eastbaybaseball

One thing for sure this season, is everytime Matt Cain takes the ball, his offense has shown up and given him much run support this season compared to what he has received in the past few seasons. Although, it isn’t like Cain has needed that much run support as he has sported a miniscule 2.40 E.R.A. this season to go along with hs 5-1 record. 

Giants starters have a combined 2.03 ERA in the team’s last 10 games to lower their season mark to 3.86, which is good for third best in the National League. Matt Cain, arguably their most consistent pitcher to date, will face the Cardinals after pitching a complete game in his last outing.

Cain will be working with an extra day’s rest, which he won’t need. He has maintained his strength throughout the season, lasting at least six innings in each of his past nine starts — including a complete game last Saturday at Seattle. Cain has thrived with runners in scoring position, limiting opponents to a .100 average (4-for-40) in those situations. He has faced St. Louis just twice in his career, losing his lone decision and posting a 9.58 ERA against the Cardinals. But something tells me that Cain is going to fare better against the Cardinals tonight and lower that E.R.A. a little bit. 

Cain will have to face an injury-riddled Cardinals team that is bringing in some reinforcements to help out the lineup and welcoming some injured players back off the disabled list.  Outfielders Ryan Ludwick and Rick Ankiel, who just got off the DL, but hasn’t played much since he got off, have recently been activated off the DL  and deemed ready to play just in time for Friday Night’s game.  So the Cardinals will have their 3,4,5 hitters in the lineup tonight in Albert Pujols, Ryan Ludwick, and Rick Ankiel respectively.  Cain has his hands full tonight but if he continues to pitch like he has had recently, then he and the Giants should be just fine and continue this mini 3 game winning streak the Giants got going. 

Tune in to CSNBayArea and watch the St. Louis Cardinals take on your San Francisco Giants at AT & T Park. Gametime is at 7:15. Joel Pineiro (5-4, 3.52 E.R.A.) takes the ball for the Cardinals in Game 1 of this series.

  Randy Johnson a.k.a the Big Unit was dominant against the Atlanta Braves in picking up career victory number 299. That leaves him one shy of the big 300 for the 21-year big leaguer’s career. 

 Johnson , at 45, was his old Cy Young self as he nitpicked the Braves hitters and cruised through six innings, giving up only three hits, allowing just one run and adding 5 strikeouts to no walks in his outing.  Johnson also can thank his offense for the run support as the Giants scored 6 runs and pounded 14 hits in the 6-3 victory, to complete the sweep against the Braves.   

The bullpen nearly threw the game away in the three-run lead it inherited, but relievers Merkin Valdez and Brian Wilson restored order. San Francisco’s suddenly productive offense also helped, pushing Johnson to the brink of a historic achievement.  Next time Johnson takes the mound, he will be going for 300 against the Washington Nationals on the road. 

“His next start is going to be exciting,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He’s about to do something that’s remarkable. … I’m sure he’s been waiting for this moment all year.”

A crowd of 27,744 watched Wednesday night’s win, but the home crowd might not witness Johnson become the 24th pitcher in major-league history to reach 300. His next two starts are scheduled for the team’s upcoming road trip, Wednesday against the Nationals in Washington and June 8 against the Marlins in Miami.

If Johnson doesn’t win either of those starts, he would try again June 13 at home against the A’s, which would be fitting for a local Bay Area guy, born in Walnut Creek and raised in Livermore. Then again, the Expos-turned-Nationals also offer symmetry, because Montreal drafted Johnson in the second round in 1985, long before the franchise moved to Washington and long before Johnson started racking up 299 wins in the big leagues.

Johnson acknowledged “anxiety and a little nervousness” as he peers toward his first crack at No. 300.

“I’d love to do it here in San Francisco, that would make it a little easier for my family and friends,” he said. “But I’m grateful to be in this position. It took a lot of work.”

 Lincecum is 4-1 now with a 3.o3 E.R.A. in 2009.

Tim Lincecum has built a 24-1 record in 41 starts when the Giants score at least three runs for him. The latest instance of this was Tuesday night’s 4-0 triumph over the Atlanta Braves, which featured eight efficient innings from Lincecum.Moreover,  Lincecum was dominant in his outing against the Atlanta Braves Tuesday night. Lincecum showed off his 2008 Cy Young Form in this spectacular performance as he picked up his 4th victory in the 2009 campaign.  Lincecum went 8 shutout innings, throwing 122 pitches and had 8 strikeouts to only 2 walks in the win.  His 8 strikeouts leave him one shy of the big 500 for his young career. That shouldn’t be hard to reach 500 in his next start against the lowly Washington Nationals. 

 The Giants offense was led by none other then the new leadoff man of the Giants Aaron Rowand, who went 1 for 4 and had the game-winning two-run double in the Giants big scoring 2nd inning.

That scoring outburst — which Lincecum hastened by coaxing a walk that loaded the bases for Rowand — seemed to sharpen the right-hander’s focus. From the final out of the Braves’ second, Lincecum retired 14 of the next 15 batters until Jeff Francoeur and Diory Hernandez singled with one out in the seventh.

“When you get a lead like that, you don’t want to let them [catch up],” said Lincecum (4-1), who endured no-decisions in his previous three starts and won for the first time since May 5. “You just want to keep pounding them into the ground.”

And thats what Lincecum did for 8 dominant innings, as he kept pounding and pounding the Braves batters and baffled hitters at times. 

The San Francisco Giants returned home to AT & T Park to take on the Atlanta Braves for a three game series.  After a dismal 1-5 road trip, the Giants were happy to return to the city by the Bay. The Giants offense also showed up at home here on Memorial Day in front of a crowd of 40,000 plus. 

  The Giants offense came alive and they scored 8 runs and added 13 hits as they beat up on the Braves 8-2 in the victory. Edgar Renteria went 2 for 5 with 2 RBI’s against his former team, Randy Winn continued his torrid hitting as he went  2 for 4 with a run scored. But the one guy’s bat who came alive today and had everything going for him in the Giants victory, was firstbaseman Travis Ishikawa.  Ishikawa had a day as he went a perfect 4 for 4 with a HR, 3 RBI’s, 3 runs scored, and he also had a stolen base.  Ishikawa’s splash-hit homerun was his first of the season and it also marked the first homerun for the firstbaseman  position on the season and ended the stat as the Giants as the only team in the major leagues to not have a homerun from the firstbaseman position.  Kudos to Ishikawa for ending that spell and having a spectacular day at the plate. 

 Jonathan Sanchez (2-4) led the pitching for the Giants as he went 5 plus innings and gave up only 4 hits, 2 earned runs, 3 walks and added 6 strikeouts in picking up his 2nd win of the season. The Giants bullpen was nearly perfect as Justin Miller, Jeremy Affeldt, Brandon Medders, and Brian Wilson combined for 4 shutout innings and had 4 strikeouts altogether. 

Game 2 of this three game set against the Braves is slated for tomorrow at 7:15 p.m. Ace Tim Lincecum (3-1, 3.45 E.R.A) takes the ball for the Giants as he opposes Braves rookie starter Kris Medlen (0-1, 15.00 E.R.A).

  The San Francisco Giants (19-21) head to Seattle (19-23) to take on the Mariners in a three game Interleague Series. The G-Men are coming off a hard-luck series down in San Diego where they got swept by the Padres and their offense didn’t help the cause and ruined some some superb pitching from the starting trio of Barry Zito (8IP 5H 2R 2ER  4BB 3K  and CG), Jonathan Sanchez (6IP 2H 2R 2ER 3BB 5K), and ace Tim Lincecum (7IP 4H 1R 1ER 1BB 10K).  The Giants offense only scored a total of 4 runs in 3 games and left many runners on base throughout the series. So look for the Giants offense to wake up from this nightmare and show some life up in Seattle. 

   The trip to Seattle also marks the return of the Big Unit to his old roots and where he started most of his big league career.  The Big Unit brings his arm and memories to Seattle as he takes the ball in game 1 of this 3 game series. Johnson so far has had an up and down year as his 3-4 record with 6.86 E.R.A indicates.  The Big Unit will return to the city where he became truly big, as an All-Star and Cy Young Award winner between 1989-98. But the 45-year-old has struggled recently, recording an 11.05 ERA in his last three starts. That’s based on 18 earned runs allowed in 14 2/3 inningsto go with three walks and 12 strikeouts. Johnson has pitched progressively fewer innings in that span, lasting 5 2/3 May 6 at Colorado, five on May 11 against Washington and four-plus last Saturday against the Mets. So look for Johnson to go deeper in this game and with the designated hitter rule in effect, his one and main focus will only be on pitching and pitching only.  Gametime is at 7:10 p.m. It should be an exciting game tonight to watch.  Ciao!!!!

Randy Johnson a.k.a the “Big Unit” picked up his 298th career victory against the Washington Nationals in the Giants 11-7 win.  Johnson was pretty dominant in his 5 innings pitched. He had 9 strikeouts to no walks and gave up only 4 earned runs, mainly to the longball.  Randy Johnson is now 3-3 with the Giants, but has a 5.89 E.R.A.  The Giants offense however, due to a big 5th inning, where they scored 5 unearned runs, gave more than enough support in the victory.  Young rising star third baseman Pablo Sandoval went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and an RBI and the slumping first baseman Travis Ishikawa had a big day, as he went 3 for 4 with a run scored and 2 RBI’.  And Randy Winn continued his torrid hitting as he went 3 for 4 with 3 runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base. Overall, the Giants offense scored 11 runs and had 15 hits on the day.  The Giants continue the three game series vs. the Nationals as Matt Cain (3-1) takes the ball for the Giants.

Stults is 4-1 with a 3.58 E.R.A now after beating the Giants in an 8-0 victory.

  Third time is a charm. Well the Manny-less Dodgers finally won a game without Manny Ramirez in their third try since Ramirez was suspended for 50 games for failing a drug test and using performance-enhancing drugs.  The Dodgers offensive attack were led by Manny’s replacement speedy outfielder Juan Pierre.  Pierre went 3 for 5 with a run scored and three RBI’s as the Dodgers cruised to an 8-0 victory.  Juan Castro also had 3 hits on the day as he filled in at shorstop for Rafael Furcal to give him a day off. 

Eric Stults (4-1), the Dodgers starter, also went the distance for a complete game shutout limiting the Giants to only 4 hits.  Stults was stellar, mixing pitches on both sides of the plate and changing speeds to keep the Giants offense in check all day.  Stults added 5 strikeouts and had no walks in the victory.  He also went 1 for 3 with an RBI. 

Bumgarner was 3-1 with a 1.48 E.R.A for High-A San Jose.

  Top Prospects in the San Francisco Giants farm system, Madison Bumgarner and Tim Alderson, the two top pitching prospects at Single-A San Jose, were told after tonight’s game that they had been promoted to Double-A Connecticut.

The early promotion was expected. The organization believed them both to be above Class A level as the season began but wanted to keep them in the warmer weather early on.

Bumgarner, Class A’s2009  MiLB Most Spectacular Pitcher of the Year, was 3-1 with a 1.48 E.R.A  in 5 starts for the Class-A San Jose Giants in 2009. Bumgarner, only 19 years old, is on the fast track for the Giants and looks to be in the Giants major league rotation as early as 2010. If he continues his success here in the minors, he could replace Randy Johnson in the rotation for 2010 season.

Alderson, on the other hand, was 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA, three walks and 20 strikeouts, also in five starts. He is also on the fast track but may not be in the major league rotation as quickly as Bumgarner. However, you could see him pitching for the Giants somewher in the 2010 season.

One position player will join the pitchers in the trek east: shortstop Brandon Crawford, the Mountain View native taken three rounds after first-round pick Buster Posey last year.  Crawford is tearing Single-A pitching up as he lead the San Jose Giants with a .374avg and had 6HR’s and 17RBI’s. 

Alderson and Bumgarner will make their Double-A debuts for the Connecticut Defenders Sunday and Monday respectively.

 The San Francisco Giants had a decent April, but are 13-12 and 2nd in the NL West, behind the major league leading Los Angeles Dodgers.  Despite their hitting woes as a team (.248) and that they rank last in the league in homeruns and runs scored, the Giants pitching and defense have been solid all season as their 3.64 team E.R.A dictates.  The pitching has been led by reigning NL Cy Young Award Winner and staff ace Tim Lincecum (3-1, 3.05 E.R.A), the Big Unit, Randy Johnson (2-2, 4.50 E.R.A) and  young power-arm Matt Cain (2-1, 3.09 E.R.A).  The bullpen also has been solid and consistent mainly due to lefty Jeremy Affeldt (0-1, 3.18 E.R.A) and closer Brian Wilson (1-0, 3.38 E.R.A, 6 Saves).

However, if the Giants are going to stay in contention, they are going to need some more pop and life from their lowly offense.  Although, there are a few bright spots in the Giants lineup: Catcher Bengie Molina a.k.a “Big Money Molina” is hitting .304Avg. with 5HR (leads the team) and 23RBI’s (leads the team), young stud third baseman/catcher Pablo Sandoval, who leads the team with a .310Avg. and has 2HR and 8RBI’s, and shortstop Edgar Renteria, who is hitting .261Avg. with 2HR and 11RBI’s.  So the Giants need these three hitters to stay hot and their pitching to stay consistent like they have been all season.