After Monday's Heartbreaker, Giants Get Back in Win Column

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants said all the right things about how they planned to put Monday's gut-wrenching loss behind them.

And then they went out and did just what they needed. They won, beating the Diamondbacks' 5-4 on Tuesday night at AT&T Park.

The word of choice in the clubhouse afterward was "huge."

"That tells you about the heart of the team, what the guys are about," Giants starter Matt Cain said.

Although normally it might be a little early for victories to be "huge," the Giants accelerated the calendar quite a bit on Monday night. They blew a three-run 14th-inning lead in a loss to the Rockies, a two-game swing in the wild-card race. It was the worst loss suffered by the Giants in five years, since the Dodgers scored seven runs in the ninth to win the penultimate game of the season in 2004, eliminating the Giants.

With that as the backdrop, the media arrived at AT&T Park on Tuesday to take the temperature of the team. Or, more accurately, to hold a mirror under its nose. Were the Giants dead, as so many fans suggested they would be following that type of loss?

Apparently, no. Although they are still four games behind the Rockies in the wild-card race, their 5-4 victory over Arizona on Tuesday night at least gave them a reason to smile again.

"That's huge for the team," said reliever Sergio Romo, who bailed out closer Brian Wilson by getting the final out after he'd allowed Arizona to cut the three-run lead to one. "It picks us back up. It lifts our spirits big time."

If you didn't think the Giants were capable of forgetting a loss like Monday's, well, then you haven't been around many major league players. The ability to forget is as necessary to a big leaguer as the ability to hit a slider.

"You've got to have a short memory in this game," Giants outfielder Aaron Rowand told FanHouse. "I think everybody in here has played this game long enough to know even if you have a tough loss, you have to come back and a start again the next day."

As players filed into the clubhouse before Tuesday's game, there were no signs of the nightmare that had transpired in Denver the night before. There were no meetings scheduled by the players or manager Bruce Bochy. Players were subdued, probably more tired from a 3 AM arrival than disappointed in the loss, but there were smiles and jokes in the clubhouse.

"Shortly there will be music on, people laughing, some dominoes, a lot of funny things going on," Randy Winn said about two hours before Tuesday's game. "It will be back to business as usual."

All of which is not to minimize the nature of Monday night's loss. In case you missed it, the Giants came into the game needing a win to split the four-game series against the Rockies. They battled Colorado deep into extra innings before finally scoring three times in the top of the 14th.

"I think we can go to the playoffs and the World Series."
-- Pablo Sandoval In the bottom of the inning, the Rockies loaded the bases. They pushed home one run when Justin Miller walked pitcher Adam Eaton. Ryan Spilborghs then hit a grand slam against Merkin Valdez.

As the sun rose, the Giants' task was to forget what had happened, and get back to the business of the pennant race.

"I don't think anyone should be hanging their heads," closer Brian Wilson said. "We've got a whole month left of baseball."

That month includes six more games with the Rockies, all of them in San Francisco. The first three will be next weekend.

"It starts from the way you walk in here the next day and get ready to play," Bochy said. "You've got to put the bad at-bats, or bad pitches or bad games or series behind you. It's the only way you are going to have success. We said we were going to have our ups and downs. The important thing is how you handle it. The good thing is we're still in August. I don't want anybody here dwelling on anything bad."

There was some bad news unrelated to the scoreboard or the standings, though. Freddy Sanchez, who was acquired by the Giants with the hopes that he could be a spark at the top of their anemic lineup, was placed on the disabled list with a strained right shoulder. Sanchez has already been out a week, so he's eligible to return Sept. 2, which is his plan.

"I apologize to the fans and the organization and my teammates," Sanchez said. "I got traded here for a reason, to play. I always took pride in going out to play every game. To not be able to do that hurts."

Sandoval is also out. The Giants leading hitter hurt his calf on a foul ball in Cincinnati last week, and he since strained it. He had to come out of Monday's game and he was not in the lineup on Tuesday, against his will. Bochy said he'll probably be out again on Wednesday.

"I hope I can just miss two games and then be able to go the rest of the season," Sandoval said. "I want to [play], but they won't let me."

Although he was unable to provide his punch in the middle of the lineup, he still tried to fill his role as one of the emotional leaders of the team, the spark plug of energy in a clubhouse filled with veterans.

"This is an important time for us," he said. "We can make it. We've got a good pitching staff, a good offense. I think we can go to the playoffs and the World Series."