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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, April 12, 2010

Giants withstand rain, Braves, 6-3



Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

San Francisco Giants' Pablo Sandoval watches his two-run home run against Atlanta.

DINO VOURNAS | Associated Press

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SAN FRANCISCO — Tim Lincecum faced many a rainy outing growing up in Seattle. Not so for slugger Pablo Sandoval in his native Venezuela.

Both had huge days despite downright nasty conditions.

"I like it," Sandoval said with a grin. "I keep myself warm and don't get tired too quick."

Lincecum struck out 10 and overcame an early home run, Sandoval hit a two-run shot and the San Francisco Giants beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-3, last night in a game that finally started after a rain delay of 4 hours, 9 minutes.

"I've dealt with things like this before in school," Lincecum said.

Cleanup hitter Aubrey Huff and No. 5 man Mark DeRosa, the Giants' two biggest offensive additions this winter, and Bengie Molina all hit RBI singles. Huff also scored the go-ahead run in the sixth on rookie right fielder Jason Heyward's misguided throw for his first career error.

Heyward hit a solo homer in the ninth.

Lincecum (2-0), the two-time reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, went seven innings and allowed five hits and one walk.

Lincecum even got in a 30-minute nap as he waited for his 2010 home debut.

BREWERS 8, CARDINALS 7

Casey McGehee homered in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting host Milwaukee over St. Louis after the Cardinals rallied against closer Trevor Hoffman (1-1), who allowed a two-run home run to Albert Pujols and tying solo shot to Matt Holliday. But McGehee connected off Kyle McClellan (0-1) with one out to give Hoffman an unlikely victory and help the Brewers avoid a three-game sweep.

PHILLIES 2, ASTROS 1

Roy Halladay struck out eight in his first NL complete game, and visiting Philadelphia completed a sweep of winless Houston. Halladay (2-0) scattered seven hits and retired the last nine batters he faced. Jimmy Rollins led off the game with a home run, one of Philadelphia's six hits. It was the Phillies' first game under 10 hits this season.

DIAMONDBACKS 15, PIRATES 6

Arizona pitcher Edwin Jackson hit the first homer of his career, capping a team-record 13-run burst in the fourth inning against visiting Pittsburgh. Chris Young and Kelly Johnson also connected during the big inning. Jackson (1-1) allowed four runs and 10 hits in seven innings.

NATIONALS 5, METS 2

Josh Willingham hit a grand slam off Johan Santana (1-1), leading Washington over host New York. Willingham's drive hit the wall in left-center and was initially ruled in play. He was tagged out at home, but after checking the replay, the umpires ruled a home run. Livan Hernandez (1-0) scattered five hits and three walks over seven scoreless innings.

REDS 3, CUBS 1

Mike Leake pitched into the seventh inning during his wild major league debut and Ramon Hernandez drove in the go-ahead run for host Cincinnati with a bases-loaded walk. Leake became the 21st player since the draft began in 1965 to play in the majors without appearing in a minor league game. The 22-year-old right-hander issued seven walks but allowed just one run and four hits over 6 2/3 innings. He also batted 2 for 2.

MARLINS 6, DODGERS 5

Jorge Cantu tied a career high with five RBIs, and host Florida rallied past Los Angeles for the second time in less than 18 hours. Florida trailed 4-0 before Cantu hit a three-run homer in the fourth. He put the Marlins ahead 6-5 with a two-run double in the seventh off Jeff Weaver (0-1).

ROCKIES 4, PADRES 2

Ubaldo Jimenez (2-0) allowed two runs and struck out seven in six innings, Troy Tulowitzki hit a two-run double and host Colorado won the deciding game in the first series of the season between the NL West rivals. Miguel Olivo homered and Seth Smith added an RBI single for the Rockies.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RED SOX 8, ROYALS 6

Adrian Beltre had three hits and three RBIs as Boston beat host Kansas City. Boston's Dustin Pedroia got four hits, including a home run, but left fielder Jacoby Ellsbury was helped off the field after colliding with third baseman Adrian Beltre in the ninth inning. Ellsbury isn't sure if he'll be able to play today at Minnesota.

WHITE SOX 5, TWINS 4

J.J. Hardy was nailed at the plate for the final out when he tried to score on pinch-hitter Jim Thome's drive into the left-center field gap, and host Chicago held off Minnesota. Chicago pinch-hitter Andruw Jones singled home the go-ahead run in the eighth. Mark Buehrle (2-0) pitched eight innings and Bobby Jenks held on for his first save.

TIGERS 9, INDIANS 8

Carlos Guillen scored on a wild pitch by fill-in closer Chris Perez (0-1) with two outs, capping a three-run ninth inning and lifting host Detroit over Cleveland. Phil Coke (1-0) pitched a scoreless ninth for the Tigers, who trailed 7-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning.

ATHLETICS 9, ANGELS 4

Adam Rosales homered in his first AL at-bat, added a go-ahead, two-run single in the seventh and finished with four RBIs as Oakland beat host Los Angeles. Dallas Braden (1-0) allowed three runs and five hits over six innings. Rookie Tyson Ross pitched three innings for his first major league save.

YANKEES 7, RAYS 3

A.J. Burnett (1-0) allowed two runs and six hits in seven innings, and Jorge Posada and Alex Rodriguez drove in two runs apiece to lead New York over host Tampa Bay. Posada's two-run homer off Randy Choate (0-1) gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead in the sixth.

RANGERS 9, MARINERS 2

Scott Feldman (1-0) allowed two runs and seven hits in seven innings and Michael Young homered, helping host Texas beat Seattle. Vladimir Guerrero finished with three hits for Texas, boosting his average to .500, and Joaquin Arias had his second straight three-hit game.

BLUE JAYS 5, ORIOLES 2

Jose Bautista and Alex Gonzalez hit consecutive homers in the eighth inning after a two-out error by Miguel Tejada, and Toronto beat host Baltimore for a three-game sweep. Casey Janssen (3-0) won in relief and Kevin Gregg finished the Blue Jays' first sweep in Baltimore since August 2004 by getting three outs for his second save.

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