Giants Take 2nd Game in Padres Series

The Giants were on their way to a 9th loss to the Padres

From the start of Saturday's game, the Giants looked completely over-matched by Padres ace Mat Latos. Through just 3 innings, Latos had struck out 7 Giants. Latos came out to pitch the 7th and faced Pablo Sandoval. He once again appeared to be dominating Pablo until he threw a high fastball (clearly out of the strike zone) that was hammered into McCovey Cove. In the 8th, with the Giants losing 2-1, Fontenot hit a single through the hole on the right side followed by an Aubrey Huff double. With runners at 2nd and 3rd, Pat Burrell hit an RBI groundout to second to tie the game. The game would go into extra innings, and in the 11th inning Buster Posey led off with a groundball up the middle. Heads-up baserunning allowed him to stretch it to a double. Pablo Sandoval would then be intentionally walked to get to Uribe, who hit a walk-off RBI single to right.

This was a significant win for the Giants, as they finally have a boost of momentum and confidence that they are capable of defeating the Padres, even with their best pitcher on the mound (Latos).

Notes:

• Mike Fontenot had a nice game, going 2 for 5 with a double and scoring the tying run. I was a little harsh on him....definitely too harsh, especially considering the dreadful hitting Freddy Sanchez has been displaying recently. I hope to see Fontenot at second base from now on, especially against RHP.

• Andres Torres pulled into a tie for the National League lead in doubles, and now stands at 38. He's making a legitimate run at the Giants' franchise record for doubles in a single season. Jeff Kent currently holds the record, with his 49 doubles in 2001.

• Pablo Sandoval continues to hit...and opponents know it. He was intentionally walked twice. It has to be a confidence booster for him to know that he is once again instilling fear in his opponents.

• Madison Bumgarner had a solid outing. It would have been easy for a rookie pitcher to lose his concentration after giving up a run and facing 7 batters in the first, but Madison settled down and put up a very respectable line of 7 IP, 2 ER.

• The announcers for the MLB games on FOX are terrible: Chris Rose and Kevin Millar. It's refreshing to know that no more Giants games will be on FOX this year (barring, of course, a playoff appearance...). During the game, they talked about fantasy football, argued about whether or not a Pablo Sandoval error should have been ruled an error (Chris Rose said to Millar, "Why are you yelling at me?"), and talked about "shower bods" a couple of times. They often thought they were being humorous, but really took away from the joy of watching the game. I wouldn't be surprised if they dislike each other in person. Quality announcers have a rapport with each other, such as the one exhibited by Kruk and Kuip on a nightly basis. It really makes you appreciate Jon Miller, Dave Fleming, Mike Krukow, and Duane Kuiper as a broadcasting team. The Giants landed a gold mine with them.

• The Giants grounded into zero double plays. That is unbelievably refreshing. For icing on the cake, the Padres grounded into one.

• Kudos to the bullpen for 4 shutout innings. They got the job done: Ray, Lopez, Wilson, Romo, Casilla.

• Buster Posey had a multi-hit game, his 3rd of August. He had 12 in July.

Tomorrow: Tim Lincecum will start against Wade LeBlanc. The Giants do not hit him well, batting a collective .178 (8 for 45). That does, however, include a combined 0 for 11 by Rowand and Sanchez, who will most likely not start tomorrow.

Tim Lincecum will bring his A-game tomorrow. He wants to win. He's in a legitimate competition for a playoff spot, and he wants to be a driving force for the Giants' success. I predict that we'll see the '09 Lincecum tomorrow.

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