| August 24, 2003 |
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| Florida |
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| San Francisco |
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WP C. Pavano (10-11) 7IP 7H 2R 2ER 1BB 4K 0HR 4.26 ERA
LP K. Rueter (7-4) 5IP 6H 5R 5ER 1BB 0K 1HR 4.50 ERA
A sigh of relief came through the Giants’ ball club as Kirk Rueter
returned to the starting rotation today, even though Rueter’s last win
was on June 6th. He went up against Carl Pavano of the Marlins.
There was no score until the bottom of the third, where Jose Cruz, Jr.
had a double. Eric Young walked, and Edgardo Alfonzo singled. Cruz slid
home and was called safe at the plate, giving the Giants their first
run.
The Marlins came right back in the fourth as Luis Castillo doubled.
Derek Lee singled to drive in Castillo, and the Marlins tied the game.
Miguel Cabrera jacked a two run homer that was just fair down the left
foul line to put the Marlins ahead.
Rueter gave up a double and a walk in the sixth inning, then made his
exit for Kevin Correia. Correia gave up a single to Cabrera that drove
in Juan Encarnacion. Alex Gonzalez had a base hit where Lee was able to
score the Marlins’ fifth run.
In the top of the seventh, Scott Eyre relieved Correia. After getting
two outs, Eyre gave up a two run roundtripper to Lee, which padded the
Marlins’ lead, 7-1.
Meanwhile, the Giants were unable to find an answer for Pavano. The
Giants were driving the ball hard and deep, but against a speedy
Marlins’ defense, who are third in the league in fielding right behind
the Giants, extra base hits were turned into quick outs. Pavano shut
the Giants down until the seventh inning.
The Giants were mounting a comeback in the seventh. Jeffrey Hammonds
was robbed of a homerun by a fan who knocked the ball back into the
field while trying to catch the ball. It was ruled as a ground rule
double, but pinch hitter Todd Linden got his second major league hit
and first major league RBI with a single up the middle to score
Hammonds. Young singled, but Alfonzo popped out to end the inning.
The Giants continued to give their bullpen some work as Felix Rodriguez
pitched a scoreless eighth and Jason Christiansen pitched a scoreless
ninth.
The Giants were mounting another comeback in the ninth as Hammonds led
off the inning with another double. Cruz singled Hammonds home for the
third run for the Giants. Pinch hitter Pedro Feliz struck out and Young
doubled. With runners on second and third, Alfonzo just missed a
homerun in left center where center fielder Juan Pierre made a leaping
catch for the second out. Cruz tagged and scored. With Young at third,
Marquis Grissom flied out to right field to end the game.
Game Notes: The Giants are 5-1 on this homestand... This is the first
time the Marlins beat the Giants this season... Props to the fan who
yelled at the kid who robbed Hammonds of his jack. The kid made a smart
decision and left promptly afterwards. The fan was still hollering at
him.
SFDugout.com’s Players of the Game: Jose Cruz, Jr. went 3-4 and had a hand in all the
Giants’ rallies today. It’s a great sign for the Giants if this guy
starts to heat up offensively. Jeffrey Hammonds had two doubles and
played great defense in left field. Felix Rodriguez and Jason
Christiansen pitched two great innings for the Giants on a day where
pitching wasn’t as great as it’s been. And despite giving up the two-
run jack, Scott Eyre looked really solid coming out of the bullpen.
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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