Major League Baseball

No room for errors, and S.F. doesn't make any;TALE OF 2 DEFENSES

Published Oct. 8, 2010 10:45 a.m. ET

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You can't hand it to the Braves. They might drop it.

In a Division Series that promised a bunch of pitching and so-so offenses, perhaps it was predictable that defense would be a deciding factor. The Braves' glove work showed its ugly face in Thursday night's opener and helped the Giants cement a 1-0 victory.

The Giants' defense? It hardly was showcased. Didn't need to be. Tim Lincecum struck out 14 batters, and his infielders threw out exactly nobody the first eight innings. The only groundball outs were to Lincecum and Aubrey Huff.

"He didn't really need us tonight," said Cody Ross, who started in right field, ended in left field and caught one ball.

In the first game of Bobby Cox's final postseason go-round, second-base umpire Paul Emmel wasn't the only guy who let him down. Atlanta fielders - who made 126 errors in the regular season, 53 more than the Giants - did, too. They committed two errors, but that didn't begin to tell the whole shaky story.

On a fourth-inning hit-and-run play in which Pat Burrell struck out, Braves catcher Brian McCann could have nailed Buster Posey with a decent throw - and a decent call. Neither occurred. The throw was high, and Emmel ruled Posey safe despite Brooks Conrad's on-time tag.

One out and one intentional walk later, Ross singled off the glove of Omar Infante, who admitted he probably should have made the play. For Chipper Jones, it might have been routine. Cox thought so. After the game, he said he thought it was ruled an error.

Infante made just his 13th start at third base, Conrad just his third at second. That's what the Braves are left with following season-ending injuries to Jones torn ACL in late August and Martin Prado torn oblique and hip pointer in late September, who had replaced Jones by moving from second to third.

"It's kind of hard right now," Infante said. "I haven't played third base in a long time. It's hard to adapt. I'll work hard tomorrow and try to be more comfortable."

For the fifth straight game, Conrad committed an error. Center fielder Rick Ankiel also made an error when misplaying Posey's double off the wall in the seventh. Meantime, the Giants' defense was perfect. With 14 K's for Lincecum, his teammates were responsible for just 13 other outs.

"His ball was invisible, and they were swinging right through it," said Nate Schierholtz, who entered in the seventh as a defensive replacement. "It makes it a little easier on defense knowing he's rolling through their lineup. I thought he had his best tempo of the year the last two innings, and that's huge on defense. It keeps you on your game."

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