Lewis' hard work in the batting cage pays off in 10th-inning rally
Chris Haft - MLB.com
Fred Lewis was out of Sunday's lineup, but he was far from idle.
Lewis spent much of the series finale between the Giants and San Diego Padres in the subterranean batting cage adjacent to San Francisco's dugout, hitting balls off a tee to sharpen his swing.
How long did Lewis hit? "Nine innings," he said.
How many balls did he use? "A whole bucket-load," he said, pointing to a clubhouse laundry basket to illustrate the size of the container. "I had to pick all of them up, too."
Lewis' extracurricular activity paid off in the 10th inning, when his pinch-hit two-run triple served as the fulcrum of a three-run rally that gave the Giants a 4-3 victory and prevented San Diego from completing a three-game sweep.
The Giants' 13th victory in a Major League-high 25 one-run games carried additional impact. It ended their seven-game home losing streak. They improved to 7-7 in games decided in the last at-bat, including 5-3 in extra innings. They remained undefeated (7-0) in games started by Tim Lincecum following a defeat, although the 23-year-old right-hander received a no-decision after working two batters into the eighth inning.
Moreover, it re-emphasized Lewis' emergence as a potential offensive force, a player the Giants might be able to rely upon for years to come. He leads the team with 34 runs scored and tops the National League with six triples.
The triumph also spared manager Bruce Bochy an anxiety-racked night, since he felt personally responsible for the deficit the Giants overcame.
Adrian Gonzalez's two-run homer off Alex Hinshaw (1-0) broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the 10th.
"I was actually kicking myself," Bochy said, explaining that he should have ordered Hinshaw to intentionally walk Gonzalez with Jody Gerut on second base and two outs.
But Hinshaw, the rookie left-hander who had been unscored upon in his previous eight appearances, had inspired Bochy's confidence by striking out Tadahito Iguchi and Brian Giles after Gerut's leadoff infield hit.
All-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman entered the game to protect San Diego's 3-1 edge. But Hoffman (0-4) endured one of his previous two blown saves against the Giants on April 23, when Bengie Molina forged a 1-1 tie with a ninth-inning home run. So the Giants weren't intimidated.
"Everybody rallied up before the inning even started," said center fielder Aaron Rowand, whose sixth-inning homer accounted for the game's only scoring through seven innings. "We felt like we had a chance to score some runs. We had the right guys coming up."
The first was Ray Durham, the 14th-year veteran who was 4-for-10 lifetime off Hoffman. The next was rookie left fielder Brian Horwitz, who had rapped a second-inning single for his first Major League hit. Both stroked first-pitch singles. Omar Vizquel's sacrifice bunt advanced the runners and brought up Lewis, who was 0-for-8 as a pinch-hitter with four strikeouts this season -- partly explaining his extra work in the batting cage. Lewis also went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts Saturday.
Lewis, a left-handed batter who was rested against Padres left-handed starter Randy Wolf, worked the count to 3-2. Having struck out against Hoffman in Friday night's 13th inning, Lewis sensed that Hoffman would try to pitch him inside after having worked him outside. Sure enough, Hoffman delivered an inside fastball, which Lewis drove to deep right-center field. It caromed high off the wall, just a few feet below the top of the barrier, as Durham and Horwitz raced home.
At most other ballparks, Lewis would have had a three-run homer.
"That's as far as you can hit a ball without it going out in this ballpark," Bochy said.
Lewis knew better.
"I didn't think it had a chance, because we have a big ballpark," he said. "I was just thinking 'three' out of the box."
The Padres ordered Randy Winn intentionally walked to set up a potential inning-ending double play. Indeed, Jose Castillo hit a sharp grounder to shortstop. But with the count full, Winn broke from first base with the pitch and was beginning to slide into second by the time Edgar Gonzalez, who started his first game of the season at shortstop, corralled the ball. Gonzalez froze, realizing he had no play at either second base or home, since Lewis began dashing toward the plate once Castillo made contact.
Castillo was officially rewarded with a game-winning infield single on a play in which essentially nothing happened.
"I don't think I've ever seen a game end quite like that," Winn said.
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