Way to look, rook!

Eric Surkamp wasn't exactly smooth and polished, but he showed grit and fortitude aplenty. Toss in a little luck and some help from the fielders and you get a Game Score of 57 for the rookie's debut. More importantly, it was a win. The Giants got a hit from Mike Fontenot on the first pitch of the game and had to wait until the sixth inning (20 batters later) for Carlos Beltran to get the next one. Yet they still won the game. Surkamp showed poise and a good breaking ball, but had to battle every inning, giving up six hits, three walks, a hit batter, and Clint Barmes reaching on a error by Pablo Sandoval on an infield pop fly. The Giants finally got to the Houston bullpen after looking feeble for seven innings against Brett Myers. I can't decide if the 73 Game Score is a result of his studliness or the wretched state of the Giants lineup. Guillermo Mota, Santiago Casilla, and Jeremy Affeldt gave the Giants four scoreless innings, giving up only a two-out single and a one-out walk (both to Carlos Lee), and that gave the team enough time to find some guys who could get a hit. It turned out to be yesterday's hero Jeff Keppinger and given-up-for-dead Mark DeRosa. After he re-injured his wrist I figured his season and likely his career were over. I was wrong. He has shown remarkable persistence and determination to get back on the field. I keep saying the Giants need a lift, and those things often come from the most unlikely places. A grizzled old vet on his last hurrah? A fresh-faced, soft-tossing southpaw from the Richmond Flying Squirrels? Hey, why not?

--M.C.


p.s. Surkamp was drafted in the sixth round of the June 2008 amateur draft (#177). Brandon Crawford went in the fourth round (#117). Buster Posey was the 7th pick overall that year and Conor Gillaspie the 37th.