Novato Babe Ruth provided the full range of baseball action over the weekend as the Giants opened the double header with a 1-0 win over the Padres, and the Reds used a total of twenty hits and walks to overpower the Cubs 16-6 in the night cap.
In the Opener, Giants leadoff man Evan Lirette drew a walk to start the home half of the first, and promptly stole second. Jason Franks delivered the game’s only run on a single , and then pitching took over the game. Giants starter Franks and reliever Jake Schmidt gave up just four hits while striking out ten. The Padre’s Matt Stutzman nearly matched them while pitching a complete game four hitter, but the Pads could come up with a run to catch the Giants in this one. Giant pitchers are on a streak of fourteen consecutive scoreless innings.
Runs were not a problem in the finale as the Reds’ first three hitters reached base, and Matt DeFilippis’ two run single keyed a three run first. The Cubs immediately got two back in the top of the second and loaded the bases, but Reds pitcher Colin Farrell got out of the inning on a neat first to pitcher third out. Farrell retired the Cubs in order in the third and fourth, and the Reds went back to work, tacking on three more runs. Brandon Kelly and Teddy Akers opened the Reds fourth with walks. Patrick Jameson got Kelly home with a single, and two more runs came across on ground balls to make it 6-2 Reds. But there was no quit in the Cubs, as they fought back to tie it up with a four run fifth, highlighted by Julian Villamante’s daring steal of home, and Andrew Olson’s RBI double. The Reds retook the lead in their fifth, parlaying four walks with RBI hits from Colby Lamond, DeFilippis, and Tyler Abell to put up six runs for a 12-6 Reds lead. The Reds put the game away with a four run sixth, using base hits from Abell and Kelly. Abell closed out the game , retiring five of the last six Cubs without the ball leaving the infield.
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Jason Franks, Jared Myers, and Ryan Johnson combined for a two hit shut out to lead the Giants to a 10-0 win over the A’s. Franks, Johnson, Max Glasser, and Jake Schmidt each had two hits for the Giants, while Eric Tanaka had the two A’s hits on the day.
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In other weekend action, the Tigers rallied for two runs with two outs in the top of the seventh to take a 4-3 victory over the Marlins.
David Hernandez
