Giants Win Rubber Match; Giants 8, Rockies 3

September 12, 2012; Denver, CO, USA; San Francisco Giants right fielder Hunter Pence (8) hits an RBI triple during the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. The Giants won 8-3. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-US PRESSWIRE

This game was over before the first inning was over. When I saw the lineup this afterwards and saw that Angel Pagan and Pablo Sandoval were out, I thought Bruce Bochy was setting Tim Lincecum up for failure.  Gregor Blanco (in for Pagan) led off the game with a triple, Marco Scutaro singled to bring home Blanco. Then Buster Posey had a hit to put runners on first and second with no outs. Hunter Pence, hitting cleanup tonight, grounded into a fielders choice to put runners on first and third. Joaquin Arias (in for Sandoval) hit a single to get Scutaro home and runners on first and second with one out. After Brandon Belt stuck out, Hector Sanchez hit a single to put runners on first and third with two outs. Up comes the Giants 8th hitter of the inning, Brandon Crawford, who battled, and hit a double to right field and scores Arias and Sanchez that put the game out of reach for the Rockies.

While the game was over in the first inning, the offense didn’t stop there. Brandon Crawford had a leadoff double in the top of the sixth, and Lincecum bunted him to third. After Blanco struck out, Scutaro lifted Blanco with a base hit to bring home Crawford from third. Later in the top of the ninth, Scutaro led off with a single and Pence hit a triple to get Scutaro home and setup a Arias sac fly to get Pence home.

Lincecum, while still figuring out mechanics problems, was somewhat effective throughout the game. After walking Carlos Gonzales on a full count and two outs, Lincecum balked Gonzales to second and Willin Rosario singled Gonzales home all on two out, two strike counts. In the third inning Lincecum gave up a solo home run to Rosario. In the sixth inning Lincecum gave up a single to Chris Nelson and Charlie Blackmon doubled Nelson home for Lincecum’s third earned run of the game.

Buster Posey continued his push for MVP after going 2 for 5 which raised his batting average to .333. Posey continues to dodge questions regarding how well his season is going but, its quite possible he could be both Comeback Player of the Year and MVP for the National League. (Possibly more if the Giants go deep into the playoffs, though not likely to be voted both).

Starting Friday the Giants will face three lefty’s in a row with the following as the possible starting pitching:

Matt Cain (13-5, 2.96 ERA) v. Tyler Skaggs (1-1, 4.43 ERA)
Barry Zito (11-8, 4.33 ERA) v. Wade Miley (15-9, 3.07 ERA)
Ryan Vogelsong (12-8, 3.40 ERA) v. Patrick Corbin (5-7, 4.19 ERA)