Hector Sanchez knew when the Giants went to extra innings against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday that he would probably get a chance to come off the bench. When he finally did, as a pinch-hitter in the 11th inning, he delivered the game-winning single with one out and the bases loaded to give the Giants a 4-3 win.
Giants starter Matt Cain pitched another gem, allowing two runs in seven innings while striking out 10, but a blown save in the ninth gave the Brewers extra life before the Giants rallied in extras.
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The media treatment of Giants pitchers Tim Lincecum and Barry Zito early in the season this year demonstrates a total disregard for recent history.
Lincecum struggled badly coming out of the gate, and there were numerous reports wondering what had gone wrong. Nothing. Lincecum has often had these spells of ineffectiveness, as recently as August, but they’re more than balanced by his longer periods of dominance.
He’s returned to good form lately, so hopefully, we’ll have no more “the sky is falling” stories.
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In what is becoming a familiar story for the Giants this season, a few rough innings fueled by mistakes in the field proved fatal as the Giants were swept by the Miami Marlins with a 3-2 loss Thursday at AT&T Park.
Ryan Vogelsong threw 51 pitches while allowing a run in each of the first two innings, a total that was fueled by Brandon Crawford’s fifth error of the season. Crawford committed a second error in the fourth, though Vogelsong had settled down by then. Vogelsong needed 116 pitches to finish seven innings.
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The Giants were hit with the injury bug once again, as third baseman Pablo Sandoval was placed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday with a broken hamate bone in his left hand. Sandoval broke the same bone in his right hand last season and missed six weeks in April and May after having surgery to remove the bone. Dr. Tim McAdams will perform surgery on the hand Friday in Palo Alto. Giants trainer Dave Groeschner said the recovery time will be affected by a few variables this time around, however.
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Barry Zito lost some of the mojo that led him to a near flawless to start the season, and despite a furious late rally by the Giants, the Miami Marlins pulled out a 3-2 victory in 10 innings on Wednesday.
Trailing 2-0 in the ninth inning against Marlins closer Heath Bell, Brandon Belt led off with a double and scored on a single by Joaquin Arias. Buster Posey, who did not start the game, kept the rally moving with a single, chasing Bell from the game.
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Issue: Offensive on defenseAnalysis: Much has been made after the first month of the season of the sloppy glove work seen in San Francisco, mainly because it wasn’t expected to be a problem.When the season started, you figured, in order:Catcher: Buster Posey. Above average with the leather, right?First base: Brandon Belt. Way above average by all accounts.Second base: Manny Burriss or Ryan Theriot. Average at worst, with Burriss more than a hair better than the much-older Theriot. The weakest defensive link.
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The Giants placed left-handed pitcher Jeremy Affeldt on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with a knee injury and purchased the contract of Travis Blackley from Triple-A Fresno to fill Affeldt’s spot in the bullpen.
Affeldt strained his right MCL while lifting his 4-year-old son Saturday night. He said he felt an initial pop in the knee, and the pain worsened overnight.
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Matt Cain found himself matched up with another pitcher who has a history of pitching well at AT&T Park on Tuesday, but this time ended up on the losing end of a 2-1 Giants loss to the Miami Marlins.
The Giants’ offense had some pop in the game, with four extra-base hits, including Pablo Sandoval’s fifth homer of the year, but left runners stranded on third in four different innings as they went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
“There’s no magic bullet for this,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of the team’s ability to drive in runs.
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The Giants’ day off Monday presented a perfect time to look back at the first month of the season for a club that is not short on story lines.
It’s a surprise to no one that the highlight for the club has been the pitching rotation, but the names associated with early success were not necessarily expected, based on last year’s performances.
Barry Zito has been the biggest surprise and leads all starters with a 1.67 earned run average. At this time last year, he was out of the rotation with a 6.23 ERA and finished the year at the 5.87 mark.
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When Brett Pill gets a start, manager Bruce Bochy doesn’t shy away from throwing him into the fire.
Pill has made six starts, and in five of those, he has been in the No. 5 spot in the Giants’ lineup, where he was again on Sunday against the San Diego Padres.
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URL: http://www.sfexaminer.com/archive/109/109?page=33&type[story]=story
