[新聞] Giants walk off after Lincecum stifles D-backs
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Giants walk off after Lincecum stifles D-backs
By Chris Haft / MLB.com | 5/11/2011 3:10 AM ET
SAN FRANCISCO -- Darren Ford was idling before he accelerated toward home
plate Tuesday night.
Asked what he was doing before he entered the game for Buster Posey to score
the game's lone run in the ninth inning and give the Giants a 1-0 victory
over the Arizona Diamondbacks, Ford said, "I'm sitting right there next to
[manager Bruce] Bochy. All he has to do is turn around and look and he'll see
me."
Ford acted strategically in hunkering down next to his boss. "It's my idea,"
he said. "So he knows that I'm ready."
Ready, in this case, to pinch-run after Posey coaxed a leadoff walk from
D-backs reliever David Hernandez. Ready to steal second base without drawing
a throw, then speed across home plate on Cody Ross' one-out single to
complete San Francisco's third walk-off victory in four games.
Ford, the backup outfielder used primarily off the bench as a designated
Porsche, has scored five runs this season. Four have either tied the score or
put the Giants ahead.
"It's nice to have him sitting there, waiting for someone to get on base,"
Bochy said. "With Buster getting the walk there, it's a no-brainer. [Ford]
helped change the game and set up Cody's big hit. It's what speed can do for
you, especially when, offensively, we're sputtering a little bit."
Bochy described the Giants' offense accurately. They've scored 11 runs during
their four-game winning streak and have exceeded three runs twice while
winning six of their last seven games.
The Giants also have pitched three shutouts in this stretch, enabling them to
overcome their tepid offense. Ross' RBI occurred one inning too late for Tim
Lincecum, who no-hit Arizona for 5 1/3 innings but received no decision.
Lincecum ultimately lasted eight innings and allowed four hits while walking
two and striking out nine. He whittled his lifetime ERA against Arizona to
2.42 in 15 starts.
It marked the 19th time in Lincecum's relatively brief but highly eventful
career that he pitched at least seven innings without yielding a run. Three
times this season, he left the ballpark without a win despite working seven
innings and yielding three runs or fewer.
"I feel bad for Timmy," Ross said. "He goes out there and pitches these gems
and we don't seem to score for him."
Lincecum spun his latest magic after throwing a season-high 127 pitches at
New York last Wednesday, though Monday's scheduled off-day gave him an extra
day's rest.
"You guys worry about it as one of those things that takes a toll on your
body," Lincecum said of his workload. Referring to his between-starts workout
regimen, the right-hander added, "We do enough outside of the game itself to
put gas back in the tank."
Arizona starter Ian Kennedy matched Lincecum -- besides breaking up his
no-hitter -- by working eight innings and surrendering three hits while
walking three and striking out eight.
Melvin Mora followed Kennedy's hit with a two-out single, forcing Lincecum to
confront his most serious jam of the evening. He responded by erasing Justin
Upton on a foul fly to right field.
Lincecum insisted that he wasn't thinking about his chances for a no-hitter.
"I don't think it really becomes something you think about as a starter until
probably a little later in the game," he said.
Striving to win, much less support a Lincecum no-hitter, was enough of a
challenge for the Giants until Ross' conclusive at-bat against Hernandez.
Ross, who scored Friday night's winning run and drove in all three Giants
runs on Sunday, lined Hernandez's 0-1 pitch inside third base and down the
left-field line, giving the D-backs no chance to throw out the fleet Ford.
"I threw him a good slider, first-pitch slider," said Hernandez (2-1), who
had blanked opponents in his previous six outings but had walked at least one
batter in three consecutive games. "I feel like I probably should have gone
back again and thrown one out of the zone. The second pitch was a fastball
in, and he put a good swing on it. It was probably not in enough. I feel like
if I threw a fastball in enough he wouldn't keep the ball fair."
By going 5-for-12 in his last five games, Ross has lifted his batting average
to .245 from .195. "It's coming," Ross said. "It's a process. It doesn't
change overnight. But I'm feeling better. Confidence is the main thing."
Chris Haft 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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