Gettin' Well'r

Todd Wellemeyer, stopper. That's a fact, folks. Well'r gave us six shutouts innings and started a two-out rally with a hit in the 5th that ultimately chased the pesky Livan Hernandez. The big blow was the double by Freddy Sanchez. The Giants got FIVE CONSECUTIVE TWO-OUT HITS: single by the pitcher, single by Torres, single by Renteria, double by FSanchez, double by Sandoval; suddenly it was 4-0 and everyone was feeling a lot better. The Giants got the hits they needed when they needed them. Here's Livan's take (from the Chris Haft game story):

"Unbelievable," said Hernandez, the former Giant whose 1.62 ERA entering the game was the third-best in the Major Leagues. "I threw good pitches and they hit it. Today, I feel very good and I lose the game with two outs. I can't say anything."

Well'r ran into trouble in the 7th, giving up three singles and a run, but Romo limited the damage (a sacrifice fly scored the second run), and the 'pen got the rest of the outs. Brian Wilson struck out the side in the 9th to get his first save since the 12th inning in San Diego a week ago. It was lots of fun for Bruce Bochy, who stuck Aubrey Huff in LF, Pablo Sandoval at 1B, and Juan Uribe at 3B, which follows the time-honored tradition of "shaking things up" when the team is slumping. Must have worked, eh? Andres Torres had a great night in the leadoff spot, and it looks like he should stay there until, uh, er, until  . . . he can't? I don't know what to make of Torres, who is laying out an impressive .299/.395/.486 line in 127 PA, a far cry from his career mark of .246/.313/.395. He's the best hitter on the club (.391 wOBA), and our most valuable player by WAR (1.7 to Pablo's 1.0)! Hard to imagine a 32-year old with more time in the minors (over 4300 PA) than the majors (just shy of 600 PA) is going to keep it up all season long, but that doesn't matter right now. Right now, the Giants need to win ballgames, and if Andres Vungo Feliciano Torres is El Hombre, more power to him.

--M.C.