PHOENIX -- Giants manager Bruce Bochy went point by point to explain his rationale for putting Buster Posey at first base on Saturday:
There is the hard ground in Arizona and the way it affects Posey's ankle. There is Barry Zito on the mound, who has been paired with Hector Sanchez in 21 of his 28 starts. And there was the length of Friday night's victory.
"It's my fault, I guess," said Bochy, who keeps changing relievers as if he's getting kickbacks from the good folks at SpeeDee Oil Change and Tune-up. "But I blame it on the pitchers. Sometimes I love when they get through an inning clean."
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Why is Bochy using all his frontline guys to go with batter-by-batter matchups in non-save situations? Well, maybe he's trying to take every precaution to win games now, clinch the division with a week to go and then he can ease up on everybody -- Posey, the relievers, the starters, the other position players like Angel Pagan who have been grinding hard, etc.
It's not like the Giants will have to play straight up against opponents for the sake of playoff races. They stay within the NL West the remainder of the way; the only contender they'll face is the Dodgers in that final weekend at Chavez Ravine, and the way their archrivals are leaking oil, they might be out of wild card contention, too, before that final series begins.
In case you hadn't heard, Clayton Kershaw was scratched from his next start and the Dodgers fear he might require surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip.
Bochy would never admit to trying to wrap up the division early. He doesn't want to take anything for granted. But he did say that he would rest players when it looked like they need a day.
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That includes Posey, who will be back at catcher on Sunday to work with Ryan Vogelsong. Posey certainly made a difference with Matt Cain on Friday's victory, when he threw out Adam Eaton trying to steal third base. It was a huge out in Cain's 34-pitch first inning, when he had trouble with location but escaped without giving up a run.
Now the Giants go for their ninth winning road series out of their last 10 (with the exception being a four-game split in St. Louis).