Filthy Sanchez Baffles Padres

Let me start by saying that the 2009 Padres aren't exactly the '27 Yankees.  They have Adrian Gonzalez (who is slumping right now) and a bunch of yesterday's leftovers in their lineup.  But what transpired at a cool and breezy AT&T Park in San Francisco Friday night was nothing short of remarkable, because of the strange circumstances surrounding the game.

- We had a struggling lefty who had recently been banished to the bullpen because of wildness, a 2-8 record, and an ERA on the wrong side of 5.

- That lefty, Jonathan Sanchez, was only starting because Randy Johnson had to come out of his last start with a sore shoulder.

- The southpaw had never completed a game in 50 previous starts.

- The Puerto Rican was pitching in front of his father for the first time in his major league career.

- The Giants' regular catcher, Bengie Molina, had to miss the game because his wife went into labor just 3 hours before first pitch.  So Sanchez was working with minor league journeyman Eli Whiteside.

- Sanchez may not even have been a Giant if not for the Padres.  His name has been bandied about in trade rumors all season, with the Pirates watching him lately, as the Giants continue their quest for a power bat.  But one rumor had the Giants just moments away from agreeing on sending him to - you guessed it - the Padres for Scott Hairston last week.  But that agreement was pulled off the table when Oakland swooped in with what San Diego deemed to be a better offer.  Whether that transpired or not is just rumor, but he's definitely been on the block.

So what happened Friday was simply remarkable.

Sanchez actually could have had a perfect game, if not for a fielding error by Juan Uribe in the eighth inning.  Uribe, who was moved from second to third once the Giants were up big in order to get better defenders in the game, botched a short-hop grounder.

All night, Sanchez was filthy.  His first time through the lineup featured a steady diet of 92-MPH heaters.  Second time through, he showed the slider, curve, and change.  As the game went on, he strayed away from his fastball and kept the Padres flailing at offspeed stuff.

So many times, we as Giants fans have seen Sanchez fall apart with one big innings.  He's never had problems missing bats, explaining his extraordinary talent.  But he's often had trouble because he misses the strike zone so often.  He'll sail along for four innings and then completely lose it.

Surprisingly, he didn't lose it when Uribe botched the grounder.  Until that play with one out in the 8th, there hadn't even been one particularly difficult play in the field.  Usually, unless a pitcher strikes out all 27 guys (never happened), a no-hitter requires at least one web gem.  Not this night.

At least not until one out in the ninth, when Edgar Gonzalez belted a towering fly to deep center.  Aaron Rowand raced back and made a leaping catch at the fence.  It was a very good catch - not a great catch because it wouldn't have gone out - but it pulled Sanchez to within one out away from history.

All that stood between him and history was Everth Cabrera, who took two balls.  Strike one was followed by a foul.  Then, Sanchez snapped off one last bender on the upper/outer corner of the strike zone for called strike three (his career-high 11th K), and the celebration was on.

Giants fans felt a sense of euphoria because we are a battered bunch.  We've been abused for our love for Barry Bonds, by fans who apparently felt he was the only cheater in baseball.  We've come oh-so-close to many no-hitters but hadn't seen one since 1976.  We'd been no-hit too many times to count, including the last three by guys all named Kevin.

And in 2002, we had our guts permanently ripped out when we were five outs away from winning the World Series, only to be crapped on by a rally monkey and some lucky Angels.

So as the events of Friday were unfolding, we couldn't be blamed for thinking "when is this going to blow up in our faces."  We had just missed out on a no-no the night before when God, I mean Tim Lincecum, took one into the seventh inning.

I'm glad I got to watch it, and somewhat irritated that this was the one time I didn't fly up the coast to see my orange and black like I normally do when they play San Diego.

Because the anxiety and excitement and relief of "Dirty" Sanchez's accomplishment (as we call him) would have led to one hell of a night fondling my way through the Castro.

Comments

[EJP]

Good article, Chase. Iffy on the last paragraph, but content well written compared to morning paper's recap.

[JG]

Good article....but that last paragraph threw me off a bit.