Giants 7, Dodgers 5 (13 innings): Like Bill Murray said in the movie Stripes, as he and a female military police officer emerged, half-clothed or less, from a steamer trunk: "That was interesting."
How the Giants managed to win a game that was about 15% excitement and 85% distilled deadlier-than-fugu frustration, I don't know. I don't want to know. I think it has something to do with the Bleeder Theory: Once a team's 23-infield-hit-per-game quota is reached, the next hit will reach the outfield grass. That hit was Randy Winn's in the 13th inning.
This was the kind of game that prompts lazy sportswriters to blather on about one gritty, gamery team with luck and destiny on its side, the other with soured chemistry and reaping just desserts for trying to win a pennant with $100 bills tucked into the elastic of Manny Ramirez's g-string.
In reality, this game was "huge" (Rich Aurilia's words) because 1) it was a win and 2) it was, at 13 innings and 5 hours, literally much bigger than most other games in major league baseball. Destiny is decided by things like, oh, I don't know -- adding another hitter to the lineup, or helping Jonathan Sanchez harness his potential, or getting more production from first base.
Just think what the Giants' record would be if they hit a home run more than once every other game.
Player of the week: Gotta be Manny. No, not that one. Burriss is getting on base and playing great defense, each seeming to feed the other. I'm not sure it's wise to move him to leadoff now, but a couple more weeks of .500 OBP and Bochy will have no choice. For now, though, it's hard to believe Fred Lewis is irredeemably lost at the plate when for the year he's still getting on base 40% of the time. Lewis's OBP for May, supposedly one of the worst stretches of his career: .351. The extra-base hits will come.
Pitcher of the week: Cain, Lincecum and Zito each posted one very good start, with Cain's all the more remarkable because he was one pitch away from Todd Helton making his day a disaster in the very first inning. But I'm giving the award to two bullpenners: Bobby Howry, who responded to his demotion from setup with five nearly perfect innings this week. I'm also giving a salt-of-the-earth hat tip to long man Justin Miller, who pitched in all three losses and ate five important innings. Work like that lets a bullpen do what it did today -- go seven innings with only one run surrendered.
If Brian Wilson hadn't coughed up Casey Blake's homer today, I'd give him a shout, too. I hope Blake's weird gesture, apparently in mockery of Wilson's post-game ritual, doesn't rattle Brian's cage too much.
