"There are times when there's nothing like an old-fashioned scrap to awaken a floundering team. It's not quite as effective as a string of three-run homers, but at least it brings everyone together for a common cause. Nasty verbal exchanges, a few punches thrown, everyone racing to the scene - as crude as it sounds, it has been known to trigger a fresh, winning spirit.

Privately, the Giants hoped to gain that sort of benefit from Friday night's brawl against the Phillies, but there's a good way to stop such a madcap strategy: Send someone like Cole Hamels out to the mound the next day. In the land of garlic fries, moving masts and constant sellouts, it was hard to recall a more masterful pitching performance by the opposition than Hamels' complete-game, 2-1 victory Saturday at AT