Giants leave red in the face

Henry Schulman - San Francisco Chronicle (SFGate)
- The Giants completed their first winning month of 2008 on Sunday, although they could not enjoy the feat after embarrassing themselves in a three-game catastrophe against a Reds team that really is not very good.

"We stunk this weekend. We know it," manager Bruce Bochy said after the Giants lost 9-3 in the most odorous of the three defeats. "We did again today. It was a tough series for the pitchers here."

Tough? How about awful?

The Reds scored 27 runs, or one more than they totaled in the eight games against the Cubs, Rockies and Astros that preceded the San Francisco series. Matt Cain, Billy Sadler and Jack Taschner combined to walk nine Sunday.

The Giants walked 17 in the three games, although, to be fair, only 15 were unintentional. Barry Zito, Kevin Correia and Cain, the three starters, threw only 59 percent of their pitches for strikes.

"It came down to pitching, and we didn't pitch well against this team," Bochy said. "Give them credit. They swung the bats. They've been struggling, but we certainly woke up their bats."

Bochy is fed up with pitchers who do not pound the strike zone. The Giants rank second in the majors in walks allowed (552), an organizational deficiency that must be addressed if they want to take the step from rebuilding to contending.

For now, Bochy pledged to give rookies such as Osiris Matos, Sergio Romo and Alex Hinshaw a chance in September to prove they can throw strikes late in the game, at the expense of experienced relievers such as Taschner, who drew two mound visits from an unhappy manager Sunday.

The first visit followed consecutive two-out walks to Chris Dickerson and Jeff Keppinger, the second when Taschner fell behind 2-0 to Edwin Encarnacion after Fred Lewis misplayed the potential third out into a three-run double for Joey Votto.

The play-by-play largely is unimportant, save for a hanging curveball that pitcher Bronson Arroyo lined into the left-field corner for two runs that sent Cain toward an 8-11 record. Three starts ago, Cain was one out away from reaching .500. Now, he seems doomed to a second straight losing season.

Cain's wildness stemmed partly from some unusual and uncontrollable movement on his pitches. Still, he said, "I walked (Jay) Bruce three times, which is just absurd."

Absurd because the rookie outfielder entered the game with 20 walks against 86 strikeouts.

The Giants lost five of their final six games in August. Even so, they finished the month 15-14, a byproduct of their turn to youth. If fans can grit their teeth and avert their eyes from some of the final scores, the promise of some of the youngsters has to be heartening.

What a season Emmanuel Burriss has had one year out of the South Atlantic League. Eugenio Velez is improving at the plate - he hit for the cycle in the series - and not looking like a lost puppy at second base. And Pablo Sandoval ... well, the jury is still out after 56 at-bats, but after he hit his first career triple Sunday, Reds broadcaster and former Giants pitcher Jeff Brantley said Sandoval "looks like a miniature Big Papi."

Make that a miniature David Ortiz who can hit from both sides of the plate and looks at home on a big-league field three weeks after his 22nd birthday.

The Giants' September begins today with Jonathan Sanchez's return in a matinee in Denver. If they can finish 14-12, they will avoid 90 losses. Not that the Giants would raise a banner next season that proclaimed, "We did it! 73-89!" But cast against the preseason expectations, it would be a positive and something to shoot for.

"It has to be," Rich Aurilia said. "You have to be out there trying to prove something. I think we've done better than people expected us to do, but I don't think we've done as well as we expected ourselves to do.

"We've lost a lot of games we should have won. We've had some ninth-inning comebacks. That's good. We've got to go into next month against some of the teams that are contending and play with some passion and some reason. If that's the reason, to avoid 90 losses, then that has to be it."

Another frustrating loss

Giants' 4 homers not enough to overcome Reds

Henry Schulman - San Francisco Chronicle (SFGiants)

If the frustration of an entire season can be depicted in a single pose, Fred Lewis nailed it. With two outs in the top of the ninth inning Saturday night, running between first and second, he grabbed his helmet in disbelief and ripped it off his head.

The Giants hit four home runs for the first time in more than a year and everyone wearing a San Francisco uniform gleefully started to celebrate what looked like the fifth.

Lewis' drive to center field would have tied the game, but in a stunning development at the driving range known as the Great American Ball Park, the ball settled into the glove of Reds center fielder Corey Patterson, whose tush was scraping the fence 404 feet from home plate. With that, a grating 7-6 loss to Cincinnati was complete.

"Off the bat, there was a lot of screaming that it was a home run," said Randy Winn, who homered from each side of the plate for the second time in 2008, "but it was a foot short."

Good thing nobody lit a match in the clubhouse after the Giants fell to the foundering Reds for the fourth time in five games this season. The flame might have ignited the noxious vibes oozing from every corner of the room.

The Giants were angry because they clambered back from a 5-1 first-inning deficit and tied the game 6-6 on Aaron Rowand's two-out, eighth-inning homer, only to lose on Patterson's RBI triple against Jack Taschner in the bottom half. Nobody indulged in more self-loathing than Taschner, who has let eight of his last nine hitters reach base.

"I'm f - horse -, flat-out," Taschner fumed. "Obviously I must be throwing beach balls out there. It's embarrassing when we go out and score that kind of runs and we can't get a win."

For the second game in a row, too. The Giants have scored 13 runs in the series without a win while allowing 18 to a Cincinnati offense that had scored three or fewer runs 16 times in August before San Francisco rolled into town. Thanks to the Giants, the Reds own back-to-back wins for the first time since July 22-23.

Winn homered on the game's fifth pitch, a fine how-do-you-do for Ramon Ramirez in his first major-league start, but the 1-0 lead was eviscerated when the Reds batted around against Kevin Correia in the bottom of the first and scored five times. Correia said his arm felt "a little tired" and his slider had "no snap." That is bad news for Correia. The slider is his money pitch.

Correia did a swell job thereafter, keeping the Giants in the game through six innings, and the hitters used the long ball to roar back. Eugenio Velez hit his first as a major-leaguer with a man aboard in the second inning. Winn homered right-handed against reliever Bill Bray to open the eighth and cut the Reds' lead to 6-4.

Winn is befuddled by his ability to homer from both sides of the plate. He said, "I'm not a home run hitter. For me, it's tough enough to get hits from both sides of the plate."

The Giants scratched for another run against Bray, on a Lewis walk, Pablo Sandoval's second single and a Bengie Molina double-play ball. With Mike Lincoln on the mound, Rowand tied the game by driving a ball to right-center for his 13th homer of the season.

Rowand mostly was happy for tying the game, but confessed that "to hit a ball out there and not make an out is nice, too."

Lewis had to feel unlucky that his potential game-tying fly in the ninth did not go out. Actually, he looked angry when he walked away from a group of reporters without saying a word. Two words would have sufficed: "That's baseball."

"I think Freddie hit it to the wrong part of the park," said Rich Aurilia, who played here for two seasons. "It just goes to show you if you play in a different place what effect it has on a game. I'm proud we battled back and tied it up in the eighth, but we let it slip away again."

Zito's missteps pave way for 11-7 loss to Reds

Andrew Baggarly - MercuryNews

Giants Manager Bruce Bochy started a new, farm-fresh combination on his infield Friday, knowing that young mistakes would be part of the deal.

Sure enough, third baseman Pablo Sandoval made a blunder that a more experienced player probably would have avoided. But Barry Zito, a 30-year-old former Cy Young Award winner, had no such excuse while committing many more missteps in an 11-7 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

Zito (8-16) allowed a grand slam to Edwin Encarnacion in the third inning to trigger fireworks over the Ohio River. The Giants' youth brigade stormed back in the fourth to tie with a four-run rally off hard-throwing Edinson Volquez, but Zito found more trouble in the bottom of the inning.

"I'm accountable," said Zito, whose error made one of his eight runs unearned. "It's hard to lay my head on my pillow and blame anybody but myself."

Zito was coming off victories in consecutive starts, something he hadn't done all season. He was trying to win three in a row for the first time since May 23-June 4 of last season. But he couldn't overcome a flat change-up while facing a Reds team that traded Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr. this month.

"It looked like he was just up in the zone more tonight," Bochy said.

Eugenio Velez's two-run triple in the fourth completed a four-run comeback and gave Zito a do-over. But the left-hander's troubles began anew when Jolbert Cabrera led off with a double.

First baseman Travis Ishikawa made a heads-up play after fielding Paul Bako's grounder, snapping a throw to Sandoval to catch Cabrera in a rundown. Sandoval chased Cabrera back to second base but committed his throw too soon. Cabrera changed direction, noticed that nobody was covering third and rushed past an empty-handed Sandoval to take the base.

"He's got to realize nobody's behind him there," Bochy said. "He gave up the ball too quick."

Sandoval talked with Omar Vizquel in the dugout after the inning.

"I learn quick," said Sandoval, who hadn't played regularly at third base since April, 2006, at Low-A Augusta. "The next time, if he's safe, he'll be safe at second base."

Zito was blameless for failing to cover third base. He had broken toward first base on contact and couldn't have rushed across the diamond in time.

But there was no absolving Zito's mistake to the next batter. Zito dropped the ball while attempting a barehanded pickup of Volquez's sacrifice bunt, then bounced a hurried throw for an error that loaded the bases.

There would be no miraculous escape. Chris Dickerson hit a tiebreaking, two-run double, and after an intentional walk, Zito ended his evening by plunking Joey Votto to force in another run.

Billy Sadler's command was no better. He issued a bases-loaded walk. The next inning, Sadler hit Cabrera with a pitch before serving up a two-run homer to Dickerson.

Before the game, Bochy said he would give Sandoval a chance to establish himself at third base over the remainder of the season. He also gave Emmanuel Burriss his first start at shortstop since July 24.

The shift put Ivan Ochoa on the bench and opened up second base for Velez, who played erratically when given chances in April. But he might be in a better frame of mind this time. In addition to roping a triple off Volquez, he hit a run-scoring double in his next at-bat.

"When they give me an opportunity, I've got to do something," Velez said. "I see my average in the .220s and that's hard for me. I've never seen that before in my life. I just want to finish strong."

Giants' Lincecum earns 15th win

GIANTS ACE (15-3) THROWS 132 PITCHES

Andrew Baggarly - MercuryNews

Giants Manager Bruce Bochy had every motivation to toss the pitch clicker in a trash can and keep Tim Lincecum on the mound in the eighth inning of the Giants' eventual 4-1 victory Wednesday night.

There was struggling setup man Tyler Walker, who was booed as soon as he snapped off his jacket. There was the looming presence of Matt Holliday, the Colorado Rockies' best hitter. And there was the Cy Young Award race, which tightened up when front-runner Brandon Webb got pounded a day earlier.

There were more than 30,000 other reasons, too. Bochy knew once he took a step from the dugout, the boos would surround him.

Bochy stuck with Lincecum (15-3) as long as he could in a one-run game, putting a career-high 132 pitches on the right-hander's rubber arm — tied for the most a major leaguer has thrown in a game this season — before finally absorbing the crowd's disapproval.

"You've got to let the leash out a little bit as time goes on,'' Lincecum said.

Jack Taschner gave up a hit before closer Brian Wilson escaped the eighth. After the Giants tacked on two runs, Wilson pitched the ninth to record his 36th save and protect Lincecum's victory.

Bengie Molina and Pablo Sandoval put the Giants' dugout into full-scale party mode after hitting home runs on consecutive pitches to erase a one-run deficit in the seventh inning and put Lincecum in line for the win.

Even with the Giants in fourth place and out of contention, fans probably would have booed Bochy if he hooked Lincecum with 232 pitches. Molina thought Lincecum threw "about 130,000,'' and figured the right-hander was done when his count stood at 118 through seven.

"When he came out for the eighth, that caught me by surprise,'' Molina said.

Lincecum received a huge ovation when he sprinted out and scooped up the ball.

"It wasn't so much the number as the fact he wasn't laboring,'' Bochy said. "He was still free and easy. And Timmy's honest, too. There have been a couple games when he said his legs were cramping. He said he felt great.''

After a one-out walk, Bochy couldn't take out his best pitcher against Holliday. Lincecum threw a 93 mph fastball to induce a flyout to right field.

"He wasn't going any further than that,'' Bochy said.

Lincecum struck out 10 over 72/3 innings to increase his major league leading total to 210. He also tied Cleveland's Cliff Lee for the major league lead with a 2.43 ERA. That's markedly better than Webb, who has 19 victories but saw his ERA jump to 2.96 after a rough start against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday.

Lincecum's 132 pitches tied Florida's Ricky Nolasco for the most thrown in a game this season. No Giants pitcher had thrown as many since Jason Schmidt (132) in May 2006. Also, Lincecum leapfrogged teammate Matt Cain and leads the National League with 3,008 pitches thrown.

Molina found the bleachers against Livan Hernandez to snap a shutout in the seventh. A pitch later, Sandoval hit an opposite-way drive that slipped over the wall in the left-field corner.

It was just the second time the Giants hit back-to-back homers this season; Molina and Aaron Rowand combined on the other occasion, May 23 at Florida.

"I feel one of my dreams is complete,'' said Sandoval, who received a hero's greeting in the dugout. "My first home run, and it's here at home in a big moment.''

No major undertaking

Rockies rattle career minor-leaguer Palmer

Henry Schulman - San Francisco Chronicle (SFGate)
You look at pitcher Matt Palmer's travelogue and shudder at how many times he probably got his nourishment from a fast-food sack and his sleep on a bus during a 6 1/2-year minor-league career.

Salem-Keizer to Hagerstown and Norwich. Norwich and Norwich again. He stuck around for Norwich's name change to Connecticut then went to Fresno, and to Fresno again, and Fresno once more for good measure. And for what?

For the chance to get a major-league win, of course. Palmer had three opportunities in place of injured starter Jonathan Sanchez. He went 0-for-3. In his final chance Tuesday night, Palmer walked six and allowed five runs in 41/3 innings. The Rockies won 7-2.

After sweeping the Padres and cobbling a five-game win streak, the Giants have settled into a malaise against Colorado, quietly losing the first two games of a series that ends tonight with Tim Lincecum attempting to burnish his Cy Young qualifications.

Perhaps Lincecum can send a jolt through China Basin in the finale of a nine-game homestand and a stretch of 20 games without a day off. The place was rendered church-quiet for two games by the Giants' inability to test the Rockies. Thrill-seeking television viewers had better luck switching to the Tax Audit Channel.

"We've been playing good up to this point," Rich Aurilia said after delivering three of the Giants' five hits. "We're in a streak of a lot of games on consecutive days. Maybe the guys are dragging a little bit. I'm sure we'll bounce back tomorrow. We've got Timmy going. Hopefully we'll swing the bats."

The Giants were silenced not by a big-name pitcher, but by Jorge De La Rosa, who somehow managed to throw 32 pitches in the first inning without allowing a run. Randy Winn had the team's only RBI, on a single. Even Pablo Sandoval could not roust the team. His hit streak ended at nine games with an 0-for-4. He also committed an error that led to one run against Palmer being unearned.

Palmer was optioned to Triple-A Fresno after the game, to be replaced on the roster by reliever Osiris Matos and in the rotation by Sanchez, who went all out in a pregame bullpen session. Assuming his left shoulder remains pain free, Sanchez will retake his slot in the rotation in Denver on Monday.

Manager Bruce Bochy gave Palmer every opportunity to stick around long enough for a chance at that first big-league win. He let the 29-year-old right-hander bat in the fourth inning with a man on third and the Giants trailing 4-1 on two-run singles by Garrett Atkins and Chris Iannetta. Bochy let Palmer stay in the game even after walking his sixth batter in the fifth inning. But when Palmer hit the next man to load the he bases, he was through.

"He was his own worst enemy," said Bochy, who complained about walks for the zillionth time this season. "That's been our biggest issue."

When the Giants try to revamp their bullpen over the winter, strike-throwers surely will top their shopping list. One rookie already in the fold might have an in. As Sergio Romo demonstrated while retiring all five of his batters in relief of Palmer, he is not allergic to the plate. Romo threw 13 pitches, 10 strikes.

"A first-pitch strike is the best pitch," Romo said. "It's a lot easier to get ahead of hitters and get them to chase something. I have the confidence to throw strikes in there."

Palmer recognizes his three major-league starts were an opportunity lost. He seemed mighty depressed after the loss and his demotion to Fresno. Though he insisted he does not worry about the future because he is sure God will decide what is best, he recognized he will have to help his own cause with "hard work. I've got to throw first-pitch strikes more often. That's what I'm going to take from this."

That, plus an 0-2 record that was assured when Jack Taschner and Keiichi Yabu conspired to allow two more runs in the seventh, sending home viewers to the Tax Audit Channel for the rest of the evening.

Giants' win streak fizzles vs. Rockies

San Francisco held scoreless after two-run first inning

Chris Haft - MLB.com

The Giants' offense started quickly and then stalled for the rest of the evening as their season-high five-game winning streak dissolved Monday in a 4-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies.

Rockies starter Jeff Francis (4-8) proved stingier than the Giants' Matt Cain (8-10). Francis won his fourth consecutive game against the Giants, yielding two runs and seven hits in seven innings. Cain lasted six innings, allowing three runs and six hits.

San Francisco jumped ahead with a pair of first-inning runs. Randy Winn singled leading off and scored on Fred Lewis' triple. Bengie Molina's sacrifice fly delivered Lewis.

Colorado pulled even in the second inning on Yorvit Torrealba's sixth home run of the season, which followed Ian Stewart's infield single.

The Giants loaded the bases with nobody out in the third inning and couldn't score, reflecting their inability to sustain much at the plate. Aaron Rowand grounded into a fielder's choice, forcing out Cain at home, before Molina grounded into a double play.

The Rockies inched ahead in the fourth as Omar Quintanilla drew a one-out walk and came home on Troy Tulowitzki's triple.

Molina, Correia lead Giants to fifth-straight win

Associated Press (AP)
Kevin Correia pitched six innings to win for only the second time since April, Bengie Molina homered and drove in five runs and the San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres 7-4 on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep.

Correia (3-7) gave up a homer to Brian Giles on his first pitch of the game but was solid after that, scattering seven hits and striking out four on his 28th birthday. His only other wins this season came against St. Louis on April 10 and the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 28.

Molina finished with three hits and came within a triple of hitting for the cycle for the first time in his career. He also had an RBI double in the fourth and a run-scoring single in the fifth.

Randy Winn and Fred Lewis added three hits apiece for San Francisco, which won its fifth straight. It's the Giants' longest streak since winning six in a row Aug. 23-28, 2007.

Brian Wilson worked a perfect ninth to earn his NL-leading 35th save in 38 chances.

The sweep of the Padres was the Giants' first in San Francisco since Aril 5-7, 2002. They also won a two-game series in San Diego earlier this year and have won 10 of the last 14 games between the two teams.

The Padres (48-82), meanwhile, dropped their seventh straight and fell a season-high 34 games under .500.

Giles hit the first pitch from Correia over the right field wall and into the waters of McCovey Cove. It was the fourth career leadoff homer for Giles and the Padres' seventh this season.

San Diego added two more in the fourth, stringing together four straight one-out singles off Correia. Edgar Gonzalez drove in Kevin Kouzmanoff, then Chase Headley later beat Winn's throw to the plate after Nick Hundley had singled to make it 3-0.

Correia settled down to retire eight of the final 10 batters he faced before giving way to reliever Jack Taschner to start the seventh.

Molina got San Francisco's offense going when he doubled in Fred Lewis in the fourth. Molina was also credited with an RBI single in the fifth when Headley, San Diego's left fielder, lost a fly ball in the sun. The ball bounced off the wall, allowing Ivan Ochoa to score and cut the lead to 3-2. Pablo Sandoval then tied the game with an RBI single off reliever Brian Falkenborg.

San Francisco took a 4-3 lead on Randy Winn's RBI single in the sixth before Molina's homer off loser Mike Adams (1-3) broke the game open.

San Diego added a run in the eighth and loaded the bases with two outs, but Taschner struck out Jody Gerut to end the threat.

Notes: The three-plus innings was the shortest start of Banks' career. He has lasted only 12 1-3 innings over his last three outings, but was 1-0 with a 0.56 ERA in two previous starts this year against San Francisco ... The Giants improved to 7-1 in their last eight series.

Trust in Zito pays off for Giants

GIANTS MANAGER SHOWS CONFIDENCE IN LEFT-HANDER

Andrew Baggarly - MercuryNews

Barry Zito must be confident about his transformation as a pitcher. Now he's talking about improving his hitting this off-season.

"I want to be more of a threat up there,'' he said.

When the Gants' season melted away like spring snow in April and May, Zito was the wrong kind of threat on the mound. The game was imperiled every time he threw a pitch, and Manager Bruce Bochy all but used a Vaudeville hook to lift him from games.

That hook isn't so quick anymore. Bochy demonstrated that Zito has restored his trust, eschewing a chance to pinch hit for the left-hander in the sixth inning of a tie game Saturday.

Zito rewarded Bochy with two more scoreless innings, and the Giants rewarded Zito with a win. Rich Aurilia's triple scored Pablo Sandoval with the tiebreaking run in the eighth inning, and Brian Wilson closed out a 4-3 victory over the San Diego Padres at AT&T Park.

Zito (8-15) won consecutive starts for the first time this season, and the Giants' modest four-game winning streak matched their longest of the year.

Asked the reason he let Zito hit for himself, Bochy spoke simply.

"He's the guy I wanted out there,'' the manager said.

Could you imagine Bochy saying that a few months ago, when the Giants were 0-9 in games started by their $126 million ace?

Times have changed. The left-hander wasn't happy about squandering two earlier leads but said "the nice thing was to come back from that. In the past, once I got away from my approach, I didn't find my way back.''

When Bochy sent Zito to the plate with runners at first and second and one out, the move appeared to backfire terribly. Zito stabbed at air on a sacrifice attempt, Aurilia got caught drifting off second base and the Padres tagged him out easily.

But Zito threw strikes against the Padres' anemic lineup, and Bochy wanted to see more.

Aaron Rowand hit his second double of the game leading off the eighth, but he ran on contact and was thrown out after Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez fielded Sandoval's hard one-hopper.

The rally appeared stalled, but Aurilia mashed a pitch into the right-center alley and Sandoval scored without a play to make a winner of Zito. He hadn't won consecutive starts since Sept. 24 and 30.

Zito helped himself with a run-scoring single against Dirk Hayhurst in the fourth inning, lifting a single to right field one pitch after taking an awkward hack that drew boos from the crowd.

Zito is serious about his swing. He wasn't able to work on it last winter because of a tender wrist, but he plans to spend time in the cage this off-season.

Sandoval keeps treating games like his personal batting practice. He doubled and scored on Zito's hit. He also has caught Zito's past two starts.

"Sandoval catches like a veteran,'' Zito said. "Some guys come up real young with everything figured out. But getting to the big leagues just gets you in the building. You're on the first floor. He wants to go to the top.'' Zito also lauded the defensive play of Emmanuel Burriss and Ivan Ochoa, both of whom made difficult plays up the middle — two more reasons Zito loves the vibe of this youth movement.

"It's awesome,'' he said. "I feel like one of 'em. It reminds me of how we had it in Oakland. The more fun we can have, goofing off, the less pressure we put on ourselves.'' For once, China Basin is a fun place again. The Giants clinched their sixth victory in their past seven series, including four consecutive at AT&T Park — something they hadn't accomplished since 2006.

July's struggle a distant memory Lincecum electric as Giants roll on

Henry Schulman - San Francisco Chronicle (SFGate)
Remember July, when Tim Lincecum had two rough starts out of three and the press and fans wondered if the kid was overtaxed in his first full major-league season?

What rubes we were. Seabuiscut just needed to slow his trot and catch his breath. With eight shutout innings in a 5-0 victory against the Padres on Friday night, Lincecum offered more reassurance that he is built for a long race.

"My body feels the same," Lincecum said. "It feels strong."

Lincecum's 14th win was noteworthy. With a crowd of 33,615 on its feet creating a terrific din, he threw a changeup past Nick Hundley to end the seventh inning and become the first Giants pitcher to reach 200 strikeouts since Jason Schmidt had 251 in 2004.

Were that not enough to please the crowd, Lincecum hit a double in the bottom of the seventh against Padres starter Cha Seung Baek, still in the game despite surrendering five runs in the fourth inning, two on Bengie Molina's double and three on Travis Ishikawa's first home run at China Basin.

Lincecum walked a pair in the eighth inning but received a final ovation after retiring Adrian Gonzalez on a fly to right for the third out. Gonzalez can consider that a victory after striking out in his first three at-bats.

"He did great tonight," Molina said of Lincecum. "That's probably the best I've seen him all year."

Molina caught the Giants' 10th shutout win of 2008. Overall, they won for the sixth time in their last eight games and improved to 12-9 in August as they bid for their first winning month of the year.

Lincecum held San Diego's challenged offense to four hits in raising his record to 14-3. He also leads the league in strikeouts (200) and ERA (2.48). If that holds true at season's end, he will force Cy Young voters to exercise their brain cells before they jot an "X" next to Brandon Webb's name.

In six starts since he coughed up five runs to the Brewers on July 20, Lincecum is 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA and 57 strikeouts. When Lincecum had a 4.09 ERA in July, it was easy to predict a late-season slide in his first full season. Granted, his recent surge has come against inferior opponents. But he has been so spot on it is equally tempting to predict another four or five wins.

"He's been unbelievable," Molina said. "Counting all the wins we couldn't pull out for him earlier in the season, he would have been up there with Webb - 18, 19 wins. He's doing a great job. I hope he stays the same."

Bochy called the 200 strikeouts "quite a milestone." Lincecum concurred, saying, "I never had many strikeouts in a season. The closest I came was in college my junior year, when I had 199. (Pitching coach Dave Righetti) came up and gave me the ball and congratulated me. That was pretty nice to hear."

Another nice sound for Lincecum was the constant crack of the bat in the bottom of the fifth inning, when the Giants erupted for five runs. Emmanuel Burriss launched the rally with a single, and Fred Lewis and Pablo Sandoval contributed a double and single, respectively, but it was Molina's double and Ishikawa's three-run, opposite-field blast to left that produced the runs.

Sandoval played third base for the first time since 2006 in the low minors. He has started at three different positions in his first seven major-league games as The Great 2008 Tryout continues.

Sandoval's only two plays came on consecutive ground balls in the fifth inning. He showed off a booming, if not completely accurate, arm then boasted later, "I can throw even harder."

Omar Vizquel watched from his spot at shortstop and was impressed, saying, "He reminded me of Pedro Feliz a little bit because of the arm. It's that good."

Vizquel also declared it "boring" to play behind Lincecum because so few batters make contact and hit ground balls.

"If that's what 'boring' means," Lincecum retorted, "then I like being boring."

Pablo Sandoval, impressive rookie leaguers

Jason Grey - ESPN

When the Giants continued their youth movement by promoting three players from the minor leagues last week, the most intriguing name of the trio was catcher Pablo Sandoval.

I profiled Sandoval briefly in my Futures Game recap -- he played first base in the game -- and wrote about his hand-eye coordination, raw pop and plate coverage. The switch-hitter has a smooth, consistent stroke from both sides. He's a bit of a free swinger but covers the plate well and has done a better job of translating his batting-practice power to games this season.

Although Sandoval has played the corner-infield spots in the past, the 22-year-old began the year in Class A ball to work with manager Steve Decker, a former big league catcher. He can be a very useful offensive catcher if his weight doesn't cause any problems with his catch-and-throw skills. For a while he was listed at 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds even though he clearly was much bigger than that. In fact, my guess is that he's about 250 right now, so his future is likely behind the dish, but he could spot start at first base in a pinch.

He was promoted to Double-A just before the Futures Game, and he hit .350 with 20 homers and 96 RBIs in 112 games across the two levels before joining the big club, a big step up from .287 with 11 homers in a full season in high Class A last year.

His offensive profile is similar to new teammate Bengie Molina's, and fantasy owners will gladly take that. Molina is under contract for another season, and 2008 first-round pick Buster Posey is expected to move quickly through the system, so we'll have to see how this plays out. But Sandoval has made big strides this year.

• Speaking of Posey, I talked with a longtime Giants scout who has had the responsibility to see all the amateur catchers in the past three seasons. Granted, this scout obviously would be very pleased with the guy his team just drafted, but he added that Posey was the best catcher he had seen. That's not too surprising until you consider that Matt Wieters, who's in the Orioles organization, is included in that group as well. And yes, he'd seen Wieters extensively.

By the way, Wieters' stat line in his first season of pro ball so far: .348 average, 24 homers, 83 RBIs and more walks than strikeouts between high Class A and Double-A.

Giants walk off on Gregg's wild pitch

Burriss scores game-winner as Giants take two of three

Chris Haft - MLB.com
Emmanuel Burriss' last impetuous dash toward third base met with unfortunate results. But the effect was short-term.

That was proven in Thursday's ninth inning, when Burriss tagged up at second base and sped to third on Randy Winn's medium-deep fly ball. That put Burriss in position to score on Kevin Gregg's two-out wild pitch, which lifted the Giants to a 4-3 victory over the Florida Marlins.

Burriss, 23, is among the rookies who are enduring on-the-job Major League training. This process guarantees that they'll make occasional mistakes. Such was the case last Sunday at Atlanta, where Burriss doubled with one out in the first inning and inexplicably thought he could surprise everybody with a stolen-base attempt while pitcher Charlie Morton still had the ball. Burriss was thrown out easily, foiling the Giants' chances at a productive inning.

This time, Burriss was exclusively responsible for the production. Batting left-handed, his weaker side, he drew a one-out walk from Gregg (6-6) and stole second, his 11th successful theft in 15 tries, on a 2-1 pitch to Winn. When Winn flew out, Burriss didn't hesitate to advance.

Gregg's 0-1 pitch to Fred Lewis dipped low, inside and in the dirt, before it skipped toward the visitors' dugout on the first-base side. Burriss scored easily, breaking a 3-3 tie and giving the Giants their second consecutive last-at-bat victory over the National League East contenders.

Manufacturing the winning run without benefit of a hit is the sort of thing the Giants aimed for as the season began, aware that they're mostly bereft of power. Thus, they'll keep encouraging Burriss and fellow rookies such as Eugenio Velez, Ivan Ochoa and Pablo Sandoval to be impetuous.

"It's bit us in the butt a good number of times this year, but you have to stay aggressive," Burriss said. "The second you second guess yourself is when things start to cause problems. We have our ups and downs when it comes to being aggressive and when not to do things. For the most part, it's still a learning process."

"You don't want these guys to back off," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "That's why it's important we stay behind them. They're going to make mistakes, but they have to continue to play their game."

That's why first-base coach Roberto Kelly, San Francisco's baserunning guru, goaded Burriss in the ninth inning.

"Roberto's in my ear, pretty much telling me I need to be on second base," Burriss said. "I remember on the first pitch I didn't go, he gave me that fatherly 'What are you doing?' look."

That's why Burriss, despite the Atlanta gaffe, didn't hesitate to tag up on Winn's fly, which was hit deep enough to force Marlins left fielder Josh Willingham to move backward.

"When I saw the ball in the air, I figured with him going back, it's going to be a really hard shot for him to regroup and make a good throw to third in time to get me," Burriss said. "It really wasn't a risky play ... I figured the closer I can get to home plate, the better off the team will be."

That's why Burriss and third-base coach Tim Flannery discussed the possibility of a wild pitch when they convened briefly.

"He told me to get a good walking lead and stay on my toes," Burriss said.

The Giants remained on their toes throughout the afternoon. Ochoa, Lewis, Sandoval and Burriss hustled out infield hits. Lewis, center fielder Aaron Rowand and third baseman Ryan Rohlinger made sparkling defensive plays. Lewis and Ochoa made accurate relays to nab Dan Uggla, who ignored his third-base coach's order's to stop, at the plate in the fourth inning.

As is usually the case when the Giants thrive, pitching also was a factor. Shrugging off his Major League debut last Saturday at Atlanta (2 1/3 innings, six runs, seven hits), Matt Palmer left with a 3-2 lead after six innings. The difference, he said, was a regular work week, since he hadn't pitched in seven days when he appeared against the Braves.

Tyler Walker walked two Marlins in the eighth inning but left the bases loaded by striking out Cody Ross. Brian Wilson (2-2) overcame his blown save Wednesday night by pitching a perfect ninth to earn the decision.

Closers are judged after such lapses just as much as they are during their triumphs. But Wilson's ability to rebound was termed "standard issue" by Walker.

"I don't think it says anything about him that we didn't already know. He's resilient," Walker said.

Having won five of their last six series and five or their last seven games, maybe the rest of the Giants share this trait.

Wilson gets Giants' 'W' after blowing Cain's win

Henry Schulman - San Francisco Chronicle (SFGate)
Deep down, as a Giants fan, you knew the day Brian Wilson's marathon saves streak ended, Matt Cain would be the starter getting the short end of the stick. The fates demanded it.

So it was Wednesday night when Wilson allowed a two-out, three-run homer in the ninth inning to Marlins pinch-hitter John Baker, turning Cain's 5-2 gem into a 5-5 pumpkin. Wilson had his first blown save since May 2, ending his streak of saves at 24 and costing the luckless Cain a chance to reach .500 for the first time since he was 1-1 on April 22, 2007.

Still, Cain was smiling in the end because the Giants won 6-5. After Wilson struck out Jorge Cantu to end the top of the ninth, Bengie Molina won it in the bottom half with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly against Matt Lindstrom.

"The important thing is we won," manager Bruce Bochy said, "and we won because of Matt Cain's job."

That was easy for Bochy to say. He got a managerial win. But if a true test of character is the ability to celebrate a win in the face of personal adversity, then Cain and Wilson, aged 23 and 26, passed.

Cain was ebullient despite seeing his ninth win disappear when Florida was down to its final out.

"He doesn't have to apologize to me," Cain said of Wilson. "He's obviously not happy with what happened. It doesn't matter if I win six games or 20 games. If we have success as a team, that's the biggest thing. That's what's important to us. We've had a good run lately except for the stretch in Houston, and we bounced back from that, so keep it going."

Wilson said he felt "pretty terrible" about blowing the win for Cain, "with all the hardships he's had." Wilson did not mourn his saves streak, which was the fourth longest in San Francisco history. Even with his third blown save of 2008 he is 33-for-36 in his first full season as closer.

"The beauty of it is," Wilson said, "I get to come back to work tomorrow and start over."

Baker tied the game with an opposite-field jolt to left in an inning that began with a Cody Ross double. Wilson struck out Jeremy Hermida and Wes Helms, but Alfredo Amezaga kept the Marlins alive with a single before Baker hit an outside fastball into the bleachers. Asked if the pitch was where he wanted it, Wilson, his sense of humor intact, said, "No, I didn't want it to go out."

The Giants played a good all-around game.

Cain set the tone with 72/3 innings of two-run ball. He lost a streak of his own when Hermida hit a two-run homer in the fourth off the roof of the Willie Mays Wall in right field, an easy fly to right in most parks. Cain had not surrendered a homer since June 4, a span of 95 innings.

Randy Winn made bookend contributions. He hit his 16th career game-opening homer to stake Cain to a 1-0 lead and singled in the decisive ninth, after Dave Roberts' leadoff walk. Ivan Ochoa dropped a perfect sacrifice before Aaron Rowand was walked intentionally to load the bases. Molina needed one swing to win it, hitting a deep flyball to center that easily got Roberts home.

Rowand singled to open a three-run sixth against Marlins starter Scott Olsen. Rich Aurilia, whose biggest contributions in this game came at third base, hit an RBI double. Fred Lewis added an RBI single as did Emmanuel Burriss, after Pablo Sandoval was walked intentionally.

Rowand considered the win a good antidote to the 6-0 loss that opened this homestand Tuesday. Despite all the good execution at the plate, Rowand credited a pitcher who got no decision as the biggest contributor.

"Tonight's win is in large part because of the way Matty went out and threw the ball and competed," he said.

Sabean says no need to rush pitching prospects

Henry Schulman - San Francisco Chronicle (SFGate)

The Giants have promoted their position-playing prospects aggressively this season as they try to determine if they have something in Ryan Rohlinger, Emmanuel Burriss, Pablo Sandoval and the like. Not so their starting pitchers.

Tim Alderson, a 2007 first-round draft pick, has spent all of 2008 at Class A San Jose, where he is 11-4 with a 2.99 ERA and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of better than 3-to-1. Fellow San Jose starters Jesse English, Kevin Pucetas, Clayton Tanner and Ben Snyder have looked good, too.

At lower-level Class A Augusta, Ga., Madison Bumgarner, the Giants' top pick in 2007, is posting cartoon numbers (13-3, 1.52 ERA, 20 walks, 145 strikeouts), yet he, like the San Jose pitchers, has not been promoted. Like Alderson, Bumgarner is 19.

General manager Brian Sabean said Tuesday that he has less need to rush them through the system because of the starters the Giants already have. In 2009, barring a trade, the team will go into spring training with Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito, Kevin Correia and a presumably healthy Noah Lowry and Jonathan Sanchez.

If somebody struggles or gets hurt and the Giants suddenly have a need for starters, they can elevate one of the youngsters quickly next year.

"Every season everybody doesn't have to pitch at every level to get to the big leagues," Sabean said. "I think it's more important for them to have a good season where they are and build off that for next year. Whatever that brings next year, we'll see."

Right now, Sabean sees little need to acquire a starter, saying, "I think we're going to be covered from within. Guys are going to matriculate as the normal progression allows."

Olympic husband: Marlins backup catcher Matt Treanor will have a lot on his mind tonight. As his team faces the Giants, his wife, Misty May-Treanor, will be playing for a second Olympic beach-volleyball goal medal with her partner, Kerri Walsh. The match against a Chinese pair is supposed to begin around 8 p.m. PDT, but Treanor said he will not sit inside the clubhouse to follow the match's progress on the Internet.

"I don't think it would be right for my teammates, (me) coming in and checking the score," Treanor told Florida writers. "As much as I want to see it, I have a responsibility to my team and guys on the field."

And once the gold-medal match is over, Treanor said, "I'm going to cry regardless of what happens."

Briefly: An MRI exam on Sanchez's left shoulder revealed a mild rotator-cuff strain and tightness in the capsule. Neither is deemed serious, and the team said it hopes Sanchez can begin playing catch by week's end.

Giants avoid the plate upon their return home

Henry Schulman - San Francisco Chronicle (SFGate)

The Giants have had a habit this season of playing smart baseball on the road only to come home and look out of sorts, not to mention out of their league.

Tuesday night's 6-0 loss to the Florida Marlins might go down as the stinker of all their homecoming games this year. The Giants mustered two hits against Ricky Nolasco, who might have taken a no-hitter into the ninth inning if not for a scoring decision.

Nolasco settled for his first career complete game and shutout. Moreover, he ended Florida's string of 301 games without a complete game, a major-league record.

Until pinch-hitter Pablo Sandoval hit a clean double past third base with one out in the ninth, the only hit against Nolasco had been a first-inning single by Randy Winn on a grounder that skipped off first baseman Mike Jacobs' glove into right field as he knelt to grab it backhanded.

Official scorer Chuck Dybdal ruled it a single after watching the replay, but Jacobs said he should have gloved it.

"It wasn't that hard of a play," Jacobs said. "I was kind of surprised they gave it a hit."

If the Marlins spent eight innings in their dugout talking about it, the Giants did not. They had other problems - many, many problems.

"I can understand it was a debatable call," manager Bruce Bochy said, "especially when the guy's got a no-hitter in the ninth. But that's not what's important. We got beat tonight. We didn't play well. When you've got more errors than hits, it's not a good night."

The Giants committed a season-high four errors, all by rookie infielders and two by first baseman Travis Ishikawa that each led to an unearned run against Kevin Correia.

In a tryout year such as this, when the Giants stick more kids in uniform than the Cub Scouts, the team invariably will look awful on some nights. Sometimes the biggest victim is the starting pitcher. So it was for Correia, who had three errors behind him and also allowed a couple of teeth-grinding bloop hits in a three-run fifth inning.

Correia's only real sin in his seventh loss was a fastball that Nolasco, an .093 hitter, lined into the left-field corner for a two-out, two-run double and a 5-0 lead. Correia cursed himself off the mound for that hit. As for all the bloops and errors, Correia essentially said, "Stuff happens."

"As a starting pitcher, you could always have done something better to have a different outcome, unless you throw a perfect game," he said. "You're not going to get better blaming it on other guys. There's always something you can do to keep improving, even if the year is not going the way you expected."

Once Sandoval doubled to quash any what-ifs about a no-hitter, the only debate was which Marlin had the most fun. Was it Nolasco, who had the complete game? Or catcher John Baker, who had three hits and reached base all five times in his first big-league game back "home."

Baker was born in Alameda, attended Concord's De La Salle High, married a girl from neighboring Carondelet High, went to Cal and still lives in Danville.

"Oh, man, it was awesome," Baker said. "I was a big Giants and A's fan. I was 8 when they played in the World Series. I loved Will Clark, but I also liked the A's. In '94, when the Giants re-signed Robby Thompson and didn't sign Clark, I developed a strong hatred for the Giants. Then I got drafted by the A's."

Every time Baker batted Tuesday, he was cheered by a rooting section with shrill screams that were hard to miss on a night when a good chunk of the 33,098 fans who bought tickets elected to stay home.

Baker reached on the second of Ishikawa's two errors, hitting a grounder that went through the first baseman's legs as he ranged right to field it. Ishikawa came to San Francisco with a strong defensive reputation and looked sharp at the position when the Giants were on the road. Alas, they came home, where bad things always seem to happen.

"There's no concern with him. Believe me," Bochy said of Ishikawa. "He's a very good defensive first baseman."

Giants' Zito pitches seven shutout innings, beats Braves 5-0

Andrew Baggarly - MercuryNews

A few hours before today's game at Turner Field, Giants Manager Bruce Bochy was asked if he'd shut down Barry Zito in the event the left-hander approaches the dreaded 20-loss mark.

Bochy was forceful. He'll keep giving Zito the ball.

After a 5-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves, Zito made the conversation look like a moot point. He dazzled over seven shutout innings, and even picked up Aaron Rowand after the Gold Glove center fielder dropped two catchable balls.

Rowand also hit a tape-measure home run in the sixth inning, tacking on to a three-run lead that the Giants handed to Zito before he threw his first pitch.

The fourth run was the magic one. Zito improved to 97-5 in his career when receiving at least four runs of support.

It was only the fifth time this season that the Giants scored at least four runs for Zito; he is 5-0 in those starts, and 12-1 in 14 such outings over his two seasons with the club.

Zito (7-15) helped the Giants take three of four to win a regular-season series at Turner Field for the first time in the ballpark's 11-year history. The Giants hadn't won a regular-season road series against the Braves since May 28-30, 1993, at Fulton County Stadium.

To give you an idea of how much time has passed, the Giants won that rubber game on Barry Bonds' three-run home run - the 190th of his career - off Tom Glavine in the seventh inning. Glavine spoiled a chance at his 81st victory; he has 305 now.

The Giants had been 0-11-3 in 14 series at Turner Field before this four-game, Friday-Monday affair.

A few months ago, it appeared Zito was destined to become the first National League pitcher to lose 20 decisions since Phil Niekro went 21-20 for the Braves in 1979.

But on the days he avoids walking hitters, Zito has been more than adequate. He issued two bases on balls and only had to wriggle out of one significant threat, when he got Chipper Jones to pop up to strand runners at second and third in the third inning.

Zito appears to have eight starts remaining this season. Keiichi Yabu and Sergio Romo pitched an inning apiece to protect the shutout.

Pablo Sandoval had another multiple-hit game, rapping an RBI single in the first inning. Dave Roberts started the three-run rally by yanking a triple down the right-field line off Jorge Campillo.

Lincecum limits Braves in Giants' 3-1 victory

GEORGE HENRY - Associated Press(AP)

Giants ace Tim Lincecum struck out 10 and allowed three hits to help San Francisco beat the Atlanta Braves 3-1 on Sunday.

Despite the impressive numbers, Lincecum said he was struggling to throw strikes "in just about every inning" and decided to pitch from the stretch starting in the sixth.

"I had to make an adjustment," Lincecum said. "I felt a little more comfortable going from the stretch. Less moving parts. It's easier to get toward the target, and that helped me out."

San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy wasn't concerned when Yunel Escobar, the first batter Lincecum faced while pitching out of the stretch, gave the Braves their first hit since Kelly Johnson's single with one out in the second.

"Those first two innings he was out of sync, walking the leadoff hitter," Bochy said. "But that's what you like about the kid. He adjusted. He did his job."

Lincecum is now 12-2 in 21 starts that follow a loss for San Francisco, which had dropped five of six. The right-hander lowered his road ERA to 1.88, best in the majors, and the Giants improved to 9-1 in his 13 starts and one relief appearance away from home.

Showing no bad effects from the bruised knee that forced him to leave his last start, Lincecum (13-3) allowed one run and four walks in 7 2-3 innings. Five of his 10 strikeouts came with runners in scoring position. Despite taking a liner off his knee in Houston and leaving his previous start Tuesday after 4 1-3 innings, Lincecum had a fluid delivery and lost none of his velocity, which was still around 95 mph in the eighth.

After warming up in the bullpen, he felt no need to wear a sleeve or any added protection on his knee.

"It was a dead issue," Lincecum said. "I didn't feel it at all. Nothing nagging at all."

Bochy pulled his ace after Chipper Jones' single gave the Braves two baserunners in the eighth. Reliever Jack Taschner allowed an RBI single to Mark Kotsay, the first batter he faced, and Bochy brought in closer Brian Wilson.

Wilson intentionally walked pinch-hitter Brian McCann before ending the eighth on Jeff Francoeur's fielder's choice grounder. Wilson then pitched the ninth to earn his NL-leading 33rd save in 35 chances,

"The last thing you want to do is give up somebody else's runs," Wilson said. "Giving up my runs, I really don't care as long as I get the save, but it's not as satisfying to save the game if you give up someone else's runs."

Travis Ishikawa's first career homer, a two-run shot in the second, opened the scoring. San Francisco led 3-0 in the fifth when Randy Winn tripled and scored on Emmanuel Burris' RBI single.

Rookie Charlie Morton (3-7) remained winless in seven starts at Turner Field after giving up three runs and seven hits with six strikeouts in six innings in his first career appearance against the Giants.

The Braves have lost five of six.

Lincecum improved to 17-0 and lowered his ERA to 3.13 when the Giants support him with three runs or more in his 29 career starts.

"When he throws an 83 mph slider, it's tough to get locked into the zone," Kotsay said after going 0-for-3 with a strikeout against Lincecum. "He'll throw a curveball for a strike, then bounce one in the dirt, then throw a change-up down."

Notes:@ Francoeur's average dropped to .120 this year in 25 at-bats with the bases loaded. Over his previous two games, Francoeur had gone 7-for-14 with five RBIs to boost his overall season average 11 points to .233. ... Winn is now hitting .444 this month in 63 at-bats. ... San Francisco improved to 43-0 when leading after eight innings.

Another round of trial and error

John Shea - San Francisco Chronicle (SFGate)
Matt Palmer waited a long time to make his big-league debut Saturday night. Unfortunately for the Giants, it came and went too quickly.

Palmer joined the rotation as a replacement for Jonathan Sanchez, who developed a shoulder strain and was placed on the disabled list. Palmer figured he was fully prepared, having served seven years in the minors, including the past three in Triple-A.

He lasted only 21/3 innings, and the Giants were whipped 11-5 by the Braves at Turner Field. The score was that close only because the losers scored three times in the final two innings.

The Giants returned to 20 games below .500, which shouldn't be shocking when 15 players have made their big-league debuts. Palmer was the 15th, helping the Giants break a franchise record set in 1926.

The last team with 15 pre-September debuts was the 1954 Philadelphia A's.

So, yes, it's officially a youth movement, a few folks in their 30s notwithstanding, and this particular youth movement involves plenty of agony.

Palmer, a 31st-round pick in the 2002 draft, faced 18 batters, and 12 reached base: seven hits (not a single cheapie), four walks, one hit batsman. He led the Pacific Coast League in strikeouts but fanned no Braves.

He also led the PCL in walks, and it showed. Thirty-one of his 66 pitches were balls.

"I wasn't nervous, but I felt a little uncomfortable," said Palmer, adding that he thought big-league baseballs are bigger than PCL baseballs. "I'm not using anything as an excuse. Just inefficient with my pitches. I've got to use more of the plate rather than hitting edges."

Palmer, who left 27 tickets for friends and family, was promoted Thursday for a long-relief role, and his move to the rotation made Billy Sadler (31/3 innings) the long guy. Alex Hinshaw and Sadler gave up the final five runs, and Tyler Walker provided a different twist with a scoreless eighth inning.

Sanchez was coming off one of his best starts of the season, seven innings of two-run, five-hit ball in Houston, and he said his shoulder felt fine during his between-starts throwing session Thursday. But on Friday, while playing catch, he felt stiffness.

"I stopped right away," Sanchez said. "I didn't want to keep trying. I'm going to be fine. I can throw. It's not like I can't throw anymore."

Still, the Giants figured it was a red flag and shut him down, replacing him on the roster with Sergio Romo. This is Sanchez's first extended crack at starting in the big leagues, and he has thrown 135 innings, the most in his career, counting the minors. His previous high was 1252/3 in Class A in 2005.

Asked if he hit a wall, Sanchez said, "Could be possible, but I'm not sure why. I feel good. It's not like I feel tired or anything. I still have my velocity. When you get tired, you lose your velocity. In Houston, I was throwing 94 (mph). I don't think I'm getting tired."

Pitching coach Dave Righetti said the Giants eventually might have pulled back Sanchez anyway, especially because he's a strikeout pitcher.

Before the Houston game, Sanchez had a rough spell, posting a 7.96 ERA in six starts, all Giants losses. But in Houston, Sanchez seemed to have erased any doubts. He's 8-9 with a 4.53 ERA in 24 starts, and his 133 strikeouts rank 12th in the league.

Pablo Sandoval, who started at first base and finished as the catcher, collected his first three big-league hits, his first coming off Mike Hampton, who has won two games in three years, both against the Giants, both in the past 12 days.

"I feel confident at the plate," Sandoval said. "I'm trying to do the same thing I did in the minor leagues."

Bumgarner fans 12 in 13th Class A win

Former first-round pick leads league in ERA, strikeouts

Danny Wild - MLB.com


Madison Bumgarner was a first-round Draft pick last year and, only five months into his professional career, he's already looking like a bargain.

Bumgarner (13-3) struck out a career-high 12 and allowed two hits over six innings Friday as the Augusta GreenJackets blanked the Lexington Legends, 6-0, at Lake Olmstead Stadium

Friday's gem was the fourth straight scoreless outing for the 18-year-old left-hander.

"I definitely felt pretty good," Bumgarner said. "My last few starts, I've just been perfect. I couldn't ask for anything better."

Neither could the GreenJackets.

The North Carolina native has held opponents to 17 hits over 28 innings in those last four starts.

"My breaking stuff wasn't really there tonight, it wasn't as good as it's been," he said. "I was hitting my spots, using my fastball and changeup quite a bit tonight."

It's been a breakout rookie season for Bumgarner, the 10th overall pick by San Francisco in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft. He's leads the South Atlantic League with 145 strikeouts and a 1.52 ERA and is tied with Kannapolis' Levi Maxwell for most wins.

"Yeah, it's been pretty special," he said. "It's my first full season and it feels good to be getting all this success."

Bumgarner left South Caldwell High School in Hudson, N.C., to join the GreenJackets and has dominated in 22 starts with just one loss since April 18.

"There's definitely a huge difference in the hitters," Bumgarner said of the professional ranks. "You need to hit your spots, that's the main thing. You can't get by with the fastball, you've got to have all three pitches."

Bumgarner was named South Atlantic League Player of the Month in June and has been selected Pitcher of the Week four times.

"The biggest difference is playing every day," he said. "I'm surprised how this season has flown by."

Bumgarner's 1.52 ERA is tops among all full-season pitchers in the Minors, a fact of which he was unaware.

"That's definitely awesome, I didn't know," he said. "I'm still learning stuff every day, and there's still a lot to learn."

Bumgarner struck out the side in the first and fourth and held the Legends to singles by Chris Jackson in the first and Craig Corrado in the sixth.

"I felt really good," said Bumgarner, who has five double-digit strikeout performances this season. "We had a couple long innings when we scored four or five runs, so I just got a little tight sitting there. But I felt fine."

Augusta gave Bumgarner some time to relax in the fifth thanks to run-scoring hits from Nick Noonan, Juan Ciriaco and Garrett Baker.

Bumgarner said he's dealt well with the pressure of being a first-round pick.

"I try not to let that bother me too much," he said. "But there's a lot of pressure, I guess, since I was first pick for the Giants. I come out and do well, I try not to think about it too much."

He's ticketed for a promotion next season but said he's not concerned where it is.

"I don't know what their plans are exactly," he said. "But whatever they want to do is fine with me."

Nearly 5,000 fans came out to see Bumgarner's latest gem, helping the GreenJackets set a single-season franchise attendance record of 180,562.

Lexington's Jeff Icenogle (3-9) lost his second straight start after allowing three runs on three hits and six walks over four innings.

Giants notes: Posey signs right before deadline

John Shea - San Francisco Chronicle (SFGate)

Buster Posey is a Giant. At least he figures to be soon.

The negotiations for the fifth overall pick in the draft concluded, and Posey is getting a $6.2 million deal, a telling statement that the Giants consider him a virtual can't-miss prospect - at that price, he better be.

It's a straight signing bonus, according to Baseball America, not a major-league contract like the Orioles gave early in the day to pitcher Brian Matusz, the fourth overall pick. A major-league contract would have limited the number of option years in which the Giants could keep Posey.

Bengie Molina's contract runs through the 2009 season, and general manager Brian Sabean strongly hinted on June 5, the day Posey was drafted, that the Florida State catcher could be Molina's successor.

By comparison, the fifth player selected in last year's draft also was a catcher, Matt Wieters, who received a $6 million bonus from the Orioles. Like Posey, Wieters settled on the Aug. 15 deadline day, 9 minutes before the final buzzer. A year later, he's tearing up the Eastern League, hitting .362 with nine homers and 43 RBIs at Double-A Bowie, and ready to burst into the majors this year or next.

Now it's Posey's turn to take the fast track.

At Florida State, Posey batted .463 with 26 homers, 93 RBIs and a .566 on-base percentage and led the nation in six offensive categories. He threw out 41 percent of runners trying to steal.

Posey won the Golden Spikes Award, which goes annually to the top amateur. Other Giants to win the award were Tim Lincecum in 2006 and Will Clark in 1985. In the Tallahassee regional, he was 9-for-19 with five homers and 13 RBIs.

Because of Wieters, $6 million was the starting point in the Posey negotiations. Tim Beckham, a high school shortstop selected first overall by Tampa Bay, received a $6.15 million signing bonus.

The Giants signed 27 of their first 31 draft picks.

Briefly: Aaron Rowand said he felt much improved over Thursday, when he exited in the second inning with a nerve irritation. Still, Bochy insisted on a day's rest. Rowand vowed to play tonight. ... Elsewhere in this state, teenager Madison Bumgarner struck out 12 batters in six innings in Class A Augusta's 7-0 win over Lexington. Bumgarner is 13-3 with a 1.52 ERA.

Cain, Winn lead Giants past reeling Braves

Charles Odum - Associated Press (AP)
Jair Jurrjens kept the Braves close against Matt Cain and the Giants. Atlanta's bullpen had much less success in stopping San Francisco.

Randy Winn had his 100th career homer among his four hits and drove in two runs, helping the San Francisco Giants send Atlanta to its fifth straight loss, 5-1 Friday night.

The Giants built a 2-1 lead on eight hits against Jurrjens in seven innings before adding seven hits and three runs in two innings against three Braves relievers.

Cain allowed only one run in seven innings to continue his recent string of strong starts. Cain (8-9) has a 1.81 ERA in his last seven starts, but he's only 3-2 in that span.

"I tried to hit both sides of the plate," said Cain, who gave up six hits and a walk, and struck out five.

Cain has won two straight decisions for the first time this season.

"Cain's always tough," said Mark Kotsay, who was 2-for-4 one night after hitting for the cycle. "He's effective. He's got a (3.57) ERA for a reason. You've got to put some hits together to beat him, and unfortunately he held us at bay."

Brian Wilson pitched the ninth for his 33rd save.

Atlanta has lost four straight at Turner Field in the five-game skid. The Braves are 5-15 at home in July and August.

Winn has three four-hit games this season, including two against Atlanta.

"People are not catching them," Winn said of his hits. "I'm finding holes. I'm not doing anything different."

Bengie Molina also had four hits and drove in two runs. The Giants had 15 hits, one shy of their season high, and rebounded from four straight losses at Houston.

"It was nice coming in and stopping something that wasn't going well for us," Cain said.

Molina's single to right drove in Fred Lewis to give the Giants a 1-0 lead off Jurrjens in the first.

Dave Roberts reached on an infield single in the third and stole second. Roberts moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Winn's fly ball to right for a 2-0 lead.

The Braves scored their only run off Cain in the sixth. Kotsay led off with a double to right for his second hit. Kotsay moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Chipper Jones' single to left.

Jurrjens (11-8) lasted at least six innings for the 12th straight start and set a career high with nine strikeouts. The rookie right-hander gave up eight hits and two runs with no walks in seven innings.

"He's got everything to be proud of," Braves manager Bobby Cox said of Jurrjens, who has a 3.15 ERA. "He can't do the hitting."

Jurrjens said he was motivated by the matchup with Cain.

"It's fun pitching against a pitcher like that," Jurrjens said. "It keeps you on your game. I didn't win this time but I think I did all I can to help the team win."

The Giants quickly added to a 2-1 lead as soon as Jurrjens left the game. Winn led off the eighth with his homer to left off Will Ohman.

"It was good, but it wasn't something I really focused on," said Winn of the milestone homer. "When I retire, I may look back on it."

Lewis added a single to knock Ohman out of the game and moved to third on Molina's single to left off Jeff Bennett.

Travis Ishikawa drove in Lewis with another single to left for a 4-1 lead. The ball skipped past Gregor Blanco for an error. Bennett issued an intentional walk to Eugenio Velez to load the bases with no outs, but the Giants could not score another run.

The Giants added a ninth-inning run off Julian Tavarez. Molina's fourth hit, a single, drove in Winn, who led off with a double.

"They're all overworked in the bullpen," Cox said of his relievers. "It's as simple as that."

Roberts was thrown out at the plate in the fifth while trying to score from first on Winn's double down the left-field line. Jones took Blanco's throw from left and threw Roberts out at the plate on a close play.

Notes: The Braves signed 10th-round draft pick J.J. Hoover to a minor league contract with a $400,000 signing bonus. ... Giants manager Bruce Bochy said OF Aaron Rowand, who left Thursday's game in Houston with tightness in his lower back, should play on Saturday. ... LHP Tom Glavine returned to the disabled list with a sore left elbow one day after he gave up seven runs in four innings against the Cubs in his first start since June 10. The Braves purchased the contract of RHP Matt DeSalvo from Triple-A Richmond and transferred RHP Tim Hudson to the 60-day DL.