Giants Rout Dodgers 10-0 Saturday

When Bruce Bochy announced that the Giants' lineup would feature Miguel Tejada leading off (among other curiosities), the general reaction was, "What??"

But after the Giants poured on the offense to whip the Dodgers 10-0, it's kind of hard to question whatever logic Bochy used in determining the batting order.

Of course, it didn't hurt that Matt Cain was dominant over six innings; the right-hander struck out three, walked none and only allowed five hits. Perhaps more impressively, he only needed 86 pitches (Bochy wisely pulled him with an eight-run lead -- as he mowed through the Dodgers' order.

The Giants lineup was by far and away the most pleasant surprise, however. Tejada and the oft-maligned Aaron Rowand both came up big for San Francisco, combining to go 4-for-10 with three of the Giants' 10 runs and a pair of RBI.

Also surprising: the Giants scored their first non-home-run tally in 33 innings on Saturday, as the lineup managed to manufacture all but one of the runs (Freddy Sanchez' solo shot in the eighth) by blistering Ted Lilly, Kenly Jansen and Lance Cormier all afternoon.

Mark DeRosa added a pair of RBI and rookie phenom Brandon Belt walked and picked up his first career stolen base to set up another score.

The Giants' bullpen was equally impressive, as Ramon Ramirez, Javier Lopez and Jeremy Affeldt each pitched a scoreless inning to help preserve the shutout over the Dodgers.

Such an offensive explosion still doesn't make up for the defensive woes that the Giants exhibited in losing the first two games of this series, but it should make fans feel a lot better about the upside that the defending World Series champs possess, even after a slow start could have dampened some spirits.

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