[新聞] Giants top Phillies in Beltran's debut
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Giants top Phillies in Beltran's debut
Lincecum pitches six shutout innings in return from illness
By Chris Haft / MLB.com | 7/29/2011 12:23 AM ET
PHILADELPHIA -- Those who rely on win-loss records will point to the Major
League standings and insist that the Philadelphia Phillies remain baseball's
best team.
But when recent history, head-to-head matchups and sheer competitiveness are
considered, it's easy to conclude that the Giants are currently superior to
the perennially elite Phillies.
San Francisco received six shutout innings from Tim Lincecum, an inspiring
defensive play from Carlos Beltran in his Giants debut and sufficient offense
in Thursday night's 4-1 triumph. The reigning World Series champions not only
captured the three-game series, two games to one, but also achieved some
worthy milestones.
By winning the series' final two games, San Francisco dealt the Phillies
back-to-back defeats for the first time since June 3-4. Moreover,
Philadelphia hadn't lost consecutive home games since April 18-19 against
Milwaukee. The Giants also denied Philadelphia its 10th series triumph in a
row.
This trio of games was billed as a rematch of the National League
Championship Series, which the Giants also won, 4-2. Though the Giants
sustained their superiority, manager Bruce Bochy refused to characterize this
as a "statement" series.
"We're just trying to play our best ball and win games," Bochy said.
Lincecum, who ignored what he called "residual fatigue" from a bout with food
poisoning that delayed his start two days, spoke in more descriptive terms
about the Giants' ability to subdue the Phillies.
"It says a lot about us," Lincecum said. "It's not necessarily a fluke what
we did last year and what we got going on this year. Obviously [the Phillies]
are looked at as a team that's supposed to be there again, especially with
the depth of their pitching and what the bats in their order are capable of
doing."
Referring to the Giants' resilience after losing Tuesday night's series
opener, Lincecum added, "That just shows that we're playing good baseball and
we bounce back from whatever kind of loss we go through."
Stubbornly, Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel conceded nothing to the
Giants.
"I think we can get 'em, if you want to know the truth. I know we can get
'em," Manuel said. "It's just a matter of us putting it together and for us
to play the right way. And that's pitch, hit and play good defense. Yeah, I
think we can get 'em. They've been playing us tough. They've got a good team.
They've got good pitching. So do we. It's just a matter of us outplaying
them. Basically, the last two nights they took it to us."
The Giants accomplished that with Matt Cain and Lincecum combining to allow
zero earned runs and seven hits in 13 innings. But Manuel didn't sound overly
impressed with their mastery, particularly Lincecum's.
"Tonight I saw 90 [mph] fastball, 92 at the best," Manuel said. "I saw a good
changeup. I saw a breaking ball. I saw a cutter. Good pitching, but at the
same time we can beat that."
Manuel bristled at the suggestion that the Giants had established a mental
edge against the Phillies.
"They're not in our heads," he said. "I don't think so. Really, I don't think
so at all. It's just the fact we've got to get after them."
Led by Lincecum, the Giants were clearly the aggressors this time. The
right-hander was especially tough on Chase Utley, Philadelphia's No. 3
hitter. Utley popped up with one out and Jimmy Rollins on third base in the
first inning, then struck out with two runners on and two outs in the third
and fifth innings. The count was full on both occasions. Displaying his
versatility, Lincecum blew a fastball past Utley in the third inning before
fooling him in the fifth with a changeup in the dirt.
That set the pace for Giants pitchers -- not just Lincecum, but also four
relievers -- to limit Philadelphia to one hit in 12 at-bats with runners in
scoring position.
"I'm just lucky he swung at it," Lincecum said of the fifth-inning matchup
with Utley. "It was obviously a ball."
Earlier in that inning, Beltran, the right fielder acquired primarily to
enliven San Francisco's lineup, made a sliding catch of Rollins' shallow fly
ball to prevent a hit. Beltran charged the ball so intently that he created a
huge divot in the outfield grass when he slid. He also caused widespread
concern among the Giants, given his history of leg injuries. Asked if he held
his breath until Beltran rose, Bochy said, "I'm not going to lie. I did."
That wasn't Beltran's lone contribution, though he went 0-for-4. During
batting practice, he urged Pablo Sandoval to focus more on hitting up the
middle and to the opposite field. Presto: Batting left-handed, Sandoval
christened the second inning with an opposite-field drive to left field off
Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick.
"Pablo's a guy who has a lot of power," Beltran said, explaining that
Sandoval can succeed without trying to pull everything.
After Aubrey Huff's two-out double and Nate Schierholtz's RBI single widened
the Giants' lead in the fourth, San Francisco capitalized on Phillies
mistakes to add a pair of runs in the seventh. Schierholtz drew a leadoff
walk and, despite being fooled into sliding at second base, advanced to third
on Chris Stewart's hit-and-run single. Pinch-hitting for Lincecum, Aaron
Rowand slapped a grounder that third baseman Michael Martinez dropped before
overthrowing first base. Schierholtz scored easily before Stewart barely beat
Ryan Howard's throw home. Stewart rose from his slide and clapped his hands
with such joyful ferocity that the report could be heard from the press box,
just below Citizens Bank Park's upper deck.
"I was fired up," Stewart said.
On this evening, every Giant had reason to be.
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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