Sacramento's finest (with all due respect to Matt Barnes), John Bowker, hit a two-run home run in the first inning and Matt Cain looked sharp as the San Francisco Giants improved to 3-0 on the young season with a 10-4 ass-whooping over the Houston Astros on Wednesday (box score) (press pass). The Giants collected 19 hits, led by Edgar Renteria who went 5-for-5 with two RBI and is now batting .727 (8-for-13) this season.
Following a Mark DeRosa single in the second inning, Bowker (who led the Giants with six home runs and 23 RBI during spring training), connected on a 2-1 pitch from Astros starter Brett Myers.
Cain picked up right where Tim Lincecum and Barry Zito left off, going 6.2 quality innings and allowing three earned runs on six hits and no walks. He also struck out five. Giants starters are now 2-0 with a 1.37 ERA and 0.661 WHIP. In 19.2 innings, Lincecum, Zito and Cain have struck out 17 batters and walked just one.
Giants outfielder Aaron Rowand snapped an 0-for-10 slide by collecting four hits. But he almost gave the game away in the seventh inning with two runners on when he took his eye off a fly ball that glanced off his glove and was credited as a triple for Cory Sullivan. Jeremy Affeldt came in to relieve Cain and allowed an infield single to Michael Bourn that scored Sullivan and tied the game, 4-4, taking a win away from Cain.
Rowand redeemed himself in the eighth inning, though, driving in Eli Whiteside to give the Giants a 6-4 lead. After a leadoff double by Juan Uribe, Houston reliever Sammy Gervacio (he of "wax on, wax off" fame) fielded a bunt by Whiteside and tried to nail Uribe who was going to third. The ball got away from Gervacio and ended up in the left field corner, allowing Uribe to score easily and allowing Whiteside to go all the way to third.
Rowand added an RBI single in the ninth inning as well.
1B Travis Ishikawa was brought into the game as a defensive replacement --- and homered as part of a four-run ninth inning.
Notes:
- It's not just the pitching that's been impressive so far. The Giants are batting .356 (37-for-104) as a team through the first three games.
- The Giants, who tweaked their lineup during the off-season to add more power (Aubrey Huff, DeRosa), are ostensibly slower on the base paths. They've hit into seven double plays in their first three games.
Original Story:
http://www.22gigantes.com/2010/04/clu...
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