Game Wrap 2014 NLDS Game 2: Giants 2 Nationals 1

The final score does not begin to tell the story of this game.  In fact, I am not sure there are words to adequately describe it at all!  This game!  This game will go down in history along with Bobby Thomson's Shot Heard Round the World, Willie Mays' The Catch, Buster Posey's Grand Slam Home Run in Giants legendary history.  I mean, the Giants were down to their last out.  Last out, I tell you, without  so much as  hint that they had a chance of getting a man on base, let alone tying the game an eventually winning it!  What ensued at Nationals Park tonight was just jaw dropping.  All you could do was just sit there in amazement as inning after inning went by.  So many stupendous performances the term Key Lines hardly gives them credit.  Key Lines:

Joe Panik- 0 for 6, BB. BA= .182.  In what was otherwise a tough game for Panik, he somehow worked a walk out of Jordan Zimmermann with 2 outs in the top of the 9'th inning and the Nationals leading 1-0.  The walk caused Nationals manager Matt Williams to panic and pull Zimmermann, which may have been the right move, but will likely go down in history as one of the more controversial managing moves in the history of the game. More on that later.

Buster Posey- 3 for 6, BB.  BA= .400.  Buster also had not done much before the 9'th inning, nobody in the lineup had.  He greeted Nationals closer Drew Storen with a single to put runners on first and second.  Still no great cause for alarm by the Nationals.

Pablo Sandoval- 1 for 7, 2B. BA= .167.  Another guy who had a tough night except when it mattered most.  Pablo's opposite field double down the LF line almost won the game in the 9'th inning but it did tie the game up and set up the epic extra-inning battle to follow.  I still think Buster's front foot touched home plate before the tag was applied, but it was probably too close a call to overturn the on-field decision.

Brandon Belt- 1 for 7, HR(1).  BA= .267.  Speaking of guys who were having a rough night.  Belt was 0 for 6 when he came to the plate in the top of the 18'th inning.  He somehow put together a huge AB working his way to a 3-2 count.  At that point, I knew he was going to get a pitch to hit and had a good feeling he was going to do something really good with it.  He crushed it!  3'rd deck!  As the announcer's pointed out, it was a night when a lot of really strong hitters had promising drives die on the warning track.  He crushed it!

Tim Hudson- 7.1 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 8 K's. ERA= 1.23.  I was hoping for 5 strong innings from Huddy.  He gave one of the best games of his career!  Talk about pitching your heart out!  We all knew what kind of competitor Huddy is from facing him against the Braves many times and especially in the postseason in 2010.  This is what he was signed for and boy, did he ever deliver!

Yusmeiro Petit- 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 0.00.  Before I talk about Petit's performance, it should not be forgotten that the bullpen pitched 3.2 innings of shutdown baseball before Petit even entered the game.  Yusmeiro Petit!  What a long strange trip it's been for this guy, but he was brought to the Giants for such a time as this!  6 innings of shutdown baseball against one of the toughest lineups in all of baseball.  Every inning was sudden death.  One mistake and the ballgame was over. He never flinched, not once!  A legendary performance within a legendary game!  Whatever happens from here on out, Yusmeiro Petit goes in the books as a good Giant!

Hunter Strickland- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, Save(1).  ERA= 9.00.  Meet the new Giants closer!  Apparently Bochy was more impressed by the strikeout of Ian Desmond to end a bases-loaded jam in Game 1 than by the 2 dingers he gave up the next inning.  Bochy burned through every available pitcher except Tim Lincecum and Hunter Strickland.  Had the game remained tied, I'm sure Timmy would have come in, but Bochy saved Strickland as his ace-in-the-hole closer.  This time, Strickland topped out at 97 MPH, and MLB hitters aren't too impressed by 97 MPH, but he had good enough location and was able to throw enough sliders for strikes that he kept the Nationals hitters off balance just enough to keep it in the yard and in to gloves.  It was anxiety time when he walked Rendon with 2 outs and the really bad guys coming up, but he got Werth on a heart-stopping, but ultimately fairly routine flyball to Hunter Pence in RF.

Jordan Zimmermann- 8.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 1.04.  Zimmermann must be still grinding his teeth on this one.  One out away and seemingly with plenty of gas left in the tank.  Panik draws the walk and Williams yanks him.  I know there are good arguments for Williams' move.  Heck, Bochy pretty much has the 1 baserunner in the 9'th and you're gone rule himself.  Me?  I was happy to see Zimm out of there and the Giants are on record as saying they felt the same way.  Gotta feel for Zimmermann who pitched a helluva game and came away empty.

Matt Williams- Williams will be second guessed on this one until he wins a World Series, much like Bochy and some of his moves earlier in his career.  What was probably worse than the decision was Williams getting himself thrown out arguing balls and strikes after Asdrubal Cabrera went nuts over two calls that were clearly in the strike zone.  The ump, BTW, was a bit inconsistent and more so after the ejections, but he was right on the two strikes that Cabrera and Williams went ballistic over.  Williams had to watch 9 more excruciating innings on the clubhouse TV.  Not a good night for Matt Williams!

The Win gives the Giants a dominating 2 game lead in the best of 5 series with the next two games to be played in San Francisco.   The Giants have to be feeling good about their chances with Madison Bumgarner starting Game 3 on 10/6/2014 facing Doug Fister, although Fister is a very tough customer himself.  Giants lose Game 3 and all bets are off as Game 4 looks very iffy with Vogey going and then they would have to beat Strasburg again in a Game 5.  That's if Strasburg does not come back on 3 days rest for Game 4 with Zimm coming back for Game 5.  Ain't the postseason great?!

Dodger survived another scare and avoided another bullpen meltdown after Matt Carpenter hit a 2 run dinger to tie it 2-2 in the top of the 8'th inning.  Matt Kemp untied it on the first pitch of the bottom of the 8'th and Kenley Jansen closed it out.  That series now moves to St Louis tied 1-1.