The San Francisco Giants got what they deserved: a great series and momentum into August. They have defeated the dodgers three straight games at home to complete the sweep for the first time against L.A. since 2004.
On Friday, the Giants won a thrilling 6-5 victory by flexing their offense and squeezing away with the W. Aubrey Huff stole the game, hitting safely 3 out of four at-bats while driving in 3 runs including a home run. Juan Uribe also contributed a solo homer of his own, and Tim Lincecum pitched a terrific 7 innings allowing 2 earned runs, 7 hits while punching out 9.
The next day, as the Giants front office raced around making phone calls finding a few players to acquire before the trade deadline, the team participated in an exciting 2-1 victory over the Dodgers to win game 2 of the 3-game series.
Pat Burrell hit a clutch 2-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to take a 2-1 lead into the ninth. Barry Zito didn't pitch long enough to earn the win, but he had a great 7-inning outing, allowing just 3 hits and one run as he struck out 6. Guillermo Mota closed the game against his former team due to Brian Wilson sitting out for experiencing back spasms.
Lastly, the Giants won the final game of the series with a final score 2-0 to sweep the dodgers for the first time since 2007. Matt Cain had never earned a win against the hated rivals until today's game. He pitched a gem, lasting 7.2 shutout innings, allowing just 4 hits, one walk and throwing 7 strikeouts.
Edgar Renteria couldn't have a more perfect time to hit his first triple of the season, bringing in Burrell and Rowand to score the only runs of the game. Newly acquired Javier Lopez pitched to one batter in the eighth to make his Giants debut, which resulted in a ground ball back to him to make the easy throw to first.
Brian Wilson made things final in the ninth as he returned from injury striking out 2 batters and flying out Matt Kemp to right for the final out. He now has 31 saves this season, leading all closers.
The Giants had a sold out series for the largest attendance this season with 128,651 tickets sold. Every one of those fans sat on the edge of their seats the entire series as there was plenty of action all weekend long.
The Giants climbed up a game to the Padres, who have been struggling lately much like the Dodgers and Rockies. They are now 1.5 games back and they hope to keep their winning ways going as they play another division opponent next week.
Check out the Giants take on the Rockies for a 2-game series on Tuesday and Wednesday on the road. Pitching match-up on Tuesday will be Jonathan Sanchez (7-6, 3.54) against Aaron Cook(4-7 5.08).
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