If the San Francisco Giants need anything right now, it's consistent pitching. Winning a game in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs at a full count in a nine pitch at-bat is nice and all, but it really is something that they can't make into a trend throughout the course of a season. It really is nice though, to see the Giants able to win that kind of game, especially when you're down into the lineup and Miguel Tejada is the guy who works to the aforementioned full count and slams the game winner into the center field wall.
It's probably a bit better for fans with weak hearts though, in comparison to the home opener that stretched into the twelfth inning that ended on the whims of Aaron Rowand and his propensity to make his presence known at the most random of times. Still, that's what we've had so far in this three-game set, and who knows what's in store for the finale?
We get Barry Zito, that's what's in store for the finale. I don't know what that means, and let's not pretend you do either. Zito was handed a no-decision in his first outing, which ended up being a 7-5 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Zito pitched six innings giving up three hits, three runs including a home run, walking two and striking out five. It wasn't a terrible outing, but the Giants expect more from him at this point and he'll need to step his game up.
The counter-balance to that is Kyle Lohse, taking the mound for the Cardinals. He was the victim of the Pittsburgh Pirates in his last outing, giving up six hits, four runs and one homerun, while walking one and striking out five. So we've got pitchers sporting a 4.5 and a 5.13 ERA respectively, so with the way things are going, this will end up being a pitching duel where neither side gives up any earned runs.
Just how it is when I try and predict something Giants related.