Well...it looks like Giants fans will have to wait another day -- at least -- before they see the Giants win their first division title since 2003.
I have to give props to Bud Black. He put Matt Stairs in the starting lineup -- an extremely bold decision...upon hearing the starting lineups, I thought he was crazy. I think of Matt Stairs as an extremely slow, terrible fielder, who can't even hit above the Mendoza Line, and whose only value is his ability to hit home runs. I figured he'd swing for the fences a few times on Friday, strike out three times, and make a few defensive blunders in left field.
In the fourth inning, he made Bud Black look like a genius, leading off with a solo home run. This extended the Padres' lead, making the score 5-0, after Ryan Ludwick (solo) and Adrian Gonzalez (three-run) had homered earlier in the game.
Down 5-0, it just didn't seem like the Giants' night. It was even 6-0 at one point, with David Eckstein scoring on a wild pitch for the sixth run.
But the Giants deserve credit. They fought back hard. Freddy Sanchez hit an RBI single in the fifth. In the sixth inning, Aaron Rowand hit a two-run homer to cut the Padres' lead to three. And Andres Torres was able to beat out a weak grounder -- which rolled slowly from home plate -- for a single, making the score 6-4.
The Giants had plenty of opportunities to tie the game. In the eighth, for example, Juan Uribe and Pablo Sandoval came up to the plate with a runner on first, swung for the fences, and fell short (Uribe's flyout actually looked like a home run off the crack of the bat).
The real blow, however, came in the ninth. Sanchez led off with a great at-bat, drawing a walk. Aubrey Huff came up to the plate, and absolutely crushed a ball to the right field wall. Will Venable, unfortunately, was positioned far to the right, and was able to make the catch. Sanchez got doubled up at first, and with two outs and nobody on, the Giants' hopes were basically gone.
There's really no telling what could have happened had Sanchez not been doubled up. Heath Bell was falling apart on the mound, failing to throw strikes, and Huff had just crushed a ball off of him. The double play just killed the momentum, though. Sanchez represented the fifth run, and it therefore was not necessary for him to be so aggressive in this situation.
This loss really doesn't mean much, though. The Giants will find a way to win one of the next two games. It's tough to see such a poor outing from Matt Cain, though -- 4 IP, 6 ER, 9 H, 3 HR, 1 BB, 4 K. Not a very good birthday for him.
He did, however, make Giants history on the night. He became part of the first Giants trio in franchise history to have 175+ K in a single season. Tim Lincecum, Jonathan Sanchez, and Matt Cain now each have 175+ K, the first time any Giants trio has ever reached that plateau.
Also, as meaningless as it probably was, it's nice to see Rowand hit a home run. I feel that his power, especially if the Giants play postseason games in Citizens Bank Park, is enough to provide value off of the bench. I wouldn't be surprised if he hits a home run during the playoffs -- that is, if he gets any playing time.
Congratulations to Andres Torres for winning the 2010 Willie Mac Award for being the most inspirational Giant. It is quite befitting that he receive this award, given his perseverance throughout his baseball career, and his remarkably fast recovery from an appendectomy.
The worst part about the Giants not clinching? Tomorrow's game is on FOX, which means fans will be forced to listen to their terrible broadcasting during what could be one of the most memorable games in recent Giants history.
One last note, the Giants' bullpen pitched five scoreless innings. Any chance of a comeback that the Giants had is all thanks to the work that this bullpen did.
Tomorrow: Barry Zito. I trust my intuition, and it's saying that he will pitch a gem tomorrow. Given all the complaints about the fact that he's facing the Padres in such a critical game, instead of Lincecum, it only makes sense that he will go out on the mound and prove everybody wrong.
Tim Stauffer will take the mound for the Padres. He is good. Nothing a little Andres Torres magic can't beat, though.
What happened to Orange Fridays?
