Game Summary:
The Giants got the scoring going in the first inning. Freddy Sanchez singled and Buster Posey walked to set up a two-out three-run homer off the bat of Pat Burrell. Game over, right? The Giants with Matt Cain on the mound and their lights-out bullpen couldn't possibly lose with a 3-0 lead. Well, it got a little more complicated.
In the second, Cody Ross doubled and Cain knocked him in with a single up the middle. 4-0 Giants.
Cain, meanwhile, dealt. He was a little shaky, but settled down and ended up putting a line of: 6.2 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 7 H, 6 K, 2 BB.
Javier Lopez was brought into the game in the seventh with a runner on first and two outs, and he struck out Jason Heyward to end the inning.
In the eighth, Sergio Romo was brought in. He gave up back-to-back singles to Derrek Lee and Brian McCann, so what did Bruce Bochy do? He brought in Brian Wilson. To record a six-out save. With runners on the corners.
Wilson immediately induced a weak grounder to third, but Pablo Sandoval failed to record an out. He threw to first, but the throw wasn't in time, so Lee scored, and there were still no outs in the inning.
Brooks Conrad then laid down a sac bunt to move the runners over to second and third, and then Alex Gonzalez came up to the plate. He smacked a doubled to left field, tying the game at 4-4. Rick Ankiel flied out, and Matt Diaz then struck out to end the inning.
In the bottom of the tenth, the Giants had a perfect opportunity to win the game. Edgar Renteria led off with a bunt single, got moved over to second on an Andres Torres sac bunt. Freddy Sanchez was then hit by a pitch, and Aubrey Huff was walked to load the bases. Bases loaded. One out. Buster Posey at the plate. The one thing he couldn't do: ground into a double play. What did he do? Ground into a double play.
In the top of the eleventh, Rick Ankiel crushed a solo shot into McCovey Cove. The Giants couldn't answer, and lost the game 5-4.
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This is a game the Giants should have won. One might say they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. At one point in the game, the Giants had a 96.4% chance of winning.
The question is: who to blame for this loss? Of course there isn't one person solely responsible. But let's run through the candidates:
Sergio Romo -- came into the eighth and gave up back-to-back singles. It's reasonable to blame him. He didn't really do his job as the setup man...who knows what he would've done had he faced the next batter though.
Brian Wilson -- this is just ridiculous, that some fans are actually blaming him. He was brought in with runners on the corners to record a six-out save. He's expected to do much more than necessary. The Giants had a fresh bullpen. They could've brought in one of their other guys. After all, they did have a three-run lead at that point in the game.
Ramon Ramirez -- he served up the game-winning home run to Rick Ankiel. It's hard to blame him, because he gave two solid innings of relief, and has been great for the Giants since his acquisition.
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| Right down the middle...the fifth straight fastball...in a 2-2 count. With nobody on. |
Buster Posey -- obviously nobody's blaming him. But he had a prime opportunity to win the game. At the very least, he could've struck out, giving the Giants one more opportunity to win the game. But he grounded into a double play.
Pablo Sandoval -- his error could've been the first out of that inning in which the Braves tied the game. He didn't do much with the bat either, going one for four with a strikeout. The three times he made contact were all groundballs.
Bruce Bochy -- he brought Brian Wilson in to record a six-out save with runners on the corners. He used his LHP asset, Javier Lopez, in the seventh inning, when the Braves weren't threatening at all to score. Matt Cain could've at least been given the opportunity to try to record the final out of the inning against Jason Heyward -- who hasn't done much of anything with the bat in the last three weeks or so.
So who to blame? Nobody in particular. Just a series of minor mistakes that culminated in a very tough Giants loss. If Romo had recorded a 1-2-3 eighth inning, the Giants could've won. If Posey had gotten a walk-off single/sac fly/double/triple/home run/ etc. in the tenth inning, the Giants would've won. If Ramirez hadn't served up that home run to Ankiel, the Giants could've won. If Bochy hadn't brought Wilson into the game so early, the Giants could've won.
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Props to Aaron Rowand and Edgar Renteria. They're probably two of the most hated Giants, due to their large contracts and poor performances, but they each delivered a clutch pinch hit. Aaron Rowand singled in the seventh to get Cody Ross all the way to third, but the Giants couldn't score.
Edgar Renteria, meanwhile, had an absolutely brilliant at-bat to lead off the tenth. On the first pitch, he took a home run hack for a swinging strike. On the next pitch, which just about everyone assumed would be another swing for the fences, he laid down a textbook bunt single. And he strained Billy Wagner's left side a little bit, which flamed up on the next bunt by Andres Torres, forcing Wagner to be taken out of the game.
Maybe this is the veteran know-how playoff experience that everyone alludes to. Whatever it is, it was certainly nice to see.
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This is probably going to be a five-game series. I don't see how the Giants could possibly win the next two in Atlanta, where the Braves play so well, against Tim Hudson and Derek Lowe. On the other hand, I don't see how they could lose the next two. If they lose Sunday's Game Three, they can send Lincecum out on the mound for Game Four. And I just don't see them losing behind Lincecum.
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Nice outing by Matt Cain. It was expected, but these outings are taken for granted. It was clutch. A nice playoff debut indeed.
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It's a shame the Giants couldn't win in front of the largest crowd in AT&T Park history. On the other hand, it's nice that the Giants were able to draw the largest crowd in AT&T Park history in a National League Division Series game. Just imagine how packed it could get for the World Series...
