Since the Giants started 2-7, they've gone on a 13-6 run fueled by great starting pitching, a competent bullpen, and some of the ugliest offensive baseball you'll ever see. It was more of the same tonight, as the suddenly dominant Barry Zito did his thing against the Dodgers for the second time in a week and a half, and the Giants offense scratched out 3 runs to beat the previously 5-0 Chad Billingsley.
For the fourth straight time out, Zito held the opponent scoreless through the first 5 innings. For the first time in those starts he allowed a run before the 7th, and even then he came within inches -- as Fred Lewis allowed a 2-out RBI double by Casey Blake to tick off the edge of his glove. That tied the game at 1-1, and seemed to be yet another bad break for Zito, who seems to have inherited Matt Cain's poor luck from the last 2 seasons. But for once this season, Zito caught a little luck in the next half inning when the Giants scored 2 runs while he was still the pitcher of record.
So Zito got first first win of the year when Brian Wilson nailed down another 4-out save, in what seems to be a growing trend -- Bruce Bochy going to Wilson in the 8th when the right-handed set-up men (previously Howry, tonight Merkin Valdez) struggle to close out the inning in a tight game. Wilson was up to the pressure, and so were the Giants, an interesting turn in what has become a fascinating sequence of events over the last couple of days: First Manny's suspension, then the Dodgers blow a game they led 6-0 after 1 inning against Washington (the worst team in baseball) to snap their 13-0 start at home, and finally the Giants win in LA against the Dodgers ace in their toughest matchup of the series.
Suddenly, LA looks vulnerable, and the Giants look feisty. Of course, while the Dodgers may struggle to score without Manny, we know the Giants will struggle to score. But if the Giants win on Saturday, and head into Sunday going for a sweep behind Tim Lincecum to pull within 2.5 games, I'll be too drunk on optimism and momentum to listen to that kind of reason.
TOMORROW: The biggest game of the year so far (as if that meant anything) -- Jonathan Sanchez vs. Eric Stultz.
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2 comments:
It's odd to make this comment in may, but this stretch may be our most important series of the season.
I feel the same way. If these two teams were more closely matched -- either in terms of overall talent, or even just in the standings -- I'd take the "It's long season, and it's only May" argument. If Manny wasn't suspended, I'd say it's such a mismatch in LA's favor there's no point in getting too excited about an opportunity to gain a few games. But because of the convergence of all these events at once -- Manny being gone, the emotional toll that must take on the Dodgers, LA's too-good-to-be-true start being due for a market correction, and the Giants recent run of great pitching (especially Zito) -- it seems like this might be the Giants only chance to make this race a little interesting.
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