Sanchez started strong, firing bullets in the first inning. He gave up an early double to Jerry Hairston Jr. but then settled down to yield a Miguel Tejada fielder's choice and strike out Adrian Gonzalez and Ryan Ludwick.
The Giants took an early 2-0 lead thanks to their catalyst, Andres Torres. He walked, then attempted to steal 2nd. Torrealba's throw was high and allowed Torres to get all the way around to 3rd. Huff eventually hit an RBI double, followed by a Posey single and a Pat Burrell RBI ground out.
The Padres, however, wasted no time responding. Jonathan Sanchez hit Yorvit Torreabla, then gave up an RBI triple to Chase Headley and a sac fly to Scott Hairston.
The game would remain tied until the 6th, when, with runners at 2nd and 3rd, Chase Headley hit a groundball to Juan Uribe. He decided to throw home, but the runner was safe. That run would be the difference in the game for the Padres, as the Giants failed to put up any more runs.
Notes:
- Jerry Hairston Jr. made 2 baserunning blunders in the game. In the 1st, on a groundball to Uribe, he tried to advance to third but Uribe caught him in a pickle and he was eventually tagged out. In the 3rd, he tried to steal 2nd, but got caught midway and tried to turn back. He was caught in a pickle once again, and actually injured himself.
- The Padres played the game under protest. Denorfia hit a groundball that bounced off Jonathan Sanchez and rolled towards Freddy Sanchez. Freddy tried to get to the ball, but was obstructed by Scott Hairston. The umpires called him out, and the runner on third, who ran home on the play, was not credited with a run. Ultimately, this play didn't matter, as the Padres won anyway.
- Pat Burrell is a very slow baserunner, and he doesn't help himself out with the leads he takes. He took a small one-step lead at 1st, and a groundball was hit to short. Miguel Tejada bobbled it, but was still able to throw Burrell out at 2nd. Had Pat taken a lead just one step bigger, he would've been safe, and the Giants would've had runners at 1st and 2nd with no outs. The toll his speed takes on his defense is also very noticeable.
- On a ball hit to 3rd, Pablo Sandoval caught Adrian Gonzalez in a pickle and chased him towards home, eventually diving and tagging him. He did a face-plant, and momentarily hurt himself. The dive was the kind of maneuver that got him the nickname "Kung Fu Panda" but was ultimately the result of his speed; the Pablo Sandoval from a year ago wouldn't have needed to do an all-out dive to tag Adrian Gonzalez.
- In the 6th inning, Jonathan Sanchez threw a pitch that would've been wild (thus allowing a run to score) had it not been for the defensive prowess of Buster Posey. He miraculously caught the pitch. It's no wonder Aubrey Huff calls him "Jesus Christ."
- On the topic of Buster Posey, he nailed yet another man stealing, Chris Denorfia. After nailing Hairston Jr. and Denorfia, he's now caught 14 stealing this year. It's going to be a tough decision - deciding whether to keep Posey at catcher or move him to 1st base. His defense is an asset in addition to his offense, but putting him at catcher will undoubtedly hinder his offensive output and longevity. This season, Joe Mauer is battling a plethora of injuries, and his offensive numbers show it. Does Posey really have to suffer the same fate?
- One more note about Posey, his average has dropped from .350 to .329 this month. Is it just a coincidence that the Giants have not been playing as well in August as they did in July, when Posey was on fire? Definitely not a coincidence...
- Aubrey Huff absolutely crushed a ball in the 8th inning that would have given the Giants a 1-run lead. It was caught, up against the wall in right-center, and Huff was understandably furious. It could have at least tied the game, had the outfielders been positioned differently.
- Huff made a great diving stop at first in the game. His versatility (LF, RF, 1B) has been invaluable to the Giants this year, and he can actually do good work with the glove at all three positions.
- Freddy Sanchez grounded into a double play. The Giants just can't stop grounding into double plays. It's a curse. They are on pace to shatter the franchise record.
- Uribe's decision to throw home when the groundball was hit to him with runners in scoring position was ultimately the right decision, even though the runner was safe. Given the strength of the Padres' bullpen, it was probable that the Giants wouldn't score many more runs and thus couldn't afford to give away a run by just throwing the runner out at first.
- Guillermo Mota and Jose Guillen are friends. This comes as absolutely no surprise to me. The two have eerily similar personalities on the field.
- The magic of the orange uniforms, in which the Giants had sustained a perfect record of 10-0, is gone. Even its magic wasn't powerful enough to overcome the Padres.
- Freddy Sanchez and Aaron Rowand should not be penciled in the starting lineup. Ever. Burriss could've started in Sanchez's place and would've upgraded the Giants' running game, with Fontenot or Schierholtz as potential pinch runners for later innings. Ishikawa could've started at 1st, with Huff in RF, Burrell in LF, and Torres in CF. This would've given the Giants a better defense and a better offensive lineup. Aaron Rowand played a sloppy game, getting caught stealing third (picked off) and slipping on center field dirt. He was the final batter of the game, and that was possibly the worst decision ever, as he was facing Heath Bell, a pitcher with a great slider and a great curveball. Those are the two pitches that haunt Rowand the most. If Burriss and Ishikawa had played, it would've been an entirely different game.
- Jonathan Sanchez's start was not that great, but it wasn't terrible. He brought his A-game in the first inning, but couldn't rediscover that magic. At first, he was getting ahead in the count, and had a great fastball going. He walked too many batters though.
- Momentum is said to be a factor with teams. The Giants had momentum going into this series, after winning 3 of 4 and winning their most recent game with a walk-off. Unfortunately, the Padres had more momentum, a 4-game winning streak. It's improved to 5 games now.
- Aaron Rowand is most likely doomed to repeat his history and have his average drop for the rest of the season. Even though he's been better of late, he will likely not sustain that:
The Giants will now have an uphill battle, and will not be able to recapture first place during this series. And, I just want to mention, I was wrong. The Giants didn't do too well against Richard. If they are going to win any games this series, they need to attack the starting pitching, because the trio of Gregerson/Adams/Bell is impenetrable.
Tomorrow: Giants face Mat Latos. They will have to work hard offensively, because he can pitch. The Giants bat a collective .192 against him (10 for 52), but Pablo Sandoval is 3 for 9. Sandoval can drive this offense tomorrow. If not, Latos will replicate the shutout he threw earlier this year at AT&T Park. Madison Bumgarner will start for the Giants, and he'll do just fine, facing an offense whose biggest threat is a left-handed hitter. The Giants need to score off of Latos. They need to.
Let me just reiterate, I am not optimistic about the Jose Guillen acquisition. Those who say that the Giants have nothing to lose with his acquisition have no idea what they are talking about. We do have something to lose: baseball games. And if Guillen plays poor defense, and doesn't do a good job at hitting, he will be contributing to many Giants losses. Of course, if he does hit well, it will be good for the Giants, and they will have a very deep bench with Fontenot, Schierholtz, Ishikawa, and Rowand. I think that immediately putting him in the starting lineup is too risky for the Giants. Ishikawa has proven to perform well against RHP while playing great defense. The Giants didn't rush Pat Burrell like that, yet he emerged as a powerful offensive force. The Giants should do the same with Guillen, make him prove himself first, lest they repeat what happened with Ryan Garko last year.
Remember last week in Atlanta, when Tim Hudson dominated the Giants? Well, don't feel too bad. He did the same to the Dodgers on Friday: 8 innings, 3 hits, 0 ER, 6 K, 14 groundballs. It's nice to know that even when the Giants lose, we can take solace in the fact that the Dodgers suck.
