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Giants set to raise championship banner in home opener with Cards

Apr 8, 2011 - 2:24 PM (Sports Network) - A day that fans of the San Francisco Giants have waited 53 years for has finally come.

Prior to the team's 2011 home opener against the St. Louis Cardinals, which takes place this afternoon at AT&T Park, the Giants will raise a banner commemorating last year's World Series championship, the franchise's first since it moved from New York to San Francisco following the 1957 season.

The Giants advanced to the Fall Classic by besting defending NL champion Philadelphia in six games during the League Championship Series, then took four of five tests from the Texas Rangers to capture their first world title since 1954.

"Everybody's going to be waiting for that flag to go up, It's something we've never seen before," pitcher Jonathan Sanchez told the team's official site. "I can't wait to pitch that game, because it'll be important for us."

Sanchez will have the honor of taking the mound for San Francisco in the opener of this long-awaited three-game series and will be making his second start of the young season. The hard-throwing lefty took a loss in his first time out after surrendering four runs over 5 2/3 innings against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers on April 1.

Only two of those runs allowed by Sanchez were earned, however, due to a costly error he committed in the sixth inning. He did manage eight strikeouts on the night, while issuing three walks.

Sanchez won a career-high 13 games and also set a personal-best with 205 strikeouts during last year's championship campaign, and posted a solid 8-4 record with a 3.26 earned run average in 18 home appearances (17 starts) in 2010.

The 28-year-old did not face the Cardinals last season, but owns a 2-0 mark with an excellent 2.19 ERA in two starts and one relief outing against St. Louis.

San Francisco hasn't played like a championship team in the early going, having lost four of six contests on a season-opening road trip through Los Angeles and San Diego. The Giants ended a swing on a very high note, however, by registering an 8-4 win over the Padres on Wednesday.

Buster Posey went 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBI to pace San Francisco offensively, while Aubrey Huff added three hits and knocked in three runs to help back seven sharp innings out of Giants ace Tim Lincecum.

Lincecum held San Diego to a run on just three hits, while racking up 13 strikeouts to avenge a tough-luck defeat to the Dodgers on Opening Day.

"It's probably as good as I've seen his fastball all spring," said Posey about Lincecum. "He just had great command [Wednesday] and it showed on the scoreboard."

St. Louis has also stumbled out of the gates, losing four of its first six tilts of 2011 as well. Tony La Russa's squad was last in action on Wednesday, when it came out on the short end of a 3-1 decision to visiting Pittsburgh.

The Cardinals could generate little offense against Pirates starter Kevin Correia, with the ex-Giant scattering five hits and two walks over seven shutout innings to help his club take the rubber match of the three-game set between the NL Central foes.

Scoring runs has been a problem for St. Louis, which is without cleanup hitter Matt Holliday indefinitely after the All-Star outfielder underwent an emergency appendectomy last week, early on. The Cardinals have mustered a mere 15 runs through the first six games, while their eight extra-base hits thus far are the lowest total in the majors.

"It's something I don't want to see with the talent we have," said La Russa after Wednesday's loss. "We did put some balls in play, right on the barrel, but we didn't have that big-scoring run we need."

Chris Carpenter was victimized by St. Louis' offensive woes in the finale of the Pittsburgh series, with the 2005 NL Cy Young Award winner taking the loss despite permitting two runs -- one earned -- and striking out six over six innings of work.

The Cardinals hope to provide a little more support for this afternoon's starter, Jake Westbrook, and may need to as well considering the veteran's performance in his 2011 debut. The right-hander was rocked for eight runs and walked five batters in only 4 1/3 innings against San Diego last Saturday, and received the loss in an 11-3 verdict.

Westbrook had spent his entire career in the American League before coming to the Cardinals in a trade with Cleveland last July, but did make his first-ever start against San Francisco shortly after the swap. He lost that matchup, which took place in St. Louis, after being touched for three runs over six innings.

These teams split six 2010 meetings, with the Giants winning two of the three bouts held at AT&T Park. St. Louis has lost in five of its last seven trips to San Francisco.