| July 13, 2003 |
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WP B. Webb (7-2) 6IP 6H 4R 4ER 2BB 8SO 2HR 2.41 ERA
LP J. Brower (5-2) 1 1/3IP 4H 6R 6ER 3BB 1SO 0HR 4.47 ERA
In the last game before the All-Star break, the Dbacks sent their
answer to Jerome Williams to the mound, Brandon Webb. The Giants
counter with Jim Brower, the reliever who was pulled up to be in the
starting rotation.
Webb didn’t look anything but a rookie in the first inning where he
gave up a solo jack to J.T. Snow. Barry Bonds walked on four pitches
and Jose Cruz, Jr. then proceeded to hit a two-run roundtripper into
the pool in right center field. The Giants must have been hot, they
kept hitting balls into that pool. Rich Aurilia and Edgardo Alfonzo
extended the two out inning with back-to-back singles and Webb helped
the Giants out by hitting the next two batters with pitches. With the
bases loaded, Brower was struck with Webb’s pitch that forced in
Aurilia as the Giants’ fourth run of the inning.
The Dbacks took no time in coming back. With some help from the
home plate umpire, Brower walked the first two batters he faced. Luis
Gonzalez, who had been struggling against the Giants, slammed a double
into the right field corner, which didn’t miss to be a homerun by much,
and Craig Counsell scored. Shea Hillenbrand grounded out with Alex
Cintron scoring on the play, and another Dback who struggled against
the Giants, Steve Finley, doubled to knock in Gonzalez, thinning the
Giants’ lead to 4-3.
Brower continued to struggle in the second inning and looked nothing
like the Brower who was shutting down the Cardinals in his last start.
With runners on first and second, Cintron singled to tie the game and
to send Brower back to the dugout. Chad Zerbe entered the game, and
while looking for the double play ball, got Gonzalez to hit the ball on
the ground, but it found a hole to left field. Cintron scored on the
play and the Dbacks took their first lead of the series. Zerbe could
not erase the jam that Brower got into as Hillenbrand blooped a single
to center field, driving in Gonzalez. Finley capped the four-run inning
with a sacrifice fly to make the score 4-7.
The first inning for Webb seemed to have disappeared from his mind as
he retired the Giants without any more trouble. All the Giants could
come up with after the first inning were two base hits. On a brighter
note, the Giants defense remains to be the best in the league, with
some impressive stops that were made to prevent the Dbacks from
breaking the game wide open, but Webb and the Dbacks’ bullpen provided
to be too much for the Giants’ offense.
Arizona never looked back after they took the lead in the second inning
as Felipe Alou played “give the bullpen playing time.” He was afraid
some of his bullpen guys would get rusty through the All-Star break, so
Jason Christiansen, Joe Nathan, and Tim Worrell gave the Giants some
time and did not give up any runs while doing it.
Game Notes: Barry Bonds’ homerun streak ended today at five games...
maybe he’s saving them for the All-Star Game. The Giants end the first
half 57-37, having the second best record in the NL and one of the top
five records in the Majors. Excellent first half, guys, let’s keep it
up!
SFDugout.com’s Players of the Game: First inning heroics from J.T. Snow and Jose Cruz, Jr. gave the Giants a positive beginning to this game. Tipped hats to
Snow and Rich Aurilia for their big league defensive stops that robbed
the Dbacks of a few hits. The bullpen also gave their former fellow
reliever a lift, not allowing any more additional runs since their
entrance in the second inning.
Sara Kwan was born in San Francisco and raised in the Bay Area. She
currently writes game recaps, other articles, and is the Giant Prophet for
SFDugout.com. Any comments or questions about the article, baseball, or the
meaning of life can be sent to Sara at kwanchino@alpha-q.net
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