The PG Beat: Giants take first one from Rockies, Sanchez deals again, RISP still a problem

For a 6-3 Giants win, this game was pretty darn nerve-wrecking. Usually, when you have that kind of lead, you never really feel any kind of panic, especially when it's 6-1 by the seventh. Yet when you factor in Coors Field, and that you're playing the Rockies, well...even a 10 run lead wouldn't feel comfortable for Giants fans. This Rockies team, and the field they play at, makes every game feel like a close one, even if the score suggests otherwise.

The Giants did get a lot of breaks in this one, and I'm not just talking about those big inning-ending double plays either. Troy Tulowitzki wasn't in the lineup. Aaron Cook left the game due to injury after 47 pitches. When you factor in those two events, chances are the game is going to tip in your favor. That being said, as we saw from the Reds series, even if you get all the breaks logically, your team still has to take care of business on the field. Thankfully, the Giants did tonight and gained a game on the Rockies in the Wild Card race.

Again, another solid start from Jonathan Sanchez, even if it was a bit sporadic. He went five innings of two-hit, scoreless baseball with eight strikeouts, but his command still is a problem from time to time. He threw four walks and allowed an unearned run, a classic sign that while he is still improving since being inserted back into the rotation, he still is not quite there in terms of being a really good pitcher. He is good certainly, but he is not even close to that caliber of Lincecum, Cain and even Zito just yet. However, I still remain confident in the kid. He is having the right kind of starts: he isn't making too many mistakes, and he is still befuddling hitters with his stuff. He is having the kind of problems many young pitchers can overcome. All it takes is confidence and more innings.

Even though the offense scored six runs this game, the Giants should have gotten 10 in my mind. RISP still remains a massive problem for this team. Even when they get ideal hitters in the right situations, they still can't produce. First we had Schierholtz with runners on second and third and one out, and he hits a fly ball in the infield. Next, we have the basese loaded with Sandoval, our main man at the plate, and he has a piss poor approach (swings at the first two pitchers even though Eaton walked the two hitters before him) and pops out meagerly to end the inning. I'm absolutely positive now that our RISP woes have more to do with the crappy approach our hitters have rather than any kind of ability. When you're 3-11 with RISP, then something needs to change. I don't care what it takes. If Bochy has to tell his hitters to take a strike with RISP, then do that. All I know is that I'm sick of seeing the Giants waste opportunity after opportunity, especially during this road trip.

Despite those sentiments above, overall, I'm happy with this win. We got the job done and took care of business and with this Giants team, that hasn't been an easy thing to do as of late. The fact that we got a very good start from Sanchez I think bodes good things for this series, especially considering Sanchez is always the guy I'm most nervous about when he takes the hill. While Martinez is no slam dunk, I believe he can have a solid outing as well. If he can muster the control he had in the 10-1 win in New York, than I think the Giants could be very well on the way in terms of taking this series in Colorado, which would be a big back-breaker for this Rockies team that is currently leading the Wild Card race.


Postgame box notes:

Winning pitcher: Jonathan Sanchez (6-10) 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 8 SO.
Losing pitcher: Aaron Cook (10-6), 3 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 0 SO.

Giants standouts: Edgar Renteria, 2-for-4. Bengie Molina, 2-for-5, 2B (23). Aaron Rowand, 3-for-4, HR (11).
Rockies standouts: Dexter Fowler, 2-for-2. Todd Helton, 3-for-5. Sean Smith, HR (10). Chris Iannetta, 2B (12).

Probable starters for next game: Martinez (3-1) vs. De La Rosa (11-8).

Potent Preview: San Francisco Giants (66-55) at Colorado Rockies (68-53)

Probable starters:
SFO: Jonathan Sanchez (5-10) 4.49 ERA. COL: Aaron Cook (10-5) 4.31 ERA.

Huge, huge, huge series. I know I have said that before, but when it's late August and you're playing the Wild Card leader in a four game set on the road, well...the kind of momentum that will be taken from that series will either carry the Giants into the playoffs or end their hopes completely. That's how important this series is I believe. Yeah, I know, the real games are played in September, but the Giants don't have many games left in September against the Rockies. This is one of the last few chances where the Giants will be able to make serious ground on the Rockies, and this team needs to take advantage of it, especially considering the Rockies are seeming to win all the games they are supposed to win.

Tonight, Jonathan Sanchez goes against Aaron Cook, and the last time those two face each other the results didn't go so hot in the Giants favor. But there is some silver lining of hope: Cook is coming off an atrocious start where he gave up seven runs in 2.1 innings and Sanchez is coming off a start where he went seven strong innings and only gave up two runs courtesy of a two-run home run (then again, that homer was hit by Luis "I don't hit homers ever" Castillo). My hope? Both pitchers continue their trend and Sanchez has another solid outing, only this time he has a lead. My fear? Sanchez continues his trend of good-start, bad start outings and Cook bounces back at home.

The good news for this game is Freddy Sanchez is back in the lineup, who was sorely missed in the Reds series. Sorry, Uribe and Velez aren't getting it done at second. I like Uribe, but he's a strictly two to three times a week kind of guy, and Velez should only be playing in left field, period. Thankfully, with Sanchez back in the lineup, we won't worry about those guys holding down second in a series where one or two plays could sway the momentum of the four-game set. Furthermore, Sanchez has raked at Colorado in the past. For all those Colorado fans who are confident that this series is a slam dunk because of the results against the Giants about a month ago, just remember...the Giants didn't have Freddy Sanchez. I know one guy doesn't make a difference, but having Sanchez at second and second in the lineup is a lot better than having Uribe starting. So don't get too cocky Colorado. This could be a different Giants team this time around.

Then again, I say could, because you can never predict anything with this freaking Giants offense.

For game updates check out the SJ Mercury's Andrew Baggarly's Giants blog at Extra Baggs. For live game thread and chat, check out the McCovey Chronicles.

The PG Beat: Sadowski punches plane ticket to Fresno, Rockies take two game lead in Wild Card

What Bruce Bochy said to Ryan Sadowski after taking him out of the game in the third inning: "Well kid, at least the weather will be better in Fresno."

It was a weird how the Giants lost to the Colorado Rockies 4-2 on Sunday afternoon. For starters, the game went incessantly long and dragged over three hours. I don't know if that was due to the Umpire's massively inconsistent strike zone, or the number of long at-bats hitters had, but for a 4-2 game, the game just seemed to slug along to the point where I was actually thankful the game was finally over after Rockies closer Huston Street struck out Uribe to end the contest and the series (I knew our best chance to come back was in the eight and after Lewis and Ishikawa got embarrassed by Rockies reliever Morales to end the inning, I knew the game was over).

Another strange, but characteristic game stat of the Giants season was the hits to runs ratio. Colorado had 10 hits, but only scored four runs. San Francisco didn't do bad at the dish with nine hits, but as always, driving in runs was a problem as they only scored home two. I'm not getting mad or disappointed with these stats because that is just how this Giants team is in reality. They have guys that can hit singles and doubles, but can't seem to do so with runners on base. Noneteless, it's still frustrating because you know this team could do better if they concentrate. Yet over and over again they're swinging at the first close strike against a sinker-baller like Aaron Cook, which is the last thing you want to do because you'll just ground out. The key to beating a guy like Cook is work deep in the count, and try to get into counts where he'll make mistakes up the strike zone.

Despite that obvious fact, Bowker continues to swing at the first pitch close pitch and grounds out to Barmes three straight at-bats. Winn does the same thing, hitting four lousy dribblers to the left side of the field, on 0-1, 1-0 counts. That's really just bad coaching, and whoever is responsible (whether it is hitting coach Carney Lansford or manager Bruce Bochy) needs to either get their stuff together or sent packing. Personally, I think it's Lansford, whom I never been a fan of since he was hired. If the Giants don't make dramatic improvement over the next month, I hope Sabean makes a move and hires somebody new as hitting coach to mix things up next season.

After it was all said and done, th hitting was pretty much what you expect from the Giants, so I'm not incredibly disappointed. They're going to have days when they're mediocre, days when they're below mediocre, and days when their above-average. It's expected. The real story of the day was Sadowski. He threw his second straight stinker in a row, which got him yanked not only early from the game (he was pulled in the third inning!) but probably from the rotation as well. Everybody said Sadowski's first two starts were not indicative of his true progress as a pitcher, for in the minors, his numbers were actually just above-average at best. Now I think we can officially say those Sadowski-naysayers were right. The guy is an average pitcher, and obviously isn't the same pitcher that had that sparkling debut in Milwaukee.

Without a doubt, I wouldn't be surprised that if by tomorrow, Sadowski was sent to Fresno, and the Giants called up another pitcher. The most likely candidate would probably be Kevin Pucetas. He was originally going to be the pitcher to replace Sanchez in the rotation when Sanchez was sent to the bullpen for a brief period, but couldn't make the start against the Brewers because he had just pitched the day before the callup. So instead, the Giants settled on Sadowski, which didn't look too bad...at the time.

At 10-2 with a 3.26 ERA and 1.21 WHIP this season in Fresno, Pucetas certainly deserves a shot to crack the Giants rotation, especially with Randy Johnson going in for another MRI Monday, and Sadowski getting abused on the mound more than Private Pyle in Full Metal Jacket in his last couple of starts.

It was definitely a tough series against Colorado, not to mention road trip, to stomach for Giants fans. After a great first half which had the Giants 10 games over .500, and first place in the NL Wild Card, the Giants went on a free-fall by going 3-7 on the road trip, losing two out of three to NL West rival Colorado, and now falling behind the Rockies in the Wild Card race by two games. Who knows what got to the Giants: all the sudden surprise loving at the All-Star break by experts, bad karma from Lincecum's bad start at the All-Star game, the sudden pressure on Sandoval after the whole "Vote for Pablo" campaign.

Whatever it is that got to the Giants, they need to get over it fast and put together a good homestand against the Pirates and defending world-champion Phillies (which won't be easy considering how well they're playing as of late). If they struggle during this seven-game stretch and don't win four or more games, Giants fans can just forget about those postseason dreams.


Postgame box notes:

Winning pitcher: Aaron Cook (10-3) 7 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 SO.
Losing pitcher: Ryan Sadowski (2-3) 2.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO.

Giants standouts: Fred Lewis, 2-for-4. Travis Ishikawa, 2-for-4. Edgar Renteria, 2-for-4, 2B (14). Aaron Rowand, 2B (24).
Rockies standouts: Aaron Cook, 2B (1), Carlos Gonzalez, 3B (3). Yorvit "I can't hit against anybody but the Giants" Torrealba, 2-for-3.

Probable starters for Giants next game against Pirates: Lincecum (10-3) vs. Maholm (6-4).
Probable starters for Rockies next game against Mets: Jimenez (7-9) vs. Perez (2-3).