Major League Baseball

San Francisco Giants need more from 1-2 hitters Andres Torres and Freddy Sanchez

Published Oct. 15, 2010 10:11 a.m. ET

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Nobody expects a landslide of runs from the Giants when they take on the Philadelphia Phillies for the right to play in the World Series.

But the Giants would like to keep scoreboard operators from nodding off during the National League Championship Series, which begins Saturday. And their offensive fortunes should improve if leadoff man Andres Torres and No. 2 hitter Freddy Sanchez can set the table more efficiently for the middle of the lineup.

Torres and Sanchez each went 2 for 16 in the NL Division Series against Atlanta, combining for two runs, no RBIs and one stolen base over four games. It's no coincidence that the Giants totaled just 11 runs in that series, though they still dispatched the Braves behind outstanding pitching.

The Giants face an even tougher challenge against the Phillies. Roy Halladay, whom they will face Saturday, threw the second no-hitter in postseason history against the Cincinnati Reds in the NLDS.

It won't get much easier after him, as Philadelphia has Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels lined up for Games 2 and 3, respectively.

"We're a team that hits home runs, but when you're facing a club with great pitching like this, you don't expect to hit (a lot of) those," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said before Wednesday's full-squad workout at AT&T Park. "We've got to find ways to manufacture runs, too. It all comes down to our table-setters getting on base."

Torres struck out six times and walked just once in 18 plate appearances against Atlanta, but the center fielder's struggles at the plate can be traced to the tail end of the season. He was batting .292 on Aug. 13, but he hit just .197 (with a .239 on-base percentage) over his final 33 games.

He underwent an appendectomy Sept. 12 and returned to the lineup just 13 days later. Asked if he was still feeling the aftereffects from that procedure, Torres responded: "I feel fine. I know (discomfort) is going to be there, but I just want to play."

Torres said he will look for opportunities to bunt his way on base, though that wasn't a major part of his game throughout the season.

More than anything, he said, he needs to show better pitch selection.

"I've been swinging at a lot of pitches out of the zone," Torres said. "Right now I'm just trying to be patient. Sometimes I just want to jump at the first pitch. But my job is to work counts."

Sanchez, who mustered two singles and a walk in the NLDS, has some history on his side for this series.

He is hitting .306 (11 for 36) in his career against Oswalt and .417 (5 for 12) against Hamels. He is 1 for 3 against Halladay.

"Right now, none of that matters," Sanchez said. "All of these pitchers are unbelievable. We're just going to do what we do best -- try to get on base, try to hit them."

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