Giants survive another D-Backs rally
04/21/2006 2:09 AM ET
Giants survive another D-Backs rally
Feliz's late double the difference; Wright hurls strong game
By Rich Draper / MLB.com
Jamey Wright gave up two runs on only four hits in 6 2/3 innings. (Tom Hood/AP)
PHOENIX -- It was Giants manager Felipe Alou's final line of the night.
"This is the kind of win you take, and really glad you win, but you know some
things need to be fixed."
That was right on the mark following San Francisco's 9-7 win over the Arizona
Diamondbacks on Thursday night at Chase Field, which hardly left the Giants
flying giddily into Colorado holding a one-game lead over the Rockies in the
National League West.
The club split the four-game series, but Giants pitchers allowed 33 runs
overall while the bullpen fared poorly even in the two victories as leads of
7-0 (first game) and 6-0 (Thursday night) couldn't be held.
You can ask premier reliever Tim Worrell about that, as he won his second game
of the year yet blew his first save and yielded three runs in the final two
innings Thursday, including a two-run homer by Johnny Estrada and a mammoth
438-foot solo shot by Chad Tracy.
"It makes it a little easier for me to deal with," said Worrell of the team's
victory as a bases-loaded walk to Mark Sweeney in the ninth and a two-RBI
double by Pedro Feliz clinched it. "They battled. I'm glad we got the win, but
I didn't throw the ball well at all."
Worrell felt bad for Giants starter Jamey Wright, who was gunning for his
third win of the year and left in the seventh with a 6-2 lead, only to see
reliever Steve Kline and Worrell allow the D-Backs to tie it at 6.
As a group, Worrell says it's the time for the bullpen "to stop trying to do
too much. The ball tonight that Tracy hits out, at the end of my windup I try
to throw one really, really good, and it cuts to the inside of the plate and
he hits it out.
"I think when things aren't going good, you start to press."
Wright certainly deserved a better fate after giving up only four hits -- but
walking five -- in 6 2/3 frames.
Plucked off the baseball scrap pile -- Wright, 31, lost 16 games last season
for Colorado -- during the winter, the Giants signed him as a non-roster
invitee to spring camp.
Wright, seemingly always been on the verge of having a breakthrough season but
owning a 61-88 career win-loss mark entering 2006, has apparently left that
"verge" way behind.
He sports a 2.91 ERA -- best among staffers starting multiple games -- and
admits he's happy with his season so far, despite Thursday's no-decision.
"I was amped up and had too much adrenaline in that first inning," said
Wright. "But I was throwing all my pitches -- decent curveball and good
changeup, which was probably my biggest pitch. I felt great out there and I
just hope I can keep it rolling."
For Wright, it's a nice change from his Colorado days.
"The fact that we're winning and some of our big boys aren't [hitting], I'm
just happy to be on a team that's actually winning, instead of sitting here
below .500, like I'm used to."
It wasn't that pretty at the onset -- Wright walked four batters over the
first two innings.
But his teammates ended three threats with double plays and gave him a 5-0
lead in the first inning as Ray Durham ripped a three-run triple and Moises
Alou and Lance Niekro chipped in RBI singles off D-Backs starter Claudio
Vargas.
In this no-lead-is-safe ballpark, however, the D-Backs managed to tie it,
setting the stage for Barry Bonds to do his thing -- draw an intentional walk
to load the bases in the crucial ninth.
The Giants are 9-3 with Bonds in the lineup, and they score about 35 percent
of the time when he is walked, so the odds soared in their favor.
Sweeney, sidelined with a sore right hamstring, contributed big-time with his
pinch-hit stroll.
"The positive spin out of all of it and the way we take it is we're winning
the one-run ball games and close games, especially in the ninth inning --
that's a boost," said Sweeney.
"We need to learn how to hold leads to make it easier on ourselves, but
winning close games is something you have to learn early in the season."
Rich Draper is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the
approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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