The San Francisco Giants did enough against Kansas City starter Jeremy Guthrie to overcome the Royals bullpen and Madison Bumgarner entered the game with most expecting him to give two or three innings of work coming off a complete game just two days ago.Instead, they got five innings of shutout pitching to earn a save and the result gave the Giants a 3-2 win and the World Championship in the game seven win...
Jeremy Affeldt was the winning pitcher after entering the game in relief of Tim Hudson in the second and pitching two and a third innings and keeping the Royals off the scoreboard.
The Giants started the second inning with consecutive singles by Pablo Sandoval, Hunter Pence, and Brandon Belt before scoring two runs on sacrifice flies by Michael Morse and Brandon Crawford.
Kansas City would even the game in the bottom of the inning off of Tim Hudson, who was sent from the game with two out with Alex Gordon bringing home one run on a double and Omar Infante scoring Gordon on a sac fly to tie the game up.
San Francisco would score the series-winning run in the fourth inning as Michael Morse singled home Pablo Sandoval for the deciding run against Kelvin Herrera and tagging starter Jeremy Guthrie with the loss...
Giant Steps
1) What more can be said about Madison Bumgarner?
Five shutout innings and only two hits on two days rest.
The first pitcher in World Series history to record a five-inning save.
That is called being a gamer and the Giants are going to have this throwback pitcher for a long time to come.
Madison Bumgarner might be the most deserving MVP of a World Series in a long time...
2) Key play of the game?
Joe Panik's diving stop of Eric Hosmer's seemingly up the middle base hit, flipping the ball to Brandon Crawford with his glove to force the mercurial Lorenzo Cain and then Crawford getting Hosmer at first (after a replay appeal) to end a Royals threat in the third.
Panik's callup from Fresno was the addition to the Giants lineup that they needed to solidify after running through everyone from soup to nuts all season before Panik...
3) Hosmer might have been safe had he ran through the bag instead of trying to slide into first.
Didn't he learn anything in Little League?
Where have you gone, Jason Hamby???
4) Key play number two-Pablo Sandoval tagging up to move to third on a Brandon Belt flyball to left.
That allowed Sandoval to trot home on Michael Morse's single instead of trying to score from second for the run that won the series.
You don't expect slow runners to tag at second on a flyball to left, but hustle won this day,,,
5) Give plenty of credit to Jeremy Affeldt for getting the Giants to Madison Bumgarner.
Affeldt closed the door on Tim Hudson's mess in the second with no further damage and added two more innings.
Don't forget to give Affeldt his due for pitching more than he is used to and doing so effectively in the clutch...
6) The scary play was the Alex Gordon hit in the ninth.
Juan Perez and Gregor Blanco were playing back in the "No Doubles" position, but Blanco forgot to keep the ball in front of him and the ball rolled to the wall. Perez then kicked it and I thought there was a chance that Gordon would try to score.
The play would have certainly have been close and what a play to possibly end a series on!
7) In most other World Series, the MVP would have been Pablo Sandoval, who had three hits in game seven, hit well, and played strong defense.
Sandoval is now a free agent and either the Giants or someone else is going to have to pony up at the bargaining table to bring home the panda
8) Bruce Bochy might have punched his ticket to Cooperstown as a manager. Three world titles and the tenth to do that feat.
All of the other nine are in the Hall of Fame...
9) You can make the argument that this one has an asterisk because of the wild card and I might agree, but you play by the rules of the game at the time they are played.
Bochy frustrates me at times, but he's in when he's ready to quit...
10) People have been critical of Ned Yost's tactics all through the post-season and the SABR crowd kills him and I think it's deserved, but you cannot deny his class as he was extremely gracious and kind after such a tough loss.
I might not want Ned Yost as my manager but as the face of my organization? Anytime...
11) Very happy for former Hagerstown Suns on the team, but especially Michael Morse, who was a Sun for two games a few years back.
Morse didn't big league anyone on his Hagerstown rehab stint, spent time with the fans inside and outside the stadium and I'm very happy for him...
12) Now Bud Selig is officially gone and I'd like to thank him in Battlin' Bob style.
Thanks for screwing up everything that you touched!
13) I'll take the championship, but I still hate the wild card.
I know the Giants are nowhere to be found without it and I'm happy about the title, but the wild card still feels wrong to me...
14) Give some credit to Bruce Bochy for playing Juan Perez in left for Travis Ishikawa,
The Giants lost some hitting, but Perez's long-running catch in Madison Bumgarner's first-inning saved a run and changed the complexion of the game.
I doubt Ishikawa makes that catch in the massive Royals outfield and that might have saved the game.
15) Finally, I'm happy.
I'm happy because I've become invested in this franchise over the last ten years and I feel even more a part of it than in 2012 and especially 2010.
That said, a Giants title is joyful, but I don't know if I could keep it together if the Indians ever won one.
I like the National League game better and watch more Giants games, but the Indians still rank as number one in my heart even though dull rosters, boring uniforms, and prepping to kill off Chief Wahoo.
Maybe someday.....
Back later with the Cavaliers season preview...
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