Despite Brandon Belt slamming a his first major league homerun, the Giants dropped their second straight to start their season 0-2. Jonathan Sanchez pitched a very solid game, but was given the loss when the San Francisco defense crumbled and fell apart, once again. So many times the Dodgers hit into plays that should have been easy outs, and so many times they found themselves on base when someone in the outfield screwed up, or when someone in the infield would throw the ball five feet wide of their target. With five errors over two games, the Giants will need the edge somewhere.
Everything else has been near-equal to this point, in regards to the pitching staff. Tim Lincecum versus Clayton Kershaw was a pitching duel, Jonathan Sanchez and Chad Billingsley have similar talents, but now we've got the unheralded Matt Cain squaring off against Ted Lilly.
Don't get me wrong, Lilly is good, he's a veteran with tricks up his sleeve in every situation, but the marked advantage in pitching should be Matt Cain. Maybe he can make up for lapses in defense, maybe he'll get the run support he ever-so-desires. Whatever the case, the Giants have the advantage in that regard. Cain sported a 13-11 record with a 3.14 ERA in 33 starts in 2010, while Lilly went 7-4 with a 3.52 ERA in his 12 games since coming to LA in a trade with the Cubs.
Brandon Belt's three-run homer in game two and Pat Burrell's one-run shot in game one are good signs for the Giants. It means the rookie has the chops to hit the big ones and that Burrell still has the propensity to hit a big one at any point in any game. I'd be willing to bet that Belt wants to hit another, more than ever - he hit his first while in the Dodgers' stadium, and he was met with a chorus of boos. I have to figure that he loved 'em, fed off those boos and wants to hear them again. I think it's a very positive thing to be met with boos when you do something great. Betl is the kind of guy who will feed off that.
So there you have it, the Giants are 0-2 and should be favored to win this matchup by every stretch of any imagination, unless you're Ted Lilly or any of his closest friends and family. They're looking to pick up their first win, while LA is looking to assert itself on them. It's the Giants versus the Dodgers, what else do you want?