Giants give Lincecum no support vs. Nats

Chris Haft
MLB.com

WASHINGTON -- Unlike most cliches, the one Bruce Bochy used Friday to describe the Giants' ongoing woes didn't sound tired. Given the Giants' confounding offensive struggles and fading status as World Series champions, the manager's words instead were packed with urgency.

"Hitting is contagious, and so is not hitting," Bochy said after the Giants' 3-0 loss to the Washington Nationals. "Right now we have a serious virus in the lineup."

The malady is so widespread that making a couple of lineup changes or shuffling the batting order isn't guaranteed to have much impact. As Bochy pointed out, moving center fielder Aaron Rowand, one of the Giants' few competent hitters, into a run-producing slot is self-defeating. Because who would reach base to create run-scoring opportunities?

Statistics illustrating the Giants' problems abound. They've posted a .208 batting average (54-for-260) while losing six of their last eight games. They've averaged 2.4 runs per game in this stretch and rank 14th in scoring among National League clubs. They haven't homered in 43 innings, dating back to Buster Posey's long ball in last Sunday's series finale against Atlanta.

Nevertheless, Bochy knew he can't sit idly.

"We'll probably tweak the lineup a little bit," he said after Washington's Jason Marquis recorded his first shutout since June 30, 2009, with a five-hitter and bested luckless Tim Lincecum, who pitched seven capable innings.

Bochy's likely to start by dropping No. 3 hitter Aubrey Huff in the order. Huff is batting .202, including .154 (10-for-65) with 12 strikeouts against right-handed pitching. This is the same Huff that led the World Series-winning Giants in numerous offensive categories last year.

"We've got a lot of guys who are frustrated right now," Bochy said. Asked if Huff tops that list, Bochy responded affirmatively. "He puts a lot on his shoulders. He has to back off a little bit. Sometimes less is more."

That described the Giants' performance against Marquis (3-0), who's a decent but not elite pitcher. They could not coax a single walk from the right-hander, who permitted just two runners to reach scoring position.

"We're up there waling at first-pitch sliders and trying to do too much instead of making him work and getting his pitch count up," right fielder Cody Ross said.

Ross said that he and the other Giants constantly discuss the proper strategies to use against opposing pitchers. But, he added, "you can only talk so much. You have to go out and do it."

Pitching without an offense doomed Lincecum (2-3) to possess a losing record for the first time since he lost his first decision in 2009. He followed by winning his next six decisions.

Lincecum demonstrated excellent command while walking none and striking out seven in seven innings. But the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner maintained his perfectionist attitude.

"I threw too many strikes with two-strike counts," Lincecum said. "I gave them too many good pitches to hit when I got ahead."

This occurred in the second inning, when Laynce Nix walloped a 1-2 changeup into the right-field seats for a two-run homer.

"It just started middle and stayed middle," Lincecum said of the fateful pitch. "If I would have maybe thrown off the black and made it fade away, it would have been a better pitch. I should have known better. He's a low-ball hitter. I should have buried it or thrown it off the plate."

Said a grateful Nix, "That was the first time I faced Tim and I was fortunate to get a pitch over the plate I could handle. He's a great pitcher, no question about that. He's got great stuff that is tough to pick up. He had good stuff tonight."

Nix's long ball followed a one-out double by Wilson Ramos, who hit a 3-2 pitch directly between Rowand and Ross. Rowand caught the ball but dropped it when he and Ross collided slightly.

"It hit both of our gloves," Rowand said. "I had my glove on top. It was in my glove and when our bodies hit each other, it knocked the ball out. It was one of those in-between balls. There's nothing you could do about it."

The same could have been said about Marquis' fifth-inning RBI single. Ian Desmond singled leading off, stole second base and came home on Marquis' improbable hit -- a line drive to right field that he produced by hacking at a shoulder-high 0-2 pitch.

"I don't know how he put the bat on it. More power to him, I guess," Lincecum said. "Give him credit. He's a good hitter, and he has a good eye, especially for a pitcher. I wanted to [pitch high] and I think it just found his bat."

The Giants are longing for that kind of happy coincidence.

Box Score

San Francisco Giants beat Pittsburgh Pirates as Ryan Vogelsong wins first MLB start in almost seven years

Andrew Baggarly
Mercury News

PITTSBURGH -- A lot can happen in 2,412 days.

You can start a family. Spend three years in Japan. Watch your former teammates become coaches. Wake up one day and realize you're in Venezuela, trying to restart a career.

You can lose belief in yourself over time, too. But Ryan Vogelsong didn't allow that to happen. And on a surprisingly sunny afternoon at PNC Park, he became a major league winner once more.

"There was a sense of accomplishment for me before the first pitch," said Vogelsong, who worked effectively for 52/3 innings while leading the Giants to a 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday.

"Absolutely, thousands of times I wondered if I'd ever pitch in the big leagues again, let alone be the starter and win the game."

Vogelsong had made two relief appearances as a Giant after his April 17 promotion, but he hadn't started a big league game since Sept. 29, 2004. He overcame jitters, established his curveball and tied his career high with eight strikeouts to delight a cheering section that included his wife, Nicole, and her extended, Pittsburgh-based family.

His 2,412-day gap between victories as a starter was the longest by a big leaguer since Brian Tallet waited from 2002 (with the Cardinals) to 2009 (with the Blue Jays).

A 33-year-old former Giants prospect who was traded to Pittsburgh in 2001 for Jason Schmidt, Vogelsong wasn't on the radar screen when he showed up this spring as a nonroster invitee. But he quickly established himself as the top option for rotation insurance, which the Giants needed when Barry Zito sprained his foot.

"He opened eyes right away," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He could've easily made our club. "... He just looked very determined."

The Giants showed enough determination to win a road series despite going 2 for 24 with runners in scoring position in three games. It helped that the Pirates played their special brand of baseball, too, committing four errors to work manager Clint Hurdle into gum-chewing overdrive.

Pirates first baseman Lyle Overbay merited special mention for two glaring mistakes in the Giants' four-run third inning. Mike Fontenot started the rally with a leadoff single, breaking an 0 for 17 against right-handers this season, and he took off on a pitch to Eli Whiteside.

Overbay camped under a foul pop near the bag but had thoughts of doubling off Fontenot and turned his head before securing the ball. Whiteside received another life, and Jeff Karstens nicked his arm with a pitch.

Vogelsong followed with a sacrifice bunt, and Overbay tried for the force out at third base, but Fontenot beat the throw to load them up.

"Hey, speed has been a big part of this series," said Fontenot with a wink, although he didn't dare put himself in the same class with Tuesday's hero, Darren Ford.

"Oh, you mean the fastest man in the world?" he said.

It still took a clutch hit, and Rowand provided it, a two-run double down the left-field line. He also hit a run-scoring single in the seventh, accounting for the club's only two hits with runners in scoring position in the series.

"He's our hottest hitter," Bochy said. "He looks very determined to stay in there, be the everyday guy. We're lucky to have a guy like Rowand. Believe me, we think a lot of him."

Rowand and Pablo Sandoval could boast of their speed, too, after pulling off a delayed double-steal in the third that ended up with the Pirates throwing the ball away and Rowand dashing across the plate with an official theft of home.

Hurdle had intentionally walked Aubrey Huff with one out, presumably to set up the double play with Sandoval. But this isn't the same Panda who led the NL in double-play grounders last year.

Sandoval beat out the relay throw after hitting into a fielder's choice, allowing Vogelsong to score. Then Bochy put his runners in motion, hoping to put pressure on the Pirates' defense.

"When you're not swinging the bat, you try to think of ways to create runs," said Bochy, who ran Cody Ross into an out a day earlier. "Hopefully you execute, and the guys did a good job today."

Sandoval showed off his night-and-day improvement while making several sprawling stops at third base, too.

"It's awesome. I want to play every day like that," he said. "This one, we hustled. I think we won the game because of that."

Hustle and perseverance -- two related concepts.

Box Score

San Francisco Giants fail to support Madison Bumgarner, lose 2-0

Andrew Baggarly
Mercury News

PITTSBURGH -- The Giants made a good gambit in the field and a smart play on the basepaths, and they saw genuine progress from young left-hander Madison Bumgarner.

But without any hard contact, especially with runners on base, it's tough to beat even the perennial doormats of the league. The Giants barely touched right-hander James McDonald and four relievers in a 2-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates at near-empty PNC Park on Wednesday night.

McDonald entered with a super-sized 10.13 ERA. The Pirates hadn't shut out an opponent this season.

But Miguel Tejada grounded into a double play against closer Joel Hanrahan to end another meager night. In two games here, the Giants are 0 for 17 with runners in scoring position.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy seldom speaks in urgent tones during the 162-game marathon. He sure has an edge in his voice now.

"We're too good a club to get shut out like this," Bochy said. "Their guy did throw well, but we've got to find a way to get runs across the board.

"We've got to get these bats going. It's going to be critical for us, especially on this road trip."

Bochy insisted all spring that the Giants would score more runs and their lineup would be deeper than a year ago. But almost one month into the season, they are averaging 3.91 runs per game, down from 4.30 in 2010. Last year, they ranked three-hundredths of a run below the N.L. average. Now, only the Pirates and the San Diego Padres are scoring fewer runs per game.

The Giants managed six singles and four walks but advanced just one runner as far as third base.

"I don't know if they're trying too hard," Bochy said. "You get in these hitting funks, and for some reason they're tough to get out of."

Cody Ross could answer his manager's suspicion: Yes, absolutely.

"As a team, we're pressing," Ross said. "We're trying to do too much. We need to relax and take the base hits instead of the two-run home runs to get us back.

"It's a process. Certainly, we'll figure it out. Hopefully, tomorrow."

Ross took his own advice while shaking off his slow start, reaching base three times with a walk and two singles. Tejada reached base twice, and his strategic dancing off the bag led to a balk in the seventh inning. But Aaron Rowand struck out to strand him.

Bochy plans a few lineup changes for Thursday afternoon's series finale, but he has few silver bullets. He plans to add one more left-handed bat by resting Tejada in favor of Mike Fontenot -- although Fontenot is 0 for 17 against right-handed pitchers.

Bochy was most disappointed for Bumgarner. The Giants remained winless in his five outings, even though the 21-year-old left-hander didn't pitch poorly while posting his first quality start of the season (at least six innings, no more than three earned runs).

Bumgarner minimized a jam in the second inning, holding the Pirates to a run after they led off with three consecutive hits.

Neil Walker led off with an infield single that deflected off Bumgarner, Steve Pearce doubled on a belt-high fastball, and Chris Snyder blooped a single to center.

Walker scored, but Pearce didn't advance. He bought a clever fake in center field from Rowand, who held up his glove as if he were about to make a catch. The deke might have saved the Giants a run; if he had been at third, Pearce would have tried to score on Brandon Wood's fly out to medium right field.

Bumgarner escaped another jam in the fourth after Walker and Pearce led off with singles.

"He did a great job. He kept his poise out there," Bochy said. "He stayed out of that crooked number that has killed him. He could've kept going, too, but I had to hit for him.

"And two outs, nobody on, you know what? I would've let him hit."

Why not? The big kid from North Carolina is known to hit 'em far in batting practice.

Bumgarner said he tightened up a "loopy" slider, but mostly he tried to limit his focus to the next pitch. He regretted not being able to make the play on Walker's comebacker.

"I know they scored it a hit, but in my eyes, I should've made that play," Bumgarner said. "It seems those are scoring 100 percent of the time. I know that will change."

Box Score

Giants snap slide thanks to Ford's dash

Chris Haft MLB.com

PITTSBURGH -- Someday, Darren Ford will record his first Major League hit. Until then, the Giants will remain content to let him win games for them without wielding a bat.

All he needs is speed.

Ford added to his collection of greatest non-hits Tuesday as the Giants ended their four-game losing streak with a 3-2, 10-inning triumph over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The rookie's bold dash from third base on an infield out broke a 2-2 tie and enabled the Giants to capitalize on a squandered opportunity, if such a thing was possible.

Pinch-hitter Nate Schierholtz doubled leading off the 10th against Joel Hanrahan (0-1) on a ball that skipped past Matt Diaz in right field. Ford, who entered the game in the eighth inning as a pinch-runner and replaced Aaron Rowand in center field, tapped a bunt directly to charging Pirates first baseman Lyle Overbay, who threw out Schierholtz at third.

But that put the fleet Ford on base. Returning a runner to scoring position was imminent for the Giants. Indeed, Hanrahan unleashed a wild pick-off attempt that enabled Ford to hustle to third base.

With Pittsburgh's infielders moved in to cut off Ford at the plate, Freddy Sanchez rapped a grounder directly to second baseman Neil Walker, who threw to Overbay for the out. Ford broke for home as Walker released the ball. Overbay flung a low, rushed throw that darted past catcher Chris Snyder as Ford slid safely headfirst.

"That's the most impressive display of speed I've seen on a baseball field," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.

Ford initially didn't plan on running, but changed his mind in a millisecond.

"He just glanced at me and didn't stop me," Ford said, referring to Walker. "Once he just glanced at me and lobbed it over to first, I just took off and tried to let my God-given talents take over. ... As soon as he turned his head to look at first base to make the throw, I took off."

Ford likely would have scored even if Overbay had made an accurate throw.

"I saw the throw coming over the catcher's head. By that time, I was a sliding in," said Ford, whose left knee was freshly skinned. "I guess it was a situation where they didn't expect it. I bet next time they pay a little closer attention to me."

Said Overbay: "I heard everybody yelling, 'Four,' before I caught the ball, so it wasn't like I was surprised. Neil looked at him and stopped him and threw it to me. He took off as soon as he threw it. At least if I get it up the line, we have a shot. We have a chance anyway."

Warming up in the bullpen, Giants right-hander Brian Wilson believed Ford would stay put.

"He faked me out," said Wilson, who issued a walk but blanked the Pirates in the 10th for his sixth save. "He breaks for home, and I'm screaming, 'Get 'em, Fordy!'"

Like Wilson, Walker admitted that he thought Ford was frozen.

"I saw him, and he was stopped," Walker said. "I made the play at first, probably could have thrown the ball a little firmer, but the guy can run. That guy might be one of the fastest guys in the league. Aggressive? Yes. But out of the ordinary for him? Maybe not."

In fact, this wasn't at all extraordinary for Ford, who teammate Mike Fontenot has not-so-jokingly referred to as "the fastest man in America."

Last Sept. 1 in the eighth inning of a critical game against Colorado, Ford entered the lore of the 2010 championship season by stealing second base, darting to third on Ubaldo Jimenez's wild pitch and scoring the tiebreaking run on catcher Miguel Olivo's accompanying throwing error.

Third-base coach Tim Flannery pointed out that this season, on April 19, Ford stole second base in the seventh inning at Colorado and distracted reliever Franklin Morales, who yielded Aubrey Huff's two-run homer in a 6-3 Giants victory.

"He has another gear," Bochy said of Ford, who arrived from Triple-A Fresno when center fielder Andres Torres went on the disabled list. That also was evident in the eighth inning, when Ford caught up with Diaz's drive to deep right-center field.

Ford's success also stems from his impetuous nature. "There's no fear there," Bochy said.

That's partly why Bochy used Ford to run for Rowand after the latter singled to open the eighth. With the Giants trailing, 2-1, Ford sped to third on Sanchez's hit-and-run single, a bouncer through the left side that shortstop Ronny Cedeno vacated as he covered second base. One out later, Buster Posey's first-pitch sacrifice fly off right-hander Jose Veras scored Ford.

"It's not that [Rowand's] that slow," Bochy said. "It's that this guy [Ford] is that fast."

Ford breathed life into another Giants effort that appeared doomed. Their 0-for-11 futility with runners in scoring position wasted a decent performance by starter Matt Cain, who surrendered both Pittsburgh runs and four hits in six innings after rain delayed the game's start for 46 minutes.

"It prevented us from playing past midnight," Wilson said.
Box Score

SF Giants' bullpen stumbles in 10-inning loss

Ron Kroichick
SFGate/San Francisco Chroncile
Jeremy Affeldt had not surrendered a run in his previous six appearances. For Brian Wilson, it had been five. Sergio Romo hadn't allowed one in any of his nine appearances this season.

The Giants might have wobbled into Sunday's game, but it was hard to blame the bullpen.

So count the Giants as a bit stunned to see the way their latest loss unfolded. Affeldt allowed Jason Heyward's booming, go-ahead home run. Romo relinquished Dan Uggla's deflating, game-tying homer. And Wilson gave up the decisive 10th-inning runs.

It all added up to a 9-6 loss to Atlanta and a discouraging way to hit the road again. The Giants leave today on a 10-game trip, matching their longest journey of the season, and they will bring a season-long, four-game losing streak.

That's not exactly cause for panic in April, even if San Francisco (10-11) fell below .500 for the first time in 12 days. More troubling for manager Bruce Bochy was the way his team absorbed a three-game sweep against the Braves.

Much as Tim Lincecum launched his own demise with six walks Saturday, Giants pitchers issued seven walks Sunday. Four of those baserunners scored.

"Walks are killing us - there's no getting around it," Bochy said. "We're walking too many guys. We're hurting ourselves more than anything."

This time, Affeldt and starter Jonathan Sanchez inflicted the pain. Sanchez walked Martin Prado to lead off the game (he soon scored), and Affeldt, handed a 2-2 tie, committed an even bigger sin: He walked No. 8 batter Brandon Hicks, hitless on the young season, with one out in the seventh.

Affeldt also walked Prado with two outs. That meant Jason Heyward stepped to the plate with two runners on base, which became a big problem when Heyward crushed a hanging curveball halfway to Alameda.

The ball cleared the tall brick wall in right-center field, near the 421-foot sign. It was no cheapie, in other words.

"I blew it," Affeldt said. "The Braves are one of the most patient teams we've faced this year. They didn't chase too much."

The Giants nearly saved Affeldt. They rallied for four runs in the bottom of the inning, punctuated by Aaron Rowand's two-run double to left-center. The joint was jumping, as a capacity crowd of 42,295 sensed the Giants would salvage something from the weekend.

Not so fast.

Romo promptly offered Uggla a hanging slider in the eighth inning. That's a bad idea against any hitter, but Uggla has a history of hurting the Giants - 11 homers in 122 career at-bats before Sunday.

No. 12 sailed into the left-field seats, tied the game 6-6 and drained all the good vibes out of China Basin.

"Good hitters hit bad pitches," Romo said, succinctly.

Romo's misstep led to Wilson pitching more than one inning for the first time this season. That didn't seem like a problem when he rolled through the ninth, but Heyward and Chipper Jones opened the 10th with singles.

Wilson didn't mind walking Uggla to load the bases, and he moved to the brink of escape by striking out Freddie Freeman and getting pinch-hitter Eric Hinske to ground into a fielder's choice. But Nate McLouth's full-count single scored two runs and sent the Giants trudging toward the East Coast.

"We're not playing Giants baseball right now," Wilson said. "We're scuffling a little bit. We just need to get on a roll and remember the brand of ball we play."

Box Score

Giants notebook: Ross gives S.F. a boost with his play in right field

Alex Pavlovic
Mercury News

Ross gives Giants a boost with his play in right field

The Giants' early-season defense in right field has been the topic of much discussion, and even inspired an Aubrey Huff-shaped tape outline. But Cody Ross showed Saturday that any concerns might be a thing of the past.

When Atlanta's Eric Hinske tried to take second on a two-out hit into the right-field corner, Ross played the carom perfectly and threw out Hinske with a no-hop rocket to the second-base bag.

"The more and more you get out there, the more comfortable you get," said Ross, who was playing just his third game after coming off the disabled list. "This is one of the toughest outfields in all of baseball, but you try to play it the best you can."

Ross also picked up his first two hits and first RBI of the season.

Buster Posey was held out of the starting lineup for just the second time this season. "It was just time to get him a day," manager Bruce Bochy said.

Posey started a day game after a night game earlier in the week, against Colorado, and Bochy said the Giants "didn't want to do that again within a couple of days."

The Braves tested Posey's backup, Eli Whiteside, right away, attempting a steal after Martin Prado led off the game with a walk. Whiteside nailed Prado with a perfect throw to second. "I hadn't been out there in a while, and they know that," Whiteside said with a smile. "But I had fun."

When the Giants head to Pittsburgh this week for the beginning of a 10-game trip, injured veterans Andres Torres and Santiago Casilla won't be joining them.

Torres (left Achilles strain) and Casilla (inflamed right elbow) instead will go to the Giants' facility in Arizona to continue rehabbing and play in extended-spring-training games.

Bochy reiterated that Torres is a "ways away" from returning and said it was a "long shot" that he would rejoin the club during the trip. Torres, who is eligible to come off the disabled list Tuesday, will need to get at-bats in a minor league game before returning.

Ryan Vogelsong hasn't given up a run since being called up to replace Barry Zito (right midfoot sprain), and Bochy said he remains on schedule to get a start during the Giants' upcoming series in Pittsburgh.

Box Score

Bumgarner seeking answers after short outing

Chris Haft
MLB.com

SAN FRANCISCO -- To outsiders, Madison Bumgarner might seem to be enduring either a mere slump or an outright decline. To the Giants, the 21-year-old is experiencing the adversity most young Major Leaguers must weather before they mature.

Bumgarner's troubles continued Friday night. He matched the shortest start of his brief Giants career by lasting 2 2/3 innings in a 4-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves.

Bumgarner (0-3) unraveled in the third inning, when he yielded all of Atlanta's runs. This was nothing like his previous outing against the Braves, whom he limited to two runs in six innings while receiving the decision in the Giants' Division Series-clinching Game 4 victory last Oct. 11.

A noisy sellout crowd on the Giants' first Orange Friday of the season watched Bumgarner's ERA rise from 7.36 to 7.79. The left-hander has allowed 25 hits and 15 earned runs in 17 1/3 innings while walking 10 and striking out nine.

Skeptics will say that Bumgarner's skills have been eroded by pitching 213 1/3 innings last season, exceeding his previous career high by an astronomical 71 2/3 innings. Manager Bruce Bochy and pitching coach Dave Righetti have maintained that if fatigue resulting from the extended 2010 campaign were to strike Bumgarner or any Giants pitcher, it would happen later in the season, not this early.

Bochy maintained complete faith in Bumgarner.

"I'm not concerned about him," Bochy said. "He's had really good stuff. You have to remember where he's at. He's a young kid and he's probably pressing a little bit."

Nothing obvious appears to be ailing Bumgarner, whose impressive performance as a rookie (7-6 with a 3.00 ERA) helped propel San Francisco to last year's postseason.

"I felt like I had some of the best stuff I've had since I've been here," he insisted. "I've got some bad luck right now, I guess."

Partly, Bumgarner could be straddling the fine line between success and failure. Both walks he issued during Atlanta's uprising came on 3-2 pitches. Nate McLouth coaxed the first free pass after falling behind on the count 0-2.

"That kind of gets things rolling," Bochy said.

Bumgarner also was one strike away from ending the inning with just one run allowed when Chipper Jones ricocheted a 1-2 fastball off the right-field wall for a two-run double.

"It maybe could have been down but it wasn't too bad a pitch," Bumgarner said of the fateful delivery to Jones. "It was off the plate. We were trying to get away off the plate and he put a good swing on it, I guess."

Said Jones, "You need to take advantage of every single opportunity against that club because they're coming at you nonstop for nine innings. If you give them a break, they're going to capitalize."

Bumgarner also has realized that he must respond to hitters who learn his pitching style -- or, better yet, adapt before they do. He has been victimized by a big inning in each of his starts, reflecting opponents' increasing recognition of his traits. A three-run third at San Diego on April 5, a four-run fifth against Los Angeles on April 11 and a three-run second at Arizona last Sunday preceded his downfall against the Braves.

Seeking a solution, Bumgarner sought advice from veterans Jeremy Affeldt and Matt Cain after leaving Friday's game.

"One thing I wanted to encourage Bum with is that he's good; the league's making an adjustment to him and he's finding that out," Affeldt said. "Now he needs to make an adjustment back. The fact of the matter is, these are the best hitters in the world, so it's not going to come easily."

But Affeldt's confident that Bumgarner will find enlightenment.

"We all believe in him," Affeldt said. "We love him. He was part of our big run last year and he'll be fine. This team is going to get around him and help him. He's going to get a lot of encouragement, I'll tell you that."

Bumgarner expressed gratitude for the support.

"Knowing that they went through the same thing ... nobody said it was easy," Bumgarner said. "These are the best hitters in the world we're facing. It's just a learning experience and growing pains, I guess."

At the same time, Bumgarner doesn't want to overcompensate.

"I don't want to start changing stuff that doesn't need to be changed," he said. "It's tough to deal with. I'm taking it day by day and trying to stay upbeat and keep the same confidence, but it's tough."

Box Score

Troy Tulowitzki ignites Rockies past SF Giants

Henry Schulman
SFGate/San Francisco Chronicle

Sometimes a team needs to blow off steam. When the guy at the controls is as good as Troy Tulowitzki, that can mean a lot of steam.

Held hitless in the first two games of the series, Tulowitzki doubled twice and singled to launch all three scoring rallies in Colorado's 10-2 rout of the Giants on Wednesday. Matt Cain did not survive the fifth inning and allowed six runs in his first loss.

The Giants would have made a booming noise by sweeping the Rockies at Coors Field for the first time in nine years. As it was, they won their fourth consecutive series and completed a 4-2 trip.

Whether you play in the summer swelter of the Midwest or in Denver on a 47-degree afternoon, the name of the game is winning series.

"I feel that's what you have to do as a confident team, a good team," Cain said. "You have to think you're going to go in and take two out of three or three out of four every time."

The Giants' next series is a weekend cameo at home against Atlanta before they embark on a 10-game trip back east. The San Francisco fans will see Cody Ross, who went 0-for-4 in his 2011 debut Wednesday, but not Brandon Belt, who was optioned to Triple-A Fresno to clear a spot for Ross.

The open question is whether they will see Pablo Sandoval, the team's hottest hitter, who was scratched Wednesday with a strained right triceps. He said he first felt it on a first-inning throw Tuesday night and aggravated it during batting practice Wednesday.

Sandoval provided some good news to the medical staff. He feels no pain when he swings left-handed, his better side. Manager Bruce Bochy hopes Sandoval will start against right-hander Tommy Hanson on Friday night.

Wednesday's game was fairly settled in the second inning, when Tulowitzki doubled, Cain hit Todd Helton, Seth Smith hit an RBI single and Ty Wigginton slammed an inside fastball from Cain into the left-field seats for a three-run homer that produced as many runs as Cain had surrendered in his first three starts combined.

Wigginton's 1,000th career hit gave the Rockies a 4-1 lead that allowed starter Jorge De La Rosa to attack Giants hitters aggressively, just as Tim Lincecum and Jonathan Sanchez did with big leads in the first two games.

"He's got good stuff," Aaron Rowand said. "He lulls you to sleep with that real slow, methodical windup. Then he dumps a 96-mph fastball on you."

The Giants mustered five hits for the game, including a Rowand double and Buster Posey single that produced a fleeting 1-0 lead in the first inning.

The loss left the Giants 10-8, which might not look as shiny as Colorado's 13-5 but reflects a solid reversal for San Francisco after it started the year 1-4.

Before the game, Bochy noted how the Giants opened with four games in Los Angeles and two in San Diego that included some kooky game times. They then came home for a series against St. Louis that included all the distracting pomp of the banner raising and ring ceremony.

"They had a lot thrown at them," Bochy said. "They've done a great job bouncing back and winning games."

Box Score

Jonathan Sanchez, San Francisco Giants shut down Colorado Rockies again

Andrew Baggarly
Mercury News

DENVER -- Troy Tulowitzki entered this series as the scariest hitter in baseball, and the Colorado Rockies were the hottest team in either league.

The Giants were not intimidated last October. They aren't intimidated now.

Jonathan Sanchez picked up where Tim Lincecum left off a night earlier, one-hitting the Rockies into the seventh inning while neutralizing the potent heart of Colorado's lineup Tuesday night. Pablo Sandoval lit another first-inning fuse with a three-run homer as the Giants won 6-3 at Coors Field.

San Francisco handed the Rockies their first series loss of the season. Colorado (12-5) hadn't lost consecutive games, either. Through two games, Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez are 1 for 14 with no RBIs.

"That's just a testament to our pitching," said Aubrey Huff, who added a two-run homer in the seventh. "Everybody saw it in the playoffs. It's no accident what they did. Our guys are dirty. They feed off each other, one guy following another.

"And it doesn't end here. We've got (Matt) Cain, our horse, tomorrow. I'm telling you, I wouldn't want to face these guys."

Against the best, hottest, most cringe-inducing hitters, the Giants pitchers seem to shine brightest. They did it to Josh Hamilton in the World Series. They snuffed out Ryan Howard and Chase Utley in the NLCS. Jason Heyward, so brilliant as a rookie for the Atlanta Braves last season, had one hit in four N.L. division series games.

Sanchez didn't follow Lincecum in the rotation until the postseason. He's having a heck of a good time with it now.

"It's awesome," said Sanchez, who might have taken his own no-hitter into the seventh if right fielder Nate Schierholtz had been able to hold onto Dexter Fowler's deep drive leading off the game. "When you see Timmy go seven or eight innings, you want to do the same thing. Just don't give up."

Sanchez entered the game leading the N.L. with 13 strikeouts per nine innings. That rate took a hit when he struck out just four while lasting into the seventh, but he managed to keep the Rockies at bay despite lacking the best action on his slider.

"Get ahead and use breaking balls," said Sanchez when asked about his game plan. "I threw a lot of fastballs. You could see they were swinging at some bad pitches. That's to our advantage."

Tulowitzki, who grew up in Sunnyvale, entered the series leading the N.L. in home runs and slugging percentage. Thanks to the Giants' first-inning explosions each of the last two games, it's been a lot easier for Lincecum and Sanchez to pitch aggressively to him.

In addition to carrying over that strong pitching from last October, it's clear the Giants have a lot more going for them on the offensive side. In five games on this trip they've powered their way to 14 runs in the first inning.

Sandoval, who has two three-run homers in the first inning on the trip, is responsible for nearly half the goods in that horn of plenty. Facing hard-throwing Ubaldo Jimenez, he stayed back on a 1-2 slider, and with a slashing swing, he launched it into the second deck beyond the Rockies bullpen.

Sandoval's fifth home run came in his 55th at-bat. Last year, it took him 242 at-bats before he hit his fifth homer (on June 12).

"Especially left-handed, I've got the confidence to get deep in the count," Sandoval said. "With two strikes, you want to fight and get a pitch to hit."

Said Jimenez: "He's aggressive and patient at the same time now."

The Giants might have won with pitching last year, but they're a heavy lumber squad thus far, too. They've outhomered the Rockies 5-0 in two games. Their 22 home runs are second to the Cincinnati Reds (with 24) among N.L. clubs.

"I think you'll see more of this," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "Maybe not always in the first inning, but we're a better offensive club than we were last year. We've got guys who weren't with us all last season."

Including Sandoval, in a sense. He hit .208 with runners in scoring position last year. He's 5 for 12 thus far.

There have been times the Rockies have gotten into the Giants' heads, especially at Coors Field. A 15-inning loss last July 4 comes to mind. There was the Ryan Spilborghs grand slam game that helped knock the Giants from contention in 2009, too.

So it's never a bad thing to walk into Coors Field and give the Rockies something to think about.

"You can't let that club get out in front of you like this," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. "Not with their pitching. That's a huge mountain to climb."

Said Spilborghs: "The frustrating thing is that we weren't able to punch them back in the mouth. We weren't lifeless. We were grinding. We just couldn't get it done."

The Giants hope to complete the sweep behind Cain. They'd like to do it quickly, too, and enjoy an early arrival back home.

"Big Daddy Cain," closer Brian Wilson said with a smirk. "We're fortunate to have him going on a travel day."

Box Score

Lincecum superb behind offensive outburst

Chris Haft
MLB.com

DENVER -- The anticipated theme of the Giants' series opener against the Colorado Rockies seemed familiar, with the reigning champion facing the talented upstart.

That storyline was immediately replaced by the Giants' dominance.

But ultimately, San Francisco's 8-1 triumph Monday proved to be all about Tim Lincecum, as is so often the case when he performs.

Lincecum, who has met numerous standards of pitching excellence, approached another one by sustaining a no-hitter for 6 1/3 innings. Carlos Gonzalez's clean single to right field ended that drama. But Lincecum carried on, allowing Colorado's lone run and three hits in 7 2/3 innings. Meanwhile, San Francisco won its fifth game in six tries to trim the Rockies' National League West lead to three games and dent their image of invincibility.

"They're a hot team coming into this series," Lincecum said. "Hopefully the fact that we're smacking the ball around well and pitching well will kind of make them a little bit more inferior to us, I guess."

Virtually any ballclub can look subdued against Lincecum (2-1), who also struck out 10 Rockies. It was his 28th double-digit strikeout performance, tying him with Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson for the most in franchise history.

"He's always good, but tonight was some of his best stuff that I've seen," Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said.

Lincecum praised catcher Buster Posey's collaboration with him.

"I didn't shake him off at all," Lincecum said. "We were just sticking to the game plan of speed 'em up, slow 'em down, speed 'em up, slow 'em down."

Gonzalez came the closest to managing a hit when he smacked a sharp grounder to the right side with two outs in the first inning. Giants second baseman Freddy Sanchez, who also contributed offensively with a second-inning homer, dove to snare the ball and came up throwing to record the out at first base.

Other mildly close calls occurred in the first inning, when Jonathan Herrera tapped a grounder to first base and nearly slid under Aubrey Huff's tag, and in the third, when shortstop Miguel Tejada caught a popup in left-center field that he, left fielder Pat Burrell and center fielder Aaron Rowand had trouble locating in the leaden sky.

Lincecum, the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner, had taken a no-hitter through six innings just once in his career: July 9, 2009, against San Diego. Hoping to further Lincecum's effort, manager Bruce Bochy bolstered the Giants' defense in the seventh inning by installing Brandon Belt at first base and Darren Ford in center field while moving Rowand to left.

"I'd be lying if I didn't think [no-hitter]," Bochy said. "The stuff [Lincecum] was throwing, sure. At that point, we were getting superstitious and not saying anything."

Lincecum entered the seventh inning having thrown just 70 pitches.

"I really wasn't thinking about it up until that inning," Lincecum said. "I was just trying to throw strikes."

Luck appeared to be on his side when Herrera connected solidly on a drive to right field that Nate Schierholtz caught in front of the warning track. Suddenly, batted balls weren't flying out of Coors Field. This seemed to bode well for Lincecum.

Then Gonzalez rapped a 3-1 changeup, ending Lincecum's bid to become the 14th pitcher in franchise history to fashion a no-hitter.

"I was just expecting that pitch," Gonzalez said.

Still, the outcome remained lopsided. Bochy dismissed the notion that his defending World Series winners needed to assert themselves against the Rockies.

"It wasn't about sending a message or anything," he said. "It was about going out there and playing well."

Players differed, however.

"It was certainly important for us to come in and set the tone," Burrell said.

Referring to the deficit in the standings that the Giants would have faced had Colorado swept them in this series, Huff said, "It's tough to come back when you're behind seven [games]."

Immediately, the imbalance was shocking as the Giants scored a season-high five runs in the first inning and roared to an 8-0 lead through three innings. Burrell and Schierholtz delivered back-to-back homers off Rockies starter Esmil Rogers (2-1) in the first inning, each bearing significant impact.

Burrell's was a three-run drive with two outs.

"I haven't gotten a hit with anybody on base all year," said Burrell, who actually was 1-for-15 in those situations.

Schierholtz reached the right-field upper deck, marking the 31st time a player had planted a ball in that area. He became the only Giant to earn this distinction besides Barry Bonds, who did it twice. It highlighted a three-hit evening for Schierholtz, who added a third-inning RBI single in his second start of the season.

"It's not the easiest job in the world," Schierholtz said of his part-time status, "but you take whatever playing time you get and know your role."

Even such a commanding lead can be tenuous at hitter-friendly Coors Field. But not with Lincecum on the mound.

Box Score

San Francisco Giants lose to Arizona Diamondbacks in 12 innings

Andrew Baggarly
Mercury News

PHOENIX -- It's time for the Giants to step up their game, and they know it.

No more bobbles on the infield. No more long, hopeless sprints for their lumbering outfielders. No more charity.

The Giants traveled to Denver after a 6-5, 12-inning loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday afternoon, hoping to cling to a Colorado Rockies club that has a 12-3 record, a four-game lead in the National League West and a freight train of momentum.

"We know they're playing well," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "And we're not playing our best ball. We're still making mistakes, but we're winning series, and that's what's important."

They can't hope for the same result if they give extra outs to the Rockies. So it is important that the Giants eliminate mistakes such as the dropped throw by shortstop Miguel Tejada that led to Arizona's tying run in the eighth inning.

The Diamondbacks won it when a tiring Dan Runzler issued two walks in the 12th and Stephen Drew singled through the right side against Javier Lopez.

But the real lapse came four innings earlier when Tejada tried to tag Xavier Nady before the ball arrived from catcher Buster Posey on a two-out steal attempt. (Nady was credited with a stolen base). Jeremy Affeldt gave up two well-placed ground-ball singles as Arizona tied the score.

The mistake took away a victory for Madison Bumgarner, who settled down after Arizona's three-run uprising in the third and lasted into the seventh. It also made it tough for the Giants to enjoy their power-packed rally in the sixth, when Posey and Pablo Sandoval hit back-to-back home runs to put them ahead.

"We don't accept it," said Bochy, asked about the impact of defensive mistakes in most of their losses. "We know with Cody (Ross) and (Andres) Torres out, we may not have quite the speed in the outfield. But we don't accept that we'll give up a game on an error."

It's the Giants' good fortune that they have their top three starters -- Tim Lincecum, Jonathan Sanchez and Matt Cain -- lined up to pitch at Coors Field. The back end of the rotation had become a concern, with Bumgarner's inability to avoid the big inning and Barry Zito's sagging velocity. Ryan Vogelsong will replace Zito in the rotation after the left-hander was placed on the disabled list with a midfoot sprain.

At least Bumgarner ended his afternoon on an upswing as he retired seven of the final eight batters he faced. The 21-year-old left-hander acknowledged he was in need of a confidence boost.

"I felt today was a huge step forward for me from where I'd been," said Bumgarner, who gave up a two-run triple to Drew in the third. "I started to believe in myself a little more. That's what I'd been lacking."

Bochy sensed as much. That's why he kept Bumgarner in the game after Justin Upton hit a rocket for a home run in the fifth that put Arizona up 4-1.

"He's a strong kid, tough-minded," Bochy said. "I wanted him to get this under his belt because we'll need him to get going for us. When you give up runs in a couple starts, maybe you start thinking about it. So I thought this was a big outing for him."

It wasn't a great day for Pat Burrell, whose average stands at .190 after going 0 for 3 with two strikeouts. Burrell, Brandon Belt and Tejada -- the Nos. 6-8 hitters -- combined to go 0 for 12 with six strikeouts.

Two or three guys had rough days today," Bochy said.

It's possible the Giants have seen enough to realize Belt needs more seasoning at Triple-A Fresno. With Ross expected to be activated within a day or two, they could decide to keep backup outfielder Darren Ford a little longer and send down Belt instead.

Belt said he knows his window to prove he deserves to stay is shrinking.

"Hopefully I put it together sooner rather than later," he said. "It's hard to put that out of your mind. I just need to have more quality at-bats, get the confidence up and get stuff to start falling into place."

The Giants also would like to keep the Rockies from cementing their place atop the division.

"If they stay that hot all year, good for them," said Aubrey Huff, who hit his first home run of the season. "They're playing great ball. Hopefully we can go in there and slow them down a little bit."

Box Score

SF Giants top D'backs 5-3; Zito leaves with injury

Henry Schulman SFGate/San Francisco Chronicle

Phoenix - -- Bruce Bochy is reaching the age at which blowing out the candles on his birthday cake is like trying to extinguish the Chicago fire. How fitting that the Giants' oldest player made the manager's 56th birthday a happy one.

The story of Saturday night's 5-3 victory against Arizona, the Giants' fourth straight win, goes beyond Freddy Sanchez's game-tying double in the sixth inning and his two-run go-ahead single in the seventh.

Even the five double plays that the Giants grounded into in consecutive innings faded to the background as 37-year-old reliever Guillermo Mota relieved an injured Barry Zito in the second inning and carried the Giants through the sixth with the longest of his 672 career appearances, 4 1/3 innings.

Mota, Jeremy Affeldt, Sergio Romo and Brian Wilson pitched 7 1/3 innings of one-run ball after Zito sprained his right foot, jeopardizing his career distinction of not missing a start due to injury.

"Hats off to Guillermo Mota," said Mark DeRosa, who contributed a single to the winning rally. "He was the player of the game, no doubt."

Affeldt shot a glance at Mota and said, "Look at him. He's 80 years old," but the lefty acknowledged that Mota provided a lift that went far beyond Saturday's win.

"I didn't see that coming," Affeldt said. "He saved us for tomorrow. We've got a big series coming up in Colorado. Hopefully now we won't be burnt."

Before the Giants go for the sweep today, Zito will have an MRI taken of his right foot. X-rays taken Saturday night were negative, but the foot was swollen as he hobbled out of the clubhouse on crutches.

Zito had just surrendered a two-run double to Miguel Montero, which negated a two-run homer by Buster Posey in the first inning, and a single to Melvin Mora when D'backs starter Joe Saunders popped a bunt between the mound and plate. Zito lunged for the ball and caught it, but he landed oddly on his right foot with his first step.

He threw one more pitch before Posey went to the mound, followed by Bochy and head trainer Dave Groeschner. One practice throw later, Zito was done.

Zito has made 356 big-league starts. His streak will end if he goes on the disabled list. Then again, he pitched in Los Angeles four days after he hurt his neck in an auto accident.

"The way it felt, my foot was pretty painful," Zito said. "I couldn't throw the next pitch. But there are incredible things that can happen. I was able to recover from the accident. We'll see what the MRI shows and take it day by day."

The Giants won despite double-play grounders by DeRosa, Sanchez, Posey, Pablo Sandoval and Miguel Tejada in innings two through six. The Giants did tie it 3-3 before Tejada's double play when Aaron Rowand singled, one of his three hits, and Sanchez lined a double into the left-field corner.

With all the double plays, some managers might have been tempted to have Sanchez bunt, but not Bochy.

"I didn't swing the bat well my first two at-bats," Sanchez said. "He showed faith in me. He wanted me to swing that bat, which is all I wanted to do."

His two-run single through the hole in the seventh got a win for Mota, who said he was not tired after 50 pitches and would have gone out to face right-hander Xavier Nady in the seventh had he not been removed for a pinch-hitter.

"He's probably going to be in here tomorrow asking to start," Bochy said.

Box Score

Sandoval's homer all that strong Cain needs

Barry M. Bloom MLB.com

PHOENIX -- For much of his career, Matt Cain hasn't been accustomed to the Giants giving him many runs. So he must have been in seventh heaven Friday night when Pablo Sandoval staked him to a lead with a three-run homer in the first inning.

"That definitely felt good," Cain said after earning his second win of the season in a 5-2 Giants victory over the D-backs at Chase Field. "You definitely want to go out there and give them a shutdown inning and keep the momentum on our side."

Cain gave the Giants six shutdown innings, leaving with runners on first and second and none out in the seventh. In the end, he allowed only four hits and a single run, continuing a hot streak that began last postseason as the Giants won the World Series for the first time since 1954.

The victory was the third in a row for the Giants and sixth in their last eight games after opening 1-4, keeping them four games behind the rampaging 11-2 first-place Rockies in the National League West.

With Tim Lincecum and his two NL Cy Young Awards to his credit, Cain may not even be the best pitcher on his own team. But at 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA, he may be among the top pitchers in the Major Leagues.

"He's up there at the top," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "I don't know what number I'd put him at, but he's one of the best pitchers in the game. That's how I feel about him. You look at his ability. He's one of the elite guys in the game."

Cain walked two, whiffed three, hit a batter and threw 102 pitches. The D-backs had only three runners as far as second base through the first six innings, but Cain was pulled after allowing Stephen Drew's bloop double and hitting Melvin Mora to open the seventh. Drew scored the D-backs' first run on Willie Bloomquist's sacrifice fly later in the inning.

Cain is 7-4 lifetime and 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA against Arizona in his last four starts, dating back to the beginning of the 2010 season.

"[Cain] throws at least three pitches, throws them in any count," D-backs manager Kirk Gibson said. "He'll throw any pitch at any time; he's very unpredictable. He knows he can pitch, he knows he's good and he comes right after you. He has good stuff. We're not the only guys he beats up on, I'll tell you that right now."

Just ask the Braves, Phillies and Rangers -- the three teams the Giants defeated in the playoffs last year to win it all. Cain went 21 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run, the sixth-longest such streak in Major League history. He was 2-0 with a gaudy 0.00 ERA in his three starts, one against each team.

Talk about holdovers: In his three starts this season, he's allowed three earned runs and nine hits over the course of 19 innings. Success breeds success, as the old saying goes.

"I feel that way," Cain said. "I definitely go back to some of that stuff in the postseason where I mentally was and try to use that to my advantage."

That's why when the resurgent Sandoval launched his third homer of the season -- a three-run shot -- into the right-center-field pool area off starter and loser Daniel Hudson, Cain wasn't about to let the D-backs off the hook. After a down year and an offseason of weight loss and working himself back into shape, Sandoval is humming along at a .356 clip with nine RBIs.

He's the best thing to happen to the Giants' offense since Cody Ross was plucked from the Marlins off waivers this past August.

"I just tried to relax at home plate and get a good pitch to hit," Sandoval said. "Matt is one of those guys who has been throwing the ball well. He's been working hard. When he's pitching and you give him a lead like that in the early innings, you know things are going to work out well for us."

They couldn't have worked any better Friday night. Sandoval provided the runs and the power; Cain kept the D-backs completely off balance.

That doesn't mean any of it is going to go to Cain's head. The 26-year-old right-hander downplayed his manager's comments. An elite pitcher?

"No, I don't even think about things like that," he said. "I just try to get guys out."

Box Score

Two-homer inning lifts Giants past Dodgers

Chris Haft MLB.com

SAN FRANCISCO -- If the Giants' initial homestand was any indication, get ready for another wild ride this season.

The reigning World Series champions entertained six sellout crowds by coming from behind in all four of their victories and securing each by one-run margins. Controversy joined the mix Wednesday as Buster Posey was hit twice by pitches before the Giants outlasted the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-3, on sixth-inning home runs by Pablo Sandoval and Mike Fontenot.

San Francisco recovered from its season-opening 2-4 trip to Los Angeles and San Diego by winning both home series, two games to one, against the Cardinals and Dodgers. During this span, closer Brian Wilson regained his form and San Francisco climbed back to .500 (6-6), bolstering the Giants as they approach a stretch that features 16 road games in 19 dates.

Wilson retraced the almost inevitable path toward success that the Giants frequently take at AT&T Park.

"We've been playing one-run games since I've been here," said Wilson, who pitched a perfect ninth inning to save his second game in a row. "We're well-versed in the manner. The bullpen knows what it needs to do. That guy hands the ball off to the next guy. The starters know what they're capable of doing, and the hitters don't panic, because the other team has to beat us. It doesn't matter if we're down or not. Our crowd dictates the way we play and the way we feel, and they're on their feet cheering. There's a roar in the crowd and an extra energy that helps us lift each other up and eventually take the lead."

This time, the Giants forged ahead with an unlikely one-two punch. Swinging right-handed against Dodgers left-hander Ted Lilly with the Giants trailing, 3-2, Sandoval drove an 0-2 pitch into the left-field seats to tie the score with one out in the sixth. This was a welcome development for the Giants and Sandoval, the switch-hitter whose lone right-handed homer in 155 plate appearances last year came against Philadelphia's Cole Hamels on Aug. 19.

"I've been working hard from that side, in Spring Training, the offseason and right now," Sandoval said.

One out later, Fontenot drove Lilly's first-pitch fastball onto the right-field arcade for his first home run as a Giant -- and his first since last May 7 as a member of the Chicago Cubs. It handed the decision to Jonathan Sanchez (1-1), who struck out nine in six innings.

Fontenot, starting his second game of the season, was a late replacement for Mark DeRosa, who was scratched from the lineup with a sore left wrist. DeRosa himself was due to give sore-shouldered Freddy Sanchez a rest at second base, but felt discomfort in his wrist about 10 minutes before the game while taking extra swings in the batting cage adjacent to the Giants' dugout.

"It probably won us the game," DeRosa said of his disappearance from the lineup. "We got Mikey Fontenot in there. I'm always thinking."

Fontenot, hitless in nine at-bats entering the game, seized upon this windfall of activity. He lined a second-inning RBI double before homering.

"I was wondering if all the starting pitchers were going to get a hit before I was," Fontenot said.

Posey got hit, period, as Lilly struck him on the left arm in the first inning and in the side during the third inning. The second grazing prompted a conference among the umpires, who warned the Giants against retaliating and the Dodgers against perpetuating any hostility.

Lilly (0-2) insisted that he needed to pitch inside to Posey, who entered the game 3-for-7 with two homers off him. But Lilly emphasized that he wasn't trying to hit last season's National League Rookie of the Year.

"I think he's one of the better hitters in the league hitting balls over the plate and going the other way," Lilly said. "For me, I've got to stay hard in. I've missed over the plate before and he's hit me plenty hard. If I miss on him, that's [inside] where I want to go."

Posey reacted calmly.

"It is what it is," he said. "The way I've been taught to play the game, when you get hit, you go to first base."

Asked whether he felt being hit twice by pitches was unusual, Posey coyly replied, "I think so. Wouldn't you?"

Manager Bruce Bochy was visibly upset over the abuse Posey absorbed.

"It's obvious we weren't real happy about it," Bochy said.

Asked whether he assumed that the Dodgers were retaIiating for Tim Lincecum hitting Juan Uribe twice already this season, Bochy replied, "I don't assume that. Why would I assume that when Juan gets hit with a 2-2 pitch with the game on the line? Hopefully that's not what they're doing."

This drama will be continued May 17-18 in Los Angeles, when the Giants and Dodgers next meet.

Box Score

Giants rally to defeat Dodgers

Carl Steward
MercuryNews

The Beard is back, and it wasn't alone.

Closer Brian Wilson capped a night of multiple heroics by striking out the side in the ninth inning for his first save of the season as the Giants rallied from a 3-0 deficit and gritted out a 5-4 victory over the Dodgers at AT&T Park on Tuesday night.

The Giants have already had some stirring comebacks in 2011 despite their 5-6 record, but this may have been their best and toughest on a night when their ace, Tim Lincecum, didn't have his usual command.

Fortunately, the bullpen did. Guillermo Mota, Jeremy Affeldt, Sergio Romo and Wilson gave up just two hits and one run over the final 32/3 innings to allow the Giants' offense to post the necessary runs to win, and Wilson then delivered the kind of exclamation point the Giants have been looking for these first two weeks of the season.

"We needed something like that," said outfielder Pat Burrell. "It felt like last year, and that's a good thing, especially with Weez coming in and dominating like he did. We need to get back to being the team where everybody pitches in."

To be sure, it was a night of many heroes. Buster Posey snapped out of his early-season doldrums with three hits, including a pair of two-out RBI singles. Aaron Rowand continued his offensive resurrection with an RBI single and seventh-inning triple that ultimately delivered the winning run. Even struggling rookie Brandon Belt was involved in a key rally that helped overcome the early deficit against the Giants' notorious nemesis, Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley.

But at least symbolically, although Mota probably saved the game by getting out of a sixth-inning jam after Lincecum departed with one out and the bases loaded, the sight of Wilson stalking to the mound and blowing the Dodgers away was the defining moment of an important night.

"He looks like he's back where he needs to be," said manager Bruce Bochy. "For the psyche of the club, that was huge."

Pablo Sandoval said, "It was exciting to watch. That was the Wilson we know."

It wasn't the Lincecum everybody knows, but to win on a night when their ace didn't really have his control was significant. Lincecum attested to that.

"To come back from the deficit we were in says a lot about us," Lincecum said. "It says we're ready to go. This lifts you up more than a game when you're just coasting and winning 8-0."

The game began as though it would be a low-scoring pitching duel between Lincecum and Billingsley. Both pitchers faced the minimum over the first three innings, Lincecum allowing no hits while striking out three, and Billingsley allowing a single to Miguel Tejada, who was quickly erased on a strikeout/caught stealing double play.

But both starters struggled to get through the fourth, Lincecum surrendered three runs on four hits and an error, and Billingsley allowed two runs in the bottom half on Posey and Sandoval RBI hits.

The Giants then took the lead in the fifth on run-scoring singles by Rowand and Posey.

The Dodgers finally chased Lincecum in the sixth. After Lincecum made a great play from his knees to throw out Ethier for the first out, Matt Kemp and James Loney singled, then Lincecum hit Juan Uribe with his 115th and final pitch of the night. But Mota came in from the bullpen to end the threat, striking out Rod Barajas and getting Aaron Miles on a popup to third.

"Mota saved us tonight," said Bochy. "What a job he did coming in and getting those two big outs."

Box Score

Defense doesn't help Bumgarner's cause

Chris Haft
MLB.com

SAN FRANCISCO -- Manager Bruce Bochy finished a pregame critique of the Giants' subpar defense by offering what was meant to be a comforting reminder: "But, it's early."

That was the lone consolation for the Giants as they fell Monday night, 6-1, to the Los Angeles Dodgers. San Francisco's offense remained sluggish against Clayton Kershaw, who has become the Giants' chief nemesis. The left-hander worked 6 2/3 innings, extending his scoreless streak against San Francisco to 23 2/3 innings.

The defense that gnawed at Bochy devoured Madison Bumgarner's chances of winning as second baseman Freddy Sanchez made a confounding misplay and left fielder Pat Burrell committed an error. The former helped the Dodgers open the scoring; the latter fueled their four-run fifth inning.

Remember, it's early.

"We just haven't quite gotten in the flow yet, defensively and offensively," Bochy said afterward. "We need to get it going. I think when it's all said and done, we'll do a good job defensively."

That will require making routine plays, which is completely within the Giants' range of skills. But they must wait at least another day to clean up their act.

Los Angeles' second-inning run was decidedly tainted. With one out and Matt Kemp on second base -- having stolen the bag despite having been trapped off first base by Bumgarner -- James Loney hit a line drive that the usually sure-handed Sanchez could not grab. Kemp scored on the play, which was ruled a base hit.

Asked if he could have caught the ball, Sanchez unblinkingly replied, "Definitely. I've got to make that play. That kind of set the tone. If they don't score there, you never know what happens. I thought I was right on it. It kind of sank away from me a little bit."

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly hinted Bumgarner had committed a balk on Kemp's steal. "We kind of feel like those picks were borderline, from what [umpires] told us in Spring Training that they'd be looking for," Mattingly said.

Los Angeles pulled away in the fifth, which began with Rod Barajas' home run. One out later, Rafael Furcal walked and Jamey Carroll singled. Furcal then stole third base, though television replays indicated that catcher Buster Posey's throw and Pablo Sandoval's tag might have yielded a different result. The Giants' unraveling, luckless or otherwise, continued as Andre Ethier singled to produce another run. Kemp also singled, but that wasn't all as the ball slipped past Burrell for an error, scoring Carroll and Ethier.

Burrell acknowledged that mistakes such as his have occurred far too often.

"I've made some bad plays," Burrell said. "We all have. There's no excuse. Routine plays need to be caught. We did that last year and there's no excuse why we can't do it."

Burrell suggested that the same could be said of the Giants' attempts to solve Kershaw (2-1), who's certainly above-average yet becomes invincible when he faces the Giants.

"We have to find a way to have a better approach against him," said Burrell, whose ninth-inning homer off reliever Mike MacDougal accounted for the Giants' only run. "We're not having the best at-bats. You have to give him some credit, too. He has tremendous stuff."

But, Burrell added, "we've faced a lot of tough guys and we find a way to get it done."

None of this immediately helped Bumgarner (0-2), though the left-hander refused to bemoan his luck.

Asked what frustrated him most about the galling fifth inning, Bumgarner said, "Not being able to put guys away and get them out." He added, "A lot of things just didn't go my way."

Bumgarner left the game after the fifth inning, having surrendered five runs and eight hits. But, he said, "I felt good the whole time. It's hard to explain games like that sometimes."

Box Score

St. Louis Cardinals beat San Francisco Giants 6-1

Carl Steward
MercuryNews

It was a memorable weekend of celebrations and honors for the Giants at AT&T Park. But they are sounding plenty ready to be done walking down 2010 Memory Lane and getting on with the business of charting a more focused path for 2011.

"There's no question," said Buster Posey, who was honored in a lavish Rookie of the Year ceremony Sunday before a 6-1 loss to St. Louis in which the young catcher didn't even play. "For me, I know, and I would think most guys would feel like that, too."

As it turned out, the Posey pageantry was as exciting as it got all day for the Giants after two ultra-dramatic victories to open the home season. Cardinals right-hander Kyle Lohse limited the Giants to five singles and a run over the first eight innings, and St. Louis broke through with a three-run sixth against San Francisco starter Barry Zito and kept adding to it to end the Giants' three-game winning streak.

"There might have been a little hangover today," manager Bruce Bochy conceded. "It's been a very emotional first couple of games here."

Without a doubt, while the Giants reveled in the moment of all the ceremonies of their World Series championship season, the new season is nine games old, and several players are ready to stop talking about the past.

"You try and enjoy all this because it's something that doesn't happen very often," Posey said. "But at the same time, I think everybody's looking forward to getting down to business now andgetting into the groove of the season."

"It's been a little bit difficult (with all the hoopla) because we don't have time to stretch and prepare for the game," added Pablo Sandoval, who drove in the Giants' run with a first-inning single. "Now it's going to be different."

Indeed, the Los Angeles Dodgers come to town tonight, and perhaps the last order of old business will be presenting former Giant Juan Uribe his World Series ring. So there will be one last brief ceremony.

"Yeah, but not for us," Giants center fielder Aaron Rowand said. "It'll just be for him."

For his own part, after a forgettable 2010, Rowand has become a central figure for the Giants again. He probably will be the starting center fielder throughout the Los Angeles series with the uncertainty surrounding Andres Torres. After receiving the MRI report, Bochy said after the game that Torres has a mild left Achilles tendon strain, and the club will keep him in a walking boot until Wednesday and then re-evaluate his situation.

Rowand might have been able to minimize the damage against Zito in the sixth had he been able to haul in Skip Schumaker's deep drive to left-center with two on, one out and a run in. Rowand appeared to have a bead on the ball, but it caromed off his glove. The ball was ruled a double, and two runs scored.

"I took a good angle at it, and I was outstretched, but it just caught the very tip of my glove," he said. "I thought I had it, but it was tailing away from me a little bit."

The result was the end of a disappointing day for Zito, who despite control issues made it through five innings with the score 1-1. But after retiring Albert Pujols to start the sixth, he walked Matt Holliday and Allen Craig and paid the price. David Freese doubled home one run before the Schumaker shot that broke open the game.

"Just the walks," Zito said. "All day I was battling the timing in my delivery. The ball was getting up, and that's the core of my frustration in the outing was not throwing strikes. I'd been throwing strikes all spring."

Like so many of his teammates, Zito is ready for 2010 closure.

"It's a huge deal what the San Francisco Giants accomplished last year, and it's a huge deal for the city," he said. "But the reality is we have games to win today, tomorrow, the next day. I think the ceremonies were amazing. They did them as good as they could have. But now we can just move forward and focus on the games."

Box Score