Burriss seizes chance to swing

SAN FRANCISCO — With, two outs, a run in, Fred Lewis on third base and the Giants leading 3-0 in Friday night’s fourth inning, the St. Louis Cardinals elected to pitch to Emmanuel Burriss, San Francisco’s eighth-place hitter. The alternative, which some teams might have selected, would have involved walking Burriss to face pitcher Matt Cain.

But St. Louis refused to bypass Burriss, who singled home Lewis for what proved to be a key run (they all are in close, low-scoring games) in the Giants’ 4-2 victory.

Burriss actually wasn’t surprised that the Cardinals pitched to him.

“Cain swings the bat pretty well,” Burriss reminded. “He’s not like a run-of-the-mill pitcher. He probably has more pop than I do. So having him behind me, I knew I was going to see some pitches.”

More pop, indeed, Cain has hit four career home runs to one for Burriss.

Burriss continued the Giants’ recent productivity with two outs. They’ve recorded 22 of their last 30 RBIs in those situations.

– Chris Haft