Major League Baseball

Inman: Any Giants bats other than Cody Ross coming to this rodeo?

Published Oct. 18, 2010 10:10 a.m. ET

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PHILADELPHIA -- Giants postseason darling Cody Ross hit another home run, broke up another no-hitter in that dramatic fashion and took another lonely trip around the basepaths.

This has to change. Not on Ross' part, but by those hitless wonders ahead of him in the lineup.

The problems atop the Giants' batting order were amplified in Sunday's 6-1 loss to the host Phillies in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy vowed that change is coming as his team takes a 1-1 series tie back to AT&T Park, with Games 3, 4 and 5 slated Tuesday through Thursday.

That better mean at least a temporary reprieve from anymore Andres Torres strikeouts. His horrific Sunday linescore in the leadoff spot: K-K-K-K. Translated, he struck out four times, seeing only three pitches in each of his final two at-bats.

"I need to be patient. I'm going up there thinking too much," Torres said. "In this game, you have to make adjustments and always be positive."

And you thought you would never see the day where Giants fans were clamoring to see Aaron Rowand return to the top of the lineup.

The Giants' problems trickle down their lineup, however. The top four hitters are a combined 5 for 29 through two NLCS outings.

"There's no question (Torres) is struggling, but other hitters are, too," Bochy said.

"We've got to find a way to get going, get on base, take our singles and get better at-bats," said first baseman Aubrey Huff, who went 0 for 4 Sunday after a 1-for-4 showing in Saturday's series-opening win.

Huff bats in the No. 3 slot, by the way. A 1-for-8 start to the NLCS is not a good one.

Batting cleanup is Buster Posey, who went 0 for 3 before a ninth-inning walk Sunday and was 1 for 4 Saturday.

The numbers elsewhere are not much better. No. 5 hitter Pat Burrell went 0 for 4 Sunday, and No. 2 batter Freddy Sanchez had two singles in four at-bats to modestly rebound from Saturday's 0-for-5 NLCS debut.

It's no wonder that Ross is breaking up no-hitters with his home runs. No one is hitting well in front of him.

"This is a great pitching staff. Give them credit," Huff said of the Phillies. "We hit balls good tonight, and we just don't get any luck."

The balls they hit well either went foul or were snatched by the Phillies' outfielders. That included Posey's first at-bat Sunday, a 400-foot fly out to deep center field.

After a game-changing, four-run uprising by the Phillies in the seventh inning, the Giants launched countermeasures in the eighth. A walk by Pablo Sandoval -- He lives! He walks?! -- and a two-out single by Sanchez set the stage for Huff.

Huff responded with a promising liner to center field. He thought it was going over center fielder Shane Victorino's head. The Giants would be back in this game. Huff claimed he has produced that hit a million times and it creates enough topspin to carry into the outfield's deepest recesses.

Instead, "it was a moot point," Huff said. Victorino caught Huff's ball. Rally killed.

The top of the Giants' lineup needs to change course and make those positive adjustments that Torres prescribed.

After all, Ross is not going to hit a home run every playoff game. Or is he?

For the third consecutive game, he broke up a no-hitter with a solo home run into the left-field seats. Sunday's came in the fifth inning, after Burrell led off by popping up in foul ground.

Ross was batting in the No. 6 slot, instead of No. 8, because Juan Uribe was a late scratch with a bad wrist. Uribe also had a bad batting average, so include him in that bungled bat brigade.

As Ross' home run ball amazingly took a familiar flight plan to left, he dropped his bat and did a one-legged hop before embarking on his solo run around the diamond. The legend of Hopalong Cody was born.

"He's getting pitches to hit, and he's not missing them," Huff said. "He's locked in. Hopefully he keeps it up and we all start following soon."

Keep it up? OK, we'll think positive and advise fans to bring gloves if they're sitting in the left-field bleachers at AT&T Park this week.

Ross' teammates ahead of him in the order better bring better at-bats to the party before it ends in sour fashion like it did Sunday.

Contact Cam Inman at cinman@bayareanewsgroup.com . Follow him at Twitter.com/CamInman

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