Eli Whiteside was one of the heroes for San Francisco tonight, driving in three runs and helping righthander Ryan Vogelsong through seven strong innings.
Whiteside, 31, spent about a month with Class AAA Rochester in 2008 before being released. He signed with the Giants - and hasn't looked back.
He caught Jonathan Sanchez's no-hitter in 2009, won a ring last year and has fallen into more playing time this season with the injury to Buster Posey.
Whiteside had a chance to catch up with old friends on Tuesday.
``I remember all those guys," Whiteside said. ``I talked to them a little bit during early b.p. yesterday. I enjoyed my time in camp and with Rochester. It was a great group of guys."
One door closed for him, and another one opened.
``It's worked out well for me,"' he said, ``so far."
In other catching news, Joe Mauer will not start Thursday in the series finale, which isn't surprising since it's a day game after a night game. So either Drew Butera or Rene Rivera will catch Brian Duensing.
