Brad Penny had his second consecutive impressive outing in the orange and black. He pitched 7 strong innings, allowing only 2 runs on 3 hits with 6 strikeouts. He has a 1.20 ERA as a Giant. Sure, not having to face the DH helps, but Penny has made some adjustments that prevented him from being successful in Boston. He still throws a blazing fastball, as he was consistently in the mid-90s with that pitch. But he now has better command of his change-up (a Jason Schmidt-like 90 mph change-up) and curveball, allowing him to mix his pitches more effectively. Penny admitted as much in his post-game news conference, saying that in Boston, he was consistently behind in counts, which gave opposing hitters the advantage of waiting for his fastball. With Brad Penny in the No. 5 slot, the Giants have the deepest rotation in all of baseball. Penny's next start will be against the Dodgers, with whom Penny had a very messy divorce. Expect fireworks.
Penny, unfortunately, showed why he doesn't have a sterling reputation around baseball. He's a hothead. There was absolutely no reason for him to yell at Adrian Gonzalez, who had a respectable trot after his mammoth homerun. Gonzalez didn't pull the Prince Fielder act for sure (more on that later). Penny then exacerbated the situation when he jawed at the Padres dugout after a strikeout to end the 6th inning. No need for that at all. He has to stop these antics that create enemies.
Where would this team be without Juan Uribe?! I love the U-Ribe chants! He's been carrying the team as of late, and he came through big again today with 2 homeruns and a triple for a total of 5 RBIs. Remember, the Giants signed him to a minor-league contract with an invitation to Spring Training. While swinging the bat well, he's done an admirable job playing 3B, SS, and 2B. The Giants better bring him back next year.
It was great to see Freddy Sanchez, who makes this offense a lot better, back in the lineup. Sanchez is a perfect #2 hitter, and he had a nice 2-4 day and also dropped down a key sacrifice bunt in the 5-run 3rd inning that allowed Eugenio Velez to score on Pablo Sandoval's double. Some fans were down on Sanchez because of his injuries, and yes, it's been frustrating not having him in the lineup. I absolutely love this guy. He's one of the few players on this team that consistently gives quality at-bats, displays solid bat control, and comes through in situational at-bats. He also plays a very good 2B. He's going to help this team a lot down the stretch.
Great win overall for the Giants today, especially after yesterday's frustrating loss and Prince Fielder's show of disrespect. What Fielder did yesterday was classless. No matter how exciting a play, you never show up your opponent, ever. On top of that, you don't disrespect your opponent that just took two out of three games from you on your home field. Also, the Brewers are 5 games below .500 while the Giants are in contention for the playoffs. Fielder isn't a rookie; he should know better, and I'm sure Ken Macha and his staff brought him back down to earth today. Angels' outfielder Torii Hunter, one of the classiest and most respected players in the game, put it the best: "It's all TV, acting, until someone gets hit with a pitch in the chin...Baseball is not like the NFL, where you can celebrate in the endzone." Karma is omnipresent in baseball, and today, Prince Fielder went 0-3 with two strikeouts against Chris Carpenter and the St. Louis Cardinals. The Giants and Brewers will meet next in Spring Training, and Fielder shouldn't be surprised if he gets nailed with a 95-mph fastball.
Let's get some runs for Timmy tomorrow!
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