D’Backs vs Giants last weekend
Friday: It was July, not April, so I didn’t need to eat a bowl of soup, tie my D’Backs cap down with a scarf or get wrapped up in a Giants blanket. But I still wore 7 layers: 5 coming in from Oakland, the 6th around the third or fourth inning and the 7th, appropriately enough, during the 7th inning stretch.
Dan Haren was our pitcher and he was great until he wilted a bit near the end. It was already 7-0 when he started giving it up and I was hoping he’d finish–Haren has never pitched a complete game–but it was not to be. Still, we won, comfortably.
It was really weird to watch a D’Backs game from the left field bleachers with Eric Byrnes not there. It was a little difficult for the bleacher creatures, too. They didn’t quite know what to do with Conor Jackson and there were only intermittent chants of “What the matter with Jackson? He’s a bum!” Tigger, the heckler-in-chief, was a bit more creative, complimenting Jackson on his handsomeness and urging him to “bend over and give the ladies a thrill…and some of the guys too! This is San Francisco, after all!”
Late in the game, Chris Burke replaced Jackson in left field. Tigger knows him from last year when he was with the Houston Astros. At that time, she took him to task for biting his nails in the outfield. Burke later told Tigger that his girlfriend was of the same opinion. Well, this time he was at it again, biting his nails, and Tigger got in his case immediately. Burke turned around and pointed at her, a big smile on his face. He also stopped chewing his nails.
Saturday: First pitch was at 6:05 but I got to the park at 11:45 a.m. to meet up with Byrnesie, whom I was expecting sometime around noon. Shortly after noon he came driving by in his Corvette and waved at me. He then drove across the drawbridge to a parking area and I waited for him to walk back. It’s a bit of a walk back to the ballpark from that parking area, so it was a good sign that he was willing to walk that far. I have already described our conversation in a previous post.
Tigger had predicted that with the earlier start, the weather would be nicer. But just as the game was starting, the wind started kicking up, and the temperature started going down. Still I wore only 6 layers and the scarf that I regrettably left home the night before.
Chris Burke got the start in right field that night. With Justin Upton on the DL he and Alex Romero have been splitting up duties out there. He made a fine sliding catch late in the game.
We had anticipated a great pitchers’ duel between aces Brandon Webb and Tim Lincecum, but it wasn’t quite that. Webby only brought his B or B+ game. The Giants got to him in the first inning. The D’Backs had no business winning that game. Lincecum struck out a career high 13. But, like Haren the night before, he could not finish, and they play 9 innings, not 7. Much to my delight, the Giants showed that they also have their “Equal Opportunity Start Blowers.” This night, one Todd Walker would do the job (or not do the job if you are a Giants fan).
The bleacher creatures got a little more creative with Jackson during the second game, chastising him for his hands on hips posture. Tigger also got on him about his throwing, which does indeed remind you that first basemen usually don’t make long throws. “It’s OK that you throw like a girl,” Tigger yelled. “I do, too.” She and I also had our own version of “What’s the matter with Jackson?” Our answer was “He’s not Byrnes!” (Yeah, I said it.)
Sunday: It was a 1:05 start, and I did not get there until the game was just starting. It was basically overcast but a three-layer day. It went pretty much as I expected: Randy Johnson vs. Barry Zito, a pitchers’ duel for the first three innings. But in the 4th, Zito started walking people and the D’Backs started scoring. The third game was a rout like the first. The one surprise was that Randy Johnson, who pitched seven shutout innings in his previous start, did the same this time. He allowed more hits this time, but no runs. Every time Johnson can go seven, I figure we got a bonus inning from him so to get that in two consecutive starts was a very pleasant surprise.
Poor Zito! I remember when he was in Cy Young form. But it was great to see the D’Backs finally sweep the Giants. Tigger kept telling the people around her that at least the D’Backs were keeping the Dodgers out of first. That, in itself is important to Giants fans who consider the Dodgers their arch rivals.
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