Big Unit Throws Near No-No

And, finally! Giants pitchers are starting to throw just like we expected them to. Unfortunately, Giants hitters are continuing to hit just like we expected them to. In their best series of the year, the Giants took two of three from Arizona with stellar starting pitching and scoring-challenged hitting. Giants starters did not allow a run to Arizona in 21 2/3 innings.The big story of yesterday was Randy Johnson, who earned win number 296 if his career, his first as a Giant. Johnson had us on the edge of our seats carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Despite allowing a leadoff double, Johnson preserved his shutout, while Bob Howry and Brian Wilson carried the team the rest of the way. A thrilling game to watch from start to finish! The Giants mustered two runs - one on a sacrifice fly and one on a double play, both with the bases loaded. There were some positive signs for the Giants on the offensive front - there were five walks (one intentional), while Bengie Molina and Pablo Sandoval had multi-hit games. Unfortunately, they also struck out 11 times.

A quick bone to pick here. Following Saturday's loss, I read a blog post entitled Note to Sabean: Trade Brian Wilson, which stated, "The guy is a headcase. He’s not a competitor. His ERA is too high. He walks leadoff hitters. His trade value will never be this high again." First, Wilson has only had two real opportunities to prove himself this season and he is 2-for-2, facing the minimum in those games. While he does need to work on keeping the ERA down, the majority of his runs allowed come in non-save situations. Furthermore, when he has given up leads this season, they have been situations where he has entered with men on base, sometimes with zero margin for error. Why did the Giants lose so many games last year? The bullpen was a big part, but Wilson was a saving grace. Oh, and he comes cheap.

If the Giants plan to keep hitting like they do, pitching is going to have to be near flawless. Thankfully, today it was.