NewsRout brings Giants closer in Wild Card race
Uribe drives in three to back dominant Zito vs. Rockies
By Chris Haft / MLB.com
09/16/09 2:38 AM ET
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants' 10-2 victory Tuesday night over the Colorado Rockies demonstrated what momentum looks like. Momentum was Barry Zito striking out the side in the first inning. Momentum was San Francisco's sudden ability to score in bunches -- three runs in the first inning, four in the third inning and three more runs in the sixth. Momentum was the Giants' skill, such as Freddy Sanchez's exquisite hit-and-run single in the first inning, and the sustained dominance that enabled Zito to amass a season-high nine strikeouts in seven innings. Momentum was just plain luck, in the form of Colorado third baseman Garrett Atkins' error on Bengie Molina's simple first-inning grounder. It should have been an inning-ending double play. Instead, it served as the gateway to the Giants' scoring in that inning. And momentum was the Giants' triumph itself. San Francisco's second win in a row over the Rockies in this series and fifth consecutive against them overall left manager Bruce Bochy's club 2 1/2 games behind Colorado, the Wild Card leaders that has lost its last four games. "Our backs have been against the wall, but this team, for not having much experience in playoff races, has been fighting -- and more important, staying loose and having fun," Zito said. As well as hitting. Plagued by subpar offense through much of the season, the Giants have scored seven runs or more for three consecutive games, something they've accomplished just one other time this season. Not surprisingly, they've won all three games. The difference: San Francisco is 15-for-41 (.366) with runners in scoring position in this stretch. Tuesday, the Giants succeeded in solving Rockies starter Ubaldo Jimenez (13-11), who possesses Lincecum-esque stuff but allowed seven runs (six earned) and six hits in 2 2/3 innings. The Giants exercised unusual patience against Jimenez, as their first 12 batters of the game took the right-hander's first pitch. "Part of it is the confidence, because they've been scoring runs," Bochy explained. "If we don't get a pitch to hit, we'll let the next guy do it." Juan Uribe was San Francisco's main guy, driving in three runs with a first-inning single and a third-inning two-run double. The beneficiary of this offensive windfall was Zito (10-12). The left-hander, who entered the game with the Major Leagues' lowest run support, received double-digit backing for only the second time as a Giant. The other occasion was the 2007 season finale on Sept. 30 at Los Angeles. Though Zito's curveball was noticeably sharp, he attributed his effectiveness to his changeup. "I haven't had that most of the year," he said. Zito might have lasted longer were it not for Eric Young's seventh-inning line drive, which struck Zito on his lower right forearm and prompted his departure. X-rays revealed no fracture. San Francisco jumped on Jimenez in the first inning as Eugenio Velez walked, Sanchez singled and Randy Winn walked to load the bases with nobody out. After Pablo Sandoval struck out, Molina hit what appeared to be a certain inning-ending double-play grounder. But Atkins played the ball off the heel of his glove for an error, enabling Velez to score. Uribe singled home Sanchez before Travis Ishikawa lifted a sacrifice fly. Carlos Gonzalez's third-inning RBI single narrowed the difference to 3-1, but the Giants added four runs in their half of the third. They again loaded the bases with nobody out on singles by Winn and Sandoval before Molina was hit by a pitch. Uribe then drove Jimenez's 1-1 delivery to the base of the center-field wall. After the ponderous Molina charged home and slid in safely on Aaron Rowand's grounder to shortstop, Velez's infield single, a dribbler toward the third-base side of the pitcher's mound, sent home Uribe. Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki homered in the sixth before the Giants added three runs in their half of the inning.Chris Haft is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
