Mlb, San Francisco Giants | featured news

Brian McCann hit a two-run homer and an RBI single in his third game this season after coming off the disabled list, and the Atlanta Braves beat the San Francisco Giants 6-3 on Thursday night to begin a four-game series between NL division leaders.

Smart pitching. Clutch hitting. Sharp fielding. Plus an MVP Panda. All the right elements for a sweet World Series sweep for the San Francisco Giants. Nearly knocked out in the playoffs time and time again, and finally pressed by the Detroit Tigers in Game 4, Pablo Sandoval and the Giants clinched their second title in three seasons Sunday night.

In the absence of truly great teams, baseball thrives on drama. And for weeks, the sport got about as much as it could have hoped for: postseason races that came down to the final days of the regular season, four division series that went five games and a Game 7 in the NLCS.

Justin Verlander lasted just four innings on Wednesday night and surrendered two of the three home runs hit by Giants slugger Pablo Sandoval in an 8-3 Tigers loss that opened the World Series in San Francisco.

The big curveball was back, and Barry Zito mixed in some well-placed fastballs, too. It was just like the good old days. Zito was at his best Friday night, pitching San Francisco back into the NL championship series with a 5-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals that narrowed its deficit to 3-2.

One more win and another bunch of wild-card Cardinals get their chance to repeat. Adam Wainwright threw seven innings of four-hit ball and St. Louis roughed up Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants in an 8-3 rout Thursday night that gave the Cardinals a 3-1 lead in the NL championship series.

The sight of Marco Scutaro on the ground in pain after getting flattened by Matt Holliday's hard takeout was just the spark the San Francisco Giants needed. Scutaro even got into the act with his own big blow that helped the Giants end their home slide.

The Giants franchise waited a long time for a perfect game, and Cain became the one to finally do it. Not Hall of Famers Christy Mathewson or Juan Marichal or Gaylord Perry before him.

The San Francisco Giants fans beaten into a coma this year after a Los Angeles Dodgers game has improved enough that he was transferred from a hospital to a rehabilitation facility, San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center said Tuesday.

Federal agents have arrested a San Francisco Giants payroll manager on suspicion of embezzling more than $1.5 million from team accounts. Robin O'Connor, 41, faces federal felony charges of wire fraud and fraud in connection with a computer.