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October 29, 2012 · 00:39

SWEEP! GIANTS WIN SERIES!

Buster Posey Homers for the Giants (AP Photo David J Phillip)

“It was freaky. I would’ve never guessed it…It turned out to be no contest…” Tigers Manager Jim Leyland 

The San Francisco Giants have one their second World Series title since 2010 defeating the Detroit Tigers in 10 innings on Sunday night. Matt Cain and Max Scherzer were both good and the game was tied in the 6th inning 3-3 both starters going 7 innings. Then the bullpens went to work. Jeremy Affeldt struck out the heart of the order in the 8th and he and Sergio Casilla shut down the Tigers in the 9th while Phil Coke held the Giants.

Marco Scutero after his game winning hit in the top of the 10th (Reuters Photo Mark Blinch)

The game went to extra innings and the Giants struck. Ryan Theriot, the designated hitter singled. He advanced on a sacrifice bunt and with two outs was driven in by another hit by NLCS MVP Marco Scutero.

Sergio Romo came out in the 10th and struck out Austin Jackson and Dave Kelly. With two outs Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera came up against Romo. Romo struck Cabrera out making on a called third strike.

It was a Series that no one saw coming. The Tigers had pitching and hitting but the Giants who had come back against the Reds and the Cardinals in the NLDS and NLCS when facing elimination game after game only trailed once during this series. Giants pitchers shut down the fearsome Tiger offense and Giants hitters did what they needed to do to win games when they counted.

Pablo Sandoval who hit three home runs in game one and batted .500 in the series.

Don’t Stop Believing: Giants Celebrate (AP Photo Paul Sancya)

It is hard to believe. The Giants have had the classic Journey song Don’t Stop Believing as their theme all season and it is still hard to believe. Giants’ Manager Bruce Bochy said that what made this team so special was how they played as a team and laid down their own individual agendas to win all season long.

Maybe all Americans can learn from that. But then I’m sure that there some nutcase will say that it’s socialist to think that way. But we don’t do it alone. The Giants players know that. It is so good to see, and as a Giants fan it is great.

For the Tigers it was a disappointing end to a season where they played well to come back to win the AL Central in the last week of the season and then swept the Yankees in the ALCS.

Congratulations to an inspirational and talented team that no one expected to do this. Unlikely heroes, comeback stories that played as a real team, the best team in baseball. The exemplified what Babe Ruth said about baseball and being a team so long ago: “The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.” The Giants played as a team, they may not have had all the best players or the biggest payroll but they had the best team in the game. 

Now I’m going to have to see what I can do to avoid the political negativity for the next 8 days. Sounds like I need to put on my Boston Legal DVDs or buy a couple seasons of South Park tomorrow.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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October 28, 2012 · 00:52

Giants Down Tigers: Take 3-0 Lead in Series

Hunter Pence Scores in Game 3 (SF Chronicle- Lance Iverson)

This was not the way anyone thought that this series would go. Detroit’s hitters would feast on Giants pitching that had not been as dominant as it has in years past and the weak hitting Giants would knuckled under beneath the Tigers’ starting pitching.

Barry Zito (AP Photo: David J Phillip) 

The Freak in Relief: Tim Lincecum (Getty Images: Doug Pensinger)

Sergio Romo (USA Today Photo: Kelley L Cox)

Madison Bumgarner (Sacramento Bee Photo)

The Journeyman: Ryan Vogelsong 15 Teams in 14 Years (SF Chronicle- Lance Iverson)

No one expected that the Giants would score 8 runs in game, plastering Justin Verlander or that Barry Zito would dominate. Nor did anyone think that Madison Bumgarner who had struggled in the playoffs would do the same. Then there was Tim Lincecum coming out of the bullpen to dominate the mid to late innings when needed, finally Ryan Vogelsong pitched his way out of trouble on a number of occasions to get the win in Game 3. No one expected that the Tigers could not beat a Giants team that only scored 2 runs each in Game 2 and Game 3, but they were shut out in those games. The Giants have held the Tigers to just 7 hits in the last 18 innings and just one extra base hit, that in the first inning of Game 2. Sergio Romo has come into his own in the closer role getting saves in each of the last two games.

The Panda, Pablo Sandoval Goes Deep in Game One (AP Photo: David J Phillip)

The Giants pitching has been superb but then there is the Panda. Pablo Sandoval who is hitting .636 with three home runs in the World Series and has 23 hits in the post season including 6 home runs and 5 doubles and 13 RBI. Other Giants have come up when they needed to in clutch situations but the Panda has been outstanding at the plate and at 3rd base.

Gregor Blanco (AP Photo)

Buster Posey Tags out Prince Fielder on a key play in the 2nd inning of Game 2 (AP Photo David J Phillip)

Then there are the fundamentals. Defense, small ball and base running. The Giants have done both well, only one error in the first three games that almost was an out. Gregor Blanco in Left Field has had an amazing defensive series robbing Detroit hitters of what looked to be sure hits at key junctures.

So the Giants now stand one victory away from their second World Series title since 2010.  No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in the World Series. Yes anything can happen in baseball and the Tigers are an excellent team, but right now they seem totally out of sync at the plate and could not support excellent outings by Doug Fister and Anibal Sanchez.

Sunday Matt Cain will face Max Scherzer in Game 4. Cain won Game 5 in the NLDS against the Reds and Game 7 against the Cardinals in the NLCS. The possibility of a sweep looms large, something that if it does happen that no one saw coming.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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October 23, 2012 · 00:36

Raining on a Parade: Giants Make Giant Comeback to Win National League Pennant

Giants Celebrate (Lucy Nicholson- Reuters)

Amid the pouring rain, in conditions more fitting for a Forty-Niners game the San Francisco Giants defeated the St Louis Cardinals 9-0 to win the National League Pennant.

It was an amazing sight to see. The Giants were down 3 games to 1 going into game five in St Louis on the verge of elimination the Giants exhibited a never say die determination that allowed them to overcome the odds and defeat the Cardinals.

Giants GM Brian Sabean made a comment about the character of the team saying that they were greater people than players. Bruce Botchy said that they played with more heart than any team he had ever seen.

On Friday night facing elimination the Giants sent Barry Zito to the mound against the Cardinals. Zito started the season with many questions and since coming to the Giants from the A’s had struggled. His struggles were so bad in 2010 that he was not on World Series roster. But in Game Five he was stellar. He pitched 7.2 innings of shut out ball giving up six hits and only one walk. The Giants won that game 5-0.

On Sunday night again facing elimination the Giants sent Ryan Vogelsong, a 35 year old journeyman who had been around the majors and minors a long time and spent the 2010 season playing in Japan. He shut down the Cardinals allowing only one run on four hits. The Giants won the game 6-1 to tie the series and force Game Seven.

Tonight the Giants put Matt Cain on the hill and Cain like his fellow starters shut down the Cardinals again, Cain pitched 5.2 innings and relievers Jeremy Affeldt, Sergio Casilla, Javier Lopez and Sergio Romo scattered 7 hits and the Giants hitters again came out and the Giants shut out the Cardinals 9-0.

MVP Marco Scutero (C)being congratulated by Hunter Pence (R) and Brandon Crawford (L) (Lucy Nicholson- Reuters)

Giants Second Baseman Marco Scutero, another journeyman who went hit .500 during the series and make a number of outstanding defensive play as second base was the series MVP. Scutero had been picked up by the Giants in August from the Rockies was yet another part of a team that many picked to lose to both the Reds and the Cardinals and at the beginning of the season not to even win their division.

The Giants now advance to the World Series to play the Detroit Tigers. That will be an interesting series.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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October 11, 2012 · 20:45

Giants Sweep Red’s in the River City: On to NLCS

Buster Posey hits a Grand Slam in the 5th Inning (AP Photo- David Kohl) 

Bruce Botchy’s San Francisco Giants appeared to be done. Their bats were lifeless and the Dusty Baker’s Cincinnati Reds looked like they would easily defeat the NL West Champion Giants as they went back to Cincinnati following their 9-0 drubbing of the Giants in San Francisco. But as the Giants have showed all season, the the going gets tough, the Giants get going and did so in a never been done before way.

Scott Rolen’s critical error in Game 3 (Jonathan Daniel Getty Images)

The Giants were the first team in the history of baseball in a 5 game series to lose the first two games at home and then win the remaining three games on the road. It was a remarkable feat made even more impressive by the dominance of the Reds pitching and slugging at the Great American Ballpark in the regular season.

Tim Lincecum in Relief (Andrew Weber US Presswire) 

In game three the Giants faced Homer Bailey who had thrown a no hitter in the final week of the season. Bailey was still hot. He went 7 innings and struck out ten Giants and allowing just one hit. However the Giants eeked out a run in the top of the third inning when Angel Pagan hit a sacrifice fly to score Gregor Blanco who had gotten on board after being hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. The score remained tied at one into the top of the 10th inning. Giants catcher Buster Posey led off with a single and advanced to second base on a single by Hunter Pence. Then reliever Jonathan Broxton struck out Brandon Belt and Xavier Nady. Joaquin Arias then hit a grounder to Gold Glove third baseman Scott Rolen, Rolen bobbled the ball and Arias beat the throw to first as Posey running on the pitch scored the go ahead run. Giants’ closer Sergio Romo downed the Reds in order in the bottom half of the inning to secure the win.

Reds Starter Matt Latos after being pulled following Buster Posey’s Grand Slam in Game 5 (AP Photo Michael Keating) 

On Wednesday the Giants got out to an early 3-1 lead but starter Barry Zito began to have control problems and gave up a lead off home run to Ryan Ludwig and with two outs in the bottom of the third inning Botchy pulled Zito for George Kontos. Kontos stayed in the game until the 4th inning when he gave up a one out single to Zach Cozart. Botchy brought in Jose Mijares to face Reds slugger Joey Votto who he struck out. This gave Botchy the chance to double switch bringing Joaquin Arias to shortstop and bring in former starter and two time Cy Young award winner Tim Lincecum into the game. Lincecum pitched 4.1 innings giving up a run on one hit while striking out six Reds. While Lincecum shut down the Reds the Giants bats erupted for 2 runs in the top of the 5th inning and 3 more in the top of the 7th. Santiago Casilla came on in the 9th to finish the game and pull the Giants even in the series and send the series into the deciding game 5.

Today the Giants starter Matt Cain and Reds starter Matt Latos had a pitcher’s duel going through the first 4 innings, then things fell apart for Latos and the Reds. Gregor Blanco singled and scored when Brandon Crawford tripled. Crawford scored when Zack Cozart committed an error on a ground ball hit by Joaquin Arias. Latos then walked Marco Scutero and gave up a single to Pablo Sandoval. With the bases loaded Buster Posey homered to deep left center to make the score 6-0. That would be enough. The Reds scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 5th and a run in the bottom of the 6th to make the score 6-3. Botchy used 5 relievers in the final three innings and the Reds threatened but were not able to score again.

The Giants had done what no one thought was possible. They had won three on the road against the Reds, and their offense which had been dormant in San Francisco plated 14 runs in the final two games of the series. In games one and two the Reds had done everything right but after the error by Rolen in game three nothing seemed to go right and the Big Red Machine broke down.

Dusty Baker disappointed again (Getty Images)

The loss of the series was another disappointment for Reds manager Dusty Baker who having suffered through a mini-stroke in the final week of the season and had come back to manage following several days in hospital. Baker who was the manager of the Giants in 2002 lost in the World Series when his team was leading the series against the Angels and in 2003 now managing the Chicago Cubs got to the NLCS against the Florida Marlins. The Cubs led the series 3 games to 2 and had a 3-0 lead going into the top of the 8th inning. That inning was a nightmare. With a runner on second and one out  Luis Castillo hit a foul ball to left field. The ball drifted into the first row of the stands and into the outstretched hand of Cub fan Steve Bartman. The Cubs plead for a call of fan interference but that was denied. The rest is history, a critical error and some clutch hitting by the Marlins gave them an 8-3 lead and the win. The Cubs lost game seven and Baker was stung by much criticism for the Cubs loss.

Giants Celebrate (AP Photo Michael Keating)

The Giants who had battled injuries, a suspension of their leading hitter for the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs and pitching that was not what it has been the past couple of years proved to be the gritty and tough team that won the NL West. They will move on the face the winner of the NLDS series between the Cardinals and Nationals which the Nationals forced into game five when Jason Werth hit a walk off home run in the bottom of the 9th inning at National’s Field this afternoon.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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October 21, 2010 · 02:00

Giants Defeat Phillies in 9th 6-5 go up 3-1 in NLCS as Posey and the Panda have big nights

Aubrey Huff raises his arms after he scores the winning run in Game 4 of the NLCS (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

The San Francisco Giants keep finding ways to win and of befuddling the experts in their NLCS matchup with the Philadelphia Phillies.  With most experts picking the Phillies to win this series in five or six games no matter what happens it will go seven.  Tonight in front of a wild crowd of Giants fans decked out in orange and black, wearing “fear the beard” beards, panda heads and any number of unusual outfits the Giants defeated the Phillies 6-5 beating Roy Oswalt in the bottom of the 9th to do it.

Buster Posey Tags out Carlos Ruiz in the 5th inning  (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

The Giants got the first run on the board in the bottom of the 1st inning when Freddy Sanchez singled and then advanced to second and then third on wild pitches by Phillies starter Joe Blanton. With Sanchez on third base Buster Posey singled to get his first RBI of the night.  The Giants added to their lead in the bottom of the 3rd inning when with 2 outs Aubrey Huff singled and scored on a deep double by Buster Posey. 

Pablo the “Panda” Sandoval connects for a 2 RBI double (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Madison Bumgarner was solid through four innings striking out 6 Phillies batters and only giving up 2 hits but lost his edge in the 5th inning.  The rookie gave up 4 singles one of which by Shane Victorino scored Ben Francisco to put the Phillies on the board but a tremendous throw from center fielder Aaron Rowland cut down Carlos Ruiz at the plate with Posey making a great play to block the plate and hold onto the ball in the collision with Ruiz.  This turned out to be a big play which kept the Phillies from a second run on the play and giving the Giants a badly needed out.  Chase Utley singled to put runners at first and second and brought Manager Bruce Bochy to the mound to lift Bumgarner in favor of Santiago Casilla. Casilla then gave up a double to Placido Polanco which scored both Victorino and Utley.  Casilla then intentionally walked Ryan Howard and hit Jayson Werth with a pitch to load the bases. Casilla then tossed a wild pitch which scored Polanco to give the Phillies a 4-2 lead. 

Andres Torres walked to lead off the Giants half of the 5th inning and advanced to 2nd base on a ground out by Edgar Renteria. He then scored when Aubrey Huff singled to end the 5th inning with the score the Phillies 4 and the Giants 3. Casilla retired the Phillies in order in the 6th and in the bottom half of the inning the Giants went back to work.  Pat Burrell led off with a walk and was followed by Phillies killer Cody Ross who smacked an inside fastball into the left field corner to put runners on second and third. This brought Pablo the “Panda” Sandoval to the plate. Sandoval who had been benched at the beginning of the series has been in a slump but in this at bat he took a Chad Durbin pitch to deep center for a double which scored both Burrell and Ross and give the Giants a 5-4 lead going into the 7th inning.

Javier Lopez came in and put the Phillies down in order in the 7th and the Giants loaded the bases in the bottom of the 7th with one out but Sandoval hit into an inning ending double play.  In the top of the 8th inning Lopez gave up a double to Ryan Howard to lead off the inning and was pulled in favor of Sergio Romo one of the Giants’ “black beards.” Romo gave up a double to Jayson Werth to tie the game before retiring Jimmy Rollins on a pop up and Ben Francisco and Carlos Ruiz on consecutive strike outs using just six pitches to do it. 

Fear the Beard: Brian Wilson shuts down the Phillies to collect the win  (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

With the score tied in the 9th inning the Giants brought closer Brian Wilson into the game. Wilson who has 4 saves in 6 playoff appearances got pinch hitter Ross Gload on a ground out to shortstop Juan Uribe who made an outstanding effort to get the out. He then struck out Shane Victorino and put Chase Utley out on a line drive to left field.  The tension mounted as the Phillies had closer Brad Lidge and starter Roy Oswalt warming up in the bullpen. As the Phillies half of the 9th ended it was Oswalt who got the call going on 2 days rest following his start in game two against the Giants.  Freddy Sanchez lined out to right for the first out which brought Aubrey Huff to the plate. Huff singled and then advanced to 3rd base on a single by Buster Posey which could have scored Huff had Jayson Werth not made a tremendous defensive play to keep the ball from going to the wall. This brought an unlikely hero to the plate. Juan Uribe playing with an injured hand was able to hit a medium depth fly ball to left which scored Huff from third to give the Giants a 6-5 win and a 3-1 lead in the NLCS.

 

Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz sits in stunned silence as the Giants celebrate (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

The Giants made a great team effort to win this game, the first game since September where they scored more than 4 runs.  Timely hitting by Buster Posey who went 4-5 with 2 RBIs, Pablo Sandoval with his 2 RBI double and Aubrey Huff who went 3-5 with an RBI helped push the Giants over the top in this see-saw game.  Brian Wilson got the win in relief and Roy Oswalt the loss in a rare relief appearance.  The teams meet for game five on Thursday with a battle of the aces on the offing as Roy “Doc” Hallady goes up against Tim Lincecum in what could be the deciding game of the series.  Giants fans accustomed to “Tortureball” need to break out their Xanax for this one which could be an epic playoff game with two of the best pitchers in baseball going against each other in a game that could send Halladay and the Phillies home until the spring.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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October 10, 2010 · 22:34

Conrad’s 3 Errors Help Giants Win 3-2 to Take Series Lead

Brooks Conrad looks down after his 3rd error of the game (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Once again the Braves and Giants had a pitcher’s duel going as their starters maintained a firm grip on the game as Jonathan Sanchez set the pace for the Giants holding the Braves to two hits and a run in 7.1 innings work and Tim Hudson holding the Giants to an unearned run in 7 innings work.

Jonathan Sanchez dominated the Braves for 7 innings (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

The Giants led by a score of 1-0 until the bottom of the 8th inning scoring their run in the second inning when Mike Fotenot tripled and then scored on Brooks Conrad’s fielding error on a Cody Ross ground ball. The lead held up until with one out in the 7th Sanchez gave up a single to Alex Gonzalez. This brought in Sergio Romo to face pinch hitter Eric Hinske. With a 0-2 count Hinske drilled a shot just over the right field wall next to the foul pole to give the Braves a 2-1 lead.  This sent the fans at Turner Field into a tomahawk chop frenzy, the Braves dugout was celebrating and the Giants appeared to be thunderstruck.  Sanchez appeared to be in shock and others were shaking their heads.

Aubrey Huff drives in the tying run off of Mike Dunn with 2 outs in the top of the 9th (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

The Giants came up in the bottom top of the 9th inning to face Craig Kimbrel.  Kimbrel got leadoff batter Cody Ross to pop out to second for the first out. Travis Ishikawa pinch hit for Romo and drew a walk. Kimbrel then struck out Andres Torres for the second out.  With the crowd roaring Kimbrel had Freddy Sanchez down to his last strike when Sanchez singled up the middle to keep the Giants in the game. That was all for Kimbrel who turned the ball over to left hander Mike Dunn to face Aubrey Huff who hits left handed pitchers like piñatas.  Huff was behind in the count but ripped a slider on the outside corner into right field where it dropped in from of right fielder Jason Heyward to score Ishikawa.  Dunn was done in by the hit and Bobby Cox brought in Peter Moylan to get Buster Posey. Moylan did his part; Posey hit a sharp ground ball to Conrad which went between his legs into right field allowing Sanchez to score giving the Giants a 3-2 going into the bottom of the 9th. With the exception of scattered boos for Conrad the crowd sat in stunned silence and all the energy disappeared from the Braves dugout.

Freddy Sanchez celebrates with Nate Schierholtz after scoring the go ahead run (AP Photo/John Amis)

The Giants brought in Brian Wilson to close the game and Wilson back in form shut down the Braves to get the save and give the Giants a 2-1 series lead. The teams will meet Monday with the Giants’ rookie Madison Bumgarner (7-6 3.00 ERA) going against Derek Lowe (16-12 4.00 ERA) in what could be the final game of Bobby Cox’s long career.  One wonders if the Braves can rise to the occasion.

Peace,

Padre Steve+

 

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October 9, 2010 · 12:10

Errors Cause Giants to Lose to Braves 5-4 in 11 Innings

Rick Ankiel’s 11th Inning Blast put the Braves in the lead but Giants errors opened the door for the Braves (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

In my NLCS predictions I said that the San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves series would be the hardest to pick as the teams were so evenly matched. I gave the edge to the Giants based on how their starting pitching has done in the final month of the season and I still predict the Giants to win in four or five games.  Last night it looked like the Giants were on their way to going to Atlanta with a 2-0 series lead and then the improbable happened.  Leading 4-0 the Giants committed two Costly errors gave the Braves to opportunity to tie the game and eventually win it on Rick Ankiel’s 11th inning home run that landed among the kayaks in McCovey Cove.

Giants’ starter Matt Cain gave up just one run, an unearned one in the top of the 6th created by a fielding error by outfielder Pat Burrell on a Derek Lee single. Lee took second on the error and scored when the next batter, Brian McCann singled to make the score 4-1.  The Giants failed to capitalize in the 7th inning and the game went into the 8th with Sergio Romo coming into the game in relief.  Derek Lee and McCann singled and Romo was pulled for closer Brian Wilson.  Wilson faced Melkie Cabrera who hit a ground ball to third baseman Pablo Sandoval who whose errant throw pulled first baseman Aubrey Huff off the bag allowing Lee to score.  After a sacrifice bunt by Brooks Conrad sent the runners to second and third Alex Gonzalez doubled to left to score McCann and Cabrera to tie the game.

The game went into extra innings and in the bottom of the 10th the Giants had the bases loaded with one out.  Reliever Kyle Farnsworth got Buster Posey to hit into an inning ending double play.  Ramon Ramirez working his second inning of relief made one bad pitch which Ankiel slammed with such authority that Giants right fielder Nate Schierholtz didn’t even turn around.  The Giants did not score in the bottom half of the inning giving the Braves who led the majors in come from behind wins yet another improbably victory.

On Sunday the Giants will send Jonathan Sanchez (13-9 3.09 ERA) who has won 7 of his last 10 games to the mound.  Sanchez lost his last appearance against the Braves last only 4 innings giving up 4 runs on 5 hits. He will face Braves ace Tim Hudson (17-9 2.83 ERA) who won his last start against the Giants but struggled down the stretch going 5-5 with a 4.50 ERA.  Hudson has a career 13-13 record and 3.56 life time ERA against the Giants.

The Braves have the best record at home in the Majors this year and took their season series against the Giants 4 games to 3, and took 3 of 4 at home against the Giants this year which gives them a slight advantage in the next two games. I expect that the teams will manage a split in Atlanta and take the series back to San Francisco. This should continue to be the best and most interesting series of the 2010 Divisional Series playoffs.

Peace,

Steve+

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