Baggs' Instant Replay: Giants 5, Dodgers 2

BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCOTim Lincecum walked seven. The Giants didnot pound souvenirs into the bleachers.But their hits were timely. So were Lincecums best pitches.And in September, its all about time and place, right?The Dodgers might have the wealthiest mercenaries in themajor leagues, but more than ever, the Giants hold title to the NL West. MarcoScutaro, a frugal and fruitful addition, hit a tiebreaking, two-run single inthe seventh inning as the Giants beat their archrivals 4-2 on Friday night to seize a 5 -gamelead in the division.Its the largest lead the Giants have held in the NL Westsince the final day of the 2003 season, when they won 100 games. That year,they faced Floridas Josh Beckett in Game 1 of the NLDS.Coincidentally, to open this huge series, the Giants beat Beckettone of those expensivemercenariesand their own pitchers refused to give in. The Dodgers were 0 for10 with runners in scoring position.Starting pitching reportFor all Lincecums forgettable outings this season, he hasshowed toughness each time against the Dodgers while posting a 2.63 ERA in fourstarts.In a season replete with broken innings, Lincecum bent butdug in his heels and refused to let the Dodgers get the big hit with runners onbase. Although he set a career high with seven walks, scattering one in each ofhis innings, he neutralized the Dodgers beefed-up middle of the order. AdrianGonzalez, Matt Kemp, Hanley Ramirez and Andre Ethier combined to go 0-for-13with a walk and three strikeouts against Lincecum.The first run Lincecum allowed in the third inning might havebeen the most unearned earned run of all time. After a single and a walk,Gonzalez hit a double-play grounder that Scutaro couldnt field cleanly,limiting him to just the one out at first base. Kemp followed with a grounderto third base and Pablo Sandoval might have had a play at the plate if hedidnt bobble it. Sandoval had to settle for the out at first base as well, andLincecum got Ramirez to fly out to strand a runner at third.Lincecum got away with a few mistakes, but the Dodgerswerent able to sit on pitches. It was a huge key that Lincecum was able toestablish his fastball inside to both left-handed and right-handed hitters,allowing him to mix in a curve and slider.But Lincecum couldnt bounce his 0-2 curveball in the sixthto Adam Kennedy, who took his signature uppercut swing and slapped it off themetal roof atop the right field arcade. The tiebreaking shot was Kennedysthird home run of the season; he improved to .391 lifetime in 23 at-bats offLincecum.(Incidentally, Kennedy is the only everyday position playerstill active from the Angels 2002 World Series championship team. In case youwere curious)Lincecum had thrown 107 pitches through six innings, but ina show of faith (or lack thereof in his bullpen), Bochy sent out his two-timeCy Young Award winner to start the seventh. Lincecum gave up a leadoff singleand couldnt get a fourth ground ball from Gonzalez for an inning-ending doubleplay. He departed to a sustained standing ovation after issuing his seventhwalk.Lincecum's line: 6 13 innings, four hits, two earned runs,seven walks, seven strikeouts. He now has a 3.22 ERA in 11 second-half starts.Bullpen reportSantiago Casilla sure looks to be back to his first-halfform. He jammed Kemp on a ground out, then threw a vicious, 95-mph pitch thatsnapped back and caught the outside corner to freeze Ramirez to end the seventhand strand Lincecums runners.Casilla received credit for the victory and the Giantsbullpen didnt let his decision slip away. Sergio Romo, much more than a sliderspecialist, threw an 88-mph fastball and roared when it froze Mark Ellis tostrand two in the eighth. Romo continued and retired Shane Victorino, AdrianGonzalez and Matt Kemp on ground balls to record his 10th save in 11attempts.Hanley Ramirez, who has hit two homers off Romo already thisseason, was stranded in the on-deck circle.At the plateThe Giants hadnt faced Beckett with this much on the line sincehe started Game 1 of the 2003 NLDS for the Florida Marlins.Beckett was abysmal with the Boston Red Sox this season, buthe looked like a playoff ace while efficiently mowing down the Giants in theearly innings. It was three up, three down in four of the first five frames.The only exception was the third, when Brandon Crawford lined a one-out single,advanced on Lincecums sacrifice and scored on Angel Pagans two-out hit toright field. Pagan snapped a salute back to the dugout as he stood on firstbase.After Kennedys homer put the Dodgers ahead, Pagan and theGiants answered back in the bottom of the sixth with some small ball. Pagandropped a perfect bunt single, stole second base and took third on PabloSandovals ground out. The Dodgers clearly wanted no part of Buster Posey whileissuing a two-out walk, leaving Hunter Pence in a bog spot. He fouled off ahanging breaking ball, but managed to reach out and chop an outside fastballdown the third base line. Kennedy, knowing his only play was to barehand theball, whiffed on it as Pagan scored the tying run. Pence was credited with aninfield single and RBI.It took more fundamental execution to move ahead in theseventh. Hector Sanchez started the rally with a single to right field, thenBochy started using his rather full bench. Pinch runner Gregor Blanco stolesecond base with ease, and after Crawford drew a walk, Emmanuel Burrissadvanced both runners with a pinch bunt. The Dodgers set up the double play byissuing an intentional walk to Pagan, but Scutaro came through by serving anoutside pitch to right field as two runs raced home. Crawford slid aroundcatcher A.J. Ellis as the throw bounded past.The Giants were 4 for 11 with runners in scoring positionand are hitting .311 in those clutch situations since the All-Star breakthe bestin the majors. They had just a .225 average with RISP prior to the break.In fieldBrandon Belt hadnttaken a fly ball in left field since spring training, but said he wascomfortable with everything except a line drive hit right at him. WellAndre Ethier hit aline drive right at Belt in the second inning. He made the play without incident.Lincecum did notfold after fielding miscues by Scutaro and Sandoval in the third, reducingthose mistakes to mere footnotes.AttendanceThe Giants announced 41,666 paid, and its safe to sayScutaro made some new friends.Up nextThe Giants continue their shakedown series with the Dodgers atAT&T Park on Saturday. Matt Cain (13-5, 2.98) takes the hill againstleft-hander Chris Capuano (11-10, 3.63).