Morse swinging hot bat, fitting in with Giants

SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants outfielder Michael Morse is quickly becoming a fan favorite at AT&T Park. Between his walk-up songs like the sing-a-long "Take On Me" and Bay Area rap classic "Blow the Whistle," the ballpark is always buzzing whenever Morse steps in the batter's box.

His nine-game hitting streak entering Saturday and ability to hit safely in 10 of 11 games to start the year has also made him a popular player in San Francisco.

"I've just been playing my game. I don't think about nothing like that," Morse said. "I don't look at numbers, I don't think about what I did yesterday. … There's too many games to start thinking about that stuff. We just started."

Entering play on Saturday, Morse sported a .394/.459/.697 slash line with two homers and a team-high 10 RBIs. Signed to a one-year, $6 million deal, Morse has proved to be a fruitful addition to a team that ranked 21st in scoring (629 runs) and 29th in home runs (107) last season.

"He gives us another power bat that I think we really needed," manager Bruce Bochy said.

Morse said he also feels comfortable in left field despite a dubious AT&T Park debut against the Oakland A's in an exhibition contest a couple of weeks ago, when he made a couple of misplays.

"Everybody thinks I had a bad game, but I had a good game," Morse said, saying he took more risks because it wasn't a regular-season contest.

As far as the clubhouse goes, the 32-year-old has also blended nicely with the Giants' veteran-laden but at times goofy group of players.

"He is a great fit here," Bochy said. "Great teammate. He's a guy his teammates have a lot of fun with. He's loose, but he's very serious. He plays with a lot of intensity."