Game Wrap NLCS Game 6: Giants 3 Phillies 2- The Giants Win the Pennant!

The Giants overcame a complete meltdown by Jonathan Sanchez, a very biased strike zone from the ump and a ton of stranded baserunners to win one of the most nail-biting, suspenseful games I have ever seen, and advance to the 2010 World Series as the National League Champions. Juan Uribe hit the game winnng HR. Oh, and the bullpen was nails for 7 full innings. More on that later. Key lines:

Andres Torres- 3 for 5. Andres Torres was his old self tonight. He hurt himself sliding head first into first base beating out a perfect drag bunt in the top of the 9'th though. Hope he's not hurt bad enough for it to affect his play in the WS.

Freddy Sanchez- 3 for 4, S. If Freddy and Torres are setting the table like this, the Giants will be fine in the WS. Freddy also mad a nice Sac Bunt to get J Sanchez and Torres from first and second to second and third in the third inning.

Aubrey Huff- 1 for 4, BB. Huff drove in the first run with a single. The trailing runner, Torres, was thrown out at home plate trying to score from 2'nd. Huff took second on the play. Huff and Posey also left 10 runners on base between them though.

Buster Posey- 0 for 4, BB. Buster hit a little tapper down the 3B line with 1 out and Huff on 2B. Polanco had to scramble to field it and his throw hit Buster in the back with the ball getting away which allowed Huff to score from 2B with the tying run. It was originally scored as a hit and an RBI, but later changed to an error. Tough play for Polanco to make.

Juan Uribe- 2 for 3, HR, HBP. Almost every one of Juan Uribe's HR's have contributed directly to a Giants victory. This was no exception. He hit it to RF which is very unusual for him. Loved the site of his teammates pouring bottle after bottle of champagne over his head as he stood their reveling in it. I am sure the HBP was a purpose pitch from Oswalt. First base was open and Oswalt would much rather face Renteria than Uribe. It was a free shot. Warnings had been issued to both benches after the 3'rd innning meltdown, but the ump obviously didn't have the guts to enforce it in that situation. Props to Uribe for coming back later with the 'tater to shove it down the Phillie's throats.

Jonathan Sanchez- 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 K. Sanchez had a characteristically rough first inning digging himself a hole with a 4 pitch walk to Polanco followed by a double to Utley and a Sac Fly by Jason Werth. He managed to pitch out of it without further damage, and looked like he had righted the ship with a brisk 2'nd inning. Then, all hell broke loose. Placido Polanco walked again. Then, a curveball didn't curve and hit Chase Utley in the back. The ball bounced toward first base and Utley picked it up and tossed it underhanded out to the mound while Sanchez was holding his glove out for the ump to throw him a new ball. Sanchez took exception and started barking at Utley who, as he always does, maintained a smirky grin on his face, but then threw up his hands and started advancing toward the mound. First, the Phillies bench and then the Giants bench emptied. After a lot of standing around, as with most bench clearing incidents, order was restored, and Bochy took Sanchez out of the game. In Sanchez' defense, the ump was clearly squeezing him while giving Oswalt a mile-wide strike zone. Still, that's no excuse for a complete meltdown like that. Ultimately, the meltdown may have been a blessing in disguise because it precipitated a move to the bullpen that proved to be absolute nails the rest of the night. Props to Bochy for recognizing the urgency of the situation and not pulling a Dusty, trying to nurse a pitcher along who was clearly unglued.

Jeremy Affeldt- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's. Affeldt was the forgotten man in the Giants bullpen, along with Guillermo Mota. He certainly came up clutch when the call finally came. He entered the game with runners on first and second with no outs and Ryan Howard coming up. All he did was strike out Howard, get Jayson Werth on a shallow flyball to Cody Ross and Shane Victorino on a ground out to Aubrey Huff. He set down the Phillies in order in the 4'th inning, setting the tone for the rest of the game.

Madison Bumgarner- 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. Bumgarner dug himself a hole each of the innings he worked. I couldn't believe Bochy stuck with him, but Bochy apparently was convinced that he had to stick with LHP's as long as he could against the Phillies big lefthanded guns. Ironically, Bumgarner seemed to have better luck against the Phil's RH batters. At any rate, the kid proved to have icewater running in his veins and didn't flinch when faced with having to make the pitches of his life so far.

Javy Lopez- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, W. Bochy stuck with the lefthanded pitching plan and went to the well with Lopez one more time. No problem! Lopez breezed through the 7'th inning including an inning-ending K of the mighty Ryan Howard. IMO, Lopez should have been the co-MVP of the series.

Tim Lincecum- 0.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. Here's where some people are grousing about Bochy's management. With no more lefthanders available and Bochy clearly not trusting his RH relievers against the Phillies' left-leaning lineup, Bochy called on Timmy on 1 day of rest. Timmy didn't look too strong out there, but managed to strike out Werth to start the inning. Victorino and Ibanez followed with singles to RF and Bochy had seen enough. In came Brian Wilson to attempt yet another 5 out Save. I'm not sure what's a lower risk, a 5 out Save started with 2 runners on base, or a 6 out Save starting with a clean slate. I think I would have gone with the 6 out Save attempt, but I understand the reasoning here. I also applaud Bochy for understanding that today was the must-win game and managing like there was no tomorrow. If he had more confidence in Timmy on 1 day of rest than the RH bullpen options, then he absolutely made the right move.

Brian Wilson- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K, Save. Here's one of several times Bochy and the Giants got a bit lucky. The first batter Wilson faced, Ruiz, hit a rocket right at Aubrey Huff who easily double up the lead runner, Victorino with a throw to 2B. End of threat, end of inning! Of course, Wilson had to walk a couple of batters in the 9'th then go to a 3-2 count on the most dangerous hitter in the lineup before throwing a perfect slider that caught the outside corner and the ump, for once, made the right call. The Giants Win the Pennant! The Giants Win the Pennant! Bruce Bochy and Brian Wilson are redefining the role of the Closer right before our eyes. How great is that?

Bruce Bochy- Bochy managed the game of his life tonight. Yeah, he got lucky in a few places, but as I've said before, luck is the residue of design. Chance favors the prepared mind. He had a well thought out disaster plan and stuck with it. He made the right calls at critical points in the game. Props to Boch on managing a great game and on a well managed post-season so far.

The Giants now advance to the World Series! Yes!!!! The World Series! They will face a very deserving and talented Texas Rangers team. This will be the 4'th time the team has played in the 'Series since the franchise moved to San Francisco in 1958. They have failed to win it in the previous 3 tries. I don't know if they will win this one either, but hey, you can't win the World Series without getting there, right?

Go Giants!!