Vogelsong's Latest Gem Leads Giants Past Twins

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS / AP) -- Ryan Vogelsong added another gem to his remarkable season, Eli Whiteside drove in three runs and the San Francisco Giants snapped a five-game losing streak with a 5-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night.

The Giants ended Minnesota's eight-game winning streak.

Vogelsong (5-1) allowed three hits and one run in seven innings in the latest stellar outing for the journeyman turned ace. He would lead the majors with a 1.86 ERA if he qualified with enough innings pitched, which he could do with his next start.

Whiteside hit a triple and a single to help the Giants hand Nick Blackburn (6-5) his first loss in almost two months.

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Javier Lopez, Sergio Romo and Brian Wilson combined to pitch two scoreless innings in relief.

A night after Minnesota tied a major league record by starting the game with eight consecutive hits off Madison Bumgarner, the defending World Series champions finally started to get some fortunate bounces. Well, at least one of them.

Second baseman Alexi Casilla bobbled a catch trying to turn the front-end of a double play in the second inning, allowing Brandon Crawford to slide in safely. Whiteside followed with a two-run triple to deep right-center field to give San Francisco a 2-0 lead.

Whiteside also had a one-out single in the sixth to drive home Nate Schierholtz from second and put the Giants ahead 3-0. That was more than enough with San Francisco's newest pitching star.

Vogelsong went almost five years between major league victories, bouncing from the minors to Japan and back. He was a non-roster invitee to spring training and was called up when Barry Zito was injured in April.

All he has done since has been spectacular.

Vogelsong retired the first 12 batters with ease—two soft flies to center were the only ones that left the infield. Michael Cuddyer ended the streak with a single leading off the fifth.

There were plenty of distractions to shake Vogelsong's rhythm.

A fan sitting along the left-field line took a foul ball in the stands away from Giants outfielder Cody Ross in the sixth inning. As Ross reached into the stands, the man put his glove in front of the outfielder and caught the fly by Casilla.

The umpires didn't call interference, and the Twins were held scoreless in the inning. The man and a female companion were escorted to another section for their safety.

Former Giants slugger and home run king Barry Bonds also was sitting behind home plate for most of the game. Bonds received a standing ovation from those around his section when he left at the start of the seventh inning, taking pictures, smiling, and waving to the crowd—all things he did little of when he was a player.

With all the commotion in his eyesight, Vogelsong allowed two singles to start the inning before he struck out Danny Valencia and Luke Hughes. Then Crawford was charged with his second error of the night fielding Tsuyoshi Nishioka's grounder at shortstop, allowing Minnesota to trim the lead to 3-1. The official scorer was planning to review the error after the game.

Aubrey Huff added an RBI single in the seventh and Pat Burrell doubled and later scored on an error in the eighth to give San Francisco a 5-1 lead.

NOTES: Romo limped off the mound at the end of the seventh, holding his right knee and grimacing. ... LHP Barry Zito will likely make his first start back when San Francisco plays a doubleheader at the Chicago Cubs next Tuesday. Zito, coming off a two-hit shutout for Triple-A Fresno, hasn't pitched in the majors since he sprained his right foot on April 16 fielding a bunt. ... Twins 1B Justin Morneau will have a cast removed from his left wrist on Friday. ... Twins closer Joe Nathan and DH Jim Thome are expected to rejoin the club in Milwaukee on Friday after finishing rehab stints.

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