Kelly Johnson was on first base in the bottom of the 8th inning with two outs when Chris Young hit a screamer into the left field corner off Sergio Romo. The ball took a funny hop, spitting itself out like a watermelon seed, right at the chin of streaking Aaron Rowand. Unfazed, he snatched it out of the air barehanded, pivoted, and threw a line drive to cutoff man Miguel Tejada. The shortstop promptly spun and threw a strike to catcher Eli Whiteside, who had time to set himself before tagging the hapless Johnson. A child could have called that play. But my word, what a lovely play! Rowand-to-Tejada-to-Whiteside may not have much romance to it, but it sure turned out a to be a thing of beauty. It was one of those perfectly timed, expertly executed events that happen all the time in baseball games but still make you sit up and holler "yeah!". The play saved a run and preserved the 3-2 lead for Madison Bumgarner, who delivered yet another quality start, his TENTH in a row. What a year this kid is having! Forget "wins" and "losses." Anyone with half a fookin' brain knows it's a goddamn TEAM GAME. Pitching may be the most important part, but it is not the only part. You have to hit and catch and throw and run and all the rest. The lefty has not had the support his efforts have deserved. Tonight though, the lads were tough and resourceful and worked the Arizonans for FIVE big ones which turned out to be more than enough. New man Bill Hall got a big hit, and as did Newly Risen Pat Burrell. Mostly, though, this was about MadBum. When the going got tough in the bottom of the 6th, two on with only one out, he struck out both Stephen Drew and Xavier Nady to end it. Another impressive win by the Giants!
Ryan Vogelsong gets his shot tomorrow.
--M.C.
2 comments:
Nice win last night! It's about time that Bumgarner got credit for a Win. The Giants' now have the 2nd best record in the NL & the 5th best record in MLB. Not bad for an injury-wracked, under-performing team! If we can just make one solid (i.e. non-blockbuster, non-giving up the Farm) move for a hitter in July, we should be in good shape.
Meanwhile, here's an awesome soccer rumor tidbit from the Guardian newspaper in England:
"[Starting next season] slighty alcoholic water product Budweiser will be the new FA Cup sponsors."
I really thought this year's team would hit better than last year's team. Then Buster got hurt, and etc. The offense went back to stinko, but it doesn't seem to matter. The team is in first place and beating up on the second place team. I'm impressed. They just keep winning even when Rowand, Tejada, and Whiteside have to team up to make the big play. It doesn't seem to matter who is out there. As long as the pitchers are taking their turns, that is. And then Ryan Vogelsong. What a story! Huff and Torres racked up the surprise WAR last year. This year it is Vogie.
Run scoring across baseball is down from last year--which was low. It really is a pitchers era. The Giants have the bestest and the mostest in that department. The bullpen is just as tough as the rotation. You can really see it late in games that the other teams just don't have the guys that the Giants can throw out there. Should be fun tonight, let's see what Vogie can do.
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