Mlb 2005

[Giantsfan]

OPENING SERIES: DODGERS @ GIANTS

GAME 1 – Giants 6-4 Dodgers – What more could a fan want on opening day? A fantastic sunny day by the bay at beautiful SBC Park, a great pitching match up between Matt Morris and Jason Schmidt, and the great Dodgers Giants rivalry. Most of the 40 plus thousand would go home happy as well as the Giants recovered from an early deficit to pick up the win. Matt Morris was unable to hold a two-run lead and took the loss after giving up four earned runs on eleven hits. Jason Schmidt pitched eight innings for the win and closer Robb Nenn pitched the ninth for the save. Jacque Jones made his impression on Giants fans as he went 4-4, driving in two runs in his debut. Barry Bonds also had two RBI’s.

GAME 2 – Giants 2-9 Dodgers – How quickly a game can change. The Giants looked good after Jeffrey Hammonds homered in the fourth inning to give the home team a 2-0 lead, with Jesse Foppert shutting down the Dodgers line-up. LA’s offence though would break out in the fifth, as they scored five times to take a lead they would never lose. Richard Hidalgo began the inning reaching on Foppert’s throwing error, then Aaron Boone continued his amazing start driving Hidalgo in with a triple. Milton Bradley would have the critical at bat of the inning as he took Foppert deep for a three-run blast. The game would remain 5-2 until the ninth, when new Giants pitcher Valerio De los Santos allowed four runs on four hits. Only 27,000 fans attended the ball game, and Giants manager Mark Dimmock was ejected in the eight inning for arguing balls and strikes. Edwin Jackson was the winning pitcher, Jesse Foppert the loser.

GAME 3 – Giants 6-5 Dodgers – The San Francisco Giants took the rubber game of this opening series on a one out walk off single by Lance Niekro in the bottom of the ninth inning. After Jacque Jones singled to lead off the inning, the right fielder stole second and advanced to third on a wild throw by catcher Paul Lo Duca. Bonds was intentionally walked, and Pedro Feliz struck out before Niekro won the game. Before the thrilling finish both sides had lead. San Francisco took a 3-1 lead in the first on a Jacque Jones homerun. A Neifi Perez groundout in the second scored catcher Mike Redmond to make it 4-1 Giants. LA would take a 5-4 lead with a four run sixth inning, similar to yesterday’s five run fifth. Richard Hidalgo reached on an error and scored on a double by the red-hot Aaron Boone. Jolbert Cabrera singled home the go ahead run with two outs, but in the bottom of the sixth the Giants responded with Mike Redmond scoring this time on a Ray Durham groundout. Reliever Scott Eyre picked up the win after pitching two scoreless innings, Eric Gagne took the loss.

*Jim Edmonds hit a 3-run walk off homerun as the Cardinals rallied to beat the Diamondbacks 7-6*

[Giantsfan]

PLAYERS CHASING RECORDS ALL MAKE STATEMENTS…OF A DIFFERENT KIND

Rafael Palmeiro, Tom Glavine and Barry Bonds are all heading to the hall of fame after their careers are finished, but in the first week of the season all three have made very different statements. One made a very positive statement about their 2005 intentions, another made a negative statement, and the other made…well just a statement.

Positive: Rafael Palmeiro – For those of you that thought 40-year-old Rafael
Palmeiro would fall off the major league radar in Cleveland, think again. After moving up to ninth all time on the career homerun list, reaching 567 last season, Palmeiro has his sights now locked firmly on Harmon Killebrew in eighth. Palmeiro though would probably not be done their, and fifth all time is now a possibility. The new Indians first baseman clubbed his first homeruns of the season Thursday, and in dramatic fashion. The Indians beat the Detroit Tigers 9-2 at Jacobs Field, behind the three homeruns from Palmeiro, giving him 570 in his career. ‘Raffy’ has certainly made his intentions clear, and if he can keep hitting like this, then Palmeiro could have a legitimate shot at 600.

Negative: Tom Glavine – With 260 career wins, Tom Glavine will end up in the hall of fame, but if the Mets left-hander wants to join the 300 club, he did not convince many with his first outing of this season. Glavine has won just 18 games in the last two seasons with New York, equal the number he won in 2002 alone, his last year with the Braves. At 39, Glavine is still 40 wins shy of the homerun club, meaning he would need to pitch well for probably three more seasons. It can be done for a pitcher to win games at 42, but Glavine has been seemingly declining, and was knocked out after just 3 2/3 innings against the Marlins in his opening start of this season.

Just the statement: Barry Bonds – Bonds has 702 homeruns in his career and counting, that counting though, will not continue beyond 2005. It was revealed by a source at SBC Park, and later confirmed by Bonds himself, that this would be the last season for the Giants slugger. So now the clock is truly on, Bonds needs 53 homeruns this season to tie Hank Aaron, and 13 to pass Babe Ruth for second all-time. Bonds has failed to hit more than 50 ever since his 73 homerun season of 2001, but still managed a total of 44 last year while compiling a measly batting average of just .227. That, however could be key, if pitchers believe they can get Bonds out, then all-time walks leader may get pitched too again, and maybe get enough good swings to finish off a great career on a dramatic high.

THREE GAME SERIES V SAN DIEGO

GAME 1 – Giants 7-2 Padres – Youth and experience helped the Giants to take game one of this series against their division rival San Diego Padres. Young Kevin Correia, making his first big league appearance since 2003 was given the start and thrived back on the big stage. Correia pitched 7 2/3 innings, giving up just two runs, one earned, on seven hits. The youngster never once appeared flustered and always in control as he picked up the win. Ben Howard was the loser for San Diego, giving up five runs in four innings, highlighted by a three-run first in which Barry Bonds hit his first homerun of the 2005 season. Jacque Jones picked up his third player of the game award in four games as he went 3-4 with an RBI. Jones is certainly making a great impression, hitting .529 with one homerun and six Runs Batted In.

*The New York Mets fell to 0-4 with a 7-5 loss to the Phillies. Jim Thome became the season’s second player to hit three homeruns in a game.*
*Aubrey Huff had four doubles in the Devil Rays 10 inning win against the Blue Jays*

Game 2 – Giants 2-4 Padres – Kirk Reuter knows he must pitch well to even keep his place in the rotation, and despite getting the loss here, he did at least keep the Giants in the game. Reuter pitched six innings giving up four runs, but gave up three of those runs with two-outs. Pedro Feliciano pitched a decent game for San Diego, but left after 4 2/3 innings, meaning he was not eligible for the win, he did though get his first ever career hit. Bruce Bochy also left the game in the fourth inning, as he became the second ejected manager in just five games at SBC this season. Red-hot Giants right fielder Jacque Jones was given the day off with a left-hander on the mound, but he did pinch hit, 0-1 with a walk.

Game 3 – Giants 4-9 Padres – Jason Schmidt was not Jason Schmidt. The Giants ace gave up eight runs in 6 1/3 innings, and seemed unable to keep the Padres off the scoreboard whenever he had the chance. Another worry for Mark Dimmock is his newly acquired reliever, Valerio De los Santos, who again came in and gave up a run. Although the season is very young, Santos needs to be able to give his teammates confidence, something he has failed to do yet. San Diego put the game away with a four run seventh inning, Jose Hernandez staring with a 5RBI day. Adam Eaton pitched six innings for the win; he is now 2-0. Jay Witasick pitched three scoreless innings for his first save of the season.


(My 'ESPN Sunday night game report' will be Rangers @ Angels this week)

[Giantsfan]

ESPN SUNDAY NIGHT BASEBALL

Rangers (4-1) @ Angels (2-3)

The ESPN Sunday bandwagon draws into the home of the Anaheim Angels on Sunday, as the Angels take on the surprise early division leaders, the Texas Rangers. Anaheim will send arguably its ace to the mound, Bartolo Colon. The 185 pound Dominican gave Anaheim 8 innings of three-run ball in his first start, taking a no-decision in the Angels win over the Seattle Mariners. Colon though, was happy with the outings outcome,
“The win for me, you know it does not matter so much if I can pitch well for enough for us to win, and I did that.” Asked again about his stamina, he gave up all runs after the sixth inning, Colon was bullish, “My weight is not a factor, that’s a good ball club and I pitched a good game…it does not matter as long as I pitch well.”
The Angels, despite that win, have not made the start to the season that manager Mike Scioscia wished. They lost the series at home against Seattle to open the season, and with defeat tonight, would lose their home series against the Texas Rangers. Early though it is, and nobody is getting carried away here after five games, it would be nice for the team, who head out on a 10-game road trip following this game, to have a series win under their belts.
Texas, on the contrary, has made a very good start to the season. They opened up with a series sweep of the Oakland A’s in Arlington, and responded well after a loss in the first game of this series. New Ranger Pat Hentgen takes the mound tonight, after going 6 1/3 against Oakland to pick up the win, a performance in which he gave up just one run. Hank Blalock is hitting .421, with two homers and five RBI’s so far this season.

Game Recap:

Anaheim Angels 2-3 Texas Rangers

Sometimes, life just is not fair. Baseball, of course, is no different at all. Bartolo Colon threw 124 pitches, pitched 8 innings giving up just one earned run, left the game level only because of a two out error by Adam Kennedy, out pitched his opponent and had nine strikeouts. Colon though, would not be on the winning side in Sunday’s game. Instead, catcher J.D. Closser’s homerun off reliever Danny Patterson with one out in the ninth inning was enough for the Rangers to win the rubber game of the three game set. Colon’s only run allowed was on a solo homerun to Lance Nix in the third inning that tied the game at one, after Vladimir Guerrero homered off Hentgen in the first inning. Lance Berkman’s double following Kennedy’s error gave Texas a 2-1 lead in the sixth, but the Angels immediately responded with Brent Mayne singling in Robert Fick. Rangers closer Al Reyes threw nine strikes in ten pitches as he shut down the Angels in the bottom of the ninth to secure the win. As for Texas starter Pat Hentgen, he was charged for two runs in 5 1/3 innings pitched, working out of a bases loaded, one-out jam in the bottom of the third.
The game time was three hours forty, with Jeff Zimmerman (1-0) getting the win, Danny Patterson (0-1) the loss, and Al Reyes picking up his fourth save of the season.



Players of the week:

American League: Aubrey Huff – Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Huff hit .426 with 11 RBI’s in 26 at-bats. He leads the American League in batting average and is tied for the runs batted in lead. Huff’s four doubles against Toronto were a new American League record for a single game.

National League: Larry Walker – Colorado Rockies
Walker is tied for the lead in baseball with a .500 batting average (10-20), and hit three homers with seven runs batted in.

[Giantsfan]

GIANTS FIRST ROAD TRIP BEGINS IN LA

Game 1 – Giants 4-5 Dodgers - It took just one swing to completely change this game. With two outs and no one on in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Giants held a 4-2 lead. Jesse Foppert then walked two consecutive hitters, causing Mark Dimmock to head to his much-improved bullpen. Shingo Takatsu came in, needing just the out of Shawn Green to end the inning, instead, Green would go yard to lift the Dodgers to the win. The Giants brief rally in the eighth nearly tied the game, before Neifi Perez grounded into a double play with one out and runners at the corners. The Giants also left two runners in the ninth, and left the bases loaded in the sixth inning. The Dodgers took their chance against Takatsu though, and won despite the good performance from Giants starter Jesse Foppert, who went 6 2/3 innings. Hideo Nomo walked six in his 4 1/3 for Los Angeles, with Tom Farmer pitching a scoreless inning for the win. Eric Gagne struggled in the ninth, giving up two hits, but held on for his second save of the season. The Giants have now dropped three straight, and are bottom of the National League West with a 3-4 record.

[Giantsfan]

Game 2 – Giants 1-2 Dodgers - The Giants dropped their fourth straight game despite a great performance from Jerome Williams at Chavez Ravine on Wednesday. Williams struck out eleven Dodgers as he pitched all eight innings, taking a no-hitter into the sixth and giving up just two-runs, the result of a double from Milton Bradley. Williams was extremely good apart from that at-bat. He struck out Alfonso Soriano four times, and gave up just four hits overall. Williams also did not walk a batter. Despite that performance, and a good one his in his first start as well, the Giant pitcher is now 0-1 (with a 1.98 ERA) in two starts.
Jeff Weaver pitched eight innings of five-hit ball, giving up just one run as he won his first game of the season. The Giants did score first off Weaver, Jacque Jones knocking in Neifi Perez, but would miss out on a second run as the result of poor base coaching. Down 2-1 in the top of the seventh, Lance Niekro (replacing the slumping Pedro Feliz) doubled to left center, moving Mike Redmond around to third. With one out and the pitcher on-deck, the third base coach waved the slow Redmond on, challenging the excellent arm of Garret Anderson in centerfield. Redmond was cut down at home plate. Williams then drew a walk in his at bat, before Durham flied out to deep right center field to end the inning, had Redmond been held, Durham’s fly ball would have tied the game.
Eric Gagne pitched the ninth for his third save, but again gave up a hit, this time to Giants catcher Mike Redmond. Redmond was 2-4, and is now hitting .419. The eleven strikeouts were a career high for Williams.

Game 3 – Giants 5-6 Dodgers – Three one-run games, and the Giants are swept out of town by the Dodgers. With nearly 50,000 in attendance on ‘Bobble head Day’ at Dodger Stadium, LA left its fans happy after a nail-biting late inning scrap. Things had started well for LA, with Matt Morris on the mound, Giants starter Kevin Correia gave up two runs in the first inning, on a homerun from Shawn Green. Morris was unable to hold the lead though. The Giants responded immediately with a two-run second inning to tie the game back up, Mike Redmond getting another hit, he was 1-3 on the day.
Both pitchers would then settle down, but it was the Giants who scored next. Correia helped himself with a two-out RBI single to give San Francisco the lead, which became 4-2 on a base hit by Ray Durham. In the bottom half of the inning though, Correia got into some difficulty. Milton Bradley walked to lead off the inning, Soriano reached on a bunt, and after Bradley was forced out, Soriano led a double steal to get both runners in scoring position for Garret Anderson. However, when a ‘web gem’ from Ray Durham robbed Anderson, the Giants appeared to have escaped, they had not. Richard Hidalgo, a sub .100 hitter when he came to the plate, blasted a three-run bomb way out of the park to give Los Angeles the lead again.
Eric Gagne came out in the ninth looking for his fourth save in four days, but finally gave up the big hit that he had avoided while not looking dominant in previous outings. Josh Hamilton doubled to leadoff the inning, he then stole third and scored on Ray Durham’s fly ball to even the scores once again. Neifi Perez followed with a single of the seemingly hittable Gagne, before Jones flied out to the track. Bonds grounded out to end the inning.
Aaron Boone and Paul Lo Duca were retired for LA to begin the ninth, but then the trouble began for Chad Zerbe. Cabrera, Roberts and then Bradley all had singles, the final scoring Cabrera as the Dodgers walked off with the win. So the Giants play well, get chances to win, but lose all three games to LA. They now head to Arizona at 3-6, bottom of the division.