30 hits in the past two games.  The question remains; how consistently can the bats remain alive for this team to contend into September for the wild card -- or conceivably -- the division.  After blasting Livan Hernandez and the Mets' bullpen for 10 runs on 18 hits Monday, San Francisco stung the Reds with a seven-run comeback to erase an early 5-1 deficit against Tim Lincecum. The 8-5 victory included 12 more hits by the Giants.

 Monday, it was Aaron Rowand with four hits, including a home run; Tuesday, it was Ryan Garko, finally coming through with four RBI's, including the go-ahead runs with a clutch double in the 10th-inning.  Garko has obviously been pressing since his late-July trade from the Indians.  His batting average has hovered around .200 after hitting a solid .285 with the Tribe prior to the trade.  The Stanford product may finally be coming out of his funk just in time, boosting that average, and picking-up the slack for Pablo Sandoval and Bengie Molina, who each struck out three times Tuesday.  Randy Winn may also be awakening from his deep freeze, collecting two more hits (five in the last two games), and two more RBI's. Juan Uribe, who has been hobbled by injury in recent days, smacked a home run early in the game off Homer Bailey. Bailey pitched great through five-innings, but lost it in the sixth, surrendering four more runs. San Francisco also broke through against Reds' closer Francisco Cordero, touching him up for three runs - and the loss.  Two more games against Cincinnati with Barry Zito and Matt Cain scheduled to pitch Wednesday and Thursday.  Then, it's the big finale of the road trip with four games in Coors Field against the front-running, wild-card-leading Rockies.  

Continue reading ""Will The Hits Keep Coming for the Giants?""

  Six shutout innings and just two hits allowed Wednesday for Barry Zito, who didn't figure in the decision, as the Giants pulled-out a 1-0 win over the Reds. Since the All-Star Break, Zito has been dealing, posting a 2.73 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, and with three wins prior to tonight's start.  In the other recent games he has either lost or didn't get the decision - Zito has kept the Giants in almost every game he's pitched since that July 12th disaster against San Diego.  While Lincecum and Cain haven't quite been their usual, outstanding selves in recent starts; Zito, Sanchez, and even Joe Martinez have helped turn things around on this road trip.  The Giants are now 4-and-2 on the trip, and looking for the sweep Thursday.   All arms on deck for

Continue reading ""Barry Zito has been Stellar Since the All-Star Break""

  Matt Cain must play the role of stopper for the Giants against Arizona tonight.  Not only that; he has got to go DEEP into the game, eat up some innings, and give a bewildered bullpen a break.  What can one say about Monday night's 14-inning nightmare?  There are still 37 games remaining on the schedule starting TONIGHT against the D-Backs (for three games), and then - guess who's coming to town for the weekend for three more games? - the Colorado Rockies.  Is it just me, or are the Rocks becoming almost as annoying as the Dodgers? 

  There is no time to whine, or jump off a cliff, or pout in the corner about losing three of four in Coors Field.  Only on rare occasions has Coors ever been friendly to the Giants.  Following Friday night's lone win behind Jonathan Sanchez, San Francisco was actually in all three of the games they lost, and could just as easily WON three of four if not for some faulty pitching.

Continue reading ""The Giants Have Got to Bounce Back Starting Tonight""

  News on the injury front is not good.  The Giants reportedly will be without their regular numbers two-, three-, and four-hitters tonight against Danny Haren and the Diamondbacks.  Freddy Sanchez is still out with a bad shoulder and will likely go on the disabled list.  Pablo Sandoval, who left Monday's game in Denver with a tight calf is expected to miss a couple of games, and Bengie Molina is dinged with an apparent quad injury.  This on top of a mentally draining weekend against the Rockies.  We will really find out what this team is made of in a must-win, bounce-back scenario.  Arizona is a struggling team, and may be just the right remedy for the Giants in between scheduled clashes with Colorado.   

Continue reading ""Sandoval, Molina, and Sanchez All Out of the Starting Line Up for the Giants""

  This is a team the Giants should sweep!  San Francisco sends Joe Martinez (3-1) to the mound against some guy for the D-Backs who IS NOT named Webb, Haren, or Davis, and that's good.  But even against an under-manned and injury-riddled Diamondbacks squad, The Giants have relied upon 8th-inning, three-run home runs to pull out victories both Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Bengie Molina's pinch-hit three-run blast off Chad Qualls last night could be one of the highlights of the year to date. Watching Molina limp around the bases (quad strain) instantly reminded me of Kirk Gibson's game-winner off Eck in game one of the 1988 World Series at Dodger Stadium - I was waiting for the under-handed fist-pump as Bengie rounded second base.  Of course the stakes weren't quite as high on a Tuesday night in August as they would be in October, but nonetheless; these games actually mean something.  The Dodgers beat the Rockies today, which means a win tonight could close the gap in the wild card race to just two games heading into the weekend showdown.

Continue reading ""Giants Go for the Sweep Over Arizona""

  The Giants desperately need a number five starter, and have apparently filled that void with today's waiver acquisition of former Dodger and Marlin Brad Penny.  After a brief stint in Boston, Penny was released after 24 starts, and cleared waivers.  The Giants were one of at least six teams interested in the one-time all-star; who won 16 games in back-to-back seasons with the Dodgers in '06 and '07.  

  Penny posted a 7-and-8 record and a 5.61 ERA (1.53 WHIP) with the Red Sox this season.  Penny spent four-plus seasons in L.A. following a six-player trade in 2004, that sent him West from the Florida Marlins for Paul LoDuca and Guillermo Mota.  Penny was once a part of the same rotation as Josh Beckett and A.J. Burnett in South Florida - what were the fish thinking in breaking up that trio?  

Continue reading ""Giants Have Reportedly Signed Brad Penny""