I was wrong, though. Whatever...Giants won!
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Now, on to the good stuff...Madison K Bumgarner: youngest pitcher ever to win a postseason game for the Giants; youngest pitcher ever to start a World Series game for the Giants; fifth youngest pitcher ever to start a World Series game; Fourth youngest pitcher ever to win a World Series game.
That was the stuff of legends. Eight innings, three hits, two walks, six strikeouts. One Ranger reached second base, and that was only due to an error by Juan Uribe.
Bumgarner achieved a game score of 80. That's the highest game score achieved by a Giant in a World Series since Jack Sanford achieved an 84 in Game Two of the 1962 World Series. That's also the highest game score achieved by a left-handed starter for the Giants in a World Series since Carl Hubbell in Game Four of the 1933 World Series.
He's the youngest left-handed pitcher in history to toss eight or more shutout innings in a World Series start.
From ESPN:
"The Giants are the 5th team in the last 35 years to throw a shutout while allowing only 3 or fewer singles (and no extra-base hits) in a World Series game. Each of the 5 teams are NL teams, and they all went on to win the World Series."
"Buster Posey becomes the 7th catcher in World Series history to hit a home run while catching a shutout."
"The Giants now have 4 shutouts this postseason. That ties the 1998 Yankees and 1905 New York Giants for the most in a single postseason in major-league history."Best rookie battery in history. Mr. Bumgarner and Mr. Posey. The Bumgarner Battery. The Posey Posse. Hmm...my logo is ingenious. Props to the designer, Zachary Chiang.
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How great is it that the three Giants to drive in runs in this game (Aubrey Huff, Buster Posey, Andres Torres) were the three best offensive players this year for the Giants? Huff had a two-run blast off of Tommy Hunter. Posey had a solo shot to dead center. Andres Torres knocked in a run with an RBI double. It was frustrating when these guys, who have carried this team all year, were struggling at various times during the postseason. They're locked in now.
Why couldn't Edgar Renteria do this during the regular season (besides, of course, the first week)? Three singles and a run scored. I certainly didn't see this one coming.
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I was right about one thing. Madison Bumgarner is much, much, much better than Tommy Hunter. Hunter lasted four innings, allowing two earned runs. He threw a total of 83 pitches though. Bumgarner went twice as many innings, throwing 106 pitches.
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All the Giants need to do is avoid a three-game losing streak. That's it. And then they're World Champions. They have the upper hand in a lot of ways. They have home-field advantage for two of the next three games. Their bullpen is more rested (Rangers used five pitchers in Game Four). And they have the psychological advantage for tomorrow -- their starter beat the Rangers' starter (Tim Lincecum beat Cliff Lee) in Game One.
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October is over, and with it goes Rosstober. Cody Ross' hit streak came to a halt in Game Four. It's disappointing, but he'll definitely put together several more streaks in 2011. So now comes the question? What will next month be -- Posember, Huffember, Torresember, Lincenember? We'll just have to wait and see...
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Pat Burrell's playing tomorrow. I'm not personally expecting much, but I'm hoping for a lot. One day of rest can do wonders.
