Chris Haft
MLB.com
Just a few hours after absorbing the decision in the Giants' 6-3 loss Sunday to the Atlanta Braves, Jonathan Sanchez boldly began warming up for his upcoming outing against the San Diego Padres.
Sanchez, whose next pitching assignment will be Friday night's series opener against the National League West leaders, predicted that the Giants would win all three games against the Padres, who are 7-1 against them this season.
"We're going to play San Diego now and we're going to beat them three times," said Sanchez, whose role as a starting pitcher affords him the luxury of looking past San Francisco's four-game series against the Chicago Cubs beginning Monday at AT&T Park. "If we get to first place, we're not going to look back."
Sanchez, who also guaranteed that the Giants will reach the postseason, dismissed San Diego's dominance over them, which the Padres exercised in April and May.
"That was a long time ago," said Sanchez, who no-hit San Diego on July 10, 2009. "It doesn't matter. We have a better team now."
That seemed debatable in the wake of the Giants' 2-4 record on their two-city trip, which concluded with three defeats in four games against National League East-leading Atlanta. The Braves improved to 15-1 in home day games as five pitchers limited San Francisco to one hit in 10 at-bats with runners in scoring position. The Giants grounded into two double plays, hiking their league lead to 112, and lined into another.
"This game, we wanted bad," manager Bruce Bochy said, noting that the Giants would have finished a respectable 3-3 on the trip with a victory Sunday. "We came in here against a team playing well and pitching well. We knew it would be a tough series with close games."
Fortunately for the Giants, since San Diego has been struggling just as much, they trail the Padres by two games, matching the gap that separated the teams last Monday.
"We're disappointed that the trip didn't go better, but I think overall we're sitting OK," Bochy said.
So by itself, this wasn't a wholly lost week for the Giants, though it represented a lost opportunity to climb into a tie for the division lead or even claim it.
Sunday, the Giants fell behind after Sanchez (8-7) yielded three second-inning runs, including two on David Ross' first home run of the season. Coming off six impressive shutout innings last Tuesday at Colorado, Sanchez surrendered four runs in four innings, though Atlanta manager Bobby Cox rested regulars Chipper Jones, Jason Heyward and Brian McCann.
"I had my best stuff. I just couldn't make good pitches," Sanchez said. That might sound paradoxical, though Sanchez's three walks, including one to opposing pitcher Derek Lowe that set up Atlanta's final run in the second inning, reflected the left-hander's inability to harness his energy.
They're recognizing the disadvantage of employing a 13-man pitching staff. It leaves San Francisco with only four position players on the bench, often a short supply. This forces Bochy to make awkward moves such as using pitcher Matt Cain as a pinch-hitter in Sunday's fifth inning.
Bochy also indicated that he wants to rest slumping hitters such as second baseman Freddy Sanchez, who's hitting .226 (19-for-84) in his last 20 games. But the Giants' lack of depth makes this difficult to execute.
"Brian and I are going to talk about it," Bochy said, referring to general manager Brian Sabean.
Bochy delivered a similar response when asked about the Giants' perceived need for another qualified hitter. It's an issue that gained relevance on this trip, as the Giants scored only 19 runs -- including 10 in one game and three or fewer in the other five.
Bochy reiterated that his players control their fate, which will be easier to remember when the Padres arrive.
"It's in our hands," Bochy said. "You don't get caught up in what anybody else is doing. I think that takes away from your focus of what we need to do."
It sounded as if Sanchez already has begun to sharpen his focus.
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