Scutaro with the literal walk off

By Jeremy Kahn

August 20, 2013

SAN FRANCISCO-Marco Scutaro was given the nickname “Blockbuster” when he was acquired by the San Francisco Giants.

Scutaro walked on four straight pitches with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning against Brayan Villareal, as the Giants came back to defeat the Boston Red Sox 3-2 before a sellout crowd of 41,551 at AT&T Park.

Shane Victorino maybe in the American League, but he is still tormenting the Giants.

Victorino hit a solo home run in the top of the third inning off of Ryan Vogelsong that gave the Red Sox a 2-0 lead.

Besides the Victorino home run in the third, Vogelsong gave up a run in the top of the first inning, when Mike Carp drove in Jacoby Ellsbury with a sacrifice fly to right field.

In all, Vogelsong went seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits, walking one and striking out five.

Joaquin Arias drove in the Giants only run of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning, as he tripled to score Roger Kieschnick, who singled to leadoff the frame.

Jake Peavy went 5.2 innings, allowing one run on five hits, while walking one and striking out four, but did not fare in the decision.

Buster Posey tied up the game in the bottom of the eighth inning, as he hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Scutaro.

Giants looking for a spark in D.C.

By Morris Phillips

August 12, 2013

According to Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy, the Giants’ bats are ice cold right now.

The temperature for first pitch at Nationals Park on Tuesday night in steamy Washington D.C. should be around 83 degrees.

Could this convergence of circumstances bring about a change of fortunes for the NL West’s last place club? Probably not.

After losing two of three to the Orioles at AT&T Park over the weekend, the Giants are 15 ½ games behind the first place Dodgers and thinking of next year. The lineups Bochy’s been running out with Roger Kieschnick getting a look and Jeff Franceour frequently featured aren’t fortune changers. Instead, they’re audition lineups as the veteran manager scours his 25-man roster for any signs of life.

A matchup of two teams that made the post-season in 2012 doesn’t offer the same snap that it did just a year ago. The Nationals are just three games under .500 but sit 14 games behind the first-place Braves in the NL East. Bryce Harper’s been terrific for the Nats, and Stephen Strasburg struggled to find his form, but the major theme out of Washington is that their offense is as bad as the Giants.

So on the surface Tuesday’s matchup between Madison Bumgarner and Gio Gonzalez might not allow the bats to break out. But if we watch, we’ll watch for that: any signs of life from the woeful Giants or the disappointing Nationals.

First pitch comes at 4:05pm.