For the second consecutive game, the Giants got what might be the best game or their pitcher's career as Ryan Vogelsong dominated the Cardinals while the offense built a 5-0 lead in the first two innings. The Giants then cruised to a series tying win before a deliriously happy crowd at AT&T Park. Key Lines:
Marco Scutaro- 2 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .458. Scutaro back on fire. His double in the second to drive in 2 pretty much sealed this one. I wonder if that slide by Holliday is in the back of his mind? What a heckuva way to extract revenge! Oh, and Holliday sat this one out with a bad back!
Pablo Sandoval- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .320. Pablo is another hot hitter and it's great he and Scooter are hitting back-to-back in the lineup.
Brandon Belt- 2 for 4, 3B. BA= .278. The bottom of the order has come up big for the Giants in the postseason and Belt led the way in this one. His triple got the 4 run rally in the 2'nd inning going.
Brandon Crawford- 0 for 2, 2 BB. BA= .211. The Cardinals don't quite know what to do with Crawford. If they pitch to him he gets a key basehit. If they walk him, he comes around to score. The defense has been key too.
Ryan Vogelsong- 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 9 K's. ERA= 1.29. Another fastball clinic but he also had a beautiful changeup and a hammer curve that he used to finish off some of his K's. Certainly the biggest game of Vogey's career and possibly his best. This guy's story is already the stuff movies are made of and the ending just keeps getting better.
Sergio Romo- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 0.00. Not a Save situation, but Romo polished the Cards off in the 9'th with just 8 pitches. He should be ready to go again tonight, possibly for more than 1 inning if necessary.
Amy G- If you haven't seen them already, Amy G has started doing some live chatting during games over at CSN Bay Area that is quite enjoyable to read. Hard to believe Amy G has been doing dugout reporting for the Giants for 5 years now. I remember not being too impressed when she started out, but she has worked really hard at her craft. Her ongoing interviews with Buster Posey, the bullpen pitchers and player wives have become some of the most interesting items on CSN Bay Area. She has really bonded with the team and with the fans. She has become kind of a mom-like figure for the Giants and their fans. She also has a social networking business promoting restaurants and local businesses up in her hometown of Petaluma and even has a sandwich named after her up there. Hard working lady! Good work, Amy G!
The win brings the Giants back from the brink to even footing with the Cardinals. It's now a 1 game playoff for a WS berth. Matt Cain facing Kyle Lohse. Again, nobody can know the outcome of 1 game and Kyle Lohse has had a terrific season, but Matt Cain is the guy the Giants want in there in this situation.
Go Giants!!
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compare amy g to anyone else...she is terrible. asking obvious questions with obvious answers that make the players cringe...and that voice? like dragging nails across a chalkboard....and come on...gutierrez and she cant speak a lick of spanish?
ReplyDeletei really have this feeling that sabes had his eye on scoots for awhile and couldnt figure out a way to get him to sf. he pretty much fits the mold of the sort of second baseman that sabes likes. at the post game podium, some beat guy asked him how was it that the holliday hit made him a better hitter. of course a joke. scoots style of hitting is perfect for att
happy for vogey. this game may have been as close as he will ever come to that perfect game or at least a no hitter...but good enough to make his father in law smile down upon him
the national guys keep trying to tell his story, but they arent able to convey the enormity of it. if he mentions god's plan a few more times, he is gonna be spending a good chunk of the offseason on a bunch of those tv evangelist shows
i feel bad for carpenter...he didnt let his team down, he is 6 months away from being ready and his d didnt help him out.
if mr holliday didnt believe in the baseball gods before this series...he certainly should now. giants have been battling those gods for years. loved that hacman was in the house, and i loved one flap down...but the gods didnt
gerrit cole was in the house...and nobody knew. everyone there lost a nice scoop.
hate to be a negative ninny, however, i think that offensively, buster has hit the wall. makes sense to me if bochy thought he would only be able to go 100 games.
and something is seriously wrong with pence...he is a bundle of nerves at the plate...not quiet at all...trying to do too much.
huge prize for whoever wins tonite. you get to face verlander and a revived sherzer without being able to set your best pitchers against them...forget vogey, verlander is nuts. he will happily throw 3 times and at 200 pitches per outing.
pretty much why i wont be all that upset if the giants dont win.
one other thing to note. bryan srabian, director of social media, is a frickin genius. almost every viral meme on the giants has come from his desk. and he does it so well, it looks like it comes from the fans. very humble guy. will not be surprised if he moves up in the giants or another clubs org
Bacci,
DeleteI think Gutierrez is Amy G's married name. Married to Paul Gutierrez who covers the Raiders for CSN Bay Area. I guess everyone has their opinions. I really like Amy G a lot. Think she does a great job.
I'm cool with Verlander as long as he is NOT pitching game 7.
DeleteFirst game 7 in PacBell history! The series is over tonight. Unless the rain gets in the way. What a team. They just do not give up. But we've been seeing versions of that since 2009. Best 4 years of being a Gints fan for me. We knew this was going to be a good team, but they've really reached down here.
ReplyDeleteKey to the game: Cain cannot give up the gopherballs. Needs to make every pitch count. If he gets tired, Bochy needs to pull him and make it a pen game. The Giants need to get to Lohse, they will get their hits, they need to string them right.
I bet the Cards tighten up their defense tonight, so its going to be a nail biter. Another key is scoring first. Gets the crowd into it, relaxes the Gints and puts pressure on the Cards. Both teams have won all 3 games they scored first in.
Vogelsong pitched incredibly. The concentration that guy brings is amazing.
Gints fans better not get cocky and look ahead to anything except this game. The Cards will bring it, and the Baseball Gods are watching. Get that crowd into it early Los Gigantes, execute your defense and your pitches, and let's take game 7!
Keep hearing this, "Just happy to be here, what a ride, even if they lose". BULLCRAP!
ReplyDeleteWe got to fight for every inch, every pitch, every at bat. I ain't getting off this train till it stops at WS game seven, Zito beating Verlander. Mama didn't write this script for us to go home now.
Only had ten minutes to watch this game and then had to attend a dinner party. Told my baseball buddies I'll only watch the winning inning - and only caught the 2nd. Put it to bed, knew it was good then.
Keep looking at the Giants hitting stats...how the hell are they doing this?
All those keys to the game boil down to 7-strong from Cain, period.
Prediction: Obama beats Rommney, Giants pummel Cards.
Oh man. Baseball Gods, look ye away! Bochy better have a quick hook on Cain if he doesn't have his good stuff. Only one opposing pitcher to think about: Kyle Lohse and his pitch to contact stuff. Then the 96 MPH crew in that pen. This is going to be a battle royale, don't kid yourself. Giants are good at dogfights, and they'll need all their skills tonight.
DeleteShank, tonight we are looking the Baseball Gods square in the eye. No other way about it. Win or lose, got to take on your serving of Game 7 destiny.
DeleteFair enough Shark, fair enough.
DeleteOkay Shank, how 'bout them vittles?!!!!!
DeleteIf you treat every AB as a statiscally independent event, then you can plot histograms and calculate averages, standard deviations, etc.
ReplyDeleteBut what happened the last at-bat usually changes what will happen this at-bat as both the hitter and the pitcher adjust. There is no statistical basis for looking at the two at-bats as independently repeating the same experiment like tossing a coin twice.
In that sense, there is no rational basis for any baseball stat.
So, even though we like to say, it's down to one game, even though we like to say, forget what happened the first six games of the series, they are not independent. Things are carried over. Karma is at work. The fact is that the emotional momentum is on our side... until an outside force re-directs that momentum.
Hopefully, out lads take advantage of that momentum, stay focused and calm (which will translate into clutchness when your opponents don't...when they start to grip the ball or the bat to tight), take it one pitch and one play at a time.
Go Giants.
I think it's on Posey today. MVP's have to play like MVP's in big games. We have given him a pass this whole series, but tonight has to be his night.
ReplyDeletePence looks like he is on meth
ReplyDeleteWouldn't be the first time for a baseball player...
DeletePlease no rain! Don't slow down the momentum now?
ReplyDelete2010 had the "Torture". This 2012 had suffering quite a bite more than torture. Then the fans were driven into playoffs psychosis. I need a Diehard for my pacemaker... This jumping down in a hole and digging out is nice, but make sure the hole doesn't get too deep.
Scutaro is doing the "Freddie Sanchez" role... Unfortunately Posey is doing the "Burrell" thing.