Giants take game two 2-0

Madison Bumgarner had struggled with his mechanics in his playoff starts and was skipped over once in order to attempt to smooth out some issues.
The plan worked as Bumgarner allowed just two hits over seven inning to give the San Francisco Giants time to solve Doug Fister.
The Giants scored a run in the seventh inning and another in the eighth to give the Giants a 2-0 win in game two and a 2-0 lead in the series over the Detroit Tigers.
Brandon Crawford hit into a double play in the seventh with the based loaded to score the first run and Hunter Pence's sac fly knocked in the other in the eighth for the other score.

Game three will be Saturday night in Detroit with Ryan Vogelsong for the Giants and Anibal Sanchez for the Tigers.

Giant Steps

1) Of course,the play of the game was the blurry fast relay from Gregor Blanco to the hustling Marco Scutaro running over from second to Buster Posey to nip Prince Fielder at the plate in the second inning.
The Tigers would not seriously threaten again and considering the situation (none out),one could argue that the Tigers third base coach (Gene LaMont) was overly aggressive,but in hindsight,maybe not.
The Giant pitching was that good.

2) The best part of the play was Marco Scutaro being in that position to make it.
Gregor Blanco overthrew the first relay man (Brandon Crawford),if Scutaro is not there,the ball harmlessly bounces into the infield...

3) The play also shows how the Giants have encouraged Buster Posey to back off the plate a bit instead of blocking it.

After the broken ankle last season ,the Giants have taught Posey to inch away a bit and do more of a Johnny Bench style "swing and swipe" mode of tagging the runner.

4) Whatever tuneup Madison Bumgarner underwent in the Dave Righetti repair shop certainly seemed to work.
Bumgarner's fastball had a little more hop and the breaking pitches were sharp,not rounded as Bumgarner had thrown against the Reds and Cardinals.
Two hits in seven innings sure looked back to speed to me...

5) Part of being a pitching coach is not only adding to a pitcher,but keeping one in sync with their technique.
A pitcher needs consistency in their delivery and the slightest change in that department can result in wildness or flat,hittable pitches.
Often times,these tweaks to the pitcher are not always easy to find and one that can make corrections on the fly are worth their weight in gold.

6) The Gregor Blanco liner off the head of Doug Fister was certainly scary,but I could tell from the first replay that it wasn't a devastating shot.
Don't get me wrong,I bet it hurt a lot,but it looked like an indirect hit,not a lazer beam off the bat.
Our hat is off to Fister for the toughness in shaking it off and staying in the game.

7) A little luck goes a long way as again Gregor Blanco appears with his bunt that hugged the grass and refused to go foul despite the Tigers urging it to do so.
The sacrifice that was not set up the Brandon Crawford double play that scored the only run that the Giants would need.
Sometimes,its things like that that make one think it is meant to be,...

I'll be in Hershey for the Albany Devils Saturday,so quick coverage of Game three and/or the Ohio State visit to Penn State is unlikely.

Photo Credits
Posey/Fielder:USA Today
Bumgarner:SI.com