Alou's homer gives Giants walk-off win
04/29/2006 8:04 PM ET
Alou's homer gives Giants walk-off win
Winn robs Byrnes in ninth; Hennessey turns in quality start
By Rick Eymer / Special to MLB.com
SAN FRANCISCO -- Randy Winn has taken curtain calls for his offensive exploits
, so when fans began clamoring his name after robbing Eric Byrnes of a
possible game-winning home run, he was a little surprised.
"It was pretty cool," he said of the ovation.
Winn's catch, in which he leapt over the fence to bring back the ball, ended
the top of the ninth inning and set the stage for Moises Alou's game-winning
home run in the bottom of the ninth, giving the Giants a 3-2 victory over the
Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday.
Winn was in left field with Barry Bonds getting the day off.
"That's what you're supposed to do," Winn said. "You're not always going to
hit, so you do what you can. I thought I had a shot at it, but the wind can
play tricks here, and you never quite know until you get there."
Winn, who also had an RBI single in the game, made all three outs in the ninth
, including a sliding catch in the left-center-field gap that robbed Shawn
Green of extra bases.
"It was awesome," Giants center fielder Steve Finley said. "Pitching and
defense is what wins games, and we had great defense today and scored just
enough runs. I forgot to watch [Winn] catch the ball. I was amazed at how high
he jumped. I had forgotten he was a basketball player."
Winn played collegiate basketball with Steve Nash at Santa Clara University,
(原來Winn以前有打籃球啊~)
but he said he's lost some of his court skills.
"At one point, I used to be able to dunk," he said. "I don't think I can do
that any more. If you don't play, run or jump, you kind of lose it."
Winn's defensive heroics gave Alou the chance for some offensive heroics. He
hit the sixth walk-off home run of his career, and his first since May 19,
2004, against the Giants as a member of the Chicago Cubs.
"I don't remember so many clutch hits in April," Alou said. "But it's still a
good feeling to come through. After [Winn] makes a play like that, you feel
like you have to win the game. He should get a save for that."
Armando Benitez got the win after pitching the ninth. He has yet to allow a
run in his four appearances this year.
Winn also added a run-scoring single, a line drive that ricocheted off D-Backs
starter Juan Cruz's lower back into left field, scoring Omar Vizquel, who
doubled to lead off the third.
Finley, all of 41, sparked the Giants' tying rally by beating out a bunt
single.
"I can still run," Finley said. "He was playing me back. I could have made a
bad bunt and still beat it. I used to bunt all the time. Now I have to look
for the right opportunities. Leading off the seventh, we're down a run, I
figured why not give it a shot?"
Finley advanced to second on Todd Greene's infield grounder and scored when
Lance Niekro singled to break an 0-for-12 streak.
"It's not a secret I've been struggling," Niekro said. "I have been working
hard and coming out early. You're going to struggle, and you have to keep
grinding through and take advantage of situations like those."
Right-hander Brad Hennessey pitched like he wanted to keep his job, and with
the imminent return of left-hander Noah Lowry, he was auditioning, in a way.
"My goal was to get off to a good start at [Triple-A] Fresno and wait for my
opportunity and maximize it," Hennessey said. "I think I've done that."
Despite a no-decision, Hennessey pitched well enough to win and will make
manager Felipe Alou's decision even harder when Lowry becomes available in the
next 10 days. Hennessey replaced the injured Lowry in the starting rotation.
"I know there will be a decision when Noah gets healthy, but hopefully they
will find a way to keep me," Hennessey said. "I also know it can be a numbers
game."
Hennessey had one bad inning, walking two straight ahead of three consecutive
singles in the fourth inning. Other than that one inning, the Diamondbacks
didn't get a runner past second against him, and he retired eight in a row at
one point.
"Walks hurt me, and just fighting through that can wear on you," he said. "But
in the end, I kept us in the game and that's always the game plan."
The late-inning heroics made it easier on Kevin Frandsen, who didn't run out a
popup in the eighth inning and cost the Giants a double play.
"That's something I've never done before," Frandsen said. "You always run
everything out. But I hit it and just stood there. I froze."
Frandsen, who grew up in the area, said he wasn't surprised that Winn was able
to make the game's biggest defensive play.
"I grew up watching him and Nash play basketball at Santa Clara," he said. "I
knew he could get that ball."
Rick Eymer is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the
approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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COBRAS.....只有三種......
嚴肅認真的COBRAS.......
幽默搞怪的COBRAS.......
還有.....溫柔體貼的COBRAS.......
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