May Recap: Timmy struggles, Rowand slumps and Buster Posey mashes

After a stellar start to the season the G-Men went a paltry 14-14 in May and finished the month 27-23 overall.

Highlights include sweeps at Florida, home against Houston and last weekend at AT&T against the Diamondbacks.

Lowlights were being swept at home by San Diego, dropping both games in the Arizona desert and a one-run performance across the Bay in Oakland. Scoring one run in a three-game series? Yep, it was the first time it has happened to the franchise since 1948 when they were held to a lone tally in a home series at The Polo Grounds.

Starting Pitching

The mediocrity certainly starts on the mound where despite solid performances Tim Lincecum kept getting no-decisions thanks to his bullpen then followed up his fifth win with three straight implosions of his own.

The Freak has walked five batters in each of his last five starts. He hasn't made it out of the sixth in any of his last three starts and has yielded 14 earned runs while seeing a concerning drop in his velocity.

The two-time defending Cy Young winner certainly sets the tone for the Giants and his recent struggles are definitely disconcerting for the San Francisco faithful.

Barry Zito has come back to the pack as well. He was roughed up in his former home against Oakland but still managed quality starts in his other four appearances and continues to boast an ERA under-3.00.

Matt Cain continues to be a victim of circumstance but has pitched very well the last month outside of one tough start against the Padres. Friday night's complete game, one-hit shutout was a thing of beauty and he may just be the Giants most consistent starter despite his usual lack of run support.

Another tough-luck starter for the Boys by the Bay is lefty, Jonathan Sanchez. The Giants erupted for 12 runs for the Sanchize Saturday night allowing him to pick up his third win. His strikeout numbers have been down a little bit of late but he's the only starter in black and orange to not give up more than four runs in a start this season and keeping your team in the game is the pitcher's number one priority.

Todd Wellemeyer continues to be a wild-card and has done little to quiet the calls for Madison Bumgarner from Triple-A Fresno but did manage to toss three quality starts in May and going 2-1 during the month.

The Lineup


The Giants went through some awful stretches (like the one in Oakland) with the sticks but the insertion of Andres Torres into the leadoff spot, the return of Freddy Sanchez and the call-up of Buster Posey has ignited the offense of late.

Buster Posey, the Giants uber-prospect made his highly anticipated debut Saturday at first base and promptly went 3-for-4 with three run scoring singles. Another three-hit performance Sunday from the whiz kid equaled another win for the G-Men and resulted in a barrage of standing ovations.

The Giants need some excitement at the plate and Posey certainly provides it.

Andres Torres has been fabulous at the top of the chart, getting on base, stealing bases and basically doing what any true leadoff man does.

Freddy Sanchez has played quality defense at second since returning from his injury and is a great fit in the two-hole.

The Panda struggled in May but has shown flashes lately of re-emerging as the hitter the Giants need him to be including three hits yesterday against Colorado flamethrower Ubaldo Jimenez.

Aubrey Huff continues to hit well and has been fine on defense both at first base and in left field after moving there to accomodate Posey. He has been a very good signing for the Giants to this point.

Juan Uribe continues to mash despite being banged up and bringing the versatile utility man back for another year was also a good move.

On the other side Edgar Renteria and Mark DeRosa can simply not stay healthy and the Giants highest-paid player Aaron Rowand is really scuffling.

The Giants offense is too much of a patchwork group not to have all hands on board and it definitely rears its ugly head more often than not.

The Nitty-Gritty


27-23 (Third place NL West)

Pitching Leaders:
Wins - Zito (6)
ERA - Cain (2.50)
K's - Lincecum (83)
Saves - Wilson (12)

Hitting Leaders:
Average - Sandoval (.293)
HR's - Uribe (7)
RBI's - Uribe (29)
SB's - Torres (8)

Up Next: June


Home series continues with division-rival Colorado, followed by three games in Pittsburgh and four in NL-Central leading Cincinnati. Interleague home tilts with Oakland and Baltimore follow before three game trips to explosive Toronto and hapless Houston. The month concludes with a juicy six-game homestand that sees Boston and the Dodgers come to AT&T Park.