Mercury News
The Giants quietly instituted their playoff-concession backup plan Friday night.
They shelved another veteran for the year and gave prize prospect Buster Posey his first major league start behind the plate.
That went quietly, too.
Posey went 0-for-3 as part of the Giants' latest offense-starved performance, a two-hit, 3-0 defeat to the Chicago Cubs that put another serious dent in Tim Lincecum's chances of a National League Cy Young Award repeat.
Lincecum pitched well enough to win, but he was outdueled by Carlos Zambrano and took the loss in a game that dropped the Giants five games behind Colorado in the NL wild-card race with eight to play.
Can you say over and out?
The Giants effectively said that before the game. They announced that shortstop Edgar Renteria will have season-ending elbow surgery today and that the 22-year-old Posey, the Giants' top pick in the 2008 draft (fifth overall), will catch the majority of the games the rest of the season in place of battered veteran Bengie Molina.
"It's time,'' manager Bruce Bochy said before the game. "We know it's a long shot where we are right now. ... And with Bengie banged up, it's time to get Buster some starts and some playing time."
The Giants added Posey to the roster Sept. 2, but it took 22 games before he received his first start. He had just three at-bats and had caught just three innings before Friday night.
His starting debut wasn't much to write home about. He struck out on four pitches in the second inning, grounded out to second on the second pitch he saw in the fifth and struck out leading off the eighth on three pitches. "He (Zambrano) was good,'' said Posey. "I don't like to make any excuses, but he was on tonight. My timing felt off a little bit, but I felt like I saw the ball OK. But his slider was great, man. You've got to tip your hat to the guy.'' Posey did better handling Lincecum, as the Giants' ace and Zambrano locked in a scoreless duel over the first five innings. The Cubs scratched for single runs in the sixth and seventh innings, which was all Zambrano needed, but Lincecum was generally happy with his first official battery hookup with the heralded young catcher. "Obviously, he's a little bit different than Bengie,'' Lincecum said. "It seemed like we were just trying to get a feel for each other out there. That takes time, but considering, I thought we did pretty well. "I think it's just trial and error. I think it just has to do with experience, getting him in there and getting a feel for every pitcher. I didn't have any problem with him.'' Assessed Posey, "I felt like we were on the same page pretty much the whole game. That's what we talked about before the game. I told him to just lead the way and I'll try to get on the same page with you.'' Lincecum, in a tight battle with the St. Louis Cardinals' Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter for the Cy Young, took his third loss in four starts and dropped to 14-7. He gave up six hits, walked three and struck out seven over seven innings, but the Giants didn't give him a sniff of support. Juan Uribe singled to lead off the second inning and Lincecum had to produce the other hit, a leadoff single in the sixth. The Giants walked just once in a game that was completed in 1 hour and 56 minutes. Lincecum has just one start remaining, and even though he continues to lead the NL in strikeouts with 254 and is second in ERA (2.47), he is now tied for ninth in wins. It was the eighth game in which he has given up two earned runs or less and not gotten a victory. He is 4-5 since the All-Star break.
From: MLB.com
 Chi Cubs (80-73) Won 2 | Chi Cubs 3, San Francisco 0 |  San Francisco (82-72) Lost 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Standings thru 9/25/09 | Recap: CHC | SF | Wrap | Gameday |
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