For some reason, the San Francisco Giants just play well against the Philadelphia Phillies this year. That or the Phillies just play poorly against the Giants because of their overconfidence. Either way, the Giants can usually feel happy after a series against them.
Friday, May 9, 2008 :: Giants 4 - Phillies 7
Patrick Misch pitched a good game for the Giants. He doesn't have eletric stuff, but he knows how to work the plate. He pitched six innings of effective ball and left with the score tied 4-4.
The bullpen was unable to hold things together though, giving up three runs in the 8th. One run would have been doable for the Giants to make a come back, maybe even two; but, three was/is too much.
Fred Lewis looks awful against left-handed pitching. At first, I was hoping for him to get starts against left-handers since he has to learn how to hit them at some point in his career. But, he his at-bats look so bad. Swinging early, getting blown by with a fastball down the plate, Lewis may not be able to hit left-handed pitching even if he sees them in half his at-bats.
Saturday, May 10, 2008 :: Giants 8 - Phillies 2
This game was a game of complete opposites. On one side we have the soft hitting San Francisco Giants, on the other we have the power-hitting Philadelphia Phillies. The pitching was the same way. At 23, Tim Lincecum threw at two speeds, fast and really fast. Twenty years his senior, Jamie Moyer pitches at the other end of the spectrum with a fastball six miles slower than Lincecum's changeup.
This game worried me. Young hitters are usually good at hitting the fast stuff but struggle on the soft pitches. Moyer just throws junk so the young guys would most likely struggle in this game.
Good thing Omar Vizquel made his comeback in this game. Hitting in the 2nd hole, Vizquel got three hits on the day and made it known that his defense did not get rusty during his rehab. With his inspirational return, the other veterans on the team picked up their game. Aaron Rowand and Randy Winn both clobbered a home run and Jose Castillo had a 4-hit day.
Having spotted him with 8 runs, Lincecum cruised through eight innings of two-run ball and gave way to Brian Wilson with a standing ovation.
Sunday, May 11, 2008 :: Giants 4 - Phillies 3
Jonathan Sanchez had another poor start today. His control was non-existant, walking five in 4 1/3 innings including walking home a run in the top of the 4th. He was lifted after Ryan Howard of all people smoked a run-scoring triple. Howard would later score on a sacrifice fly by Pat Burrell to make the score 3-2 Phillies.
In the bottom of the 7th, Steve Holm who came in to replace Bengie Molina hit the first pitch he saw from J.C. Romero for his first major league career homerun. Randy Winn was on base at the time and the homerun turned out to be the game winner for the Giants.
Omar Vizquel continued his nice comeback from the day before with three walks today; he also had a slick play at shortstop in the ninth to keep the game from slipping away.
Even with Holm's late-inning dramatics, the bullpen deserves much of the credit in this game. To make up for Friday's poor effort, the bullpen came in to shut down the Phillies for 4 2/3 innings. Billy Sadler, Jack Taschner, and Tyler Walker help to keep the game within striking distance and Brian Wilson shut the door for his 11th save of the season.
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Having just completed the series against the Philadelphia Phillies, I can confidently say the Giants cannot hit left-handed pitching unless it's against Cole Hamels or Jamie Moyer.
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