Giants Donkey Punch Rangers

You know, throughout the playoffs when it’s come to the Giants, all we’ve heard is how fantastic the starting pitching matchups will be. So far, most  have disappointed and last night was no exception.

Cliff Lee wasn’t as sharp as he normally is and Tim Lincecum clearly had a little too much hippie grass before the tilt, evidenced by his brain fart on the comebacker in which he had Micheal Young stranded between third and home, only to chase him back without a throw.

The crowd was roukus and did the right thing by giving former Giant Bengie Molina a well deserved standing ovation, though, I’m sure Molina would have just preferred a cake.

As for the game, it was a slugfust. Something that every pundit clearly predicted.

The Giants got off to a rocky start but managed to avoid disaster by keeping the Rangers to only two runs in the first two innings. The Rangers really had some opportunities to unleash the Kranken on the Giants but couldn’t complete the task. The Giants struck back in the third thanks to Freddy Sanchez and Buster Posey RBI’s, which tied the game at 2-2. All was quiet in the fourth on both sides, but come the bottom of the 5th, the Giants brought out their fuck sticks and gave Cliff Lee a rimming he’ll be hard pressed to forget. Another Freddy Sanchez double (who had three!) followed by consecutive singles by Cody Ross and Aubrey Huff was capped by a monumental three run moon shot into the left field bleachers by Jazz Hands Juan Uribe. The Uribe dinger wasn’t given up by Lee (he was removed the prior batter), but all runs sans Uribe were charged to the former Cy Young winner who gave up 7 runs (6 earned) in 4.2 innings.

Lincecum wasn’t very Lincecum-esque last night, but thankfully, he picked a good night to have a crappy game with the offense hitting on all cylinders.

The Giants added three more in the bottom half of the 8th which the Rangers matched in the top half of the 9th once the game was clearly out of reach. Unfortunately for the G-men, they did have to go to Brian Wilson to garner the final outs, a positive for the Rangers…but I’ll take it considering all.

From an observations standpoint….

• It was so difficult to watch Vlad Guerrero struggle in the outfield. There were at least three, maybe four situations last night in which Guerrero really had a difficult time and misplayed/kicked a ball. He was charged with two errors, but, there were a few more mishaps out there. A real shame for a proud guy like Vlad. I’ve always had a special place for him in my baseball heart – he was a marvel to watch in Montreal. If there was a downer in that game last night, for me, that was it. I know he’s the competition and all, but, seeing a one time great struggle so bad….that was rough.
• I love Pablo – he’s a great guy, but it’s clear that if the Giants are going to win the World Series, defense is a top priority. Edgar Renteria and Juan Uribe both made multiple fantastic defensive plays tonight and kept the Giants out of some serious long innings. That double play that Uribe turned in the first inning, I had nightmare visions of what Pablo could have done there….thankfully Uribe was in the game.
• What was Tim doing in the first inning with the whole Micheal Young situation? Don’t get me wrong, I love Tim, but man – his lack of focus on the mound kills me. Anybody ever notice how many times he has to ask the umpire the situation? What the count is….how many outs…etc. He’s got a bit better about paying attention to runners on base as well, but, I just wish he’d have a little more focus at times. I know, I know, complain…complain.

Pressure is still on both clubs tonight. Giants can put their foot on the Rangers neck and take a 2-0 series lead, but all will be forgotten about on both sides if the Rangers come back and take a split going into Arlington.

Matt Cain tries to send the Giants packing with a 2-0 lead…CJ Wilson has other ideas.