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Uribe, Giants rout Snakes
By Daniel Dullum July 24, 2010 |
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PHOENIX, Ariz. – Contrary to baseball superstition, the number 13 was a lucky one Saturday for Juan Uribe. San Francisco’s veteran infielder uncorked his fourth career grand slam for his 13th home run of the season as the Giants cruised to a 10-4 victory over Arizona. “I like that situation,” Uribe said. “I try to have a good swing, a good at-bat, and hope that the pitch is good to hit.” At the same time, it wasn’t such a lucky evening for Giants reserve utility Eugenio Velez, who was struck by a foul line drive off the bat of teammate Pat Burrell in the fourth inning while sitting in the dugout. “It was a scary moment,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “We were concerned about him. He was conscious, but not real responsive early. “(Velez) was on the dugout bench and he got blocked off, guys are standing up along the rail,” he explained. “The ball got there in a hurry and he lost sight of it. Guys ducked and the ball caught him.” Velez was immediately attended to, and carried by stretcher from Chase Field to St. Joseph’s Medical Center, where he underwent tests and will be held overnight for observation. “We’re told the CTE scan was negative, and there were no fractures,” Bochy said, adding that any decision to put Velez on the disabled list will be evaluated on Sunday. “He took a pretty good shot on the right side of the head. He never lost consciousness and he’s doing fine. “It’s a distraction, but there was a lot of concern there for Eugenio,” he added. “The guys did a good job of keeping their focus and wound up with a well-played game. We did a lot of good things today.” Uribe, whose grand slam came three innings later, concurred, “It was not good. Everybody feels bad when a ball hits your guy like that. I feel bad when the ball hits a guy like that. And for the other team too – you don’t want to see the ball hit another player.” Madison Bumgarner (4-2) threw 103 pitches in seven innings to get the win. He struck out seven, walked three and gave up two earned runs. “I had three pitches going pretty good – the fastball, slider and the curveball,” Bumgarner said. “I threw the changeup a little bit, but not much … only a couple of them. I had the curveball working better later on, and the slider was working the whole game. I was able to spot the fastball pretty good too.” Noting that it’s still his first trip through the National League, Bumgarner said he has to be aware of how he mixes his pitches, because, “They have meetings about the pitchers and video of every game. I try not to think about it. I just want to go out there and pitch. I’ll make adjustments out there if I need to during the game.” The rookie lefthander has not started for the Giants at AT&T Park since June 26. Saturday’s start was his fifth straight on the road. “The first start I had on the road (at Denver) wasn’t too successful,” Bumgarner said. “Ever since then, I’ve settled down a little and started pitching a little better. But I’ve been getting good run support and defense behind me. That’s helped out a lot.” D-Backs starter Ian Kennedy (5-8) took the loss, giving up six hits, four earned runs and three walks over 6 2/3 innings while striking out six. The Giants took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Edgar Renteria hit a one-out double and scored on a single by Buster Posey that extended the rookie catcher’s hitting streak to 17 games. “It sure makes it a lot easier to go out there and throw strikes after that, especially when we got that big lead,” Bumgarner said. “Then you just go out, pound the zone and try to get outs.” San Francisco extended its lead to 3-0 with a pair of runs in the fifth inning. Bumgarner scored the first Giants run when he walked, went to third on a double by Andres Torres and scored when Edgar Renteria grounded to short. Posey followed with his second RBI single of the night, driving in Torres. Arizona got one of those runs back when Mark Reynolds hit his 23rd home run of the season into the right-center field pool area, cutting the San Francisco lead to 3-1. But San Francisco blew the game open in the top of the seventh, scoring four runs with two outs. Renteria walked to chase Kennedy, Audrey Huff greeted Arizona reliever Jordan Norberto with a single and Norberto was replaced by Sam Demel, who walked Posey to load the bases. Uribe stepped up and sent a drive to left, just over the reach of D-Backs left fielder Cole Gillespie, for his fourth career grand slam. The Giants added three more runs in the eighth on run-scoring singles by Andres Torres and Huff and a run-scoring ground out by Renteria. Arizona picked up a run in the seventh when Stephen Drew doubled and scored on sacrifice fly to center by pinch-hitter Tony Abreu. Adam LaRoche capped the Diamondbacks scoring with a two-run shot in the eighth. The D-Backs have lost 13 of their last 18 games; only the three-game sweep over the slumping New York Mets and random wins over Florida interrupted the skid. “There is no question they are pressing,” Diamondbacks interim manager Kirk Gibson said. “It is a brutal game sometimes and we have to push through it.” San Francisco kept pace with first-place San Diego in the NL West, as the Padres also won (9-2 at Pittsburgh) to maintain their three-game lead. Sunday’s starting pitchers are Tim Lincecum (10-4) for the Giants, while Arizona counters with Barry Enright (2-2). GIANTS NOTES: Pablo Sandoval is leaving the club for a couple of games to address some personal issues. Manager Bruce Bochy said Sandoval would not be placed on the bereavement list and will likely return “Monday or Tuesday.” … San Francisco couldn’t have found a better time to visit the Valley. The Diamondbacks stranded six baserunners, 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, and are 2-for-24 in that category for the series. … Buster Posey tied Orlando Cepeda for the longest rookie hitting streak since the Giants moved west at 17 games. Cepeda did it from July 15 through August 1, 1958. The club record is 22 by Willie McCovey in 1959. … Audrey Huff has hit safely in each of his last 11 games with an at-bat, hitting .409 (18-for-44). …. Madison Bumgarner has the third lowest earned run average in the NL by a lefthander since June 26 (2.41). |
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