It was a back and forth matchup today between the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers as they traded blows inning by inning; But it was the Giants who eventually came out on top by a score of 8-7 behind a 2 run rally in the 9th lead by youngsters Gary Brown, Francisco Peguero, and Thomas Neal.
Dan Runzler got the start for the G-Men today and lasted 3 innings with 5 hits, 2 runs (1 unearned), 1 walk and 3 strikeouts. He was followed by Guillermo Mota and his 2 innings of work that allowed 1 run and 3 strikeouts, then it was the bearded savior himself, Brian Wilson, for his second outing of Spring Training. He had a perfect innings with a strikeout. Lefty sidewinder Javier Lopez had a rough seventh inning allowing 4 runs to give the Dodgers back the lead.
Freddy Sanchez smoked a triple off the center field wall scoring Andres Torres in the first, followed by a sacrifice fly by Aubrey Huff to score Sanchez. Cody Ross blasted a 2 run bomb in the fourth, his second of Spring Training, while Pat Burrell hit a 2 run homer in the sixth, also his second of the preseason. The Giants were done 7-6 in the bottom of the ninth, but singles by Thomas Neal and Francisco Peguero, a wild pitch from Roman Colon, and finally a single by Gary Brown gave the Giants the come from behind victory against the hated Dodgers.
Jonathan Sanchez was kept out of today’s game against the Dodgers to get some work in with the minor leaguers and keep L.A. from sizing him up before the season. Here’s what Giants beat writer Andrew Baggerly tweeted about Sanchez’s outing:
Jonathan Sanchez from minor league camp: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 Ks. One errant throw to first base. Fastball was up in first two IP
Sanchez would have preferred to face the rival Dodgers, but it probably was for the best that he didn’t. It was the biggest crowd ever at Scottsdale Stadium today with the recorded attendance at 12,081.
The Giants will have their second World Series rematch with the Texas Rangers in the Cactus League tomorrow at Surprise Stadum in Surprise, Arizona. First pitch is slated for a 1:05 PT (2:05 MT) start with Ryan Vogelsong getting the start for the G-Men and Tommy Hunter getting the start for the Rangers. The game will be televised on a tape delay on MLB Network, but can also be heard on KNBR 680.
Remember folks, its Daylight Savings Time tomorrow, don’t forget to change you clocks and schedule accordingly to keep up with the Giants!