Giants Build On NL West Lead With Huge Win Over Dodgers

Marco Scutaro has had some big hits over his long career. And his hit tonight will rank as one of his biggest hits ever.

Scutaro had a go-ahead two-run single in the seventh inning, Tim Lincecum pitched 6 1/3 solid innings and the Giants beat the Dodgers 5-2 in the opener of a three-game series between the two teams.

Adam Kennedy homered for the Dodgers, who are now 5.5 games behind the Giants. Lincecum walked seven batters (one in every inning), but he pitched well and had great fastball command. He located his fastball inside, and kept Adrian Gonzalez, Matt Kemp and others off-balance all night.

Lincecum didn't get the win, but Santiago Casilla did. Casilla came into a one-out, two on jam, but he got Matt Kemp to ground out and he fanned Hanley Ramirez with a great pitch. Jeremy Affeldt and Sergio Romo pitched well to end the game, and Romo got his 10th save of the year by pitching 1.1 scoreless innings.

Matt Cain (13-5, 2.98 ERA) takes the ball for San Francisco tomorrow, while Chris Capuano (11-10, 3.63 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers.

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Arias, Sanchez Spark Clutch Ninth Inning Rally Leading to 3-2 Win

Joaquin Arias and Hector Sanchez each contributed pinch-hit RBI singles in the ninth to lead the Giants to a 3-2 victory over the lowly Astros.

Matt Cain yielded Houston to just two runs over 7 1/3 innings. However, the Astros stringed together a couple of base runners to regain the lead in the eighth. Cain allowed a free pass to Jonathan Paredes to leadoff the inning. Brett Wallace followed with a single, and the cleanup hitter, Jason Castro bunted them over. Though the Astros wouldn’t need a hit to take the lead, as Paredes raced home on Cain’s 3-2 wild pitch that skipped through Buster Posey’s legs.

Santiago Casilla was summoned to dampen the Astros spark. He did just that, carving his way out of the inning unscathed.

Angel Pagan continued his hot streak. Bud Norris, who surrendered just one run over 6 2/3 innings, salvaged a solo home run to Pagan in the fifth, his eighth blast of the season. Although, Pagan’s blast was answered with an Astros’ blast in the bottom half of the inning off the bat of Fernando Martinez.

The Giants only hit with runners in scoring position came from Hector Sanchez. The hit just happened to be the go-ahead run. Multiple opportunities were wasted quite simply.

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Arias Drives in 5, As Giants Complete Sweep of Dodgers, 8-4

A Buster Posey-less lineup is generally a sign of the Giants salvaging a game, but Wednesday night was quite the opposite. Perhaps Joaquin Arias sniffed an opportunity to shine in the wake of Posey’s hamstring injury. The utility infielder pumped out five RBIs, including a two-run homer in the first inning that sparked a good overall offensive night for the Giants who prevailed 8-4.

The definition of a catalyst has essentially been Angel Pagan during this three game series against the Dodgers. Once again, he led off the game with a hit (double), and scored the first run of the contest. After he trotted across home plate on Pablo Sandoval’s sacrifice fly in the first inning, it marked the third straight day that he scored the first run of the game.

Matt Cain, who was working without his battery mate in Posey, seemingly clicked with Hector Sanchez behind the dish. The big right-hander yielded the Dodgers’ bats to just a lone run over seven innings. Hunter Pence looked like a lost duck while attempting to track down Andre Ethier’s fly ball. He spun around multiple times only to have the ball drop on the warning track. His misplay led to the first Dodgers’ run, and Cain’s only blemish.

The Giants kicked their offense into full gear during a three run sixth inning. Pagan led off the inning with yet another hit, Marco Scutaro followed with a ground rule double that hopped over the short left field wall. Sandoval would drive in Pagan, Arias would drive in Scutaro, and Justin Christian capped off the inning with a bases loaded walk to extend their lead.

The Dodgers wouldn’t go down easily, though. A three-run eighth inning kept the tiny hope alive to craft a comeback. Clay Hensley began the inning, but after coaxing two straight hits to the heart of the Dodgers’ lineup, he was lifted from the game in favor of Jeremy Affeldt. Affledt wouldn’t help the situation, though. He loaded the bases, forcing skipper Bruce Bochy to bring in Santiago Casilla, who inherited the tense situation. He wasn’t able to close the gap as Luis Cruz slapped a two-run broken bat single into shallow centerfield. Though he stopped the bleeding by starting an inning-ending double play.

Cain surrendered five hits, but didn’t allow any free passes, walking none and striking out five en route to his 13th win of the season.

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Lincecum Fuels 4-1 Win Over Dodgers

Behind Tim Lincecum, the Giants cliched a series win on Tuesday night, beating the Dodgers 4-1.

Lincecum had some of his best stuff on Tuesday. His fastball was clicking as well, hitting 94 MPH occasionally in the early stages of the game. In spite of all the positives, he was taken out with two outs in the sixth inning.

Lincecum put two runners on for Shane Victorino in the sixth. Victorino singled to shallow centerfield where Angel Pagan reared back and fired a one-hop seed to home plate, gunning out A.J. Ellis trying to score from second.

Lincecum wouldn’t escape the inning unscathed. Matt Kemp, who came into the game with 17 strikeouts against Lincecum, hit a booming sacrifice fly to the warning track in right field. Just like that, his night was in numbered.

Lincecum finished with just four strikeouts, and only one walk. He also allowed five hits, over 5 2/3 innings.

Angel Pagan proved to be the cataylst. He stroked three hits including a run and an RBI. Marco Scutaro also picked up two hits and a run to continue his recent hot streak.

Pagan and Scutaro were driven in by Buster Posey in a two-run first inning. Brandon Crawford drove in a run as well on a looper that landed in front of Shane Victorino in left field.

Stripped of his closer duties, Santiago Casilla pitched two perfect frames. And Javier Lopez would slam the door shut on the Dodgers for the second consecutive night.

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SF Giants: Bruce Bochy Is Smart to Strip Santiago Casilla of the Closer Role

Early in the season, Bruce Bochy was able to relax a little bit in the ninth inning. Even though his star closer, Brian Wilson, went down with an elbow injury. 

Now, when the Giants have a small lead in the ninth, Bochy can’t relax.

Santiago Casilla, the Giants' former closer, went through a tough stretch in July, and Bochy decided he had seen enough. Casilla was stripped of the closers' role, and Bochy announced that Javier Lopez, Jeremy Affeldt and Sergio Romo would combine to pitch the eighth and ninth in tight games.

Romo has always been dominant, especially against right-handed hitters. Despite pitching terribly in two games in late July, he has a 2.06 ERA and an 0.94 WHIP. Lopez has a 3.33 ERA, and Affeldt boasts a 2.56 ERA.

Even though Casilla's ERA nearly reached 8 during a span of 17 appearances, his ERA for the season is still a respectable 3.35. Casilla saved 24 games for the Giants, but he allowed a lot of homers and two-out hits in July (which resulted in five blown saves).

And Bochy decided he'd seen enough. Casilla, who has a 3.75 career ERA, lost his job as the closer. Now, he'll most likely pitch in the 7th inning, extra innings (if needed), or in blowout games.

Some might say that Bochy could have let him close for a little while longer and seen if Casilla was able to break out of his funk. However, in reality, that wasn't going to happen. He left a lot of pitches over the plate, and when the ball didn't go over the plate, it went way outside of the strike zone. The pressure of the playoff race finally caught up to Casilla, and he wasn’t able to handle pitching in the ninth.

Casilla has only pitched once in the Giants' last 13 games, but he struggled in that game. He allowed two earned runs and recorded only one out, getting the loss in a game against the Mets. Affeldt continued to do well, Lopez and Romo recorded key outs, and Bochy decided to shake up the bullpen roles.

Closers can't be inconsistent, and Casilla was. After blowing five of eight saves in a span of almost a month, Bochy considered changing the bullpen roles. However, Casilla saved a game in Philadelphia and got a win against the Padres (he pitched a shutout inning), which prompted Bochy to let Casilla get some more save opportunities.

And he is making a great decision for the team.

Romo has balky knees and a sore elbow, so he can't close on a day-to-day basis. However, he can close occasionally, which is why Bochy is using the closer-by-committee formula. Lopez can pitch an inning, but he is more fit shutting down lefties. Affeldt can pitch well for two innings, and all three can handle the pressure of closing games.

Affeldt has good stuff and is pretty consistent. His stats have been stellar in the last two years, and he's established himself as one of the Giants' better relievers. Lopez is a lefty specialist, and he can strike out lefties like no one else in baseball. Romo has a nasty slider and is a nightmare for righties.

All three of these guys bring something unique to the bullpen. If a couple righties are going to hit, Romo can pitch. If a lefty steps to the plate, Bochy can bring in Affeldt or Lopez. He knows how to manage his bullpen, and as long as he gives his three relievers favorable match-ups, they will do the job.

San Francisco's bullpen has been struggling, and Casilla is part of the reason why. His inability to pitch in high-pressure situations has killed the team, and luckily, Bochy realized it in time. Pitching in the 7th inning, where there's less pressure on him, should help Casilla pitch better.

And pitching in the 8th and 9th inning should help Lopez, Romo and Affeldt bring the Giants' bullpen back to the status of elite and the team back to the postseason. 

This article was originally published on Bleacher Report.

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