talkinGiantsbaseball: San Francisco Giants wrap up series sweep of Houston Astros

It takes confidence to laugh at yourself.

While Edgar Renteria signed autographs before Wednesday's series finale at Minute Maid Park, he paused to admire an 8x10 photo of himself diving for a ground ball in a Florida Marlins uniform.

"See?" the Giants' veteran shortstop said. "This is when I could move."

Confidence is useful in other ways, too. The Giants were brimming with it before, during and after their 10-4 victory over the Houston Astros completed a three-game sweep.

The Giants stormed out of the gate with a sweep for the first time since 2003, when they ended up with a 100-61 record.

And Renteria, who looked so glacial at the plate and in the field last season? His confidence wasn't misplaced. He tied a career high with five hits; paired with leadoff man Aaron Rowand, the Giants' two table setters had a nifty 9-for-11 afternoon.

"That's a good start, no?" said Renteria, who was 5-for-5 with a walk and went 8-for-11 in the series. "You know, we've got a good baseball team. When you feel like this, you'll relax and play the game. Just concentrate and play the game right."

The Giants' 19 hits were their most for a game in nearly three seasons. You would have to go back to May 13, 2007, at Colorado — the memorable Mother's Day game in which Fred Lewis hit for the cycle.

And as they prepared to fly home, nobody seemed surprised by it.

"It went the way we expected it to go," Rowand said. "We feel we have a pretty good squad here, and we're capable of doing some things. We've obviously got the pitching."

Matt Cain extended the rotation's scoreless streak to 16 innings before third baseman Pablo Sandoval's error led to an unearned run in the fourth. Cain had an early cushion, too, courtesy of John Bowker's two-run home run.

But Cain didn't join Tim Lincecum and Barry Zito in the winner's circle. His decision evaporated in the seventh, when the Astros rallied from a three-run deficit.

Cory Sullivan's two-run pinch triple glanced off Rowand's glove in center field. Then reliever Jeremy Affeldt entered to a bit of bad luck, as speedy Michael Bourn beat out a dribbler to second base that allowed Sullivan to score the tying run.

The Giants immediately made more noise in the eighth, though. Juan Uribe doubled on the first pitch from Sammy Gervacio and scored when the unorthodox right-hander threw wildly to third base after fielding Eli Whiteside's sacrifice bunt.

And the hits kept on coming. Rowand and Renteria added run-scoring singles in the ninth. It was Renteria's first five-hit game since 2007, when he hit .332 for the Atlanta Braves.

"Edgar's healthy now, and he has a good approach up there," manager Bruce Bochy said. "He's got such a tremendous track record. What a career he's had. We just want Edgar to be himself."

The Astros might want to apply for a name change. A late-inning split squad would be more fearsome than what rookie manager Brad Mills is throwing out there, especially while Lance Berkman is on the disabled list.

But a sweep is a sweep, and the Giants believe they will compete with anyone.

"In spring training, we had a different attitude," Renteria said. "We know we've got a great team."

Added Bowker: "Everything is about confidence right now. I felt I could build on spring training, whether it's in the outfield or on the bases or at the plate."

That covers everything, no?

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
San Francisco	0	2	1	0	0	0	1	2	4	10	19	1
Houston	0	0	0	1	0	0	3	0	0	4	7	1

W: Affeldt (1-0) L: Gervacio (0-1)

Preview | Box | At the Park | H2H | Recap

Final Boxscore

San Francisco Giants
Player	AB	R	H	RBI	TB	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG
A. Rowand, CF	6	1	4	2	6	0	0	.250	.250	.375
E. Renteria, SS	5	1	5	2	5	1	0	.727	.786	.818
P. Sandoval, 3B	6	0	2	0	3	0	0	.308	.357	.385
A. Huff, 1B	6	0	1	0	1	0	0	.286	.286	.286
G. Mota, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	-	-
M. DeRosa, LF	3	1	1	0	1	1	0	.333	.500	.667
J. Affeldt, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	-	-
T. Ishikawa, PH-1B	1	1	1	1	4	0	0	1.000	1.000	4.000
J. Bowker, RF	4	1	1	2	4	0	0	.333	.333	.667
N. Schierholtz, RF	1	1	1	0	1	0	0	.500	.500	.500
J. Uribe, 2B	5	2	2	1	4	0	1	.417	.385	.583
E. Whiteside, C	3	1	1	0	1	1	0	.333	.500	.333
M. Cain, P	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000	.000	.000
E. Velez, LF	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	.000	.500	.000
Totals	43	10	19	8	30	4	3	-	-	-

Houston Astros
Player	AB	R	H	RBI	TB	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG
M. Bourn, CF	4	0	1	1	1	0	0	.167	.167	.167
K. Matsui, 2B	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	.250	.250	.250
H. Pence, RF	4	1	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.000	.000
C. Lee, LF	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	.167	.167	.167
G. Blum, 1B	4	1	1	0	1	0	0	.222	.222	.333
B. Moehler, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	-	-
P. Feliz, 3B-1B	4	0	2	1	4	0	0	.250	.250	.417
J. Keppinger, SS	4	1	1	0	1	0	1	.429	.556	.714
J. Towles, C	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	.125	.125	.250
B. Myers, P	2	0	1	0	1	0	1	.500	.500	.500
T. Byrdak, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	-	-
C. Sullivan, PH	1	1	1	2	3	0	0	.500	.500	1.500
S. Gervacio, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	-	-
C. Sampson, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	-	-
J. Fulchino, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	-	-
C. Johnson, 3B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000
Totals	35	4	7	4	11	0	6	-	-	-

2B: SF 3, P. Sandoval (1), J. Uribe 2 (2). Hou 2, P. Feliz 2 (2).

3B: SF 1, A. Rowand (1). Hou 1, C. Sullivan (1).

HR: SF 2, T. Ishikawa (1), J. Bowker (1).

HR Detail: SF, T. Ishikawa (Inning: 9 , 0 Out, 0 on) off J. Fulchino, SF, J. Bowker (Inning: 2 , 0 Out, 1 on) off B. Myers.

San Francisco Giants
Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	BFP	Pit	B-S	ERA	OpBA
M. Cain	6.2	6	4	3	0	5	0	27	98	32 - 66	4.05	.222
J. Affeldt (W 1-0, BS 1)	1.1	1	0	0	0	1	0	5	20	6 - 14	0.00	.200
G. Mota	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	9	2 - 7	0.00	.000

Houston Astros
Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	BFP	Pit	B-S	ERA	OpBA
B. Myers	6.0	12	4	4	1	3	1	29	100	27 - 73	6.00	.444
T. Byrdak	1.0	0	0	0	1	0	0	4	12	5 - 7	4.50	.143
S. Gervacio (L 0-1)	0.1	2	2	1	0	0	0	4	9	3 - 6	6.75	.333
C. Sampson	0.2	0	0	0	1	0	0	3	16	7 - 9	5.40	.333
J. Fulchino	0.1	4	4	4	1	0	1	6	16	6 - 10	27.00	.500
B. Moehler	0.2	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	8	4 - 4	0.00	.333