Giants 9, D'Backs 4: Is first-round draft pick Zack Wheeler any better or worse than any of the other 14 non-Strasbourghian pitchers drafted in the first round? Who the heck knows? But Wheeler and the Giants' next two picks, Arizona high school slugger Tommy Joseph and Louisville U. third baseman/slugger Chris Dominguez -- "the most raw power of any player taken in the sandwich or second rounds," said BP's Kevin Goldstein pre-draft and "Reminds some of Richie Sexson with 3B skills" post-draft -- seem to have the cognoscenti excited, so I'll join in: Whoop!
Can Zack Wheeler convince his teammates to score more than 3.92 runs when he has a bad day at the office? Apparently Matt Cain can, now that the wheel of karma has spun in Matty's direction. He was not sharp for the first time since his weirdo outing against the Mets when he walked the bases loaded with no outs and escaped unscathed. But thanks to Pablo Sandoval (4 for 5, huge two-run homer) and several other Giant pandas, the offense pounded out enough runs and then some to get Cain the win.
SMALL PRINT UPDATE: Ishikawa on bereavement leave, Kevin Frandsen up from Fresno. Frandsen started tonight and went 1 for 5 with a bad move on the bases and a great play in the field. Bochy said before the game Frandsen could start two, maybe three in Arizona, a nice level-headed comment considering Frandsen before the call-up was griping about his lack of opportunity with the Giants, a move that might have landed him on the shit list with a different employer.
