Down 4-1 in the 5th to the lowly Bucs, the Giants hit THREE HOMERUNS in a span of eight batters to take a 6-4 lead. Those eight guys, I'll have you know, were sandwiched between Aaron Rowand groundouts. Eli Whiteside hit a solo shot after a double-play grounder by Rowand that scored Buster Posey, who had doubled--nearly an opposite-field homer--to lead off the inning. In the 6th, Juan Uribe hit a two-run bomb to tie the game, scoring Freddy Sanchez who had singled. Buster Posey then got another hit, and Aubrey Huff followed with a moon shot over the RF stands that put the Giants ahead for good. Rowand then ended the fun with a gound ball to third base. It was a nice bit of redemption for Posey, whose error at 1B led to four unearned runs earlier in the game. Freddy Sanchez banged out three hits in his first three plate appearances, and looked like he enjoyed performing for his old fans. Jonathan Sanchez had a rocky 2nd inning when the Pirates did all their damage, but then retired the next thirteen batters. The relief corps did their thing and Wilson--with the help of some stellar defense by Andres Torres and Eli Whiteside--nailed down the 9th.
A very satisfying win, as come-from-behind wins always are. Teams who can hit the longball have a better chance to come back from a deficit. Whiteside's effort against Zach Duke in the 5th was epic: the homer was the twelfth pitch of the AB! Uribe, naturally, obliterated the first pitch, and Huff nailed the second. You've got to crush mistake pitches, especially with men on base. And you've got to pounce on the minnows, as I said before. Obviously, the Giants are not a slugging team, and I certainly don't expect them to bash three homeruns every night. But good teams can make up runs in a hurry if they can hit the big flies. It's a weapon you have to have--a ballclub can't consistently expect to win without some goddamn thunder.
The Giants showed some thunder tonight, turning what looked like an ugly, painful loss into a rousing win.
GO GIANTS! PILE IT ON!!
--M.C.
2 comments:
I get off work at midnight and I often listen to the replay on KNBR while driving home. I reached home just after the Bucs scored their 4th run in the 2nd. I thought, "Oh shit." Then in the morning I opened the paper and learned we came from behind and won! Very nice. What a great way to begin a road trip.
I must say I'm delighted with the contributions made by Huff. Isn't it swell how he was able to move into left field and perform adequately? Although I very much doubt he would have gotten to that fly ball that the speedy Torres caught in the 9th.
Am I obliged to comment on our starting pitcher? He was okay. Luckily all the runs in the 2nd were unearned. It was a tough E on Posey.
Post a Comment