Giants Win! My Joe Martinez Theory

I have this theory. Before Joe Martinez took a line drive to the face, the Giants were riding high, en route to a 2-1 start. The event shook the Giants up pretty good - it was evident from their reactions after the fact. I think the orange and black took that with them on the road, and it showed in their play. Mental mistakes were made in the field, baserunning gaffes cost the team runs, and the pitching was not anywhere near as sharp as we expected.With the Giants returning home on Friday night, Martinez was in the building looking significantly better and I think his presence really loosened everyone up a bit. I expect better play from this team in the coming weeks. It wasn't a strong night on the offensive front - save Andres Torres' insurance homer in the eighth when he could not get around the bases fast enough. This evening was really about the pitching.

We had concerns about Jonathan Sanchez when he mentally broke down in his first start, however his line was strong against the Diamondbacks - nearly seven shutout innings of 2-hit ball. Then the trio of pitchers who blew the lead against the Dodgers last Wednesday sealed the deal this time - 1 out from Jeremy Affeldt, 2 from Bob Howry, and then 4 from Brian Wilson in his first save of the season. With strong pitching, a decent bullpen, and an un-threatening lineup, these are the kinds of games the Giants need to be winning to stay competitive.