reflections
Cincinnati Reds beat San Francisco Giants

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Reds took care of business early to help Mike Leake get a big win Saturday.

They scored five first-inning runs on their way to a 7-2 win against the San Francisco Giants.

Seven players each had a hit for the Reds on their way to a second consecutive win for just the second time since sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-game series in Cincinnati June 13-15. Cincinnati won the series opener 4-3 in 13 innings Friday.

“It helped to score those first inning runs,” Dusty Baker said. “We haven’t been scoring a lot of runs lately.”

Leake, who leads the Reds in wins despite spending 13 days with Triple-A Louisville in May, earned his career-high ninth. The second-year right-hander, winner of eight games as a rookie in 2010, allowed eight hits and two runs — one earned — with no walks and seven strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings.

“I’m not going to stop there,” Leake said.

The right-hander had quality starts in his past two outings but both resulted in losses as his teammates scored just three runs total, including a shutout loss to Pittsburgh.

“As a pitcher you never complain about runs,” Leake said. “Our offense is coming around.”

The Giants loaded the bases with one out against Leake in the seventh, but left-hander Bill Bray came on to get Carlos Beltran to fly out to left and Pablo Sandoval to ground out to third.

“Bray was outstanding against the middle of their order,” Baker said.

Beltran flied out in the ninth and is 1-for-14 in three games with the Giants since being traded from the Mets on Thursday.

Logan Ondrusek and Nick Masset added a shutout inning for the Reds.

The Reds pounced on an uncharacteristically wild Madison Bumgarner for five hits and five runs in sending 11 batters to the plate in the first inning. Brandon Phillips drove in the first run with a single to left, and Jay Bruce and Chris Heisey followed with back-to-back two-run singles up the middle.

Heisey, who is seeing most of the playing time since Jonny Gomes was traded to Washington, can feel the offense heating up.

“At any point, I think our offense can take off,” Heisey said. “We didn’t have a lot of key hits lately but were able to sting them together tonight. As a hitter, you hate to see a guy battling out there when you’re not scoring runs.

Bumgarner, who hadn’t walked more than one batter in any of his previous 10 starts and none in his three most recent appearances, didn’t help himself with two walks in the inning. The left-hander also hit Miguel Cairo while throwing 40 pitches, 23 for strikes.

The Giants got one run back on Sandoval’s 446-foot home run into the right-center field seats leading off the second, his 11th homer of the season and second in three games, but the Reds capitalized on two Giants errors to add to two unearned runs in the fourth.

Then Reds shortstop Edgar Renteria committed two errors in the fifth to hand San Francisco a gift run.

The veteran went to talk to Leake after his second error.

“You know he doesn’t want to make them,” Leake said. “He came in just to pick me up. When I was younger, I would have gotten angry but at some point you learn to deal with it.”

Leake, who spent no time in the minor leagues until his stint in May worked out of the jam.

“That’s the sign of a good pitcher, when you can pitch yourself out of trouble,” Baker said. “He has a lot of weapons. He has the pitches to get a double play. He’s not a strikeout pitcher but can get them when he needs to.”

Bumgarner (6-10) lasted four innings, allowing seven hits and seven runs — five earned — with three walks and four strikeouts. He also was called for a balk.

Notes: Left-hander Aroldis Chapman hasn’t allowed a hit in 8-23 innings in his past seven appearances, the longest single-season stretch by a Reds reliever since Chuck McElroy went 11 1/3 innings from April 25-May 17, 1994, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Chapman has retired 25 of the past 26 batters he’s faced, with one walk and 13 strikeouts. … Giants manager Bruce Bochy planned to give first Aubrey Huff Saturday and today off after he played all 13 innings Friday after the team’s 2:30 a.m. arrival from Philadelphia. … Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips extended his hitting streak to nine games (13-for-38, .342), the team’s longest current streak.

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Giants can’t overcome 5 first-inning runs in 7-2…

But Cincinnati scored five first-inning runs on their way to a 7-2 win over the San Francisco Giants before a sellout crowd on Saturday.

“I don’t think I have an answer for it,” said Bumgarner, who’s allowed a total of 18 runs in the first innings of his 22 starts, matched only by the 18 he’s allowed in 21 third innings. “I got some ground balls that found some holes. I don’t think the first inning has anything to do with it. Sometimes, it’s the third. Sometimes, it’s the fifth. I wasn’t spot on like I wanted to be. I felt like I was accurate.”

Manager Bruce Bochy felt Bumgarner had trouble finding his rhythm.

“More than anything, it’s settling in and getting the ball where he wants it to be,” Bochy said. “He was up. I don’t know if he had trouble getting acclimated to the mound or the weather. He just couldn’t get settled in in time.”

Seven players each had a hit for the Reds on their way to a second consecutive win for just the second time since sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-game series in Cincinnati June 13-15. Cincinnati won the series opener 4-3 in 13 innings on Friday.

Mike Leake, who leads the Reds in wins despite spending 13 days with Triple-A Louisville in May, earned his career-high ninth. The second-year right-hander, winner of eight games as a rookie in 2010, allowed eight hits and two runs — one earned — with no walks and seven strikeouts in 6 1-3 innings.

The Giants loaded the bases with one out against Leake (9-6) in the seventh, but left-hander Bill Bray came on to get Carlos Beltran to fly out harmlessly to left and Pablo Sandoval to ground out to third.

Beltran flied out in the ninth and now is 1 for 14 in three games with the Giants since being traded from the Mets on Thursday, but Bochy wasn’t surprised.

“He’s a pro,” Bochy said. “He’ll be fine. It’s a settling-in process. He’s moving his family, getting to know his teammates.”

Logan Ondrusek and Nick Masset each added a shutout inning for the Reds.

The Reds pounced on the uncharacteristically wild Bumgarner for five hits and five runs while sending 11 batters to the plate in the first inning. Brandon Phillips drove in the first run with a single to left, and Jay Bruce and Chris Heisey followed with back-to-back two-run singles up the middle.

Bumgarner, who hadn’t walked more than one batter in any of his previous 10 starts and none in his three most recent appearances, didn’t help himself with two walks in the inning. The left-hander, who said sweat made it difficult to grip the ball, also hit Miguel Cairo while throwing 40 pitches, 23 for strikes, the last getting Edgar Renteria to end the inning.

“He was facing his last hitter,” Bochy said. “If he didn’t get him out, I was going to go get him. You’re hoping. Hope becomes your strategy. It’s like a fighter who’s wobbly. You’re hoping for the bell.”

The Giants got one run back on Sandoval’s 446-foot home run deep into the right-center field seats leading off the second, his 11th homer of the season and second in three games, but the Reds capitalized on two Giants errors to add to two unearned runs in the fourth.

Then Reds shortstop Edgar Renteria committed two errors in the fifth to hand San Francisco a gift run.

Bumgarner (6-10) lasted four innings, allowing seven hits and seven runs — five earned — with three walks and four strikeouts. He also was called for a balk.

The crowd of 40,402 was Cincinnati’s 12th sellout of the season, a record for Great American Ball Park. The previous record was set in 2003, the year the ballpark opened, and tied in 2004.

Notes: LHP Aroldis Chapman hasn’t allowed a hit in 8-23 innings over his last seven appearances, the longest single-season stretch by a Reds reliever since Chuck McElroy went 11 1-3 innings in from April 25 through May 17, 1994, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Chapman has retired 25 of the last 26 batters he’s faced, with one walk and 13 strikeouts. … Giants manager Bruce Bochy planned to give 1B Aubrey Huff Saturday and Sunday off after he played all 13 innings Friday following the team’s 2:30 a.m. arrival from Philadelphia. … Reds 2B Brandon Phillips extended his hitting streak to nine games (13 for 38, .342), the team’s longest current streak.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

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Giants vs. Dodgers, MLB Scores: Pablo Homers,…

Read More: att park, beat la, san francisco giants los angeles dodgers beat la, nl west, kung fu panda, nl west rivalry, nl west rivals, sellout crowd, sellout streak, Aubrey Huff (1B – SFG), Miguel Tejada (SS – SFG), Cody Ross (RF – SFG), Jeremy Affeldt (P – SFG), Chad Billingsley (P – LOS), Aaron Miles (2B – LOS), Nate Schierholtz (RF – SFG), Pablo Sandoval (3B – SFG), Ryan Vogelsong (P – SFG), Madison Bumgarner (P – SFG), San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants, Jul 18, 2011 7:15 PM PDT, Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants, Jul 19, 2011 7:15 PM PDT

Anticipation was high for both fan bases of the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers Monday night as they renewed their rivalry on the shores of McCovey Cove. The Black and Orange came ready to play in front of another sold out crowd, and behind another superb outing from Ryan Vogelsong and a balanced offensive attack lead by Pablo Sandoval, the Giants shutout the Dodgers by a score of 5-0. 

Vogelsong (W 7-1) showed why he was a National League All-Star this season by throwing six and 2/3 of scoreless ball, along with seven hits, one walk, and five strikeouts. Vogey brought his game face tonight, making good adjustments when need be, all the while keeping the Dodgers bats to just one extra base hit the whole night. Jeremy Affeldt and Ramon Ramirez finished up the rest of the game, keeping the boys in blue hitless along the way. 

Pablo Sandoval’s solo shot in the fourth gave the Giants the lead and tied him with Aubrey Huff for a team high nine dingers. Nate Schierholtz and Cody Ross started a sixth inning rally with a pair of RBI base hits, followed by a Brandon Crawford RBI single to give the Giants the 5-0 lead. Both Ross and Schierholtz finsihed 2-4 on the night, while Pablo Sandoval was 3-4 with two runs scored. 

Chad Billingsley (L 8-8) was cruising along until Pablo’s homer, then came a bit unraveled as he allowed all five of the Giants runs on nine hits in five and 1/3 innings. He didn’t walk a single batter though, and fanned four Giants along the way as well. 

The injury bug has once again bit the Giants as Miguel Tejada left the game in the third with a lower abdominal strain, while Chris Stewart left after being hit in the head by Aaron Miles’ backswing while behind the plate. Both are thought to be day-to-day injuries. 

With the win the Giants move to 56-41 on the year. Full box score can be found here. 

The Giants will send out Madison Bumgarner (4-9 3.74 ERA) on Tuesday to face Rubby De La Rosa (3-4 3.74 ERA) for the Dodgers. First pitch is set for 7:15 pm PT with coverage on CSN Bay Area and KNBR 680 AM. 

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Vogelsong Leads Giants To 5-0 Win Over Dodgers

SAN FRANCISCO — Ryan Vogelsong pitched into the seventh inning and combined with two relievers on a seven-hitter, leading the San Francisco Giants to a 5-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night. Pablo Sandoval had three hits, including his ninth homer, for NL West-leading San Francisco, which has won eight of 10. Nate Schierholtz added two hits and an RBI, continuing his torrid pace set after manager Bruce Bochy moved him into the cleanup spot last week. Cody Ross’ two-run double in San Francisco’s four-run sixth helped the Giants break it open. Juan Uribe had two singles against his former club but the Dodgers hit into two double plays and were shut out for the 10th time this season while losing their fifth straight against their division rivals.Vogelsong (7-1), coming off his first All-Star appearance, scattered seven hits over 6 2-3 innings, finishing with five strikeouts and a walk while lowering his ERA to 2.02.The journeyman right-hander already had the lowest ERA in the NL but hadn’t logged enough innings to qualify. Four days shy of his 34th birthday, he finally had the top spot, just ahead of Atlanta’s Jair Jurjjens.The Giants gave him plenty of support.Schierholtz had an RBI single in the big sixth inning and is batting .417 (10 for 24) in five games while batting cleanup. San Francisco is 5-0 in those games. Vogelsong retired the first eight batters he faced and didn’t allow a hit until Matt Kemp’s one-out single in the fourth. Juan Rivera followed with a soft dribbler to the right side on a hit-and-run, moving Kemp to third, but Vogelsong got out of it with some nifty defense of his own.James Loney hit a grounder back up the middle which Vogelsong bobbled momentarily before recovering and throwing to shortstop Brandon Crawford, whose relay to first just beat Loney to complete the double play. The Dodgers had two runners on with no outs in the sixth but Kemp grounded into a double play and Vogelsong got Rivera to pop out to shortstop to end the threat. Jeremy Affeldt and Ramon Ramirez finished up after Vogelsong departed.Sandoval connected on Chad Billingsley’s first pitch in the bottom of the fourth. The third baseman also singled and scored in the sixth.Billingsley (8-8) yielded five runs and nine hits in 5 1-3 innings. He had allowed only four runs in his previous four starts but his ERA jumped to 4.07 after his shaky outing against San Francisco.Crawford was in the game after the Giants lost Miguel Tejada to a lower abdominal strain in the third inning. The veteran infielder bobbled Rafael Furcal’s sharp grounder for an error, then slid to the turf.A team trainer and manager Bruce Bochy came out to check on Tejada, and the three walked off the field together.Earlier in the day the Giants were invited to visit President Barack Obama at the White House on Monday in honor of the team’s World Series win last year.The White House said Obama also will recognize the Giants’ efforts to give back to the community. “It’s going to be very special,” Bochy said. “I’m certainly looking forward to it. The guys can spend some time there and get a chance to meet the president, which is always an honor. It’s going to be a thrill for everybody.”

Copyright 2011 by KTVU.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Giants take St. John’s shortstop in draft

The San Francisco Giants have selected St. John’s shortstop Joe Panik with their first pick in the baseball draft.

Panik, a left-handed slugger who led the Red Storm with a .398 batting average, was taken with the 29th overall pick and may be a long-term solution in the middle infield.

“We see him as a shortstop, up the middle,” said Giants special assistant to the general manager John Barr who oversees the team’s scouting departments. “He walks more than he strikes out, he can swing the bat with some authority. There were a couple people in there and we were excited that he got to us.”

The defending World Series champs have Freddy Sanchez at second but have used a variety of players at shortstop this season, including Miguel Tejada. Rookie Brandon Crawford, recently called up from Class A San Jose, started Monday night’s game against Washington.

Barr said the team’s current situation with its infield had nothing to do with the decision to draft Panik, whom Barr called the “best available player.”

“That doesn’t enter the picture,” Barr said. “It’s not so much what do we need today. It’s that you’re bringing talent into the minor leagues, and the better talent you have in the minors, the better your big league team is.”

Panik underwent surgery for a torn labrum in his right shoulder during his freshman year at St. John’s but hasn’t had any lingering effects. He drove in 53 runs and had a .477 on-base percentage in 2010.

“I see myself as an offensive-minded shortstop,” Panik said during a conference call with San Francisco reporters. “I’m not a flashy player but I play the game hard. The Giants are a first-class organization who are coming off a World Series championship. To be their first-round pick is exciting.”

Panik can play both middle infield positions but San Francisco plans to keep him at shortstop for now. It’s the same position played by former Giant Rich Aurilia, who also attended St. John’s.

San Francisco later drafted right-handed high school pitcher Kyle Crick with the 49th overall selection. The pick was compensatory for the Giants losing infielder Juan Uribe after Uribe signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent in the offseason.

Panik hit 10 home runs and boasted a .642 slugging percentage at St. John’s this season, though he grounded out to end the Red Storm’s season in the semifinal of the Charlottesville Regional on Sunday.

Crick, who went 7-2 with a 1.11 ERA for Sherman High School in Texas, committed to TCU last fall but the Giants are hoping to lure him into their system. The 6-foot-4, 225-pounder attracted numerous major league scouts during his senior year and for good reason. Crick’s fastball has been clocked at 95 mph while he also throws a 78 mph curve.

“What you’d picture those big Texas right-handers,” Barr said, describing Crick. “He developed a slider the last two weeks of the season. A big, physical player. We’re hoping he decides to become a Giant.

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San Francisco Giants RHP Casilla back from elbow injury

Santiago Casilla #46 of the San Francisco Giants throws a pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the eighth inning of Opening Day at Dodger Stadium on March 31, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Getty Images file photo)

Giants reliever Santiago Casilla returned Saturday from the 15-day disabled list after missing all but opening day with an inflamed right elbow.

Casilla was a key member of the Giants’ bullpen last season, going 7-2 with a 1.95 ERA in 52 appearances. He pitched one inning this season, giving up a run in San Francisco’s season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

To make room for Casilla, the Giants optioned left-hander Dan Runzler to Triple-A Fresno in an effort to get him more work and stretch him out to make him available for additional innings.

San Francisco played at Milwaukee on Saturday.

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