06/07/2006 2:17 AM ET
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Schmidt fans 16 as Giants edge Fish
Righty goes the distance, ties franchise high for strikeouts
By Rick Eymer / Special to MLB.com
SAN FRANCISCO -- Moises Alou ranked it among the top 10 pitching performances
he's ever seen, and the outfielder knows something about those, having been
part of a perfect game (Dennis Martinez), a no-hitter (Kevin Brown) and Kerry
Wood's 20-strikeout masterpiece.
Jason Schmidt's 16-strikeout performance in the Giants' 2-1 victory over the
Marlins on Tuesday night at AT&T Park invigorated his teammates, who held an
impromptu clubhouse celebration.
"He was outstanding," Alou said. "To wait a month and come back to be part of
a game like tonight ... you have to give Schmidty all the credit. He turned it
up a notch when he had to. He showed why he's the ace of the staff."
Alou, making his first appearance since spraining his right ankle on May 7,
made it even more special when he drove in the eventual game-winning run with
two outs in the sixth inning.
Alou hit a slider for a double into the left-center-field gap to score Lance
Niekro, who earlier in the inning singled home Randy Winn with the tying run.
It was Schmidt's third complete game of the season and he matched Christy
Mathewson's 16-strikeout effort of 1904. Schmidt set a San Francisco record
for Ks, getting one more than Gaylord Perry did in a game in 1966.
Schmidt also improved to 8-0 in 17 career games against the Marlins. He took a
no-hitter into the fifth inning as the Giants won their third straight and
fifth of their last six overall.
"This is one of the highlights," Schmidt said. "I'm not going to forget this
one."
"And you guys thought you had to hit the ball out of the park for excitement,"
Giants manager Felipe Alou said. "There was excitement all over the place,
especially in the last inning."
Alou had already made the decision that it was Schmidt's game to win or lose
in the ninth. It looked shaky when Dan Uggla beat out a bunt and Mike Jacobs
singled sharply into center to start the final frame.
Schmidt made it even shakier, throwing a wild pitch to put runners on second
and third with no one out and Miguel Cabrera standing at the plate.
"Cabrera is the last guy I wanted to see," Schmidt said. "I thought if I could
get this guy out, we might, just might, have a shot."
Schmidt was thinking strikeout all the way.
"You have to," he said. "Any ground ball, anything, and it's a tie game. Early
on, I was trying for the double play and then I throw the wild pitch and
thought, 'There goes the game unless some miracle happens.'"
Cabrera went down on strikes, and then Josh Willingham, who earlier hit a home
run off Schmidt, struck out swinging.
Jeremy Hermida didn't stand a chance after that. Schmidt was so pumped up, he
wasn't sure if he could control his fastball. Hermida tried to make contact,
but he was overmatched.
"He gets his share of strikeouts," said Moises Alou. "But that last inning was
an outstanding performance. He got three tough hitters out."
Rookie catcher Eliezer Alfonzo was making just his third career start. He
spent time with the Giants during Spring Training, but he had never caught
Schmidt before.
"Sometimes I was scared to put something down because he may not have liked it
," Alfonzo said. "He just told me not to be scared and he gave me the
opportunity to relax. Whatever I put down, he threw."
Schmidt and Alfonzo met early in the day to discuss a game plan. After Schmidt
gave Alfonzo his pep talk, it was smooth sailing.
"There were only three or four times I wasn't sure what I wanted to throw,"
Schmidt said. "I had to make the pitches, but he called them right."
Rick Eymer is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the
approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
※ 編輯: COBRAS518 來自: 140.116.110.92 (06/07 19:05)