I could have gone with a different title, like "Madison Bumgarner's World Series ERA Soars!" But that would have been deceptive. Not that I am above that sort of thing, but it feels so good to type that the Giants have won game 1. First, I am still on a cloud that they are even in the 2014 World Series, and then I am coming to the realization that they look pretty good in this contest.
With our ace on the mound, the Giants brought some bats and did not hesitate to use them. Blanco led off the game with a single, moved to 2nd on Panik's long out, to 3rd on Buster's single, and scored when Pablo Sandoval doubled to the wall in right. Posey was thrown out trying to score from 1st, but it took an excellent throw to get him. With 1 run and 2 outs, Hunter Pence promptly homered to center field to make it 3 - 0 before Kansas City could hit.
The only baserunner for Kansas City was Lorenzo Cain in the 1st, hit on the back ankle by a pitch as Madison Bumgarner was still trying to get all his "stuff" working. The Giants held, and with the help of a double play, kept Kansas City from scoring in the second. In the 3rd, it looked like Kansas City was ready to tighten up the game. Omar Infante went to 1st on Brandon Crawford's inability to field a ground ball cleanly, and to 3rd on Mike Moustakas' double. Madison toughened up and struck out the next 2 batters before walking Cain. An Eric Hosmer ground out ended that threat, and Kansas City never really threatened again. Madison went 7 strong, allowing only 3 hits and striking out 5 in 106 pitches. He gave up his first run in his World Series history (21 innings!) in the 7th to Pablo's friend Salvador Perez. That makes Madison's World Series ERA 0.43, which is still pretty good.
When the Giants came to bat in the 4th, Hunter Pence doubled and went to 3rd on a wild pitch. Brandon Belt walked, and Michael Morse's single chased James Shields from the game. Danny Duffy lasted 3 innings and gave up 2 runs, but after 59 pitches (71 for Shields), he will probably not available tomorrow as a long reliever. The final was 7-1. Joe Panik got into the act with an rbi triple in the 7th, Gregor Blanco was on base 3 times and was credited with an rbi for a walk when the bases were loaded, and Pablo Sandoval picked up a second rbi to score Panik. The Giants had 10 hits on the night.
You have to love it when the Giants show up with bats. Pence hit a home run and a double, looking like a stud. Morse hit. Blanco looked good at the plate and in the field. Everyone in the line up hit except Travis Ishikawa and his replacement, Juan Perez. Strickland (pitching the 9th) looked good. Madison snared two line drives and started a double play. This team has every reason to be confident. Winning game 1 in Kansas City is huge.
6 comments:
Here's Peavy in-depth vs most of the KC line-up:
http://tinyurl.com/n2ets3n
And look for a quick hook for Jake....
Thru Order
1st time .662 2014 OPS Vs
2nd time .648 "
3rd time .933 "
THREE MORE WINS TO GO!!!
A truly sweet win. Almost "easy." At least compared to the NLCS when ever moment seemed tense. I wonder if we will get any more like that? Whatever it takes, eh?
Awesome night for MadBum, Blanco and Pence. When those guys are on we can look very good. Woohoo!!!
It just seems like yesterday a rookie from North Carolina was taking the bump on H'ween night for the most important game of the series... I think our baby's all growns up.
Hunter Pence hangs in, keeps playing his way, and then he does something like that. Just took the breath out of the stadium.
Craw's snag of the bloop right after Perez' homer was a nice slam the door. Don't let em off the mat. Giants looking good, but its early!
It's amazing that it wasn't that long ago that we (& everyone else in Giants-land) were worried that Bumgarner's fastball velocity had dipped while still pitching in AAA. Look at the guy now! We will probably need him again to do his studly number in this WS, but what an incredible run so far. He's not too shabby in April through September, either.
Pence seems to have re-established the highest fastball he can realistically swing at, so that re-calibration is very encouraging.
Blanco's recent contributions at the plate have been key, but his running catch in the first was also vital.
Go Giants!!!! More wins!
I've been joking for a long time that Pence has been saving himself for when it really counts. It turns out I was right.
We were in a sports bar in Santa Clarita (just north of the San Fernando Valley) on our way to visit our friends in LA. It was a great way to relax after driving I-5 and letting the traffic clear before heading south. Just an incredible, ass-kicking, complete victory. MadBum is a superstar, but the whole team really stepped up at the plate and in the field.
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