Monday, August 9, 2010

Game Recap: SF 4, CHI 3

Ignore the ugly team name in the upper left corner.

It should be automatic now. Buster Posey needs to move to the 2 hole, and let Pat Burrell hit cleanup, until he proves that he actually isn't getting back to the form he had in Philadelphia for 4 years. Patrick the Batrick had 2 doubles and 2 walks tonight, but his biggest at bat came in the 11th inning with bases loaded, when he swung at the first pitch from Marcos Mateo and hit a long flyball to drive in Edgar Renteria and give the Giants a 4-3 win.

It was a welcome bit of timely hitting in a game in which the Giants left 15 runners on base. Carlos Zambrano, making his first start since returning from the restricted list, was very erratic, walking 7 men, but the Giants didn't manage to score against him till the 5th inning. Madison Bumgarner was good if not great, working through a strange 1st inning in which he somehow gave up 2 runs. This game was very frustrating for the Giants in the beginning, when it seemed like every line drive they hit was being caught and every popup by the Cubs was falling. But, they managed to tie the game in the 6th inning, and you felt that at home, no matter how many times they failed, the Giants would eventually get that 4th run across and win the game.

Andres Torres had another multi-hit game, as did Travis Ishikawa. Aubrey Huff got on base 3 times, and his double in the 11th helped set up the Burrell sac fly. And the bullpen was good again for 5 1/3 innings.

There's been a lot of discussion about Aubrey Huff's possible return to the Giants next season, and now Pat Burrell is being mentioned as well. I'd have to see more from him to truly believe he can still hit consistently. His time in Tampa Bay was TERRIBLE. But then you remember he was an integral part of the lineup on Philadelphia's World Series team just a couple years ago. Suddenly his "Water Buffalo" range in left field doesn't look so bad. One thing is for sure: he's carrying the team offensively right now. Jose Guillen: no thank you.

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