John Shea SFGate/San Francisco Chronicle
Manager Bruce Bochy and pitching coach Dave Righetti met with the Giants' pitchers before the All-Star break about limiting their walks and going at hitters more aggressively, especially in home games.
So far, so good. Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito and Matt Cain are exhibits A, B and C.
Cain followed Lincecum and Zito's lead and tossed six shutout innings Saturday before the Mets finally figured out how to appear on a scoreboard. By then, the Giants were well on their way to an 8-4 victory to give them a 3-0 start in the second half and sole possession of second place, just ahead of the Rockies.
By the way, the common denominator is rookie Buster Posey, who caught the past three days and extended his hit streak to 11 games with a double and homer, which sailed over the brick wall in right field, a mighty feat for a right-handed batter - he'd never done it before, even in batting practice.
In the 11 games, he's hitting .488 with six homers and 16 RBIs. Perhaps it's not a coincidence the Giants have won nine of 10 and 10 of 12.
"He's been huge. Great, obviously," said Cain, who won for the first time since June 13. "He sparks everybody, doing a great job of really taking over a staff."
What does Posey take more pride in, his hitting or catching? "Probably the catching," he said. "If I don't catch a good game, there's a good chance we're not going to win."
Giants pitchers finished the first half leading the National League in walks issued with 362. In the first three games of the second half, they've issued exactly five, one by Cain, whose only hiccup was a seventh-inning homer he yielded to rookie Ike Davis, who homered again off Santiago Casilla in the ninth.
With Mets at the corners and two outs, Bochy summoned closer Brian Wilson, who struck out Angel Pagan for his 25th save.
After squeaking out 2-0 and 1-0 wins, the Giants broke out Saturday and led 6-0 by the third inning, thanks to Andres Torres' three-run homer and Posey's solo shot.
Pablo Sandoval and Juan Uribe had encouraging evenings at the plate, each collecting three hits. Sandoval smacked two singles right-handed, his troubled side in the first half, and a two-run double left-handed.
Bochy had no problem starting Sandoval against a lefty, Hisanori Takahashi. The Giants were 9-12 in games started by lefties as recently as July 5. Now they've won five straight and face lefty Johan Santana today.
"I'm going to play," Sandoval said with a smile.
Bochy's and Righetti's meeting with the pitchers, held in Colorado on the last trip, seemed to have an effect.
"We can challenge these guys here a lot more," said Bochy, referring to the huge gaps at the Giants' yard.
Now it's Jonathan Sanchez's turn to try throwing a gem. More than others in the rotation, Sanchez has had control issues. Three Giants rank in the league's top eight in walks, led by Sanchez, who's tied for second. Lincecum and Zito are up there, too.
Davis' first homer snapped the Mets' 24-inning scoreless streak, their longest since July 24-28, 1992.
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