Andrew Baggarly - MercuryNews
The Giants' lineup had a new look and the club a new direction Friday night. Ivan Ochoa was a major part of it. Eugenio Velez insisted that he be included, too.
Left out of a lineup that was Manager Bruce Bochy's first sincere concession toward youth, Velez hit a pinch double off San Diego Padres closer Trevor Hoffman to put the Giants ahead in the 10th inning. Then Ochoa became a time-warped version of Omar Vizquel as he turned a game-saving double play with the bases loaded in the bottom half of the inning, rescuing closer Brian Wilson in a 3-2 victory at Petco Park.
In his fourth major league start, Ochoa conjured his 11-time Gold Glove-winning teammate and personal idol. The shortstop snared Kevin Kouzmanoff's hard shot up the middle, changed direction like a blowfly, stepped on second base and threw to first in time to save the tying run from scoring.
"I thought it might get up the middle, and it did," Wilson said. "But it so happened that our shortstop was all over it."
Ochoa and Velez rescued the Giants from a gloomy ending after their bullpen blew another dominant start by Tim Lincecum, who struck out 11 in seven innings to grab the major league lead in strikeouts.
It was a pulsating victory on a day the organization pledged a major shift. After a pregame powwow with top brass, Bochy refreshed the middle infield with Ochoa and Emmanuel Burriss, the latter of whom the Giants believe could become one of the best defensive second basemen in baseball. While discussing the changes before the game, Bochy said he initially wanted to try Velez at second base but was swayed after discussions with General Manager Brian Sabean and top lieutenant Dick Tidrow. "Ochoa and Burriss haven't had the at-bats that (Velez) has had to this point," Bochy said. "We want to see more of them than Eugenio. . . . We'll play a few games here and we'll have to decide whether to keep (Velez) here or whether he should go down (to Triple-A Fresno) and play." Sabean said, "It wouldn't serve any purpose to have him up here as a pinch runner or pinch hitter." Velez made himself quite relevant against baseball's all-time saves leader, lining a convincing shot into the right-field corner in the 10th. Asked about Velez after the game, Bochy planted his tongue in his cheek. "He's our everyday third baseman now," he said, grinning. In perhaps the most striking lineup change, Bochy moved Fred Lewis from the leadoff spot to the No. 3 hole, where the Giants hope he can develop into a run-producing threat. Lewis hit a sacrifice fly in the first inning, stopping the club's run of 23 innings without a run. Lewis also scored on a passed ball in the fourth. It was enough support for Lincecum, who held the Padres to three hits and a run over seven innings. He has 24 strikeouts in his past 14 innings to give him 167 this season, 10 more than Milwaukee's CC Sabathia, who pitches today. But the bullpen blew a one-run lead in Lincecum's previous start, and they doomed him to another no-decision when Jack Taschner gave up a tying, solo home run to Adrian Gonzalez in the eighth inning. Bochy, who was blistered by some on talk radio for taking out Lincecum in his previous start, said he would have given the right-hander a chance to pitch the eighth. But Lincecum told the manager that his legs "felt like jelly" and that he had a mild cramp in his left calf. Sergio Romo pitched the 10th to earn his first major league victory. Wilson recorded his league-leading 29th save and, with a nod to Ochoa, his 20th consecutive conversion. Lincecum's run at the Cy Young Award might be the most intriguing story line as the Giants play out the final two months. But there will be others, too.
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