The San Francisco Giants appear to be a totally different team than last year. Matt Cain is getting run support (which he maintains, this early in the season, is simply a set-up to a sure-to-be hilarious prank later on in the year) and Pablo Sandoval is hitting three-run homers. Cain was absolutely on fire last night, it was a great game for the Giants, the only negative was the final two innings in which Javier Lopez and Brian Wilson gave Giants fans just a little bit of torture, you know, for old times sake.
Were you down for some more of that sweet, delicious torture? Well, the Giants are sending Barry Zito to the mound, to hold on to your hats, or pants, or whatever it is you generally hold on to in these kinds of situations. Zito has given up earned runs of four and three in his two outings this season, and is still looking to get in the win column at 0-1. The team needs Zito to get back on track and fast, but he'll most likely need some run support.
Joe Saunders will be taking the mound for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and if there's anything Giants fans can be happy about, it's that he's been at least as inconsistent, if not more so, than Zito has been this year thus far. He's out to a 0-1 start, though he definitely pitched badly enough to get to 0-2 in his game against the Cincinnati Reds, in which he lasted only three innings and gave up five runs (four earned) off of six hits, while walking five and fanning only one batter. His other start yielded two runs and three walks for the Chicago Cubs.
On Friday, the Giants placed center fielder Andres Torres on the disabled list, and he won't be eligible to return until April 26th. Darren Ford was called up from Fresno, and saw action at center field in the ninth inning on Friday, after arriving to the game shortly after it began.