San Francisco Giants, Ryan Vogelsong Propelled to Victory by Long Balls

Ryan Vogelsong saw his streak of twelve consecutive starts without a loss end Monday in Pittsburgh.

On Sunday afternoon, He pitched masterfully in Florida, running his record to 10-2 and lowering his ERA to 2.48 against a Marlins lineup that was seemingly clueless in regards to scratching out runs against the dark-horse Cy Young candidate. Vogelsong’s statline on the night read 7.2 innings pitched, four hits, two earned runs, eight strikeouts and just two walks.

The Giants hope Vogelsong will go on yet another much needed streak of starts without a loss, as they currently sit 1.5 games behind the NL West-leading Arizona Diamondbacks.

Despite allowing a solo homer to Marlins right fielder Mike Stanton in the first, Vogelsong would go on to throw six consecutive scoreless innings before allowing another run in the eighth, at which point he was staked to a four-run lead.

A heavily criticized and previously anemic San Francisco lineup exploded for four home runs, two off the bat of Brandon Belt, who started at first in favor of a slumping Aubrey Huff. Cody Ross and Nate Schierholtz would add long balls of their own, with Ross’ being a two-run shot in the third that gave the Giants a lead they would never relinquish.

Santiago Casilla would enter the game with two outs in the eighth and was allowed to close the game out, despite a three-run differential that would have given Brian Wilson a save opportunity.

Wilson was apparently experiencing back spasms and although he was given the day off, the Giants staff have assured the media and fans alike that it is nothing serious. Expect to see the bearded closer back on the mound in the very near future.

Final score: Giants 5, Marlins 2.

The Giants see their record improve to 66-55, while the Marlins fall to 56-64 and remain in last place in a strong NL East.

San Francisco will resume play in Atlanta on Monday evening at 4:00 PT in an NLDS rematch, as Madison Bumgarner will take the hill against Tim Hudson.

Michael Manbert is a reporter for SFGiantsInsider.com