SFGate/San Francisco Chronicle
Maybe someday the Giants can be that team that commits two killer errors, walks nine hitters, runs the bases poorly yet still wins. They are not there yet.
Yes, the Giants can take some solace in playing that type of game and still having a late chance to win. Bottom line, though, they wasted a good opportunity to steal a victory against the Dodgers and their ace, Chad Billingsley, and fell 5-3 at China Basin on Tuesday night.
"It wasn't a pretty game. We know it," manager Bruce Bochy said. "We made a few mistakes but we hung in there. We had our chances."
True, but the Dodgers had Manny Ramirez, who finally found a way to hurt the Giants this season. With the game knotted 3-3 in the ninth, Ramirez hit his third consecutive double, against Bobby Howry, and scored the go-ahead run on a one-out Andre Ethier double. Matt Kemp sealed it with an RBI triple.
You figured Ramirez was due against the Giants, but Howry does not believe in the law of averages.
"I believe you make bad pitches, and he's too good a hitter to miss them," Howry said. "You make good pitches, and you've got a chance to get him out."
Ramirez was thrilled with the way he launched a pair of scoring rallies, saying, "I'm a doubles maniac. I set the table now."
This game featured a lot of late intrigue, the Dodgers taking a 3-2 lead in the seventh on Brandon Medders' bases-loaded walk to James Loney and the Giants retying it in the eighth on Jonathan Broxton's bases-loaded walk to Rich Aurilia.
But the real story was penned much earlier, when the Giants gave away two runs after errors by Fred Lewis (dropped flyball) and Juan Uribe (bad throw). Both of the runs Jonathan Sanchez allowed in five innings were unearned.
Also, the Giants failed to deliver potential knockout blows against Billingsley in the second and third innings. Uribe grounded into a double play to kill one rally and grounded out with the bases loaded to end another.
Furthermore, Randy Winn was thrown out at the plate in the first inning on two great relays following Pablo Sandoval's double to the center-field wall. Later, third-base coach Tim Flannery held Travis Ishikawa at third as he chugged around from first on a similar double by Uribe. Emmanuel Burriss then lined into an inning-ending double play.
"We had our chances, but we were facing a good pitcher," Bochy said. "He's not 4-0 for nothing. The defense and the situational hitting, that has to be a big part of our game. We didn't execute tonight."
There was one tactical decision worth mentioning.
Brian Wilson ordinarily would have started the ninth inning of a 3-3 game at home, but he was off-limits because he had thrown more than 60 pitches over the three previous games. Bochy had a choice Tuesday between Howry and Jeremy Affeldt, and went with Howry. The right-hander has produced some good innings, but overall, Affeldt has pitched better.
With right-handers Ramirez and Russell Martin starting the ninth, Bochy went with Howry.
"Really," Bochy explained, "we felt like Howry could give us a little more. Affeldt has been throwing a lot lately. Those are our two guys. I've been going with matchups with both of them. You've got two righties coming up. I have confidence in both of them. I was hoping to get two (innings out of Howry)."
The Dodgers needed only one to beat the Giants. With a win tonight behind Tim Lincecum, the Giants can take the series and complete a .500 April, not bad given how awfully they started.
From: MLB.com
 LA Dodgers (14-7) Won 1 | LA Dodgers 5, San Francisco 3 |  San Francisco (9-10) Lost 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Standings thru 4/28/09 | Recap: LAD | SF | Wrap | Gameday |
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