| QUOTE (mlb.com) |
| SAN FRANCISCO -- Had a Las Vegas bookie posted odds before Opening Day on which Giant would hit the team's first walk-off home run of the season, Daniel Ortmeier's name probably would have been off the board. But it was indeed Ortmeier, not Barry Bonds, Bengie Molina, Ray Durham or Pedro Feliz, who ended San Francisco's game Friday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers with a tiebreaking tall ball into the right-center-field seats that gave the Giants a 5-4 triumph. Under the circumstances, simply beating Los Angeles provided enough of a thrill for the Giants. Their victory ended the Dodgers' 11-game winning streak at AT&T Park, dating back to last year. Six of those victories came this season. "It's hard to believe," manager Bruce Bochy said of the streak. "It was good to break that streak, because it was hanging over us. We all knew it -- myself, the players." But nobody knew, or even suspected, that Ortmeier would emerge as the hero before a vocal paid crowd of 40,016. The 26-year-old rookie began the season in Triple-A and hit only eight homers in 429 Minor League at-bats last season. A switch-hitter, Ortmeier had risen through the Giants' system but had done so haltingly due to his faulty left-handed stroke. "His left-handed hitting mechanics were a mess," read a passage from Ortmeier's entry in Baseball America's 2007 Prospect Handbook. Thus, Ortmeier couldn't have been expected to do much against hard-throwing Dodgers right-hander Jonathan Broxton (4-3) with one out in the ninth and the score tied, 4-4. But Ortmeier clobbered a first-pitch fastball into the right-center-field seats, prompting a frenzied Giants celebration at home plate. Ortmeier recalled hitting a game-winning homer at Double-A Connecticut last season and another for the University of Texas-Arlington. "But none like this," he said, still sporting remnants of the shaving-cream pie reliever Vinnie Chulk had plastered him with during a postgame television interview. "It was a moment I'll remember and cherish forever." With five homers in 110 at-bats during his two stints with the Giants this season, Ortmeier actually has displayed more than adequate power. "Oh, he's a man. He's strong," Bochy said of the 6-foot-4, 214-pounder. "If he gets ahold of one, it's gonna go." Ortmeier's drive concluded a tumultuous finish. Trailing, 3-1, the Giants moved ahead with three runs in the seventh inning, aided by some Dodgers sloppiness. Barry Bonds' leadoff single in the seventh finished Los Angeles starter Chad Billingsley. Facing Scott Proctor, Bengie Molina hit a potential double-play grounder to shortstop Rafael Furcal, who made a low, wide throw to second base that Jeff Kent couldn't handle and put Giants on first and second. One out later, Pedro Feliz singled up the middle to score Bonds and move pinch-runner Eugenio Velez to third. After Feliz stole second base, Velez scored on Omar Vizquel's groundout. Dodgers manager Grady Little summoned left-hander Joe Beimel to face pinch-hitter Randy Winn, although the switch-hitter was batting .349 off lefties and .273 against right-handers. For good measure, Winn was 3-for-8 lifetime against Beimel. Winn improved that to 4-for-9 by singling to left field on a 1-2 pitch, scoring Feliz. The Giants clung to their 4-3 lead until James Loney hit his second homer of the game with one out in the ninth off Brad Hennessey, forging the tie and setting up Ortmeier's feat. Even without Ortmeier's deed, the evening was a productive one for the Giants. Jonathan Sanchez continued his likely conversion to starting by working a career-high seven innings. The last time the left-hander pitched seven innings professionally occurred on Aug. 17, 2005, with the Giants' low Class-A Augusta outpost. Sanchez allowed three runs and eight hits but walked none while striking out five. Sanchez hoped that outings like this one will cement the Giants' intention to make him a full-time starter. "It's something I want to do," he said. "I want to come to Spring Training all ready and stay in the rotation." Staying in the lineup is a tough thing for any Giant these days, as Bochy has been rotating younger players with veterans. But expect to see Ortmeier in Saturday's game against the Dodgers. "We have a rule here," Bochy jokingly said. "You have a walk-off homer, you get to play the next day." |