The Giants' "famine" offense showed up to the park today, but with a new mentality -- that they were going to grind through each at bat, work the count, make Jhoulys Chacin break a sweat on the mound. And it worked. Through the first seven innings, they managed to string together just three hits. But in those seven innings, Chacin threw 120 pitches. A perfect approach by the Giants -- if they aren't going to get hits, they might as well fail to get a hit in a 3-1 count as opposed to grounding out on first pitches and such. If they continue to struggle offensively, but work the count like this, they just might find a way to get by...
The Giants were scoreless through the first six innings, but in the seventh inning, Buster Posey took a leadoff walk. The next batter, Pat Burrell, made Chacin regret that as he unloaded on a 2-1 slider, sending the ball into the left field stands in Colorado.
That would be all the Giants needed, as Tim Lincecum dealt on the mound: 8 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 9 K. Brian Wilson came in, and shut the door as usual, with a 1-2-3 inning.
This game continued what is becoming an incredible historical streak. The Giants have now gone 18 consecutive games without allowing more than three runs. This is the longest such streak since the 1917 White Sox set the record with 20 consecutive games. The Giants are three games away from breaking this record. That's how great this pitching staff is. They have a 1.44 ERA for the month...if they can keep it under 2.00 (seven games left in September), it will be the first time the Giants have done so since May of 1989, when their National League Championship team had an ERA of 1.99...They lead the majors in team ERA for September.
As for the Rockies, it's almost safe to say they're done. One more win in this series, and that will be the nail in the coffin. They're currently on a five-game losing streak, so they seem to have lost their September momentum. The Giants can now focus on the Padres, who remain a half a game back in the National League West.
And Lincecum -- he's reasserted himself as the ace of this staff, and one of the top pitchers in baseball. He's back atop the National League in strikeouts with 220 (Adam Wainwright and Roy Halladay are tied for second with 213 K)...he also joined Christy Mathewson, Juan Marichal, Mickey Welch, and Amos Rusie, becoming the fifth Giant in franchise history to go three consecutive seasons with 200+ K and 200+ IP. He may not be in the running for the Cy Young award this season, but he has a shot at something that Ubaldo Jimenez, Adam Wainwright, and Josh Johnson probably won't get...a ticket to the postseason.
Andres Torres is back! Not even two weeks ago, he had an emergency appendectomy...His speedy recovery speaks volumes about his play-hard mentality and eagerness to contribute to the Giants in their playoff run. Their offensive woes might not be as bad anymore, with Torres, their catalyst, at the top of the lineup. Guess what he's really good at? Working the count...his P/PA (pitchers per plate appearance) is 4.04, second best on the team behind Burrell.
Here are the current standings/playoff odds according to ESPN:
Tomorrow: Barry Zito on the mound. A bad outing might cost him a spot on the postseason rotation. He's probably getting heavy consideration for inclusion in the playoff rotation because he's a veteran with a playoff experience, as opposed to the other, younger starters on the Giants. He'll face off against Jason Hammel, who has allowed just three earned runs in 13.2 innings against the Giants this year.
Eight more games.
Tim Lincecum - "Everything went the way it pretty much should be."
