The 2012 Giants have little in common with the 2010 team that stole the hearts of San Francisco on The City’s first World Series championship since moving from New York.
Both teams were built on pitching, and much of the 2010 staff remains on the roster, but the offense is a stark contrast. The 2010 team was sixth in the National League in home runs, sparked by the midseason pickup of Pat Burrell, whose 18 long balls in 96 games with the Giants that year provided a big power surge.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers were eliminated from playoff contention, their wild-card hopes dashed Tuesday night with a 4-3 loss to Barry Zito and the Giants.
The defeat left the Dodgers two games behind St. Louis with only one game left in the regular season. Los Angeles had won six in a row to stay in the race for the second NL wild-card spot, but Mark Ellis lined out to center field with a runner on second base to end it.
The defending World Series champion Cardinals will open the playoffs Friday at Atlanta in a one-game matchup.
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By:
Beth Harris
10/01/12 11:13 PM
Since manager Don Mattingly had a few choice words for his team last week in San Diego, the Los Angeles Dodgers aren't going away quietly.
Elian Herrera singled in the go-ahead run with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting the Dodgers to a 3-2 victory over the NL West champion San Francisco Giants on Monday night that kept their postseason hopes alive.
"It's really exciting," Herrera said, grinning after his first career walk-off hit and fourth game-winning RBI of the season.
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By:
Bernie Wilson
09/30/12 8:03 PM
Tim Lincecum was in the Giants’ clubhouse “jumping up and down” as pinch-hitter Xavier Nady’s solo homer sailed over the fence in right-center in the ninth inning to tie a game his team would win 7-5 against the San Diego Padres.
“It was a big moment for us, a big moment for him,” Lincecum said after the Giants’ stunning rally on Sunday.After Nady tied it against Huston Street, Hunter Pence hit a two-run, go-ahead homer, and the Padres failed to answer in the bottom of the inning.
The rally got Lincecum off the hook for what would have been his 16th loss.
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Barry Zito may have pitched his way into the playoff rotation Thursday as the Giants beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-3 behind six solid innings from their starter.
The Giants have now won his past 10 starts, a streak not accomplished since Bill Swift started 11 straight wins in 1992.
For the second start in a row, Zito was backed by a six-run inning, this one off Diamondbacks starter Patrick Corbin from his offense, as the team batted around in the second inning — highlighted by home runs by Marco Scutaro and Hunter Pence.
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Melky Cabrera will be left off the Giants’ postseason roster despite being eligible to come back after the first five games of the playoffs, manager Bruce Bochy announced Thursday. The left fielder, who had a .346 batting average in 113 games this season, has been serving a 50-game suspension since Aug. 15 after testing positive for a banned substance.
Bochy said the decision was made based on how well the team has been playing in Cabrera’s absence and a plethora of options to man left field.
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By:
SportsDirect
09/26/12 11:37 PM
Matt Cain tossed seven superb innings en route to his sixth straight win and Pablo Sandoval recorded two hits and two RBIs as the Giants posted their seventh victory in nine games with a 6-0 shutout of the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday at AT&T Park.
Buster Posey drove in a run to become the first Giant with 100 RBIs in a season since Barry Bonds in 2004 as the National League West champions improved to 7-2 on their 10-game homestand.
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By:
SportsDirect
09/25/12 10:53 PM
Paul Goldschmidt homered and tied a career best by driving in five runs while Josh Collmenter combined with four relievers on a four-hitter as the Arizona Diamondbacks cruised to a 7-2 victory against the Giants at AT&T Park in the opener of a three-game series.
Aaron Hill scored three times and collected three of the six hits by the Diamondbacks, who improved to 4-1 on their seven-game road trip but remained 5 1/2 games behind St. Louis for the second wild card spot in the National League with eight contests remaining.
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By:
The Sports Xchange
09/25/12 7:06 PM
There has been much debate and speculation about whether the Giants would or should add Melky Cabrera to their postseason roster, and Giants manager Bruce Bocky said on Tuesday the team will announce by Thursday whether it will consider adding him, Comcast SportsNet Bay Area reported.
Cabrera is serving a 50-game suspension after testing positive for testosterone, but he would be eligible to play in the postseason in the Giants’ sixth playoff game, if they get that far.
The Giants have a number of issues to consider when deciding on Cabrera’s postseason fate.
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By:
The Sports Xchange
09/24/12 6:57 PM
Based on numbers alone, especially September numbers, manager Bruce Bochy would be hard-pressed to leave Barry Zito out of the playoff rotation.
Presumably, we know the top three: Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and Tim Lincecum. Then comes the tougher choice: the left-handed Zito or the right-handed Ryan Vogelsong.
Bochy already said all five starters would likely make the roster. That doesn’t mean it’ll be a five-man rotation. That simply means one will be in the bullpen.
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URL: http://www.sfexaminer.com/archive/109/109?page=18&type[story]=story
