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Offense keeps San Francisco Giants alive in win over Arizona
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San Francisco Giants' Bengie Molina, right, celebrates with teammate Pablo Sandoval (48)
after hitting a two-run home run off Arizona Diamondbacks' Doug Davis on Tuesday,
Sept. 29, 2009, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
SAN FRANCISCO---The San Francisco Giants are “still breathing,” according to the team’s manager Bruce Bochy. In tonight’s 8-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks the offense, the Giants provided starter Jonathan Sanchez with ample run support, which was something clearly lacking in the month of September.
The possibility of postseason play has all but dissipated—the team may be eliminated with a Giants loss or Colorado Rockies win—but San Francisco remains set on playing quality baseball for all 162 games.
“The bats came alive and we got the runs,” said Bochy of the Giants’ performance Tuesday night. “We finally broke through.”
Bochy credits the hitters’ patience as an important element of their success, but also feels the players are not playing more lax because the pressure has fizzled along with their playoff possibility.
While the team came through with a win tonight, they still stranded 14 men on base—just one reason why the postseason slipped through the Giants’ fingers.
San Francisco’s offense was able to get 15 hits off of Arizona pitching—including four hits a piece from third baseman Pablo Sandoval and catcher Bengie Molina.
Molina’s days as a San Francisco Giant may be coming to an end as the 2009 season comes to a close, but his performance was a reminder of the impact he had on the team. His two home runs catapulted the battered catcher to a career-high 20 home runs in one season.
Prior to Molina’s second home run of the game, Sandoval added a home run of his own in the seventh inning. The Kung Fu Panda also had an outstanding night, going 4-for-5 and scoring four times.
The positivity was not limited to the offense, however. Outfielder Andres Torres robbed Arizona’s Ryan Roberts of a home run as he leaped and pulled the baseball back into the yard. Problem was, Torres’ glove came loose and as he fell onto his back on the warning track, the ball escaped and bounced off the outfield wall. Laying on the ground, Torres was able to keep his focus and made a spectacular catch. The sequence of events caused the officials to review the play, with the result being a ground-rule double.
As the cool weather and playoff reality settling in, the fair-weather fans have retreated into warmer confines than AT&T Park. But the Giants still have five games to play and, although they are no longer “in this thing,” they intend of finishing strong.
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