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Hopes have faded as the San Francisco Giants lose to the Chicago Cubs 3-0
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San Francisco Giants' Tim Lincecum works against the Chicago Cubs on Friday, Sept. 25, 2009,
in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
SAN FRANCISCO---With each unsuccessful at-bat, the San Francisco Giants seemed to become more deflated than the previous attempt at the plate. Hopes for a spot in the post-season have been slowly withering and the Giants’ 3-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs—paired with a Colorado Rockies win over St. Louis—sped up the process.
Time to cue to sympathetic exit music.
The music began to slowly crescendo before the game when it was announced the shortstop Edgar Renteria would be out for the remainder of the season. The volume went up a notch when the starting lineups were announced and the highly-touted prospect catcher Buster Posey was slated to make his first Major League start.
Hitting against Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano made Posey look like a minor leaguer with great potential. The 22-year-old went 0-for-3 and struck out twice, but he’s getting the playing time that can be given once a team is going through the motions just to finish the season.
“I don't like to make any excuses, but he [Zambrano] was on tonight. My timing felt off a little bit, but I felt like I saw the ball okay. But his slider was great, man. You've got to tip your hat to the guy,” Posey said following the game.
Giants' starter Tim Lincecum gave up two runs in seven innings of work. Randy Johnson worked the ninth inning, where he gave up a double that plated another run for Chicago to Zambrano. The Cubs’ Big Z’s strong outing prevented the Giants from even getting a taste of a possible victory.
“We faced a great pitcher that had great stuff tonight,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of Zambrano. “I don’t know who would have hit him tonight.”
Lincecum held the Cubs to six hits, but he was clearly outdueled. Zambrano pitched his first completed game shutout since his September 14, 2008 no-hitter.
“It was a matchup between two really good pitchers, Lincecum and Zambrano and our guy pitched a little better tonight,” Cubs manager Lou Pinella said after the game.
The Giants couldn’t figure out the 28-year-old and were able to only get two hits—Lincecum being one of the hitters to do so. With a barren offense, Lincecum’s efforts at the plate and on the mound proved to be insufficient without proper support.
This has been the story throughout the year and finally, as the team sits five games out of the Wild Card with eight games remaining, the effects are becoming clear. There have been numerous games when the offense failed the team. Without bats that carry their own weight, the Giants cannot make it to the post-season and are not worthy.
Colorado is a team that is a threat until the 27th out, while the Giants have not earned that type of respect.
The pitching is intimidating, but when a team carries an arsenal consisting of one weapon, it’s easy for an opponent to find ways to win. Unfortunately, that one weapon was not enough to win this season’s battle.
The Giants send their most successful pitcher in the second half, Barry Zito, out to the mound in the next game of the series to jumpstart the team toward a strong ending for the season. Game time is at 1:10 PM.
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