News
Giants shuffle to replace F. Sanchez
San Francisco (81-70) at Arizona (66-86), 7:10 p.m. PT
By Tom Singer / MLB.com
09/23/09 2:47 AM ET
PHOENIX -- Another Freddy Sanchez injury has been added to the insult heaped lately on the Giants' vaunted rotation. Manager Bruce Bochy is confident his starting pitchers -- with pitching coach Dave Righetti looking over their shoulders -- can straighten themselves out. But Bochy has to move the pieces himself to compensate for the loss of Sanchez, possibly for the remainder of this 11-game season. An MRI of Sanchez's left knee, which he had twisted in odd fashion in Monday night's game, revealed an aggravation of the meniscus tear that had benched him around the time of his July 29 trade from Pittsburgh. "We'll rehab him for a few days -- if not more," Bochy said following Tuesday night's 10-8 loss to the D-backs. Sanchez had limped out of Monday night's game in the bottom of the first after twisting the knee when his spikes caught in the infield dirt while reaching for center fielder Aaron Rowand's throw-in following a flyout. His bat is a major loss for a team already struggling to score on a consistent basis. Kevin Frandsen replaced him at second base Tuesday night, but an 0-for-2 dropped the reserve's average to .149. "It's an opportunity to help the team," Frandsen said, "but Sanchez is a good player, and losing him from the lineup is not a good thing." In the short term, Bochy will turn second base into a dynamic position. Versatile Eugenio Velez, who has made 16 of his last 18 starts in the outfield, will come in Wednesday for his 14th start at second, replacing Frandsen with the right-handed Kevin Mulvey on the mound for Arizona. Fred Lewis is likely to get the start in left. "And we have some other options," Bochy said. "We can put some other of our outfielders out there, like John Bowker. He'll figure in there, too." Pitching matchupSF: LHP Jonathan Sanchez (6-12, 4.29 ERA)
Among active D-backs who have accumulated 10 or more at-bats against him, Sanchez has had mixed success. Slugger Mark Reynolds is hitting just .188 off him (3-for-16) with 10 strikeouts, and Stephen Drew's career average against him is .261 (6-for-23). But Justin Upton owns a .400 average off Sanchez (6-for-15) with three doubles and two home runs, while Chris Young is batting .316 (6-for-19). ARI: RHP Kevin Mulvey (0-1, 10.95 ERA)
Mulvey's first two starts with the D-backs have not been good ones. In those games he has allowed 10 earned runs in just eight innings. Last time out against the Rockies at Chase Field, Mulvey drew the ire of manager A.J. Hinch by not being aggressive enough with his fastball. When he pitches around contact and falls behind, it's trouble for him. The right-hander was acquired in the deal that sent Jon Rauch to the Twins. Mulvey is no stranger to being traded. A second-round pick by the Mets in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, he was dealt to the Twins as part of the Johan Santana deal. Tidbits
Until Tuesday night's 10-8 defeat, the most runs the Giants had scored in a Matt Cain loss was four; give him any more support, in other words, and he is usually money. ... In fact, the pitching-rich Giants had been 22-0 when scoring eight-plus runs. ... Pablo Sandoval (3-for-5) is now a .529 hitter (18-for-34) in eight games inside Chase Field this season. ... Wednesday's game will be the 50th since the Giants acquired Freddy Sanchez from the Pirates. Sanchez has played in half of them. Tickets
Buy tickets now to catch the game in person.
On the Internet
MLB.TV
Gameday Audio• Gameday
• Official game notes On television
• CSN-BA, ESPN On radio
• KNBR 680 Up next
• Thursday: Giants (Brad Penny, 10-9, 5.35) vs. Cubs (Ryan Dempster, 10-8, 3.72), 7:15 p.m. PT
• Friday: Giants (Tim Lincecum, 14-6, 2.47) vs. Cubs (Carlos Zambrano, 8-6, 3.91), 7:15 p.m. PT
• Saturday: Giants (Barry Zito, 10-12, 3.99) vs. Cubs (Ted Lilly, 12-8, 3.02), 1:10 p.m. PT
Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
