Chris Haft - MLB.com
Eugenio Velez, the fascinating rookie, tripled leading off the sixth inning to break up Milwaukee starter Manny Parra's no-hitter. Rookie Brian Bocock and near-rookie Daniel Ortmeier combined to steal four bases. Ortmeier also legged out an infield hit that generated a seventh-inning run.
But in that seventh inning, Bocock was picked off first base with Ortmeier on third and nobody out, smothering the Giants' rally. Bocock's slip didn't seal the Giants' 5-4 loss -- more experienced players committed lapses, too -- but it reflected the eternal baseball reality that relying on younger performers means weathering such mistakes.
"That's the way we learned," said second baseman Ray Durham, who's entering his 14th season. "The only way to learn is to be put in those situations. You're going to make mistakes, but there's also going to be a lot of good."
Durham's statement will resonate through the coming weeks and months. Bocock probably will remain the everyday shortstop for at least another couple of weeks, since Omar Vizquel's recovery from left knee surgery is proceeding slower than expected.
Manager Bruce Bochy affirmed that Velez will play "a lot" this season, even if it means sending him to the outfield, where he's uncomfortable. The Giants haven't entirely committed themselves to younger players, but they're not ignoring them, either.
Saturday's lineup, including starting pitcher Kevin Correia, averaged 28.56 years of age, significantly lower than the Opening Day contingent's average of 31.33, which was the oldest in the National League.
Bochy's remarks about Bocock might as well apply to the other youthful Giants.
"I don't want him to back off," Bochy said. "He's a quick learner. He'll figure it out. He's doing too many good things to look at one thing in that ballgame."
Indeed, Bocock, who many scouts believe will never develop into a respectable hitter, is batting .308 (4-for-13) in five games with a team-high .526 on-base percentage that's fattened by six walks.
"I'm seeing the ball pretty well and trying not to worry about hitting with two strikes," Bocock said.
Count on Bocock concentrating more the next time he reaches base. He was extremely self-critical after being trapped off first by Milwaukee right-hander David Riske, who had a 3-1 count on pinch-hitter Fred Lewis. Bocock was ordered to break for second base, but verifying that Riske would pitch to Lewis should have been his first priority.
"If we want to be successful, we can't do those things," Bocock said. "That was a mental mistake on my part. There's no excuse ... I've got to learn from that. I don't think it'll ever happen again. You live and learn. You learn the hard way, I guess."
The Giants goofed elsewhere. For the second time in the opening week, they allowed a runner to score from second base on an infield single. In the second inning, on Mike Rivera's weak bouncer to the left side, third baseman Jose Castillo rushed in for the ball and made a wide, off-balance throw to first. Corey Hart, running all the way with two outs, beat Ortmeier's throw home, conjuring images of Rafael Furcal's game-winning dash at Los Angeles on Tuesday.
Bochy noted that Castillo was following his instinct to throw to first base, particularly with the catcher running.
"If the [throw's] not a little wide, I think we get him at home," Bochy said. "You don't see it very often, and to see it twice in one week, that's something we'll work on."
Durham, who also homered in the eighth inning, drove in the final run in San Francisco's two-run sixth with a hit to left-center field, but declined to try to go to second base. He then tagged up and headed for second on Castillo's subsequent fly ball and was thrown out to complete an inning-ending double play.
Earlier, luck conspired against the Giants when Durham lined out to first baseman Prince Fielder, who displayed surprising leaping ability, with Bengie Molina on second and nobody out in the second inning. One inning later, Rajai Davis hit another scorcher at third baseman Bill Hall with Bocock at third and one out.
This denied early run support for Correia, who pitched capably despite losing 12 pounds and some of his velocity while enduring a stomach virus. The right-hander lasted six innings, allowing four runs and six hits.
Correia yielded Ryan Braun's homer on a 2-2 slider to open the sixth, the first of two innings in a row in which the Brewers scored immediately after San Francisco did. Jack Taschner yielded pinch-hitter Gabe Kapler's homer for Milwaukee's final run.
"Our biggest problem today was when we'd score, we'd give it right back," Bochy said.
"It's hard to get momentum that way," Correia said.
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