Giants 6, Reds 3

Is there anyone hotter than Melky Cabrera right now?

The Melk Man did it again today, blasting a two-run homer off Sam LeCure to help the San Francisco Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-3. [box score]

Cabrera went 2-for-3 and scored twice. He leads the majors with a blistering .588 average and is tied for the lead with three home runs. His slugging percentage is a whopping 1.294!

And, not coincidentally, the Giants (5-2-1) have won four straight games.

But, really, this game was about Buster Posey and Freddy Sanchez, who both made their Cactus League debuts this afternoon. Sanchez struck out looking in his first at bat against Chapman in the first inning.

In the second inning, it was Posey’s turn to face the tough lefty. Chapman was hitting 99 mph on the radar, and Posey looked a little nervous as he stepped into the batter’s box to the hysteria of 10,000+ fans at Scottsdale Stadium.

Posey (who was trending nationally on Twitter by this time) swung and missed at a breaking ball from Chapman, then took a fastball down the pipe for strike two. After taking a couple more pitches, he lifted a 2-2 pitch from Chapman to right field. And just like that, Posey’s day was done.

Scheduled to get in just a couple of innings today, Posey was replaced by Chris Stewart in the third. The plan is for him to rest tomorrow then play four innings on Sunday.

Sanchez, meanwhile, finished his day 1-for-4 with a single in the fifth inning. He was the Giants’ designated hitter (yeah, they do that in spring training). The Mole will make his return to second base on Monday.

Giants starter Matt Cain looked fantastic in his second start of the spring. The right-hander struck out three of the first four batters he faced and finished with four strikeouts in three innings. He still has not been scored upon this spring.

Top Giants hitter: Cabrera (2-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI) Top Giants pitcher: Cain (3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K) Key moment of the game: Cabrera’s two-run shot in the 3rd inning.

The Giants will split the squad tomorrow with one team, led by starter Shane Loux (0-0, 0.00), heading over to Tempe Diablo Stadium to face C.J. Wilson (1-0, 0.00) and the Los Angeles Angels. The other split squad will host the Milwaukee Brewers at Scottsdale Stadium. Barry Zito will face Wily Peralta (0-0, 9.00) in that contest.

Both of tomorrow’s games start at 12:05 p.m. (PT). The Brewers game can be heard on KNBR 680 AM and the Angels game can be watched on Fox Sports West in Los Angeles or on MLB’s Game Day Network.

NOTES: According to Fresno Grizzlies play-by-play man, Doug Greenwald, the Giants have signed Todd Linden to a minor league contract. Linden, 31, was a first-round draft pick by the Giants in 2001 … Brandon Belt went 2-for-2 with his second home run, a towering shot off Reds reliever Chad Reineke. Belt is batting .389 this spring … Giants catcher Chris Stewart stole a base in the fourth inning. (He has never stolen a bag during the regular season in his 5-year, big league career)  … Right-hander Ryan Vogelsong told Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle today that he feels great, a day after tossing a 25-pitch bullpen session. Vogey will throw again on Sunday.