Pulling out all the stops as the race gets hot
SAN DIEGO — If this were May, maybe manager Bruce Bochy would not have pulled Barry Zito after four innings in an aggressive bid to come from behind. Perhaps he would have sat Pablo Sandoval and his still-healing hamstring after five innings, not eight, and told him to take the next day off.
But this is August, and the finish line is growing larger on the horizon. The Giants and Dodgers are locked in a fight for the National League West title.
The stretch drive is here. It’s no time to be timid.
The Giants start a three-game series in Los Angeles on Monday. Before they get there, they plan to go for the kill in San Diego, where they came from behind, then held off the Padres to win 8-7 Saturday night.
Sandoval is expected to play Sunday
whether his hammy is barking or not. Buster Posey will be in there, too.
“At this point, it’s time to push it a little bit more,” Posey said after another big night (two doubles, a single and a sacrifice fly). “I think Boch has done a nice job giving me some rest this year. I definitely want to be out there as much as possible.”
After Friday’s 10-1 win, Bochy joked that it was “good to take me out of the game so I could relax a little bit.”
Saturday was his penance. He had to manage his keister off.
A three-run Chase Headley homer in the third gave San Diego a 4-1 lead. With Zito due to lead off the fifth, Bochy had Ryan Theriot pinch-hit.
Theriot singled to start a four-run rally that gave the Giants a 5-4 lead. Posey hit the first of his two doubles. Angel Pagan also doubled, Marco Scutaro and Hunter Pence had sacrifice flies, and Joaquin Arias singled home a run.
Bochy then ran through six relievers over the final five innings. He thought he needed only five when Jeremy Affeldt retired the first two Padres in the ninth with the Giants up 8-5, but a walk, two singles and two runners taking second without a throw closed it to 8-7.
Bochy called for Clay Hensley. The Padres countered with left-handed pinch-hitter Mark Kotsay. Hensley won with a strikeout and recorded his third save.
Asked if the calendar played a role in his decision to yank Zito so early, Bochy said, “That plays a part in it, sure. I know these starters want to go deep in these games. At that point, we needed to get back in the game, and we had coverage in the bullpen.”
With eight relievers on hand and Matt Cain having worked eight innings Friday, Bochy was not shy about walking to the mound and taking the ball.
Jose Mijares faced two batters and got his first win with the Giants. Following him were Santiago Casilla for two outs, Sergio Romo for three, Affeldt for two and Hensley for the big final out.
Zito had no issue with Bochy’s early hook, saying, “I can’t be frustrated with him. I’m frustrated with myself for not being aggressive there (in a one-run second) and walking two guys.”
One lineup move paid dividends, too. Bochy played Arias over a hot Brandon Crawford at short against the lefty Eric Stults. Arias homered to start the second inning and added two scoring singles.
Sandoval had a good game, too. Beyond his two hits, he showed off his wheels when he tripled in the third inning, advanced two bases on Posey’s fifth-inning hit and scored from second on Arias’ single in a two-run seventh that broke a 5-5 tie.
“I feel better, man. I feel better every single day,” Sandoval said.