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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Giants hang first loss on Halladay


Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Philadelphia slugger Ryan Howard was 0 for 3 against San Francisco hours after signing a five-year, $125 million contract extension. The Giants won, 5-1.

MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ | Associated Press

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SAN FRANCISCO — Mark DeRosa gave the San Francisco Giants a two-out, two-strike hit that they've been missing — and he did it against Phillies ace Roy Halladay.

Manager Bruce Bochy called it one of his team's best at-bats all year. That got San Francisco started, all right.

Eli Whiteside homered and doubled in a run, Jonathan Sanchez struck out six and the Giants beat Philadelphia, 5-1, last night to hand Halladay his first loss since joining the Phillies in a blockbuster four-team trade this winter.

"That was huge," Whiteside said of DeRosa's grind-it-out first at-bat. "It got us going in the first, put two on the board and gave everybody a little confidence that 'We can get to this guy.' "

Ryan Howard went 0 for 3 with a strikeout and walk hours after the slugger agreed to a $125 million, five-year contract extension that could keep him with the Phillies until 2017. He flied out to deep center in the first, with Andres Torres going to the wall to make a tough catch.

"When you see that guy and he got that contract, he's got to be happy out there and he's going to swing the bat," Sanchez said. "It's a big ballpark but I thought he hit it pretty good and that it was going to go out. When he caught that ball, it was amazing."

DeRosa hit that two-run single in the first for San Francisco and Aubrey Huff had an RBI single in the sixth after Pablo Sandoval's leadoff double.

Whiteside doubled in the second to make it 3-0, then hit a solo homer in the seventh.

Halladay (4-1) had a six-start winning streak snapped, the second-longest of his career. The right-hander came in with an 0.82 ERA — third-best in the National League — but it rose to 1.80.

Halladay was tagged for 10 hits and five runs in seven innings, struck out five and didn't walk a batter for the third time this season in a 104-pitch night.

Sanchez (2-1), who threw a no-hitter last July 10, labored through five innings. He allowed three hits and one run and walked five. The lefty escaped a bases-loaded jam in the third. He struck out Jayson Werth for the second out, then got Ben Francisco on a shallow fly to right fielder Nate Schierholtz.

Shane Victorino, a St. Anthony High alum, hit his first two doubles of the season and singled for the Phillies.

Cardinals 4, Braves 3: Yadier Molina's RBI double snapped an eighth-inning tie and Colby Rasmus homered as host St. Louis handed Atlanta its sixth straight loss. Rasmus, who hit his sixth homer to open the seventh, is 12 for 26 during a seven-game hitting streak.

Cubs 4, Nationals 3: Aramis Ramirez walked with the bases loaded in the 10th inning to give host Chicago its fourth straight win. The Cubs loaded the bases with one out on a single, walk and single. Ramirez walked on four pitches against Brian Bruney (1-1).

Marlins 10, Padres 1: Josh Johnson pitched a three-hitter, had a career-high 12 strikeouts and drove in three runs for host Florida. Dan Uggla homered and drove in three runs for the Marlins. Hanley Ramirez also homered. Johnson (2-1) walked one and threw 117 pitches in his fourth career complete game, his first since June 14, 2009.

Diamondbacks 5, Rockies 3: Dan Haren struck out a season-high 10 and Adam LaRoche homered for visiting Arizona. Haren (3-1) gave up five hits and walked two in eight innings. After Ian Stewart's one-out single in the second he didn't allow a hit until Eric Young Jr. drove a pinch-hit double into right with one out in the eighth.

Brewers 17, Pirates 3: Yovani Gallardo pitched six strong innings and drove in three runs, and Gregg Zaun matched career highs with four hits and five RBIs as host Milwaukee beat Pittsburgh. Casey McGehee added a grand slam in a nine-run eighth inning that also included a two-run homer by Alcides Escobar and a two-run double by Zaun. Gallardo (2-2) gave up two runs, none earned, and five hits in six innings.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Red Sox 13, Blue Jays 12: Jason Varitek had four RBIs, Marco Scutaro scored a career-high four runs and visiting Boston held off Toronto. Varitek went 3 for 5 with two two-run singles and Scutaro went 3 for 5 with a walk against his former team.

Tigers 8, Rangers 6: Miguel Cabrera and Brandon Inge hit back-to-back homers in the ninth for visiting Detroit, which blew a five-run lead. Cabrera's tiebreaking homer off Neftali Feliz (1-1) landed in the Texas bullpen in right-center. Inge followed with his second homer of the game.

Royals 3, Mariners 1: Kyle Davies allowed only one infield single in six dominant innings and host Kansas City handed Felix Hernandez his first loss in 10 decisions. Billy Butler homered leading off the seventh against Hernandez (2-1), who had won nine consecutive decisions since losing to Cleveland last Aug. 23.

Angels 5, Indians 2: Erick Aybar hit his first leadoff homer and Bobby Abreu added a two-run shot, leading Jered Weaver and host Los Angeles over Cleveland. Weaver (3-0) allowed a run and seven hits in six innings, striking out seven and walking one.

NOTES

Rockies: Colorado left-hander Jorge De La Rosa has a torn flexor band on the middle finger of his pitching hand and will most likely be placed on the disabled list. De La Rosa left Sunday's win over Florida after pitching five innings. He said his middle finger felt numb and he threw only his changeup in his final inning when he gave up his only two runs of the game. De La Rosa (3-1) has 19 wins since June 1, 2009, the most in the major leagues.

Red Sox: Daisuke Matsuzaka threw a 69-pitch simulated game before the Red Sox played the Blue Jays, the injured right-hander's final hurdle before returning to Boston's starting rotation. Manager Terry Francona said yesterday, "The ball came out of his hand pretty nice." Matsuzaka was placed on the 15-day disabled list April 4 with a strained neck.

Cardinals: St. Louis placed infielder Felipe Lopez on the 15-day disabled list with a right elbow strain. Lopez thinks pitching in a 20-inning game this month is at least partly to blame for the injury, which the team expects will heal with rest. Lopez was batting .273 with a homer, four doubles and four RBIs in 44 at-bats.