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Giants narrowly avoid losing 10th straight with victory over Nationals
By Jeremy Harness August 3, 2006 |
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The Washington Nationals were making a comeback in the top of the ninth inning in Wednesday’s game against the San Francisco Giants. Having already scored three runs following Nick Johnson’s two-run homer, they were about to face Armando Benitez, Giants fans’ worst nightmare. Benitez then gave up a walk to Austin Kearns, after which manager Felipe Alou quickly yanked Benitez, giving the home fans a huge sigh of relief. As it turns out, Alou took out the bumbling reliever just in time. With two out, left-hander Mike Stanton was summoned from the bullpen, and the Giants’ new acquisition was able to strike out pinch-hitter Alex Escobar to officially snap the Giants’ nine-game losing streak with an 8-6 victory at AT&T Park Thursday afternoon. Things didn’t start out very well for the Giants, as left fielder Alfonso Soriano led off the game with a homer over the right-center field wall, something that a right-handed hitter hasn’t done at AT&T Park in recent memory. However, Ray Durham tied the game at 1-1 with a single that scored Randy Winn, and they got another run in the third when Steve Finley scored on an infield hit by Moises Alou. The Giants then exploded for a four-run fourth inning that gave the Giants the cushion they would need to avoid a 10-game losing streak. The inning was highlighted by RBI doubles by Alou and Omar Vizquel, Alou’s bringing in a pair of runs. In the seventh, Alou, who went 4-for-4 in the game with four RBI, slammed a solo homer over the left-field wall. Two batters later, Shea Hillenbrand himself launched one over the left-field wall to tack on a run for the Giants, giving them an 8-3 lead. |
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