BaseballTown

Barry Zito is scheduled to square off against Hiroki Kuroda in the Sunday night game.

The Giants will be trying to salvage a split with their bitter rivals.

I will be watching Zito closely after his car accident last Wednesday in Los Angeles.

Zito was reportedly wearing a neck brace late last week but is scheduled to make his scheduled start tonight.

1^st Inning – Top

Kuroda hits Torres with an 0-1 pitch

Freddy Sanchez out on sacrifice bunt on first pitch Kuroda to Loney  1 out.

Aubrey Huff strikes out on a 1-2 pitch. Huff fouled off 3 pitches in a 6 pitch at bat.

On the 0-1 pitch Buster Posey grounds out Kuroda to Loney.

Kuroda has an 11 pitch 1^st inning.

1^st Inning – Bottom

Barry Zito is making his first start of the 2011 season.

Rafeal Furcal hits a line drive single to center on an 83 MPH belt high fastball on the first pitch of the game.

Jamey Carroll hits 2-1 pitch for a looping line drive to in front of  Aubrey Huff in right field. Huff dives for the ball and misses it and Carroll ends up a third base with a triple. The play was scored a triple but in my opinion Huff misplayed the ball. He should have played it front of him and held Carroll to a single. Furcal scores and Carroll is credited with an RBI.

Matt Kemp jump on an 84 MPH fastball down the middle of the plate and hits a 2-run homer over the left field wall giving the Dodgers a 3-0 lead

On the first pitch of the at bat Juan Uribe grounds to second baseman Freddy Sanchez who throw to Brandon Belt for out number two.

James Loney pops out to shortstop Miguel Tejada on the first pitch to end the inning.

But the Dodgers do big damage in the first inning on the 2-run homer by Kemp.

The misplay by Huff in right field was the big play that setup the inning for the Dodgers.

Zito only threw 12 pitches in the first inning.

2^nd Inning – Top

Pablo Sandoval leads off the second blasting a solo homer deep over the right field wall putting the Giants on the board.

Patt Burrell strikes out looking on a 1-2 splitter. Burrell continues to look lost at the plate.

Brandon Belt hits a routine fly ball the is caught by Matt Kemp on the first pitch.

Miguel Tejada lines a 1-0 pitch that Jamey Carroll reaches up and catches for the third out of the inning.

The Giants get on the board with the Sandoval homer but the Dodgers lead 3-1.

Zito needs  to put together a couple good innings so the Giants can get back in the game.

Kuroda is at 23 pitches through 2 innings.

2^nd Inning – Bottom

Rod Barajas flies out on a routine fly ball to Pat Burrell on a 1-1 pitch.

On a 2-2 pitch Thames grounds out on a routine ground ball from Sandoval to Belt. 2 outs.

Zito strikes out Kuroda on a 1-2 pitch. Kuroda fouled off 4 pitches in a 7 pitch at bat.

Zito is at 27 pitches through 2 innings.

3^rd Inning – Top

Barry Zito called out on strikes on a 1-2 pitch right down the middle. One out.

On the 1-0 pitch Torres flies out on a looping liner to right fielder Andre Either. Two outs.

On the 2-2 pitch Sanchez grounds out softly Uribe to Loney.

Dodgers still  lead 3-1

Kuroda is at 35 pitches after 3 innings

3^rd Inning  – Bottom

Rafeal Furcal bunts on the first pitch. Brandon fields the bunt and flips to Sanchez for out number 1.

On the 0-2 pitch Carroll hits a check swing dribbler back to Zito that he fields and throws to Belt for the second out of the inning.

On the 2-1 pitch Either hits a sinker liner right a Freddy Sanchez. He drops to one knee and makes the catch to end the 3^rd inning.

Zito is at 35 pitches and the Dodgers still lead 3-1.

4^th Inning – Top

On the 1-1 pitch Huff hits a soft one hopper back to Kuroda that he fields and throws to Loney for the first out of the inning.

On a 2-1 pitch Posey hits a hard one hopper that Loney fields and tags first base for the putout unassisted. Two outs.

Sandoval strikes swinging on a 1-2 slider ending the top of the 4^th inning. Kuroda has retired 9 straight Giants. Kuroda is at 46 pitches through 4 innings and the Dodgers still lead 3-1.

4^th Inning – Bottom

On the 3-2 pitch Kemp reaches for a changeup that appears to be low and outside flying out on a routine fly ball to centerfielder Andres Torres.

Zito strikes out Uribe on a 2-2 changeup. Two outs.

On the 1-0 pitch james Loney flies out a on fly ball to right field. Aubrey runs in about ten feet to make the catch to end the inning.

Dodgers still lead 3-1.

Zito has settled down nicely since the rough first inning and is at 49 pitches.

5^th Inning – Top

On the 1-2 pitch Pat Burrell pops out to first baseman James Lone for the first out.

Brandon Belt worked the count to 3-0 before Kuroda came back to strike him out looking on a wicked 3-2 sinker for the second out of the inning.

On the 1-2 pitch Tejada hits a fly ball to centerfield that Kemp drifts back about 3 steps and catches to end the top of the fifth inning. Kuroda has now retired 12 Giants in a row since the Sandoval homer in the second inning.

Kuroda is at 60 pitches as the Dodgers maintain their 3-1 lead.

5^th Inning – Bottom

Zito strikes out Barajas swinging on a 3-2 curveball on the inner half of the plate for the first out of the inning.

On the 1-1 pitch Thames hit a chopper the Zito deflects to Sanchez who fields and throw to Belt for the second out of the inning.

On the 1-2 pitch Zito strikes out Kuroda on a fastball off the outside plate to end the fifth inning. Zito has been outstanding since the first inning.

Zito is at 62 pitches through 5 innings. The Dodgers still led 3-1.

6^th Inning – Top

On the first pitch of the inning Zito chops a one hopper to Furcal who throw to Loney for the first out of the inning.

On the 1-0 pitch Torres hits a rountine fly ball to Marcus Thames for the second out of the inning.

On the 1-1 pitch Sanchez hits a slow roller that Uribe fields but trips and falls to the ground unable to make a throw to first base.  Sanchez is credited with an infield single ending a steak of 14 Giants retired in a succession by Kuroda.

On the first pitch of the at bat Huff hits a looping liner into right field for a single. Sacnhez advances to third. The Giants have a good scoring opportunity but it likely going to take a two out hit by Buster Posey to score any runs this inning.

On the 2-1 pitch Posey shoots s single between Carroll and Loney scoring Sanchez with the second run of the game for the Giants.

Sandoval chops an 0-1 pitch the Carroll who fields and throws to Loney to end the inning. But the Giants inch closer to the Dodgers but still trail 3-2

Kurodas is now at 73 pitches.

6^th Inning – Bottom

On the 1-1 pitch Furcal hits a sharp grounder right at Sanchez that he fields and throw to Belt for out number one.

Zito walks Carroll on at 3-2 pitch ending a 6 pitch at bat. This breaks a streak of 16 Dodgers retired in a row.

Either walk on a 3-2 pitch that was similar to the previous at bat by Jamey Carroll. The bullpen is active is Zito appears to be running out of gas.

Dave Righetti visits the mound as the bullpen continues to warm up.

On the 2-1 pitch Kemp chases a letter high pitch and hits a harmless fly ball caught by Huff in right field. Not a good at bat by Kemp who appeared to chase a pitch high and out of the strike zone.

On the 0-1 pitch Zito leaves a pitch over the middle of the plate the Uribe pops up and is caught by Freddy Sanchez to end the ending.

Nice pitching by Zito to pitch out of his two walks. Bad execution by the Dodgers to not put runs on the board against a pitcher that appears to be tiring.

7^th Inning – Top

On the 2-0 pitch Burrell blasts a hanging slider over the center of the plate for a solo homer tying the game at 3-3.

On the first pitch Belt hits a slow roller to Carroll who fields and throws to Loney for the first out of the inning.

On the 1-0 pitch Tejada laces a double into the right field corner. The Giants now have an excellent opportunity to take a late lead in this game.

Kuroda seems to be losing it fast after being dominant in the early innings. He has now allow 5 hits to the last 7 batters.

Dodger Pitching Coach Rick Honeycutt visits the mound.

Mike Fontenot pinch hits for Barry Zito and flies out to left field Thames on the first pitch. After a rough first inning Zito could be in line for the win if Torres can drive in Tejada.

On the 2-1 pitch Torres pops out to third baseman Juan Uribe in foul territory to end the top of the 7^th inning. But the Giants tie the score on the solo homer by Pat Burrell.

7^th Inning – Bottom

Dan Runzler on to pitch the bottom of the 7^th inning for the Giants.

Runzler looked very good pitching 2 scoreless innings in Friday’s game.

On the 1-2 pitch Loney lines a single into left field. Nice piece of hitting by Loney being down in the count.

Barajas strikes on a nice 2-2 slider by Runzler for the first out of the inning.

On the 1-1 pitch Thames triple to right field off Aubrey Huff’s glove at the warning track. Huff appeared to turn the wrong way in pursuit of the ball before having it bounce off his glove on the warning track. Loney scores the go ahead run giving the Dodgers a 4-3 lead.

This is the second triple hit in Huff’s direction tonight. In my opinion a healthy Cody Ross would have made the catch on this one.

On the 2-2 pitch Miles hits a belt high fastball over the middle of the plate for a single down the right field line. Thames scores giving the Dodgers a 5-3 lead.

On the 0-2 pitch Furcal drives a ball to the right center field wall between Huff and Torres for a double scoring Miles and making this a 6-3 Dodger lead.

This has turned into a nightmare inning for the Giants.

Romo is called form the  bullpen to replace Ruznler.

On the 2-2 pitch Romo strikes out Carroll swinging on a slider well off the outside part of the plate for the second out of the inning.

Either lines a single into right field driving in Furcal for the 7 run of the game for the Dodgers.

On the first pitch Kemp grounds a slow roller to Tejada who flips to Sanchez to end the inning.

This was a nightmare inning for the Giants as the Dodgers score 4 runs to take a 7-3 lead. The key play that opened the flood gates was the misplayed fly ball by Huff in right field.

8^th Inning – Top

Hong-Chih Kuo on the mound for the Dodgers in the 8^th inning.

Freddy Sanchez gets ahead in the count 3-0 and works Kuo for 9 pitches and a 3-2 count before hitting a lazy fly ball to Eithier in righ field for the first out of the inning.

On the 1-1 pitch Huff bloops a ball to left field that is misplayed by left fielder Marcus Thames for a 1 out double.

Posey walks on a 3-2 pitch giving the Giants runners on first and second with one out.

Sandoval strikes out on a 1-2 pitch for the second out of the inning.

It will be up to Burrell if the Giants are going to score in the 8^th inning.

Don Mattingly visits the mound and makes a pitching change bringing in Matt Guerrier to face Burrell.

Burrell draws a walk on a 3-2 slider that was low and out of the strike zone.

Brandon Belt works the count to 3-0 and takes strike 1 on a pitch that appeared to be off the plate. Belt takes the 3-1 pitch off the plate for ball four drawing the bases loaded walk scoring Aubrey Huff and giving Belt the RBI.

On the first pitch Miguel Tejada swings at a terrible ankle high pitch hitting a harmless foul popup caught by Loney to end the inning.

This type of baseball is very frustrating. You have the potential tying runs on base and a pitcher that cannot find the plate and you help him out being too aggressive.

Tejada is not going to make any fans in San Francisco making dumb decisions like that.

After having base runners all over the place the Giants manage to eek out one run in the 8t inning. The Dodgers still maintain a 7-4 lead.

8th Inning – Bottom

Guillermo Moto on to pitch for the Giants

On the 2-2 pitch Uribe singles to center fielder Torres.

On the 1-2 pitch Loney flies out on a routine fly ball to left fielder Pat Burrell for the first out of the inning.

With Barajas batting Mota balks Uribe to second base.

On the 3-2 pitch Barajas pops out to Tejada in short left field for the second out of the inning.

With 2 outs Javier Lopez replaces Mota on the mound.

Tony Gwynn Jr. pinch hits for Marcus Thames .

On the 0-1 pitch Gwynn grounds softly to Lopez who throws to Belt to end the inning.

9^th Inning – Top

Jonathan Broxton in to try to save the game for the Dodgers.

Aaron Rowand pinch hits for Javier Lopez.

Rowand homers into the 5th row of the left seats on a hanging 2-2 slider making the score 7-5.

Torres works the count to 3-2 before grounding to Loney who flips to Broxton for the first out of the inning.

Sanchez lines a 2-1 pitch into right field for a single.

The Giants now have a fighting chance with the embattled Aubrey Huff representing the potential run at the plate.

Huff hits a hard grounder back to the mound the Broxton fields and throws to Lone at first for the second out.

Buster Posey is the last hope to keep the game going for the Giants.

On the 2-0 pitch Posey hits a routine ground ball to Furcal who fields and throw to first baseman Loney to end the game.

The Dodgers take 3 of 4 from the Giants to open the season.

This was another frustrating loss by the Giants highlighted be several bad plays.

Huff played two fly balls into triples in right field and Miguel Tejada popped out on a terrible pitch with the tying runs on base in the 8th inning.

It’s only 4 games into the season but the errors and mental mistakes are starting to become repetitive for the Giants.

1st Inning – Top

Miquel Tejada hitting leadoff for the first time in 12 years grounds out from third baseman Aaron Miles to James Loney. Loney makes a nice pickup of a throw in the dirt.

On an 0-1 pitch Freddy Sanchez hits a routine fly ball to left fielder Xavier Paul

On a 1-2 pitch Huff flies out on a routine fly ball to Paul

1st Inning – Bottom

Matt Cain is on the mound for this first start of the season.

On a 1-2 pitch Aaron Miles line out sharply to Matt Cain. Nice catch by Cain.

De Jesus battles Cain for 8 pitches before grounding out to third baseman DeRosa to Belt.

Either grounds out softly to second base Sanchez to Belt.

Cain has a 16 pitch first inning.

2nd Inning – Top

On a 1-2 pitch Posey hits a hard one hopper to second baseman De Jesus who field and throws to Loney for the out.

Pat Burrell is called out strikes on a 2-2 breaking the looked to catch a lot of the plate. Burrell appeared to be completely fooled.

Belt called out on a strikes on 1-2 pitch that caught the inside corner. Nice location by Lilly.

2nd Inning – Bottom

On a 1-2 pitch Kemp continues his hot hitting blasting a fastball of the left center field wall.

Cain is going to have to work hard to keep the Dodgers off the board in this inning.

On an 0-2 count Loney reaches for an outside pitch and grounds out Tejada to Belt.

Kemp advanced to third. Tejada looked at Kemp but took the sure out at first. For the second game in a row Kemp makes a daring base running play to advance from second to third. Last night it paid off when he scored on a sacrifice fly.

With Gimenez up the Giants bring the infield in to try to keep the run off the board. Gimenez battles Cain for 6 pitches before grounding out to Belt unassisted.

Belt looks Kemp back to third before recording the out.

On a 1-2 pitch Paul hits a routine fly ball the left field that is caught by Pat Burrell.

Nice job by Cain pitching around the leadoff double by Kemp.

Cain his thrown 34 pitches in 2 innings.

3rd Inning – Top

On a 2-1 pitch DeRosa hits a solid line drive single to center field

On the first pitch Rowand singles on a looping liner to left field.

On a 2-1 count Cain lays down a good bunt to third base field by Miles to Loney for the out.

The sacrifice bunt is successful as DeRosa and Rowand advance to second and third setting a great scoring opportunity.

Tejada hits a chopper on an 0-1 count that Loney back peddles on before fielding and flipping to Lilly for the second out. DeRosa scores and Tejada gets the RBI giving the Giants a 1-0 lead.

Rowand advances to third.

Freddy Sanchez walks on a 3-2 pitch after a 7 pitch at bat.

On an 0-2 pitch Huff skies a foul pop down the left field line the Either catches at the wall in foul territory.

Lilly limits the damage to 1 run and is at 43 pitches after 3 innings.

3rd Inning – Bottom

On a 1-1 pitch Carroll ground out softly DeRosa to Belt

On an 0-2 pitch Lilly hits a dribbler back to Cain who flips to Belt for the out.

On a 1-2 pitch Miles hits a soft comebacker to Cain who fields and flips to Belt to end the inning.

Cain is off to a good start today with 44 pitches through 3 innings.

4th Inning – Top

On a 1-2 pitch Posey hits a routine grounder to Carroll who throws to Loney for the out.

On the first pitch Burrell hits a swinging bunt towards third that Lilly pounces on, wheels and throws to Loney for out number 2.

On a 3-2 pitch Belt flies out on a routine fly ball to center fielder Kemp ending a 7 pitch at bat.

Another nice at bat by Belt making Lilly work by throwing 7 pitches.

Lilly is now at 55 pitches

4th Inning – Bottom

DeJesus strikes out swinging on a 2-2 pitch but has a 6 pitch at bar.

On a 2-1 pitch Either singles on a slow chopper to DeRosa.

On a 0-1 pitch Kemp hits a ground ball that kicks off the mound and goes to Tejada who steps on second and throws to Belt at first to complete the double ending the inning.

Giants still lead 1-0.

Cain is at 56 pitches

5th Inning – Top

DeRosa grounds out Carroll to Loney for out number one

On an 0-1 pitch Roward hits a line drive single to left field

Rowand advances to second base on a balk by Lilly.

Cain strikes out looking on three pitches on a low inside fastball for the second out.

It’s going to take a two out hit to score a run this inning.

On an 0-1 pitch Tejada hits a solid single between Carroll and Miles driving Rowand in with the second run of the game for the Giants. Tejada advances to second base on Paul’s throw to the plate. Tejada picks up his second RBI of the game.

Freddy Sanchez doubles on the first pitch down the third baseline on a ball that hit the tarp and died. Nice play by the ball boy to leap over the ball avoid interference. Tejada scores and Sanchez picks up an RBI making it Giants 3-0.

Huff singles on a ground ball between Loney and DeJesus driving in Sanchez and giving the Giants a 4-0 lead. Huff is able to find a hole despite DeJesus playing him to pull on the short right field grass.

Don Mattingly removes Ted Lilly from the game and replaces him with Mike MacDougal.

On a 1-2 pitch Posey singles on a line drive to right fielder Either.

On a 1-2 pitch Burrell strikes out swinging.ending the inning.

Nice inning by the Giants stringing several hits together to score three runs.

5th Inning – Bottom

On a 1-0 pitch Loney flies out to Burrell in left field on a routine fly ball.

Gimenez flies out to Rowand on the first pitch of the at bat on a routine fly ball to left center.

On a 2-2 pitch Paul gets an infield single when he hits a sharp ground ball behind the second base bag that Sanchez fields and throw to Belt at first. Paul barely beats the throw at first earning the infield hit.

On a 1-2 pitch Carrol hits a line drive single to left center advancing Paul to third base.

Cain is now in a two out jam.

Barajas pinch hits for MacDougal.

On a 1-2 pitch Barajas strikes out on a slider low and away. Nice pitch by Cain to get out of the two out jam. Cain is at 74 pitches after 5 innings.

6^th Inning – Top

Kenley Jensen is in to pitch the 6^th inning for the Dodgers.

Brandon battles back from a 1-2 count to draw a walk on a nice 7 pitch at bat.

On a 3-1 pitch Belt steals second base for his first career stolen base.

On a 3-2 pitch DeRosa doubles on a ball that Kemp cuts off in the left centerfield gap. DeRosa is able to stretch what appeared to be a single into a double. Belt scores the Giants fifth run of the game. Nice heads up play by DeRosa.

On a 3-1 pitch Rowand pops out to shortstop Carroll. Not a productive at bat for Rowand.

Cain draws a walk on a 3-2 pitch

On a 1-2 pitch Tejada singles on a hard hit ball off the leaping Miles glove at third base. The ball trickled behind Miles on the infield dirt.

On a 2-0 pitch Sanchez singles on a bloop hit near the right field line. DeRosa scores giving the Giants a 6-0 lead. Sanchez picks up the RBI.

On a 2-0 pitch Huff lines a singles back up the middle just missing hitting Kenley. Cain and Tejada scores making the score Giants 8-0. Huff picks up his second and third RBI of the game.

Posey strikes out on a letter high fastball for the second out of the inning.

Burrell strikes out on a blazing fastball right down the middle.

Another nice inning for the Giant where they scored four runs while piecing together several hits.

6^th Inning  – Bottom

Miles line out on a 0-2 pitch

DeJesus called out on strikes on an 0-2 pitch.

Either hits a solid ground ball single to right field between Belt and Sanchez.

Kemp reaches for a slider low in the strike zone and flies out to right fielder Huff on a 1-2 pitch

7^th Inning – Top

Lance Cormier now pitching for the Dodgers.

Uneventful innings for the Giants hitters.

Belt reaches first on a throw that pulled Loney off the first base bag.

DeRosa lined out to second baseman DeJesus and Rowand struck out.

Fontenot pinch hit for Cain and from Cormier to Loney

Nice outing for Cain 6 IP 0 ER O BB 3 Ks on 86 pitches.

7^th Inning – Bottom

Javier Lopez is making his first appearance of the season

Lopez was the Giants left-handed bullpen specialist after his trade from the Pirates in August of 2010. His work against Utley and Howard in the NLCS was outstanding.

Lopes allows singles Gimenez and Carroll while working a scorelss 7^th inning.

8^th Inning – Top

Cormier is back out for the 8^th inning.

Tejada grounds out DeJesus to Loney

Freddy Sanchez hits a 1-0 pitch over the left field wall for a solo home run giving the Giants a 9-0 lead.

Cormier retires Schierholtz and Whiteside back to back to end the top of the 8^th

8^th Inning Bottom

Ramon Ramirez throws a scoreless 8^th inning allowing a single to Either while retiring Miles, DeJesus and Cormier.

9^th Inning – Top

Cormier still on the mound for the Dodgers

Andres Torres hits a pinch hit double to right field

Brandon Belt walks

Torres advances to third and Belt advances to second on wild pitch.

DeRosa grounds out second to first driving in Torres making the score Giants 10-0

Belt advances to third.

Rowand strikes out.

Sandoval grounds out third to first to end the top of the 9^th inning.

9^th Inning – Bottom

Jeremy Affeldt on the mound for the 9^th inning. He is making his first appearance of the season.

Loney grounds out Sandoval to Belt

Gimenez strikes out on foul tip

Ellis singles on an infield single off Freddy Sanchez’s glove.

Carroll pops out to right field Shierholtz to end the game.

The Giants pick up their first win of the season and their record improves to 1-2 on the season.

Jonathan Sanchez squares up against Chad Billingsley in the second game of the season.

Both pitchers have a reputation of having lots of talent mixed with lots of inconsistency. Both have the stuff to beat anybody on any given night.

In 5 starts against the Giants in 2010 Billingsley posted a 2-1 record with a fantastic 0.74 ERA while holding the Giants to a .160 batting average.

The Giants appear to have their work cut out for them tonight.

1st Inning – Top

On a 1-1 pitch Torres beats out a perfectly placed bunt the Billingsley is not able to field on a do or die attempt. This is the type of play I love to see. This will keep the Dodger infielders on their toes the rest of the night whenever Torres bats.

Billingsley hits Sanchez with the first pitch with pitch that looks to barely graze Sanchez on his uniform near his waist.

On an 0-1 pitch Huff hits a soft grounder to Loney who throws to second to erase to Sanchez.

The Giants have a good scoring opportunity with 1 and 3 and 1 out with Posey at bat.

On a 2-2 count Posey has to protect on an outside pitch and grounds fairly sharply into a 6 4 3 inning ending double play.

Billingsley gets out of the jam throwing only 11 pitches

1st Inning – Bottom

Furcal lead off by hitting bloop single to right field on a 1-1 pitch. This is a ball that landed 3 feet in from of Huff. In my opinion Cody Ross could have made the catch. The Burrell and Huff outfield has already played a part in this game.

Before the first pitch to De Jesus, Sanchez picks off Furcal with an excellent move to first.

Sanchez makes De Jesus look bad on a three pitch strikeout getting to chase a slider in the dirt.

Sanchez strikes out  Either swinging on a well placed 1-2 fastball on the outside corner.

Sanchez looks sharp in a 10 pitch first inning.

2nd Inning – Top

On an 0-2 Burrell grounds out on a routine grounder to short.

Billingsley strikes out Sandoval swinging with a excellent 0-2 slider on the inside corner.

On an 0-1 pitch Belt hits a weak 2 hopper and is retired unassisted by Loney.

Billingsley looks to have good stuff tonight. He has made it through the second inning throwing only 19 pitches.

This appears to be setting up to be another low scoring game.

2nd Inning – Bottom

Sanchez strikes out Kemp on 4 pitches with a sharp breaking slider in the dirt.

On a 1-2 pitch Thames singles on to 2nd baseman Freddy Sanchez on a broken bat infield hit.

On a 1-0 pitch Loney hits a routine fly ball to Torres for out number two.

On a 1-2 pitch Barajas inside outs a pitch into right center field just over the head of second baseman Freddy Sanchez.

Jonathan Sanchez has been victimized by a couple of bloop hits so far this inning.

On a 2-2 pitch Sanchez strikes out Miles on a pitch well off the outside corner of the plate.

Sanchez pitched well stranding the two runners.

Sanchez looks sharp with 4 Ks on 30 pitches through 2 innings.

3rd Inning – Top

On a 1-2 pitch Tejada grounds out sharply third to first. Billingsley left the ball hanging over the middle of the plate and appeared to be fortunate Tejada did not hit is harder.

Jonathan Sanchez strikes out on 4 pitches on a high outside 93 MPH fastball.

Torres lines the first pitch of the at bat into left field for a single.Good piece of hitting by Torres hitting a good pitch that was on the outside corner.

With Freddy Sanchez hitting on a 2-2 count Barajas just misses picking off Torres with a snap throw to first.

Sanchez draws a walk on a 3-2 pitch. Good plate appearance by Freddy.

On an 0-2 count Billingsley strikes out Huff looking on a great fastball on the inside corner.

3rd Inning – Bottom

Sanchez looks wild walking Billingsley on 5 pitches to lead off the inning.

Sanchez bounces back striking out Furcal on 5 pitches.

Sanchez walks De Jesus after an 8 pitch at bat.

Sanchez has reverted to his 2010 erratic postseason form.

Either fly’s out sharply to right on the first pitch advancing Billingsley to third.

Sanchez is one out away from pitching out of the jam.

Kemp hits an 0-1 pitch into into the left field gap. The ball bounced on the warning track an into the seats for a ground rule double driving in Billingsley.

This appears to be a ball a better left fielder may have been able to catch. I hope I am not being too critical of Huff and Burrell in the outfield. But most fans agree they are both below average fielding outfielders at this point in the careers.

That being said Sanchez is not doing himself any favors with his inability to consistently throw quality strikes.

Thames strikes out chasing a high fastball intentionally thrown out of the strike zone.

Sanchez his thrown 54 pitches in three innings.

After 3 innings the Dodgers lead 1-0

4th Inning – Top

Posey leads off the inning hitting a solid single just in front of a diving Either in right field. Great attempt by Either. Nice piece of hitting by Posey.

Good at bat by Burrell working the count to 3-2. Burrell battles though a 7 pitch at bat before flying out to medium depth left field.

Sandoval has a nice 6 pitch at bat fouling off 4 straight pitches before singling sharply up the middle. Nice to see Sandoval battle a tough pitcher.

On a 2-0 pitch Brandon Belt blasts his first major league homer to dead center driving in Posey and Sandoval.

Billingsley retires Tejada and Sanchez but damage is done with the 3 run homer by Belt.

Nice inning by the Giants hitters. Liked the patience I saw from Burrell and Belt. Like the way Sandoval battled.

Bottom of the 4th Giants 3-1

4th Inning  – Bottom

Would like to see a shutdown inning by Sanchez.

Loney grounds out weakly to Belt unassisted on a 1-0 pitch.

Barajas walk after working the count to 3-2.

Miles fly’s out to deep left center on a 0-1 pitch.

Sanchez strikes out Billingsley with a nice slider just off the outside corner.

Nice shutdown inning for Sanchez. Did not like seeing the walk to Barajas.

5th Inning – Top

Billingsley retires Torres, Sanchez and Huff in order on 12 pitches. Nice bounce back inning. Billingsley is at 79 pitches after 5 innings.

Billingsley is making Huff look bad tonight.

5th Inning – Bottom

Sanchez retires Furcal, De Jesus and Either in order on 11 pitches in the 5th.

Nice inning through the top of the order for Sanchez.

6th Inning – Top

Billingsley retires Posey and Burrell in order to lead off the sixth. But both grind out nice 6 pitch at bats bringing Billingsley’s pitch count up to 91.

Sandoval hits first pitches to Thames in left who drops it for an error allowing Sandoval to reach first.

Belt hits the first pitch for a sharp grounder to Loner who has it deflect to second baseman De Jesus who throws back to Loney to end the inning.

Another hard hit ball by Belt.

6 Inning – Bottom

Kemp leads off the inning with a single to center.

Thames grounds out Sandoval to Belt. On the ground out Kemp runs hard from first to third barely beating the return throw from Belt.

Is it a good hustle play or a bad decision he got a away with?

In my opinion he is already in scoring position with the tying run at the plate so I would lean more to ill advised. It’s never smart to make an out on the base paths when the tying run is coming to the plate in the late innings.

Loney fly’s out to Huff in left field driving in Kemp.

Barajas hits a solid single to left over Sandoval’s head.

Miles singles on a swinging bunt to Sandoval at third. Sandoval makes a wild throw past Belt at first allowing Barajas to advance to third and Miles to advance to second.

Visit makes a quick visit to the mound. I am guessing Bochy is telling Sanchez to get him one more out so he can pinch hit for him in the 7th. Bochy obviously does not want to waste a relief pitcher in the 6th when he will pinch hit for him in the 7th.

Giminez hits a swinging bunt towards third that is bobbled by Sanchez allowing Barajas to score the tying run.

The decision to leave Sanchez in for one more batter proves costly. Sanchez is releived bu Guillermo Mota.

The Giants defense has been terrible the first two games of the season. When you are playing bad defense balls seem to find the wrong guys at the wrong time.

Mota throws a 1-0 pitch right down the middle and Furcal lines into right field driving Miles in and giving the Dodgers a 4-3 lead.

Mota strikes out De Jesus to end the inning.

This was definitely a nightmare inning for the Giants.

7th Inning – Top

Top 7th – Inning.

Blake Hawksworth  is now pitching for the Dodgers

Tejada leads off the inning dropping down a perfect bunt down the third baseline. Miles tries to let it roll foul but it stays just on the grass. I love these types of plays.

Mike Fontenot pinch hits for Jonathan Sanchez

On a 1-2 pitch Fontenot grounds softly to Loney  who throws wide to Furcal at second forcing out Tejada. It appeared Furcal may not have had his foot on the bag when he caught the ball. Teajada disputed the call but did not put up much of an argument.

Torres strikes out on three pitches.

It’s up to Freddy Sanchez if the Giants are going to score in the 7th.

Freddy keeps the inning alive with a solid single to left.

Aubrey Huff draws a 5 pitch walk.

Buster Posey strikes out on a 3-2 pitches. His bat fly’s out of his hands into the stands and appeared to strike a Dodger fan.

Hopefully the fan will be okay.

7th Inning – Bottom

Dan Runzler making his first appearance of the year on the mound for the Giants.

Runzler gets Either, Kemp and Thames in order on 7 pitches in the 7th. Nice inning for Runzler.

8th Inning – Top

Matt Guerrier now on the mound for the Dodgers

Guerrier strikes out Shierholtz on three pitches.

Sandoval in Panda reaches for a pitch low and outside and hits a ground ball single to center field.

Brandon Belt has another good at bat hitting sinking line drive to center that Kemp made a sliding catch on.

Tejada pops out to left field on a weak fly ball.

Another good at bat for Belt even though the ball did not drop. Good catch by Kemp.

8th Inning  – Bottom

Runzler back out for the 8th inning.

Sandoval makes a nice running catch in foul territory down the left field line to retire Loney to lead off the inning.

I like what I am seeing out of the thinner Sandoval in the first two games.

Barajas flies out to Huff in left field and Miles grounds out Sandoval to Belt to end the inning.

Very nice outing for Runzler

9th Inning – Top

Jonathan Broxton on the mound.

De Rosa leads off the 9th pinch hitting for Runzler and looks fooled as he takes a called third strike right down the middle.

Torres flies out to Either who makes a running catch in right field

Freddy Sanchez is the last hope for tonight. Sanchez pops to Loney to end the game.

Broxton earns an easy 9 pitch save and drops the Giants to 0-2 for 2011.

Vin Scully starts his 62nd year in the booth for the Dodgers as the World Series Champion Giants come to Los Angeles to start the 2011 season.

1st Inning – Top

The game starts with Clayton Kershaw throwing from the shade into the sun. This is making it difficult on the hitters. This will probably effect the hitters for the first couple of innings.

Kershaw looked sharp in the first inning. Freddy Sanchez reached on an error on Rafeal Furcal on a routine grounder to short. Kershaw strikes out the side in the first.

1st Inning – Bottom

Furcal leads off the bottom of the first by grounding out to second. Brandon Belts gets his first career chance with the putout from Sanchez. Either and Kemp have back to back two out singles. But Lincecum works out of the jam throwing a respectable 13 pitches compared to Kershaw’s 18 pitches in the first.

2nd Inning – Top

Brandon Belt gets an infield hit to first base in his first career at bat.

2nd Inning – Bottom

Lincecum looks like he does not has his best stuff so far this evening. He has allowed two hits through the first two innings and was helped out by Juan Uribe being tagged out after over sliding second base after an Andres Torres fielding error.

3rd Inning – Top

Kershaw has 6 strikeouts and allowed one hit through 3 innings but has a realtavely high pitch count of 44. The pitch count could become an issue in the 6 or 7 inning.

Kershaw has electric stuff tonight as opposed to Lincecum battling. This is the type of game that would be huge for the Giants to win.

4th Inning – Top

Aubrey Huff leads off the 4th and flies out to right. It looks like he just missed hitting it out.

Kershaw 8 strikeouts in 4 innings on 54 pitches.

6th Inning – Top

Through 6 innings Kershaw still has 8 strikeouts on 83 pitches.  The Giants had a couple of hits but an Aubrey Huff 4 6 3 double play killed any possible scoring threat.

This game has the look of the first team that scores will win.

6th Inning -Bottom

Lincecum starts the 6th having thrown 66 pitches.  Kemp draws a one out walk on a close pitch and Loney reaches on a throwing error by Tejada giving the Dodgers 1st and 3rd with 1 out. This is the first serious scoring threat for either team.

We will probably see what Tim has left in the tank as he looks to need a strikeout in this situation.

Lincecum hits Uribe loading the bases for Barajas.

Posey makes a bad throw to third base in a pickoff attempt of Matt Kemp.  Sandoval tries to reach around Kemp into foul territory but is unable to make the catch and the ball goes down the left field line allowing Kemp to score the first run of the game.

Barajas draws a walk loading the bases while upping Lincecum pitch count to 86. Tim needs to get out of the jam without further damage if the Giants hope to get back in this game.

Tim induces a soft grounder from Kershaw limiting the damage to one run.  Tim is due up 4th in the 7th so this maybe have been his last inning as he is now at 92 pitches.

This would be a disappointing way to lose on opening day as the run appears to be a gift run.

7th Inning – Top

Kershaw is back on the mound for the 7th inning.

Kershaw breezes through the 7th and now stands at 96 pitches. You have to wonder if Mattingly will let him go back out for the 8th. How much was he stretched out in the spring. You generally don’t expect starters to throw 100+ pitches too often on opening day.

7th Inning – Bottom

Lincecum back on the mound for the 7th. This will undoubtedly be his last inning as he is scheduled to lead off the top of the 8th.

Lincecum breezes through the 7th. Let’s see if the bullpen and bats can pick him up form a possible tough luck loss.

8th Inning – Top

Kershaw and Lincecum are out of the game to start the 8th. Kuo is in for Kershaw and the forgotten man of the 2010 season, Mark DeRosa is on to pinch hit for Tim.

Getting Kershaw out of the game can only be a good thing at this point.

On cue DeRosa draws a leadoff walk and Schierholtz pinch run for DeRosa.  Kuo manages to finally throw a strike on his seventh pitch of the inning. I am hopping Torres is patient since Kuo looks wild.

Torres has worked the count to 3-2 and Kuo has thrown 12 pitches already.

Torres has worked Kuo for 12 pitches so far. Torres flies out weakly to left on the 13th pitch. Scierholtz is not able to advance from 1st base.

Freddy Sanchez strikes out for the second out of the inning. He is visibly upset.

It will be up to Aubrey Huff if the Giants are going to score in the 8th. Huff hits a routine fly ball to center on the first pitch to end the top of the 8th.

8th Inning – Bottom

The Dodgers closer situation was terrible the second half of 2010 so there is reason for hope if the Giants can prevent the Dodgers from scoring anymore runs.

Santiago Casilla is on the mound for the Giants in the bottom of the 8th. He shows signs of his wild performances of the 2010 postseason by walking Kemp on 6 pitches to lead off the inning.

Kemp steals second on the first pitch to Loney. Posey throw is nowhere close. Posey goes to the mound and appears animated towards Casilla. My guess is he told him to throw a strike and trust his stuff.

On the next pitch Loney double off the base of the short right field wall on a hanging slider. Kemp scores making it 2-0.

Jonathan Broxton is warming up in the bullpen as Juan Uribe bats with Loney on second and none out. Uribe in his feast or famine style strikes out without advancing the runner.

From the what if category, Barajas flies out weakly for the second out of the 9th. Could Loney have scored if Uribe had advanced him to third?

Carrol flies out to center to end the inning. The Dodgers have to think they should have scored more than one run. Casilla clearly labored through the inning throwing 30 pitches.

9th Inning – Top

The Giants have Posey, Burrell and Tejada scheduled in the 9th.

Now the big question. Which Broxton will we see tonight? The one from the first half of 2010 or the one from the second half of 2010.

A patient hitter like Posey leading off the 9th is a good thing. Let’s make Broxton throw some strikes.

On Broxton’s first pitch Posey hits a sharp grounder over the first bag that Loney bobbles and recovers to flip to Broxton for the first out of the 9th.

Burrell works Broxton to a 2-1 count before hitting a ball just over the left field wall for a solo homer. Dodgers still lead 2-1. Broxton his allowed two hard hit balls to two batters.

Reason for hope for the Giants if they make Broxton throw strikes.

On a 1-1 count Tejada hits a dribbler about three feet from the first base side that is easily fielded by Barajas and thrown to Loney for the second out of the 9th.

That leaves it up to Brandon Belt. A tough assignment for a kid making his first major league start. Belt does have an advantage of being a left-handed batter against Broxton.

Broxton gets up 1-2 in the count. Belt need to make Broxton throw him a strike.

Belt is battles Broxton to a 2-2 count. Six pitches so far.

On pitch 8 Broxton coaxes Belt to hit a soft liner to Uribe at 3rd base.

Although Belt did not reach base his ability to battle Broxton was a good sign.

When Broxton is on his game he is one of the better closers in the National League.

The loss drops the Giants to 0-1 on the season.