The Giants continued their homestand with the Colorado Rockies coming into town.
I was able to go to the game on Friday night so I got a good look at Madison Bumgarner against Jorge De la Rosa. Bumgarner just coming off of a great start against the Dodgers where he struck out 10. This game did not begin well for the lefty, only a few batters into the game he was quickly in a first and third nobody out jam because he was unable to put away hitters when he was ahead of them 1-2. He worked hard and got out of the inning only giving up 1 run after he picked off Josh Rutledge which allowed Brandon Barnes to score. De La Rosa for the Rockies started with the opposite fate, setting down the Giants in order the first two innings. In the top of the third Bumgarner made a huge mistake to power hitting Carlos Gonzalez, who did not miss the hanging curveball and put it into the bay. Col 3-0. In the bottom of the 3rd Bumgarner helped his own cause with a sacrifice fly. Bumgarner then settled into a groove on the mound, being able to command the corners of the zone to keep the high powered Rockies offense in check. Bumgarner was not done with his bat, in the bottom of the 4th he took a fastball down the middle of the plate abd put it deep into the bleachers in left field for a grand slam. He went on to go 6 innings, giving up 4 runs, walking 2 and striking out 7. The bullpen took over for the Giants and shut the door on any comebacks for the Rockies.
San Francisco 6, Colorado 5
Game 2 turned out to be a typical AT&T park game, a pitchers duel. Matt Cain and Brett Anderson went toe to toe in this one. Cain looking to change the season that has already started bad in his first two starts of the season, his biggest problem, control. Control was not a problem in this one as was able to command the corners with ease, looking like the old horse Giants fans are used to seeing. Brett Anderson for the Rockies had a strong start but after the 3rd inning he had to come out of the game with a finger contusion. Which put Walt Weiss's bullpen in a big hole, but they were up to the task. The Giants had no chance as the Rockies pen through 6 shutout innings behind Anderson. Cain's only blemish on an otherwise spotless afternoon came in the 3rd when he gave up a sacrifice fly to Troy Tulowizki. Cain went 7 innings, gave up the one run and struck out 8 Rockies. The biggest part of Cain's success was his pin-point control of his fastball and curveball. Putting them in spots that locked up the hitters and made him look untouchable. The Giants offense was kept at bay in this one and Cain had to deal with a close loss.
Colorado 1, San Francisco 0
In the rubber game of this three game weekend series the Giants sent right hander Tim Hudson to the hill against Tyler Chatwood, who was making his first start of the season. Hudson has been mr. Reliable to start the year with his unreal command of all of his pitches and he has not walked anyone in his first two starts. This day went a little different. The Giants were quickly behind the 8 ball early in this one when Hudson hung a slider right over the middle of the plate to Wilin Rosario in 2nd and he blasted a homer to left field. Both pitchers looked sharp early, getting help from their defense on both sides. In the 5th inning the Giants finally got to Chatwood as they scored 3 runs capped off by a two run single by Angel Pagan. In the 6th the Giants home run tear to start the season continued as Pablo Sandoval got into the fun as he took a hanging changup from Chatwood and deposited it into the SF bay. But the Rockies would not go away, they strung together 3 runs in the 7th/8th inninng to the tie the game, including a homer by Justin Morneau off of Hudson on a fastball, an opposite field home run. In his last 2 innings Hudson struggled a bit with his control which allowed the Rockies to come back. The 9th inning is where it got interesting when Gregor Blanco hit a ball of the second arcade in right center that rolled away from right fielder Michael Cuddyer. Blanco with his speed rounded second when Cuddyer kicked the ball abd Flannery waved him in, but DJ Lemahieu completed a textbook relay to the catcher Rosario who applied the tag to prevent a replay of last years walk-off inside the park home run by Angel Pagan. The game went to extras, but did not last long. In the bottom on the tenth on the second pitch of the at-bat against the lefty Rex Brothers, Brandon Crawford took a rip at a fastball and hit a no-doubt homer into the bay for a walk-off home run.
San Francisco 5, Colorado 4 in 10 innings
The Giants continue their homestand on tuesday when they welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers to town, when they will give the ball to Tim Lincecum who will take on Josh Beckett. The Giants are currently 3-3 on their homestand.
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