SB Nation Bay Area - Giants vs. Nationals: Giants Win 3-1 Behind Matt Cain's Complete Game https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48817/bayrea-fave.png2011-06-09T14:08:38-07:00http://bayarea.sbnation.com/rss/stream/19731202011-06-09T14:08:38-07:002011-06-09T14:08:38-07:00Tim Lincecum Changeup: Third Best Pitch In Baseball?
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<p>Baseball is still a pitcher's game, regardless of what people think. The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/">San Francisco Giants</a> are a team that thrives on that philosophy. <span>Madison Bumgarner</span>, <span>Matt Cain</span>, <span>Ryan Vogelsong</span> are all guys that rate among the best in keeping runs off the plate. </p>
<p>However, none of them create the reverential awe that one <span>Tim Lincecum</span> creates. And his array of pitches are among the best in the leagues. He has the deadly fastball that mixes from 92 to 97 mph (although at times it can dip off). And his slider and curve ball are fantastic third and fourth pitches to rely on to give him versatility.</p>
<p>But it's not those pitches that rate on a list of best pitches in baseball. <a style="color: #c8181d !important; text-decoration: none !important; background-color: transparent;" href="http://mlb.sbnation.com/2011/6/9/2215872/best-pitch-in-baseball-mariano-rivera-jonny-venters" target="_blank">Grant Brisbee of Baseball Nation thinks Lincecum's changeup is the best of any Giant; click here to read the remainder of the top five</a>.</p>
<p><b>What do you think? And what do you believe is the best pitch by a pitcher in all of baseball? After the jump, an explanation from Brisbee.</b></p>
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<p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px;">3. Tim Lincecum (changeup)</p>
<p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px;">This brought up a philosophical question. Halladay is the better pitcher -- even the most rabid Giants partisan would have to agree at this point -- so wouldn’t that make the cutter better? After careful consideration, though, the changeup makes it because Lincecum is the best strikeout pitcher in the game, and this pitch is why. When he was struggling with velocity dips, averaging 89 mph, his changeup never stopped making hitters look goofy. The fastball is great, the slider and curve have their moments, but this changeup has made Lincecum the fastest pitcher to reach 1,000 strikeouts.</p>
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https://bayarea.sbnation.com/san-francisco-giants/2011/6/9/2216045/tim-lincecum-changeup-third-best-pitch-baseball-mlbAvinash Kunnath2011-06-08T15:20:17-07:002011-06-08T15:20:17-07:00Giants vs. Nationals, MLB Scores: Giants Win 3-1 Behind Matt Cain Complete Game
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<p>The starting pitchers for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/">San Francisco Giants</a> were in need of a boost lately after having a string of somewhat lack-luster starts as of late. But <span>Matt Cain</span> broke the cycle today, pitching a sensational complete game while holding the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.federalbaseball.com/">Washington Nationals</a> to only one run as the Giants went on to win by a score of 3-1 at AT&T Park.</p>
<p>Cain (W 5-4) gave up only five hits throughout the game, while striking out an impressive 11 Nationals while walking only one. The lone run came from an <span class="caps">RBI</span> double from <span>Rick Ankiel</span> in the seventh, stranding the other five runners on base. Cain also had 22 first pitch strikes of 33 batters he faced, while 78 of his 110 pitches were for strikes.</p>
<p>As for the offense Matt Cain helped himself out with a <span class="caps">RBI</span> double in the sixth, then the Giants added two more in the seventh off of a <span>Brandon Crawford</span> <span class="caps">RBI</span> triple followed by a <span>Eli Whiteside</span> <span class="caps">RBI</span> single. Crawford and Whiteside were the only two Giants to have multiple hits for the game, both finishing 2-3.</p>
<p><span>Yunesky Maya</span> was solid in his six innings of work for the Nats, allowing only one run on four hits, with one walk and one punch out. <span>Sean Burnett</span> (L 1-3) was tagged for the loss after his inning of relief in the seventh.</p>
<p>With the win the Giants move to 35-27 on the year. Full box score can be found <a href="http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=310608126" target="new">here</a>.</p>
<p>The Giants will begin their series with the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.redreporter.com/">Cincinnati Reds</a> on Thursday at AT&T Park, with first pitch set for 7:15 p.m. PT. Madison Bumgarner (2-7 3.42 <span class="caps">ERA</span>) will take the mound to face <span>Johnny Cueto</span> (2-2 2.27 <span class="caps">ERA</span>), with coverage on <span class="caps">CSN</span> Bay Area and <span class="caps">KNBR</span> 680 AM.</p>
https://bayarea.sbnation.com/san-francisco-giants/2011/6/8/2214246/giants-vs-nationals-mlb-scores-giants-win-3-1-behind-matt-cain-complete-gameErnie Pomin2011-06-08T12:35:45-07:002011-06-08T12:35:45-07:00Pablo Sandoval Goes Off In First Rehab Start, Could Soon Replace Miguel Tejada For Giants
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<p><a href="http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2011/6/7/2212909/post-game-thread-giants-score-run-still-fall" target="_blank">Based on this description by Grant at McCovey Chronicles</a>, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/">San Francisco Giants</a> could use some offense right now. Thankfully, the guy the Giants might need could be on his way back, and they're very familiar with his work. </p>
<p><span>Pablo Sandoval</span> has been one of the mainstays for San Francisco's offense the past few years, but a wrist injury has had him sidelined for quite some time. However, in his first rehab start since the injury in Triple-A, Sandoval not only received much fanfare from the crowd in Fresno, but proved the wrist might be the last thing anyone will have to worry about. His performance was classic Kung Fu Panda. Video after the jump.</p>
<p><b>How much of an impact will the return of Pablo Sandoval have on this season's incarnation of the Giants: Great effect, some effect, no effect at all? Let us know in the comments!</b></p>
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<p>One homer, one sacrifice fly, one beating out of a double play, four RBIs, a 12-4 crushing by the Fresno Grizzlies. All old hat for Giants fans.</p>
<p>If Sandoval is to return to the Giants roster (and you'd imagine it'll be soon), the club will have to make a decision on who to send down. Would it be <span>Miguel Tejada</span>, who has been struggling mightily at the bat? The third baseman could give them a huge offensive boost, so it wouldn't be surprising if Tejada's journey with the Giants is about to be interrupted, potentially for good. </p>
https://bayarea.sbnation.com/san-francisco-giants/2011/6/8/2213064/pablo-sandoval-fresno-grizzlies-miguel-tejada-san-francisco-giantsAvinash Kunnath2011-06-08T10:16:05-07:002011-06-08T10:16:05-07:00Giants vs. Nationals, Schedule Preview: Matt Cain Out to Salvage Series Win
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/">San Francisco Giants</a> lost another close one to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.federalbaseball.com/">Washington Nationals</a> at AT&T Park Tuesday, but now must focus on their matinee meeting with the Nats Wednesday to clinch a series win with Washington.</p>
<p><span>Matt Cain</span> (4-4 3.64 <span class="caps">ERA</span>) is coming of a nice start against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.purplerow.com/">Rockies</a> last week where he held them to just one run over seven innings and only four hits. Cain will also be looking to redeem himself from a loss to the Nationals May 1 where he allowed only two earned runs but took the L.</p>
<p>Even though the starting pitchers haven’t done anything incredibly remarkable this homestand, the Giants bullpen has held the opposition scoreless for 17 innings so far on this homestand, including four innings Tuesday. The pen has held opponents scoreless in 13 of the last 16 home games.</p>
<p>Cain will face the Nats Yunesky Maya (0-1 8.00 <span class="caps">ERA</span>) making only his third start for the Nationals this season. Don’t expect a slugfest at all though as both of these teams love to play them close. The Giants are 17-9 in one-run games this season; In fact 29 of their 34 wins have been decided by three runs or less. In total 50 of the Giants’ 61 games this season have been decided by three runs or fewer.</p>
<p>First pitch is set for 12:45 p.m. PT this afternoon with coverage on <span class="caps">CSN</span> Bay Area and <span class="caps">KNBR</span> 680 AM.</p>
https://bayarea.sbnation.com/san-francisco-giants/2011/6/8/2213669/giants-vs-nationals-schedule-preview-matt-cain-out-to-salvage-seriesErnie Pomin2011-06-07T22:28:04-07:002011-06-07T22:28:04-07:00Giants vs. Nationals, MLB Scores: Giants Fall 2-1 Behind Shaky Start From Jonathan Sanchez
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/">San Francisco Giants</a> were looking to keep the good times rolling after Monday night’s epic extra inning adventure with the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.federalbaseball.com/">Washington Nationals</a>. But it was much lower scoring affair on Tuesday at AT&T Park, and the Giants unfortunately were on the wrong end of it tonight. Jonathan Sanchez had trouble with his control, the Giants offense remained relatively quiet, and the Nationals won by a score of 2-1.</p>
<p>Sanchez (L 4-4) lasted for only five innings tonight, allowing two earned runs on four hits, with five walks and six strikeouts. The two runs came on an <span class="caps">RBI</span> single from <span>Ian Desmond</span> in the third and a sacrifice fly from Jordan Zimmerman in the fourth, both after Sanchez gave the Nats base runners with walks.</p>
<p>Zimmerman (W 4-6) was strong in his seven innings of work, keeping the Giants to only one run, an <span class="caps">RBI</span> <span>Nate Schierholtz</span> double in second, along with five hits, one walks, and three strikeouts. <span>Drew Storen</span> got his 12th save of the season with his perfect ninth inning.</p>
<p>With the loss the Giants move to 34-27 on the year. Full box score can be found <a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2011_06_07_wasmlb_sfnmlb_1&mode=box" target="new">here</a>.</p>
<p>The Giants will finish up their series with Washington Wednesday as <span>Matt Cain</span> (4-4 3.64 <span class="caps">ERA</span>) will take the mound to face <span>Yunesky Maya</span> (0-1 8.00 <span class="caps">ERA</span>) for the Nationals.</p>
https://bayarea.sbnation.com/san-francisco-giants/2011/6/7/2212904/giants-vs-nationals-mlb-scores-giants-fall-2-1-behind-shaky-start-jonathan-sanchezErnie Pomin2011-06-07T18:08:49-07:002011-06-07T18:08:49-07:00Giants vs. Nationals, Starting Lineups: Conor Gillaspie Gets First Start Of Season With Giants
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/">San Francisco Giants</a> will roll out their latest call up, <span>Conor Gillaspie</span>, for his first start of the season with the team. Conor will bat second and play third base for <span>Miguel Tejada</span> who will get the night off after the long game on Monday.</p>
<p>Chris Stewart will be behind the dish for Jonathan Sanchez, while <span>Aaron Rowand</span> will get the stat in left field after his bit of heroics last night with his crucial home run in the seventh. <span>Nate Schierholtz</span> will be in right, <span>Brandon Crawford</span> will be at short.</p>
<p>Your San Francisco Giants:</p>
<p>1. <span>Andres Torres</span> CF<br>
2. Conor Gillaspie 3B<br>
3. <span>Freddy Sanchez</span> 2B<br>
4. <span>Aubrey Huff</span> 1B<br>
5. Nate Schierholtz RF<br>
6. Aaron Rowand LF<br>
7. Brandon Crawford SS<br>
8. Chris Stewart C<br>
9. Jonathan Sanchez P</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.federalbaseball.com/">Washington Nationals</a> Lineup:</p>
<p>1. <span>Roger Bernadina</span> LF<br>
2. <span>Ian Desmond</span> SS<br>
3. <span>Jayson Werth</span> RF<br>
4. <span>Michael Morse</span> 1B<br>
5. <span>Danny Espinosa</span> 2B<br>
6. <span>Wilson Ramos</span> C<br>
7. <span>Rick Ankiel</span> CF<br>
8. Jerry Hairston 3B<br>
9. <span>Jordan Zimmermann</span> P</p>
<p>First pitch is set for 7:15 p.m. PT this evening with coverage on <span class="caps">CSN</span> Bay Area and <span class="caps">KNBR</span> 680 AM.</p>
<p><em>For more discussion and analysis of your San Francisco Giants, head on over to <a href="http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/" target="new">McCovey Chronicles</a> to get your fix. </em></p>
https://bayarea.sbnation.com/san-francisco-giants/2011/6/7/2212494/giants-vs-nationals-starting-lineups-conor-gillaspie-gets-first-start-Ernie Pomin2011-06-07T08:29:51-07:002011-06-07T08:29:51-07:00Giants vs. Nationals MLB Schedule Preview: Jonathan Sanchez Up Today
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/">San Francisco Giants</a> came through in game one against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.federalbaseball.com/">Washington Nationals</a>, in the thirteenth inning no-less. Extra innings wins have been a mainstay for them this year, so it was no surprise when they entered the tenth ... no, the surprise came in the eighth inning when they decided to finally start hitting the ball. That was nice of them, no? Also of note, <span>Tim Lincecum</span> reached 1,000 career strikeouts and is officially a total badass. Aside from that, you know, pretty uneventful game.</p>
<p>San Francisco lost the series the last time out, but can secure a win here in game two, and for that purpose, they'll send Jonathan Sanchez to the mound. He was a victor in his last outing, against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/">St. Louis Cardinals</a> in which he gave up three runs on four hits and six walks. Obviously, with that stat-line, he'd had to have gotten plenty of run support ... well the Giants won that game 12-7, so you could call it run support. Sanchez is 1-1 with a 4.07 earned run average against the Nationals in seven meetings, four of which were starts.</p>
<p>He's currently 4-3 with a 3.50 ERA in twelve starts thus far in 2011, and will be trying to improve upon that, while knocking <span>Jordan Zimmermann</span> down from his present stat-line of 3-6 with a 3.61 ERA in eleven starts. Zimmermann allowed only one run in his last outing, a 6-1 victory over the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Arizona Diamondbacks</a>. He already beat the Giants once this year, giving up two runs over six innings.</p>
<p>After game one, the Giants lead the Diamondbacks by one game in the National League West, and they can't let up now. They'll look for Sanchez to get run support from the usual candidates (that is, the usual candidates when the actual usual candidates are on the disabled list) such as <span>Cody Ross</span>, <span>Aubrey Huff</span> and <span>Freddy Sanchez</span>. The game is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. pacific and will be on CSN Bay Area.</p>
https://bayarea.sbnation.com/san-francisco-giants/2011/6/7/2211289/giants-vs-nationals-mlb-schedule-preview-jonathan-sanchez-up-todayJames Brady2011-06-06T23:50:54-07:002011-06-06T23:50:54-07:00Giants vs. Nationals, MLB Scores: Freddy Sanchez Walks Off In Extras for Giants 5-4 Victory
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<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/">San Francisco Giants</a> starter <span>Tim Lincecum</span> was on the verge of making a bit of career history tonight at AT&T Park, looking for his 1000th career strikeout. He reached his milestone, but got knocked out of the game early in what turned out to be a wild extra-inning affair with the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.federalbaseball.com/">Washington Nationals</a>. The Giants scored four times late in the game to force extras, eventually getting the win on a <span>Freddy Sanchez</span> single by a score of 5-4 in 13 innings, the longest game the Giants have had in 2011.</p>
<p>Lincecum lasted only five innings of work, giving up four runs to the Nats in the first three innings including a Micheal Morse homer in the second. Timmy gave up five hits with three walks and five strikeouts during his 101 pitch outing, while earning the historic 1,000th strikeout in the second inning against <span>Jerry Hairston Jr.</span></p>
<p>The Giants bats remained silent against the Nats John Lannan, who kept the Giants to only three hits before <span>Aaron Rowand</span> launched a homer in the seventh to break up the shutout. Lannan would depart after the inning only to watch <span>Todd Coffey</span> and <span>Sean Burnett</span> give up three runs in the eighth off of a <span>Aubrey Huff</span> two run single followed by a <span>Nate Schierholtz</span> <span class="caps">RBI</span> single a few batters later to tie up the game.</p>
<p>Both the Giants and Nationals wasted opportunities in extra innings, but in the bottom of the thirteenth Freddy Sanchez slapped a single to right field to score Chris Stewart from third, giving the Giants their eighth walk-off win of the year.</p>
<p><span>Javier Lopez</span> (W 3-1) was the winning pitcher with his excellent one and 1/3 innings of work in extras, while Craig Stammen (L 0-1) took the loss for Washington.</p>
<p>With the win the Giants move to 34-26 on the season. Full box score can be found <a href="http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=310606126" target="new">here</a>.</p>
<p>The Giants will have the second meeting of the series with the Nationals Tuesday as Jonathan Sanchez (4-3 3.50 <span class="caps">ERA</span>) will be on the mound to take on Jordan Zimmerman (3-6 3.61 <span class="caps">ERA</span>) for the Nats. First pitch is set for 7:15 PT with coverage on <span class="caps">CSN</span> Bay Area and <span class="caps">KNBR</span> 680 AM.</p>
https://bayarea.sbnation.com/san-francisco-giants/2011/6/6/2210838/giants-vs-nationals-mlb-scores-freddy-sanchez-walks-off-in-extras-for-giants-victoryErnie Pomin