Not the way we hoped this series would go, is it?  We take Friday night’s game handily, give away Saturday’s despite a solid comeback attempt, and then vanish after the 2nd inning on Sunday and leave a walk-happy Tim Lincecum to do the work himself….and fail.  If we’re going to even pretend to be serious contenders, then this is not the way to go about it.

     Let’s start with some of the good.  Friday night’s game was exactly what the Giants needed.  They got a rock solid start out of Jonathan Sanchez and  their offense looked like it was finally getting it.  By the 4th inning, the Giants had a comfy 6-1 lead and looked very much in control of the game.  Sanchez left after 5 strong innings, Brandon Medders looked good in relief and neither Jeremy Affeldt or Brian Wilson looked lik ethey were going to let the Rox back into it, despite each giving up an earned run.  The Giants walked away with 6-3 victory and the game looked like it was setting a tone for the rest of the series.

     Saturday came, Joe Martinez was on the mound and the Rox quickly grabbed a lead on a Dexter Fowler triple and a run scoring ground out by Todd Helton.  Time to worry?  Nope.  Well, not yet.

     The Giants then came out like a house of fire, banged out a run and a couple of hits and then happily watched Nate Schierholtz plant one in the right field seats as the Giants grabbed a 3-1 lead.  Martinez settled down in the next inning and after 3, the Giants had a 5-1 lead thanks to a surprising Ryan Garko home run that also scored Pablo Sandoval who had doubled earlier.  Martinez labored a bit in the 4th, giving up a pair of runs, but settled down again in the 5th for a quick inning.  The Giants still had the lead and everything looked like it was going according to plan…until Bruce Bochy let Martinez come out for the 6th inning.

     The day turned from jubille to nightmare as Giants fans watched Martinez give away the lead without recording a single out.  Two quick singles and an Ian Stewart home run turned the game into a 5-5 tie and Bochy finally came out to yank Martinez.  It was a little late, as the Rockies built up some momentum and then continued their assault as they destroyed every offering that came from reliever Justin Miller.  By the time the dust settled, the Giants were down 10-6 and wondering what the heck just happened.

     It went from bad to worse as Merkin Valdez then handed over another 4 runs in the 7th inning.  An assortment of singles and walks and sacrifices ensured that if the Giants were going to make it back into this one, then the hill to climb was going to be steep.  A daunting task for a team as offensively challenged as the Giants.

     You have to give it to them though.  They definitely tried.  They plated 3 runs in the 8th inning thanks to home runs by Garko and Aaron Rowand and had grabbed two more in the 9th thanks to a Sandoval two run shot, but the rally fell short as both Bengie Molina and Garko struck out to end the game.  So while the Giants lost, they atleast gave hope that the bats were fired up and ready to continue abusing Colorado pitching for the next two games.

     So Sunday came and with Lincecum on the hill, hopes were high.  The Giants jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead, courtesy of an Edgar Renteria two run shot, and despite a few extra walks, little Timmy looked very much in control of this game.  He got a little shaky as he gave up an infield single and his 4th walk of the game in the 6th which allowed the Rockies to grab their first run. But even after a wild pitch, he shut the door with a strikeout to end the inning.

     Now since it was Lincecum on the hill and despite the 4 free passes he gave out, Bochy had no problem sending Lincecum out for the 7th.  Unfortunately though, he walked the leadoff man who eventually came around to score after a Lincecum offering to Seth Smith found its way into the right field seats.  Suddenly the Giants found themselves down 3-2 and the bats that had been so prominent in the two games before, had all but vanished at the hands of Ubaldo Jimenez.

     And that’s pretty much how it finished up for the orange and black.  The bullpen gave up another run, of course, but that didn’t really matter.  The Giants apparently blew their load for runs and Jimenez finished an easy 8th before giving way to Huston Street to record his 33rd save on the year.

     So tonight is the final game of the 4 game set.  We get the Diamondbacks after that, but then these same Rockies come into town after that for another 3.  We need to walk away with atleast a split here if we’re going to continue to entertain thoughts of Wild Card finishes and October baseball.  We need to hit like we did on Friday and Saturday and we need a big big outing from Barry Zito.  The latter being the more imperative as our suddenly porous pen needs a rest here.

     I’m not going to make any predictions here, because it doesn’t really matter.  Must win is must win and the Giants can’t afford to let another game to the Rox slip through their fingers.  The fun starts at 5:40 tonight as Zito takes on the surprisingly solid Jason Marquis.  We need a win here.  No question about it.