The Giants finished April with a 13-16 record, not particularly awful for a team that was destined for last place in the NL West, a candidate to lose 100 games.
San Francisco is three games under .500 because the rotation, other than Barry Zito, was above average. The closer, Brian Wilson, earned nine saves in 10 chances. And the offense did barely enough to win some close games. The Giants had two three-game winning streaks in April. They scored only nine runs in the first streak, just seven in the other.
Wednesday's series finale against the Rockies was typical. Jonathan Sanchez pitched into the sixth inning and gave up two runs, and three relievers combined on 3 1/3 scoreless innings with Wilson picking up a save. The offense had just seven hits, and the result was a 3-2 victory.
After starting the season 1-6, the Giants went 12-10, and Aaron Rowand, the Giants' biggest offseason acquisition, said, "Everybody in this clubhouse expects to make the playoffs."
GIANTS 3, ROCKIES 2: Jose Castillo broke a 2-2 tie with a seventh-inning home run, and Jonathan Sanchez and three relievers combined on a five-hitter Wednesday. Randy Winn's single in the sixth tied the score at 2-2. Reliever Merkin Veldez earned his first big-league win.
