THE MULLETT CAN'T BE KEPT QUIET

There was no way that the Giants were going to escape Colorado without feeling the wrath of the Mullett! Troy Tulowitski was held in check the first game, but he has had a September that not many others have had. He got revenge tonight against the Giants by going 4-5 with 5 RBI, including the game-winning hit in the 10th. He scorched a ball just beyond the reach of shortstop Juan Uribe. It was hit so hard that Uribe hardly even had a chance to move to his right and it was by him and rolling into the left-center field gap. Pat Burrell slid to cut off the ball and relayed it to Uribe, but Carlos Gonzalez, who was on first base from an infield hit earlier, easily beat Uribe's throw home for the winning run. The Rockies celebrated like they just won the World Series, as they should have. This was their make or break game. If they lost this game, they would've fell 5 1/2 games behind the Giants with 8 games left. This win kept them in the race and gave them hope in these remaining games.

This game felt like a pre-humidor Coors Field game. It's funny and ironic to me just one night after Tim Lincecum got caught on camera talking about the juiced balls in Denver, we had an old-school game like this. The final was 10-9 in 10 innings, and it was back and forth all game. The last team to score was going to win, and that just happened to be the Rockies tonight.

The scoring for both teams began in the first inning, as Freddy Sanchez opened the scoring with his sixth home run of the year, an opposite-field drive to right field. The Rockies responded with a two-run, two-out rally as Gonzalez singled and Tulowitzki walked before Melvin Mora scored them with a bloop double inside the right-field line.
 
In the top of the 3rd, the Giants took a 3-2 lead when they hit 2 solo homers, one by lead-off hitter Andres Torres (15) and one by Giants leading homerun hitter Aubrey Huff (26). It was Torres' first start since having an appendectomy just 13 days ago.
 
With the Giants leading 4-2 in the fifth, Colorado scored four runs to take the lead. With 1 out, Jay Payton and Carlos Gonzalez hit back to back triples off starter Barry Zito. The Gonzalez triple was a deep drive to right-center field that Cody Ross, who just replaced Andres Torres, couldn't get to. Torres caught a ball the inning before that was hit in almost the exact spot as Gonzalez' triple, but after that long run, he felt discomfort from his still healing surgery wounds. Thats why Bochy took him out.
 
With the score 4-3 Giants and Troy Tulowitski up, Chris Ray came in to relace Zito. I personally thought that Bochy should've left Zito in there and walked Tulowitski to try for an inning ending double play, but it didn't happen. Bochy's move ended up not working out at all. Tulo crushed a 2 run homer to left, followed by Melvin Mora hitting the third triple of the inning. Dan Runzler relieved Ray and was one strike away from escaping the inning when Chris Iannetta stroked an RBI single. 6-4 Rockies.
 
The Giants battled right back in the 6th. They had six consecutive hits, the first five which came off Esmil Rogers, who gave up singles by Uribe and Mike Fontenot to start the inning. Pinch-hitter Travis Ishikawa scored Uribe with an opposite-field single to left that he just lofted out there. Cody Ross followed with his second home run as a Giant, which gave the Gs an 8-6 lead. Freddy Sanchez doubled, finishing Rogers, and scored on Octavio Dotel's wild pitch. 9-6 Giants.
 
San Francisco's bullpen, which had allowed two earned runs in 51 innings spanning September's first 21 games, finally faltered in the eighth as it failed to protect a 9-7 lead.
 
Pinch-hitter Dexter Fowler led off with a single against Jeremy Affeldt. Sergio Romo replaced Affeldt and struck out Jonathan Herrera, but with left-handed pinch-hitter Jason Giambi due up, Bochy opted for lefty specialist Javier Lopez. Lopez broke even, surrendering a single to Giambi before striking out Gonzalez.
Bochy summoned Wilson, who had converted nine of 10 save opportunities of four outs or more this season. Make that nine of 11. Tulowitzki doubled off the right-field wall on a 1-1 fastball, scoring Fowler and pinch-runner Clint Barmes to tie the score. It was Wilson's 5th blown save of the year.
 
That blow fed Tulowitzki's confidence when he faced Wilson in the 10th.
"Anytime you have success off a guy your first at-bat, you like your chances the next at-bat," Tulowitzki said. "I thought he was going to stay away from his fastball because I barreled it up. I was thinking he was going to go slider-cutter and that's what he did. The whole at-bat, it was cutters. It was a decent pitch. It started in and came at me, but I put a good swing on it."

TIM LINCECUM'S JUICED BALL COMMENT

DESPITE "JUICED BALLS", LINCECUM DOMINATES ROCKIES

TIM LINCECUM AND ENTIRE GIANTS PITCHING STAFF DOMINANT
Tim Lincecum helped continue the unbelievable streak from the Giants pitching staff of not allowing their opponent to score more than 3 runs for an 18th straight game. That's a post dead-ball era record, and 2 games behind the all time record set by the 1917 WhiteSox.

Lincecum gave up 1 earned run in 8 innings of masterful work. He only gave up 2 hits while striking out 9 and walking 0 Rockies. He was throwing a perfect game through 5 innings, and I was thinking this might be the night for Timmy to finally get one. Didn't work out for him tonight, but he will get one some day I have no doubt.

PAT THE BAT
The only runs for the Giants came in the top of the 7th inning, when Buster Posey drew a lead-off walk and Pat Burrell did what he was brought here to do. He hit a 2-run shot to left field to give the Giants a 2-1 lead, and that was after getting no hits in yesterday's game, when the Giants had 19 as a team. As soon as he hit it, he knew it was gone. Like the veteran he is, he just put his head down and trotted around the bases, not looking once to see where the ball went in the stands.

The Giants entered Friday leading San Diego by a half-game in the West. The Padres are facing Cincinnati and currently have a 4-3 lead in the 8th inning. Third-place Colorado lost its fifth game in a row and fell 4 1/2 games behind the Giants. San Francisco improved to 3-1 on its two-city trip, which precedes a three-game home series against Arizona before San Diego visits AT&T Park for three games next weekend.

JUICED BALL CONTROVERSY FUELED
Tim Lincecum gave up his only 2 hits in the 6th inning, and something worth noting happened while he was on the mound. After getting a ball thrown back to him, the cameras got a tight close-up on Lincecum's face. He looked at the ball after rubbing it up, and something didn't look right, so he threw it back in to home plate ump Laz Diaz. He looked irritated, then you can see him mouth the words, "F-ing juiced ball it's B.S." or "F-ing juiced balls B.S." 1 OF THE 2. Of course he said the full words, not abbreviated. Lincecum has thrown a LOT of baseballs in his life, and I'm sure he knows the difference as soon as he puts it in his hand.

I saw that comment live and actually wrote a tweet about what I saw. A little later former Giant player and now Giants analyst, and local late-night talk show host F.P. Santangelo, also wrote a Tweet about it. F.P. has had a conspiracy theory for a while now about the Humidifier at Coors Field. His main point is how no one really knows the proccess on which balls are being pulled from the humidor, and which balls are being distributed and being pitched to the home or visiting teams. Seeing how much of an advantage the Rockies seem to have at home, and now this Lincecum footage, it only adds fuel to the fire. It probably won't be such a big deal now that the Rockies have basically fallen out of the race, but it might be addressed at a later date. I will definately keep an eye on that.

THE RALLY THONG LIVES!!!

THE GIANTS STILL CONTROL THEIR OWN DESTINY

I know it feels like the end of the World to Giants fans right now. The Giants lost tonight and the Padres won putting SF back into second place, the offense looks toothless at the moment, blah, blah, blah. But the truth is that the Giants are still in a great position to make the playoffs. They still hold all the cards and they have their fate in their own hands.

I looked at the remaining schedule, the Padres (85-66) have 11 games left in the season with no more days off to rest. 7 of those games are at home, but 3 of them are against the first place in the Central Reds (86-67), and they play a 4 game series against the Cubs who are a very hot team right now. Let's say they lose today to the Dodgers, who have got to take one of these three games, then lose 2 out of 3 against the Reds. It's very hard to take 3 in a 4 game series, even against a bad team, so lets say they split the series vs the Cubs. They go into the last series of the year in San Francisco at 88-71.

To make the playoffs, the Giants (85-67), would just have to do what they have been doing all year long, which is to win series. We can't panic with each loss, we have to look at each series as a whole. If they win today to take the Cubs series, then take the next 2 series from the Rockies and Diamondbacks, they go into the Padres battle at 90-69, 2 games up. Even if they lose the series, the G-Men take the division crown. Even if we say the Padres take both series vs the Reds and Cubs, they would still come into AT&T all tied up.

Don't get me wrong, I'm as frustrated as all of you with the offensive struggles and the impatient at bats, but I'm just saying we can't get too down with 1 loss in a series. Just stay consistent and win 2 out of 3 the rest of the way, and we get to dance and celebrate in the streets of the Bay Area once again!

THE GIANTS WIN PITCHING DUEL 1-0 ON BUSTER POSEY SHOT...ROCKIES FALLING OUT OF IT

It was a wet, breezy night at Wrigley Field. After a rain delay that lasted for over an hour, Matt Cain and Carlos Zambrano finally got the matchup started. Cain has had the September of his life so far and Zambrano has been dealing ever since he came off the restricted list for his dugout temper tantrum.

The two put on a pitching lesson for all in attendance. Cain was basically un-hittable with his pin-point control and movement. Zambrano doesn't throw as hard as he once did, but the movement on his pitches were fooling the Giants batters and keeping them off balance all game. He did get in trouble in two different innings however. In the second, the Giants loaded the bases with two outs as Juan Uribe's single to right field was hit too hard for Pat Burrell to score from second base. Unfortunately, that brought up Matt Cain, who struck out to end the threat. In the fifth the Giants loaded the bases again, this time bringing Buster Posey to the plate. Zambrano got Posey to swing at a high and outside pitch to pop out to right field. Zambrano pitched 6 scoreless innings and struck out 8. He pitched a great game.

Cain pitched an even better game than Zambrano. He also threw 6 innings and only gave up 2 hits. Only one Cub even got to second base on Cain. He looked calm and controlled out there and looked like the ace of this staff, which is exactly what he has been this year for the Giants. Cain ended up with a no decision but he trimmed his ERA to 3.00 and 2.50 in 13 starts since the All-Star break. The lack of offense did another starter's win total in again. With Cain due to lead off the seventh inning, Bruce Bochy removed him for pinch-hitter Travis Ishikawa to try and get something going on offense. He grounded out and it turned into a quick 1-2-3 inning.

The only score in this game came in the 8th inning. With 1 out, Rookie Of The Year to be Buster Posey  back-spinned a 3-1 pitch from Andrew Cashner out toward center field and into the basket on top of the outfield brick wall. It was Posey's 15th homer of the year and 62nd RBI.

If the Giants were able to pull this one out, I have all the confidence in the World that they will win this series, if not sweep it. Again the Dodgers gave the Giants no help as they got shut out by the Padres 6-0. The Giants remain a half game up. The Rockies lost tonight to the Diamondbacks, which puts them now 2.5 games behind the Giants. I thought this would happen to the Rockies. No, I swear! OK, you want to see proof? Here you go...

On Monday 20th September 2010, @giantsdan said:
I think the Rockies expended all their energy. They might be done. RT @SFGiants_Rumors: #sfgiants Who are Giants Fans more worried about right now. The #padres or #rockies?

GIANTS FACING CUBS AT THE WRONG TIME

The Giants are in Chicago holding on to their 1/2 game lead in the NL West. The lowly Cubs are out of the race yet another year, and looks like the curse is going to last for eternity. Should be a fun time for the Giants at Wriley right? Of course not! The Cubs have won 6 games in a row and 8 of their last 10. They are hot, and looks like they're having a great time playing the role of spoiler.

Not only is the team hot, but to start off the series the Giants face the hottest pitcher in the league, Carlos Zambrano. He's 6-0 in his past 7 starts with a 1.38 era. But hey, no one said getting to the playoffs was gonna be easy!

ANDRES TORRES UPDATE

The Giants might be getting their sparkplug back sooner than expected. Andres Torres could return to the lineup as soon as this weekend after getting an appendectomy on September 17th. He was originally supposed to be out 2-3 weeks, or basically till the end of the season, but he's making huge progress.

If he comes back by the weekend, that means he would play in a huge three game showdown against the Rockies in Denver. "We have to be smart about this," Bruce Bochy told a reporter. "He just had surgery, so as much as we'd like to have him back we're going to wait until he's ready." Making it back for the Rockies would be a "best case scenerio."

NEW GARY RADNICH AND TONY BRUNO COMMERCIAL CSNBA

GUILLEN BEATS DOWN THE BREWERS

The Giants took back over first place today with a win against the Brewers to salvage a three game series and avoid a home sweep. What was the difference from the first 2 games? Patience! They took 7 walks today, including 2 from Pat The Bat, and 3 from Buster Posey, who I think is the lock Rookie of the Year. This guy is gonna be an All-Star next year and for many years to come, there is no doubt.

They had a good mixture of patience, thump, and great pitching yet again. Barry Zito had another really good outing in September. He went 6 innings and gave up 2 runs on 3 hits. He is now an amazing 110-6 when he gets 4 runs or more of support. He recorded his 1st win since July 16th against the Mets. That was a span of 11 straight starts without a win.

Zito pitches very well with a lead, and it didn't take the Giants long to get him one. In the first inning, after Ryan Braun totally robbed Cody Ross of a lead-off homerun, the offense got it going. Freddy Sanchez, who I think should be in the lineup every day, lined a single to left. After Aubrey Huff flied out to center, Buster Posey crushed a ball off the left-field wall for a double, sending Anchez to third. Pat Burrell took some tough pitches and drew a walk to load the bases. That brought up Jose Guillen, who hit a ball that Ryan Braun couldn't rob. It went in the seats for a Grand Slam. That was the HUGE hit the Giants were looking for in this series, and it was set up by? Yes, a walk.

Guillen had his biggest day as a Giant for sure. In the fifth inning, after there were 2 down and nobody on base, the Giants started a rally. And how? With the walk. Huff, Posey, and Burrell walked consecutively to load the bases again for Jose Guillen. He hit a hard single up the middle off reliever Mike McClendon to score Burrell and Posey. Six rbi in a game is one off Guillen's career high of seven set with the Royals.

Pat Burrell added a cherry topping on this game with a 3-run bomb in the seventh inning after Huff singled and Posey hit another double. Posey reached base in all five of his plate appearances today.

The Giants are guaranteed to stay in first place by the time they hit the field in Chicago on Tuesday. The Giants, Padres, and Rockies are all idle until then.

Let's keep up the offense in Chicago and take this thing!

GIANTS OFFENSE...AND DEFENSE...FAIL LINCECUM

The Giants have lost the first two games vs the Brewers after coming home from a tough 10 game road trip, and in both games it seemed like there was no fight back, no will, and more important, no plate discipline.

The Giants got another great starting pitching performance by Tim Lincecum. It was just one jam shot off the fists did him in. In the fourth inning he gave up a 1 out double, well, single to Prince Fielder. Fielder scorched a line drive to left-center that went past center fielder Cody Ross. Fielder missed first base though and had to go back. Casey McGehee followed with a single to left field, then Carlos Gomez hit a soft blooper to center for a single, loading the bases. Then the key play in the game, a ground ball by Alicides Escobar to 3rd baseman Pablo Sandoval. He fielded it right near the bag, but didn't step on it. He threw the ball home to get the out there, but the inning should have been over in my eyes. Escobar is too fast to go to first, but he did have plenty of time to step on third and go home, especially since Prince Fielder was the one running! It gave the Brewers an extra out, and that's when Jonathan Lucroy dumped one down the right field line for a 2-run single.

The Giants offense is ridiculous right now, pressing and trying to swing for the fenses. The only players that are having good approaches at the plate are Mike Fontenot, of course a non-power threat, and Buster Posey. Pablo Sandoval and Juan Uribe are still swinging at anything thrown up there, and even the two most disciplined hitters on the team, Aubrey Huff and Pat Burrell aren't giving very good at bats lately.

There is no reason Lincecum should have been taken out after five innings to be pinch hit for because Bochy thinks that's the only chance of scoring! Lincecum did not deserve to lose that game, and its happened to Giants starting pitching WAY too many times this year to count.