Giants VS Diamondbacks Recap, Grades

Tim Lincecum didn’t start the 2012 season the way he had been planning ever since he clanked Justin Upton’s head in his last start of the 2011 season. The Giants ace was roughed up for a quick three runs on two homeruns in the first inning. Those homeruns came from Paul Goldschmidt who absolutely kills Lincecum.  The powerful right hander hit third career homerun off him in just 12 at bats. Chris Young hit a two run homer prior to Goldschmidt’s towering shot.

The Giants improved offense battled back. In the top of the fifth, the scorching hot Melky Cabrera hit a screaming line drive that skimmed the top of the wall in right field, notching the score to 3-2 in the Diamondbacks favor.

San Francisco came right back again in the sixth, putting up one more run on a Brandon Crawford RBI groundout, tying the game at three. Unfortunately, that was the final man that would cross the plate for the G-Men.

Arizona immediately retook the lead in the bottom half of the sixth. Ryan Roberts hit a two run double that put the D-Backs up 5-3, and with that, Lincecum’s night was over.

Both bullpens were solid on the night. Guillermo Mota gave up the only hit, while Clay Hensley struck out two Arizona batters in 2/3’s of an inning.

J.J Putz gave up two hits and one run on a Pablo Sandoval double in the top of the ninth. He made it interesting, but got Buster Posey to ground into a game ending groundball.

Giants Grades:

Melky Cabrera: A-

Cabrera had a great Giants debut, going 2-4 with a two run homer. He’s seeing the ball extremely well right now, just like he was in Spring Training. It’s clear that he will be a big piece in an improved Giants offense in 2012.

Buster Posey: B-

Posey had a promising return to the Giants lineup after rehabbing a broken ankle for months, going 2-4 with a run batted in. Personally, it’s just nice to see number 28 back out on the field. Even though Buster was unable to drive in the game tying run in top of the ninth, I’m positive Giants fans were still pleased to see him back.

Angel Pagan: D-

Pagan’s spring training struggles looked to have continued into the first game of the season for the Giants. Pagan went 1-5 with one run scored, while stranding three. Yes it was just his first game as a Giant, but Gregor Blanco is ready to go if Pagan’s struggles continue.

Tim Lincecum: F

Lincecum’s performance was not what we or Bruce Bochy was expecting from his ace tonight. Lincecum didn’t even make it through six innings, and gave up five earned runs on the night. This is just one start from Lincecum, and we should expect him to rebound in his next start.