Game Summary:
Jonathan Sanchez had a sloppy first inning, walking in a run. That would be the
only Phillies run of the inning though.
Cody Ross tied the game at 1-1 in the fifth with his fourth home run in the last three games.
Placido Polanco gave the Phillies a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth with a sacrifice fly.
In the seventh,
Jonathan Sanchez was replaced by
Ramon Ramirez after allowing a leadoff single to
Roy Oswalt. Oswalt advanced to second on a sac bunt, and
Chase Utley was then walked intentionally. Polanco singled to center, and Oswalt ran through the third base coach's stop sign, coming around to score. The game then exploded from there...Utley and Polanco were successful on a double steal.
Jeremy Affeldt came in, struck out
Ryan Howard, and intentionally walked
Jayson Werth.
Santiago Casilla was then brought into the game with the bases loaded and two outs to face
Jimmy Rollins came to the plate...Rollins crushed the ball off the right field wall for a three-run double, breaking the game open to make the score 6-1.
The Giants failed to piece together any more runs, losing the game by a final score of 6-1.
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The Giants have a problem with their bullpen...who to use? With the Phillies shuffling their lineup so that Utley and Howard don't bat back-to-back, the Giants no longer have the ability to bring in
Javier Lopez to face two lefties in a row. They can use him in the key situation to get
one lefty out, though. The bridge to
Brian Wilson is sort of a mystery right now, though. Let's examine the possibilities:
Sergio Romo, this year's setup man: he's had three postseason appearances. The first two did not go well. In game two against Atlanta in the NLDS, he allowed singles to the two hitters he faced. In game three in Atlanta, he gave up what could have been the game-winning home run for the Braves, a two-run shot to give them a 2-1 lead. But he had a relatively nice appearance on Sunday...1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB. He might be a good option, although the Phillies are lefty-heavy...Howard, Ibanez, Utley and then the switch-hitting Rollins and Victorino.
Jeremy Affeldt: he's made one appearance in the postseason...in game two of the NLCS on Sunday. He struck
Ryan Howard out, then intentionally walked
Chase Utley. He could be a good option, too, as he was rather successful in the setup-man role in 2009.
Santiago Casilla: he had a very nice appearance in game three in Atlanta, going 1.2 scoreless innings with just one hit allowed. His appearance on Sunday was not enticing, though...he allowed the
huge three-run double to
Jimmy Rollins. I think he's more suited to face
Carlos Ruiz /
Placido Polanco /
Jayson Werth. I just don't trust him in a close ballgame to face a LHH.
Ramon Ramirez: he has a 12.86 ERA in the postseason (2.1 innings pitched). He's starting to look more like the pitcher that had a 4.46 ERA for Boston this year than the one who had a 0.67 ERA for the Giants. Again...I'd trust him to face a righty..but at this point, not a powerful left-handed hitter, especially in a critical situation. Remember...
Rick Ankiel hit that home run off of him.
At this point, I think the Giants just need to piece together relievers. Their starters
need to give them innings. They
must go six innings..minimum. If
Brian Wilson pitches the ninth, I don't think it's too hard to piece together these four pitchers for the seventh and eighth innings in a tight game.
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Andres Torres isn't hitting. It's becoming rather problematic. He had four strikeouts on Sunday, so he has not really shown signs of breaking out of this slump. Considering that game three's pitcher is a left-hander, and Torres bats much worse on the right side (.226 batting average), there might be thought about whether he should play or not...the Giants could be considering playing
Aaron Rowand against the lefty
Cole Hamels. My take? It's not worth it. Torres' defense is too valuable to replace him with Rowand...and is Rowand really going to be an offensive upgrade? It would make a little more sense to play Rowand if it were in Philadelphia, where he put up the best season of his career. But in San Francisco it's a clear 'no'.
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The Giants have some thinking to do about their SS/3B situation for game three. If Uribe is healthy, it makes sense to put him in. That leaves
Pablo Sandoval,
Mike Fontenot, and
Edgar Renteria. I'd rather not put Fontenot in the lineup for game three..in addition to the fact that they'll be facing a left-handed pitcher and Fontenot bats left-handed, he played
very sloppy baseball in game two. I say if Uribe's healthy, play Sandoval and Uribe on the left side. If not, play Sandoval and Renteria. Sandoval even has good career numbers against Hamels (3 for 10, 1 HR).
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Cody Ross. How 'bout this guy? He homered in his third straight game, joining
Barry Bonds and Jeffrey Leonard as just the third Giant to have a three-game home run streak in the postseason. He supplied the only run for the Giants in this one...as FP Santangelo noted, Ross should crowd the plate for the next few games. The Phillies are no longer going to throw him that low-inside fastball that he keeps crushing...so he should move in to get around on that outside fastball that they're going to start throwing him.
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Solid outing by
Jonathan Sanchez. It wasn't perfect -- far from it, actually, but it was yet another decent start: 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 7 K, 3 BB.
