What a Turn of Events

Last night's Giants/Padres 13-inning battle seems symbolic of the strides this team has made since last year. For the first 8 1/3 innings of this game, it played out like many Giants games have played before - Matt Cain pitches brilliantly only allowing his opponents to scratch one run across, only to have his team not match that. The way things seemed to be heading, as Bengie Molina had an 0-2 count with one out against Trevor Hoffman, I already had a title for this game's blog - "I could have written this without watching the game."

But then something magical happened - Bengie Molina launched a game-tying homer against Hoffman, and the praise-worthy bullpen carried through extra innings. It got quite nerve-wracking when San Diego threatened to overtake our two run lead in the 13th - but Brian Wilson hung on just long enough to seal the win.

The bright spots of tonight's game are not necessarily a surprise - you expect Matt Cain to pitch brilliantly, you expect Molina to come up with a big hit if anyone is going to. Maybe this lights-out bullpen is a surprise, but it is not going to be a secret for long. The fact is - this is a game the Giants would have lost last year.