*HIGH FIVE*!
I can almost still hear the deafening roar of, "BEAT LA, BEAT LA, BEAT LA." After Saturday's game Bochy mentioned that the "BEAT LA" chants were the loudest he's ever heard them in his tenure with the Giants. This after Pat Burrell hit a unbelievably clutch home run to put the Giants ahead for the win.
This is probably one of the most exciting times in Giants baseball. We're on the cusp of breaking through for the NL West lead, only 1.5 games back of the Padres and facing a stretch of NL West teams and teams with winning records to try to solidify a playoff run.
I think my favorite part of this weekend, has been the array of heroes of each game. I think on a snapshot of this season most people would say Aubrey Huff fits the MVP of the team so far. But there would be a lot of debate for both MVP and the 2nd and 3rd spots.
First and foremost, lets continue our love affair with our starting pitching. I honestly believe with Lincecum's continued greatness, the resurgence of Zito and the dominance of Cain, that we have our own Big 3, reminiscent of Maddux, Shmoltz and Glavine. They combined for 21.2 innings and allowed only 3 runs. With the offense struggling against an almost equally tough pitching from the Dodgers, our starters kept us in every game.
Hitting Heroes
Game 1 - Aubrey Huff
Huff had a great game, hitting a double for 2 RBI's and a solo homer in the 7th that proved to be the difference maker due to another poor performance by the bullpen allowing 3 runs in the 9th before closing it out. Huff is still leading the team now with 20 home runs and his bat has been so valuable to this club, its amazing we managed to sign him for only 3 million this year.
Game 2 - Pat Burrell
This pick could not be more obvious. With one swing, Pat the Bat electrified a packed crowd at AT&T and sent Giants fans home happy. A very close second would be Guillermo Mota, who recorded the final 5 outs, filling in for Brian Wilson who was unavailable due to back spasms. Mota struck out 3, with 5 up 5 down and made sure the Dodgers never had a chance to come back with only a 1 run lead.
Game 3 - Edgar Renteria
Aaron Rowand said after the game, that Renteria is a big game hitter, and I couldn't agree more. I think its easy to be down on him since he's another aging player that Sabean picked up with a huge contract. But I never fault him for his effort or clutch play. Off the top of my head I remember at least 3 late game hits that led to Giants wins this season. Sunday was no different, as he hit a 2 run triple in the 6th and the Giants never looked back. Brian Wilson finally came back and got the save.
And with that the Giants have earned a very deserving day off today, and we start a series against the Rockies on Tuesday with Jonathan Sanchez on the mound. Hopefully the Dodgers come out of their slump today against the Padres giving us a free half game up on them.
Laws of the Day
Matt Cain defeated the Dodgers for the first time in his career on Sunday, he was 0-8 coming into the game.
Giants completed their first home sweep of the Dodgers this weekend since 2004.
Brian Wilson recorded his major league leading 31st save on Sunday
Giants acquired relief pitchers Ramon Ramirez and lefty Javier Lopez at the trade deadline for a minor leaguer I don't know, John Bowker and Joe Martinez.
Wild Card Watch - Giants in 1st place, 2 games ahead of 2nd place Cincinnati
the (old) boys are back in town
My wife and I were at the Sunday game and it rocked not only beat LA but see all the brooms in the stands as people shouted "Sweep LA!"
ReplyDeleteNiiice... I like that. You picked a great game to go to my friend
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