Thursday, April 13, 2006

Bad news: Backe hurt his throwing elbow in Game Two of today's doubleheader against the Giants.

We split the two games, losing 5-3 to Matt Morris before Oswalt shut down the Bonds-less lineup to win 8-0. Berkman hit a pair of bombs in Game Two, the first time he's ever hit one from each side of the plate. Preston didn't hit any homers today, so Berkman may have hit one just for him:

"I'm trying to put a little pressure on him... he's been right on my heels," Berkman said.

The Wizard allowed a bunch of baserunners but he worked out of every jam and was able to keep runs off the board. He came out in the ninth for the shutout, but Biggio dropped a potential double-play relay. Roy finished with 8 1/3 scoreless innings for his first win at Pac Bell/SBC/AT&T Park.

The second game was really a team effort. Everyone in the lineup got a base knock, which was good news for guys like Lane and Ausmus. Boy it felt good watching those Giants pitchers walk off the mound shaking their heads.

I have to say that I really like Preston Wilson in our lienup. They guy is a gamer on every side of the ball — his two highlight catches on Tuesday showed his defensive ability. The man's not afraid to crash into a wall or get dirty — something I hope doesn't hurt him later in the year. And he really looks strong at the plate. He's got a very active swing, especially around the legs (It looks like he's popping his left knee out of its socket every time he swings!). But he can wallop the ball, which is great from a corner outfielder.

This was our only scheduled trip to Frisco, so we'll have to make up the third game of the series in May when both teams have an off day.

Now, on to Arizona. Pettitte versus Brandon Webb on Friday and Wandy versus Claudio Vargas on Saturday. After that, our rotation gets a little hazy, especially with Backe's potential injury. Nieve got the last two outs of Game Two tonight, but he might be able to make a start. And Zeke Astacio is at Round Rock, ready for a call-up.

Let's hope Backe's okay. He mentioned the words "Tommy-John surgery," which is a scary, scary sign.

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