Hit the ball hard, play good defense, shut down the oppostion in the late innings. That was fun to watch. A few quick observations from Wednesday’s 5-3 victory over the Giants at PhoneCo (recap | box score):

• It’s only two games, but Marcus Giles (NOG) may be the most aggressive leadoff hitter I’ve ever seen. Of course, it worked pretty well in this one.
• Adrian Gonzalez is locked in at the plate. Three hits, including a two-run homer in the eighth that proved to be the game-winner. His two singles off starter Matt Cain came on fastballs down in the zone. The home run off lefty Jack Taschner was an absolute bomb to right on an 0-1 fastball up and in. Oh, and I understand we are now calling Gonzalez “El Hombre!” (note the exclamation mark).
• Early impression of Kevin Kouzmanoff: Better than advertised at third base (real nice play on a Randy Winn bunt attempt in the fourth); will expand the strike zone at the plate — susceptible to breaking balls down and away, and fastballs up (remind you of anyone named Phil Nevin?).
• Terrmel Sledge had a fantastic approach at the plate. The line shows he went 0-for-2 with two walks, but he also saw 27 pitches in those four trips. Even though he flied to left in the seventh, he forced reliever Brad Hennessey to throw seven pitches despite falling behind 0-2 to start the at-bat. That’s called being a pest. Sledge’s left field defense still makes me a little nervous. He struggled to catch a ball off the bat of Omar Vizquel in the first and got a terrible jump on a ball hit by Winn in the sixth that should have ended the inning and gotten Chris Young out of his jam.
• Nice to see homers from NOG and Khalil Greene in the fifth. Cain had been crusing up to that point. Both homers came on 1-0 fastballs up and in; NOG’s surprised me — he’s not a big guy, but that thing went a long way.
• Young struggled with pitch efficiency. The third inning was a killer. Even though he didn’t allow any runs, he threw 31 pitches. I understand needing seven to retire Barry Bonds, but a nine-pitch at-bat to Ray Durham after jumping ahead 0-2 doesn’t work. Fortunately, Bengie Molina bailed out Young that inning by hacking on the first pitch with the bases loaded and lofting a lazy fly ball to Mike Cameron in center field.
• Speaking of Cameron, he made a spectacular diving catch in the eighth to rob Rich Aurilia. That was huge because it kept the tying run from coming to the plate. Molina followed with a single, which turned out to be harmless. If Cameron doesn’t catch that ball, the Giants have runners at first and second, nobody out. Big difference.
• How sick was that 1-2 sinker Cla Meredith delivered to Bonds in the seventh? You don’t see Bonds take a swing like that. Ever. Yeah, I guess maybe Meredith can pitch to left-handers.
• Love that eight-pitch ninth from Trevor Hoffman. The 1-1 change he threw to Vizquel was filthy.

Good to see the club executing so well this early in the season. More of that, please…