Despite an early injury to Cincinnati Reds starter Johnny Cueto, the Giants were unable to get their offense going as they dropped Game 1 of the National League Division Series 5-2 Saturday at AT&T Park.
Starter Matt Cain gave up the first runs of his postseason career, ending a 23²⁄³-inning scoreless streak. All three of the runs he allowed came on home runs — a two-run shot by Brandon Phillips in the third inning and a solo shot by Jay Bruce that landed in the arcade above Triples Alley in the fourth. Phillips later added an RBI single in the ninth.
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Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker received a standing ovation when introduced to the crowd at AT&T Park before Saturday’s playoff opener. Baker managed the Giants from 1993 to 2002, finishing his run here with a trip to the World Series.
Baker said he still has fond memories of making the move from Candlestick Park to the shores of McCovey Cove before the 2000 season.
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The fog lifted and winds died down a bit for the second day of racing in the latest installment of the America’s Cup World Series on San Francisco Bay on Thursday, a day that saw Ben Ainslie Racing take the early lead in fleet racing, while Artemis Racing-White and Emirates Team New Zealand advanced to the semifinals of the match racing.
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Tim Lincecum’s struggles during 2012 are well-documented. Statistically, he just completed the worst season of his six-year Giants career and isn’t exactly ending on a high note, getting battered for 11 earned runs in 10 innings over his last two regular-season starts.
He finished the season with a 10-15 record and a 5.18 ERA.
None of that has stopped manager Bruce Bochy from putting the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner in the playoff rotation, however.
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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 fog rolled in over San Francisco Bay just in time for the match-race qualifiers of the America’s Cup World Series on Wednesday, an event that left Luna Rossa Piranha, Luna Rossa Swordfish and China Team eliminated from the match-race event.
Team Korea, Energy Team, Emirates Team New Zealand and Ben Aisnlie Racing each won their first match races to advance to today’s quarterfinals, while Artemis Racing Red survived the four-team loser’s bracket to claim the final spot.
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Record crowds are expected this week as the next leg of the America’s Cup World Series takes place on San Francisco Bay, beginning today and running through Sunday.
The racing will coincide with Fleet Week, which on its own usually draws about a half million spectators, according to ACWS officials. The conversion of the two events would likely make it the largest crowd ever to watch a sailing race in North America, possibly the world.
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The Warriors had a tumultuous 2011-12 season laced with injuries and highlighted by trading one of the team’s most popular players.
The move that sent Monta Ellis to the Milwaukee Bucks for center Andrew Bogut raised enough ire among fans that they booed team owner Joe Lacob at a halftime ceremony honoring former Warrior icon Chris Mullin. The move also handed the reins of the team to Stephen Curry, who played in only 26 of the team’s 66 games last season due to recurring ankle problems.
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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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Giants officials and players joined Mayor Ed Lee and several international baseball leaders on the shores of McCovey Cove on Tuesday to announcing the venues for the first round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic.
The first round, which consists of pool play involving four teams in each city, will take place in Fukuoka City, Japan; Taichung, Taiwan; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Phoenix and Scottsdale, Ariz.
AT&T Park has already been announced as the location of the semifinals and final, with the second round set for Tokyo and Miami.
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Bob and Mike Bryan have had a very eventful summer. The twin tennis stars won an Olympic gold medal in London in July, then won their record 81st doubles title, at the U.S. Open in New York on Sept. 10.
This weekend’s return to their home state for the Esurance Tennis Classic in Mill Valley will provide a different sort of experience than the rush they’ve been through over the past few months.
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It’s safe to say Panda mode is back on at AT&T Park.
Pablo Sandoval hit two home runs Thursday, including one that fueled a six-run fourth inning, as the Giants cruised to a 9-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies.
Sandoval now has three homers in his last two games to lead the team to a four-game sweep of the last-place Rockies and push their magic number to three after the Washington Nationals beat the Dodger 4-1.
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The Earthquakes this week became the first MLS team to clinch a playoff spot, marking their second trip to the postseason in the past three years.
The 2012 season has been a big turnaround for a club that has not finished higher than sixth in the Western Conference since A’s owner Lew Wolff brought the team back following the previous incarnation moving to Houston after the 2005 season, when they won the Supporters’ Shield for the best regular-season record.
Now the Earthquakes have their eye on bringing the Shield back to San Jose.
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City officials are heralding the first America’s Cup World Series event held in San Francisco as a success, as crowds lined Marina Green for five days to watch the world’s fastest boats push toward sailing’s biggest prize.
“The response from the public has exceeded our expectations,” said Stephen Barclay, CEO of the America’s Cup.
“This was our first event in San Francisco and our first opportunity to get a taste of racing the wingsail catamarans on the Bay. It’s simply been wonderful for everyone involved.”
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