Dodgers 7, Giants 2: Another all-around stinker. Bad baserunning, bad defense, terrible situational hitting, and generous pitchers on the mound.
You want a bright spot? Barry Zito didn't pitch terribly badly through five innings. That's about the best thing to say about this game.
With better D from Fred Lewis, who misjudged a liner from Matt Kemp that led to two runs, perhaps the game would've been 2-1 Giants after five. And with better work from the hitters and runners, perhaps it would've been 4-1 Giants. Manny Burriss had a brain lock in the 2nd and should've scored from third on a grounder. Rowand had an easy RBI chance in the 4th but popped out with a man on third and one out. Zito retired 10 in a row at one point. He was throwing his fastball in the high 80s.
But Zito spit the bit in the 6th, hit a batter and walked two more, Brandon Medders couldn't handle the fearsome Doug Mienkiewicz, and it was 6-2 L.A. after six. Alex Hinshaw took another step back to Fresno in the 7th with ugly relief work.
You want another bright spot? The 2000 pennant-winning Giants started the year 4-11, lost their first five games at the brand new Pac Bell Park, and finished April with a 10-13 record. We thought they were toast, too. Taking two of three this weekend against Arizona will help restore a smidgen of my sanity.
