It was a night of firsts.Matt Cain's first win in 9 decisions against the Dodgers, Giants first sweep of the Dodgers in SF since 203, Javier Lopez's first appearance of the season, and Edgar Renteria's first clutch hit as a Giant!
Well OK, maybe Rent has had a few clutch hits as a Giant, but this one is the biggest this season. (this one was the biggest last season) But it didn't make it any less surprising. I loved Joe Morgan's comment early in Rent's at bat when he mentioned that Renteria has had a repuutation throughought his career for being a clutch hitter. Probably one pitch before Rent drilled his triple into the left centerfield gap that Matt Kemp totally misplayed from a double into a triple.
The fact that Rent was up with 2 runners on at all made me question Joe Torre's status as a great manager. Torre, for some reason that I still can't figure out, intentionally walked Aaron Rowand, who was hitting a robust .230 against LHP this season, so that lefty Clayton Kershaw could face Edgar Renteria, who was batting .333 Vs. lefties this season. Edgar promptly ripped the triple into the alley and scored the only 2 runs of the game and single handedly was responsible for the offensive side of things in tonight's victory.
And they say Bochy is a bad manager!
The battle of the trade deadline acquisitions was decidedly in the Giant's favor as well. Javier Lopez made his Giants debut and threw 2 pitches to the new Dodgers leftfielder, Scott Podsednik, who he got to ground out to end the 8th inning.
It doesn't get any easier for the Giants. Starting Tuesday, they face the Colorado Rockies in Colorado. They will be throwing Sanchez, Bumgarner, and Lincecum at the team that has won 4 games in a row after losing their previous 8. Then it's off to Atlanta to face the always tough Braves and to have the 2 top NL ROY candidates face off against one another.
Link of the Day:
John Bowker is in a better place now. It seems that after the initial shock of being traded wore off . john Bowker realized that the Giants have done him a favor by sending him to Pittsburgh. He wasn't going to get a chance to play everyday in San Francisco while they were in contention. Hell, he wouldn't have even put on a Giants uniform until September at the earliest. But in Pitt he will get a chance to play. The Pirates aren't going anywhere and they play in a more hitter friendly park than the Giants do. Good luck Johnny B. and hopefully Bowkermania will catch on in Pittsburgh!
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