Braves Win Game 2: What Just Happened?

In front of a record crowd of 44,046, the Giants blew a 4-0 lead, losing on a Rick Ankiel home run in the top of the 11th inning. This was after Matt Cain baffled Braves hitters for 6 2/3 innings, striking out 7 and holding the team to 4 hits.

When Cain left the game with a 4-0 lead, it seemed the Giants merely needed to hold on to secure the victory. Manager Bruce Bochy felt this way too, sacrificing offense for defense by replacing Pat Burrell in the top of the 7th with Nate Shchierholtz, who ended up coming to the plate in two key situations where the Giants could have used the pop in Pat Burrells bat.

The Giants seemed to have the game under control, yet the Braves chipped away at the lead with a rally off the Giants bullpen in the 8th and the eventual game winner by Rick Ankiel in the 11th.

The Giants must be truly committed to their new slogan, "torture," as this puts them in a torturous situation, traveling across the country to face the Braves ace, Tim Hudson on Sunday.

On the mound for the Giants in Game 3 will be Jonathon Sanchez, who has been hot of late. If the Giants are to steal a victory in front of the Brave's home town crowd, they are going to have to generate a lot more offense than they did tonight, as Pat Burrell's home run overshadowed what was a very poor showing at the plate for the Giants.

Aubrey Huff, who had an 0 for 3 night, was the primary culprit for the Giants offensive woes. Two of his strikeouts came in key situations and his walk in the bottom of the 9th stuck Buster Posey with the responsibility of winning the game.

Not that I am bashing Huff for drawing a walk and moving a runner to third, but if he realy is the veteran, heart-of-the-order hitter that he claims to be, he needs to knock in that run for the Giants, not pass the buck to young Buster Posey.

So the series stands, tied at 1-1. After losing a game the Giants seemed destined to win, the team will need to step up their offensive attack on Sunday, or else endure some more torture, down 1-2 in a 5 game series, on Monday.