[bjbstewart]

It's just an academic exercise in KC at this point, call it done. I suppose it can't be "official" until they play the game, but there really isn't any need. 3 WS in 5 years, not bad. Now, how do we get the 9ers back on track? :-)

[SSW]

Originally Posted by dj_dub

Love your insight and thoughts on the game, it's much appreciated!

Thanks! I am glad that someone else appreciates the info provided.

Was wondering if I was just talking to myself but doing the analysis helps put the series in a historical context and helps me think about the games strategically. Guess that makes me one of those baseball nerds but, for me, it's the nuances of playing the game that makes it so interesting.

GO GIANTS!!!

[marksae]

Giants better get it done in Game 6! We don't want to repeat 2002 again!!

[bjbstewart]

Originally Posted by marksae

Giants better get it done in Game 6! We don't want to repeat 2002 again!!

ohhh, ya - there was that :-(

[SSW]

Originally Posted by bjbstewart

It's just an academic exercise in KC at this point, call it done. I suppose it can't be "official" until they play the game, but there really isn't any need. 3 WS in 5 years, not bad. Now, how do we get the 9ers back on track? :-)

Guess you didn't read the part of my prior post quoting an article that said in part:

"Seven of the last 11 teams to win a game five in a tied Series eventually lost: the 1982 Brewers, the 1986 Red Sox, the 1987 Cardinals, the 1991 Braves, the 2001 Yankees, the 2002 Giants and the 2011 Rangers."

. . .

"The Giants have been tied at two games apiece in seven previous World Series and won the title only one time — ."

As noted, the last time that happened to the Giants was vs the Angels in 2002. There are no guarantees. The Royals have already proven that they can hit and score A LOT OF RUNS when the pitching is vulnerable, which they've done several times already during this series.

So, the quality of the pitching in Game 6 will be critical. Peavy is no Bumgarner. He's still got generally good stuff but he's definitely vulnerable after the he's gone thru the lineup twice. Also, since we're back in KC, Butler will be the DH again and Aoki will return to RF, which improves the quality of KC's hitting. So, Bochy needs to have Peavy on a short leash and, if he gets in trouble, Bochy needs to bring Petit in as soon as he can (just as he did to save Volgelsong from himself in Game 4).

That switch made it possible for Petit to shut the Royals down so that they couldn't score anymore runs for 3 innings and allow the Giants to work their way back into the game. Don't forget that the Giants were losing 4-1 when Vogelsong left that game w/2 outs in the top of the 3rd and we didn't tie the game until the bottom of the 5th with Petit holding down the fort.

Bochy HAD to use Machi to try to get the last out in the 3rd (because he never brings in Petit with men on base) and that move almost blew up on him when Machi walked the bases loaded and then allowed the count on the PITCHER (Vargas) to go to 3-2 before he got a called 3rd strike.

BTW, that called 3rd strike was questioned by some commentators as being a BAD call. If it had been called a ball, like some people thing it should have, Machi would have walked in another run and who knows that Bochy would have done with the score 5-1.

The other side of the equation is that the Giants have to be able to hit and score on Ventura. Ventura wasn't all that sharp in Game 2 but that doesn't mean he won't be sharp in Game 6. Ventura has a killer fastball and can also throw a curve, cutter and change up. Word is that Ventura is not all that confident in his off-speed stuff and that Perez (the catcher) is trying to get him to make better use of his other pitches to make his fastball more effective. Ventura shook Perez off numerous times in Game 2 in order to go back to his fastball BUT, even so, the Giants were only able to score 2 runs off of him before he was taken out of the game.

Just ask Strickland what happens when all you do is throw heat without mixing it up. Strickland MUST have learned something because, when Bochy put him in in the 9th inning of Game 4 (with a 7 run lead, thank goodness!!!) to close out the game, he was actually trying to mix up his fastball up w/off speed stuff and was throwing with specific locations in mind. However, that fly ball that Cain hit to right field that Pence barely caught was a fast ball thrown up in the zone. So, although he was able to get 3 up and 3 down, control is still an issue for Stickland and, after the 5 HRs he's given up, I cringe at the thought of him coming into any other game for us.

Heaven help us if Bochy has to call on Machi or Stickland again!

In any event, if Ventura is vulnerable and the Giants are able to take a lead into the 7th, it won't matter what pitcher Yost brings in as long as we can maintain the lead. That responsibility would fall to Affeldt, Lopez, Romo and Casilla, which (with the exception of the HR that Romo gave up to Wong to lose Game 2 of the NLCS) they have done w/o giving up any runs so far.

But, if we don't have the lead going into the 7th, look for the "3 headed monster" of Herrera, Davis and Holland to come in and do what they do. However, I do think that Herrera is a bit tired (as evidenced by the walks he's thrown) because he's been used much more than normal, but he still throws 100+ fastballs that very few people can get the bat on. Davis doesn't throw 100+ but, despite Perez's double off the wall, NO ONE has hit a HR all season (or during the off-season) off of Davis. The pitch that Perez hit off of him for the double off the wall was a fastball up in the zone. In other words it was a MISTAKE but Davis doesn't make many of those.

Now that the Giants have seen Herrera and Davis 3 times during the series, they have been able to make some adjustments to get some hits off them, but just because they were able to get a few hits & runs off them yesterday, doesn't mean we'll be able to do it again Tuesday. Better to NOT have to face them again at all.

So, bottom line, the Giants pitching needs to hold the Royals to no or just a few runs and the Giants hitters have to get to Ventura early so that they can take a lead into the 7th which the core of our bullpen -- Affeldt, Lopez, Romo and Casilla -- can hold until the end.

If that happens, the Giants should win. If not, hopefully the Giants can do it in Game 7. If it comes to that, maybe Bumgarner will be able to pitch in Game 7 because he (and Pettit, if he's available) is apparently the only pitcher the Giants have who (with the exception of the HR he gave up to Salvador Perez in Game 1) can keep the Royals from scoring.

We'll see . . .

[valentinbmw]

all though i live in south america now, i spent many years in the bay area and i travel there at least once a year to see all my Friends, for me is the best place in the world, and one of the things i love the most about SF are the Giants, i been nervous all day about tonight game...
Go Giants

[marksae]

Man, I have very little faith in Peavy tonight. He has pretty bad lifetime numbers against KC, specifically in their ballpark. I really hope Peavy has made some adjustments from his last start. Otherwise, I hope Bochy has a very short leash.

[GarySL]

Originally Posted by marksae

Man, I have very little faith in Peavy tonight. He has pretty bad lifetime numbers against KC, specifically in their ballpark. I really hope Peavy has made some adjustments from his last start. Otherwise, I hope Bochy has a very short leash.

You called it Mark, short leash after one inning & 1/3, but now it's a 7-0 KC lead! Oops.

[bmw1racer]

It's official: Game 7 tomorrow.

GO ROYALS!

[SSW]

Game 6 Play by Play:

Top of the 1st. 3 up and 3 down for Ventura. Looks sharp. Bottom of the 1st. Peavy looked sharp w/1st 2 batters but gives up a walk to Cain and an single to Hosmer. Cain advances to 3rd on slip and fall by Ishikawa who fielded the single. Runners on 1st and 3rd but gets Butler to ground out. End of inning. Both pitchers get 1K. Score 0-0.

Top of the 2nd. Ventura gets Pablo to fly out but then Pence gets a double out of a sharp grounder down the 1st base line but no one is able to get him in. Belt strikes out and Morse flies deep to the right corner; caught by Aoki. However, the Giants ARE getting the bats on the balls thrown by Ventura. May just be a matter of time before the get to him. 1 RISP LOB.

Bottom of the 2nd. Peavy in BIG TROUBLE already!

Single to Gordon. Single to Perez. Moustakas double scoring Gordon. Infante strikes out. Fielding confusion (unscored error) by Belt on grounder to 1st; Perez did not try to score, Peavy pointed to home for a throw and then Belt missed the tag at 1st. Bases loaded. Single to Aoki scoring Perez. Bases loaded and 1 out. Royals lead 2-0.

BTW, Peavy is NOT supposed to direct the play. He's supposed to run to 1st to take the throw if necessary. Because he didn't do that, he confused Belt and made him check on Perez at 3rd twice. Perez wasn't running but checking twice took too much time and Escobar beat Belt to the bag as a result. Contributing to the confusion was the fact that the infielders were playing IN for a play at the plate. If they had been playing BACK, Belt (nor Peavy) would have thought about throwing to the plate on that play; only to 1st where the out would have been made. Commentators are saying that this muffed play was a turning point in the inning and the game. I agree.

Peavy's DONE after just 1 and 1/3 innings. This must be a WS record for the shortest appearance for a starter. Sometimes it pays to go w/the stats and not your gut. Peavy must have one of the worst Playoff and WS records for a pitcher. Like Kershaw, good during the season but awful in the post season.

Pettit pitching. Single to Cain scores 2 charged to Peavy. Runners on 1st and 3rd. Wild pitch, Cain moves up to 2nd. Hosmer singles scoring Aoki and Cain. Royals lead 6-0. 5 runs charged to Peavy; 1 to Petit. Butler doubles scoring Hosmer. 2 ERs agains Petit. Royals going crazy!!! Then Gordon grounds out to 1st. 2 out. Perez fouls out to 3rd. Inning finally over. Royals lead 7-0.

Petit is really a starter and NOT a reliever. Bochy seldom brings him in w/runners on base to give him a clean start to get into the groove. Always felt that Petit should have started Game 6 because of Peavy's weak post season record. If Petit gives up 2 hits at the top of a clean inning, no one scores immediately off of him and he has a chance to shake it off and close out the inning w/o any damage. No chance to do that in relief when you have to come out sharp. Just too bad Petit had to be put in that position.

Personally, I thought Bochy should have brought Lopez or Affeldt in to relieve Peavy instead to get out of the inning and then bring Petit in at the top of the 3rd w/a clean slate. Just didn't happen that way.

Top of the 3rd. Giants need to mount an amazing comeback or there's going to be a Game 7. Not a good start. Ishikawa strikes out. Ventura walks the next 2 batters quickly. Panik battles Ventura from 1-2 to get a walk the bases loaded but Posey grounds out into a double play. Rally spoiled for Giants. 3 men LOB; 2 RISP. Royals lead 2-0.

Bottom of the 3rd: Who's pitching? Machi??!! Bochy pulling Petit quick in order to save him for Game 7 which will probably be necessary. Machi gets a grounder out from 1st batter but then gives up a ground rule double to Infante on a hanging change up. EVERYONE in Royals lineup ALREADY has a hit. Aoki walks. Then Cain hits ground rule double to center, scoring Infante. Hosmer grounds out. Machi true to recent form. Inning over. Royals lead 8-0.

Top of 4th: Ventura gives up an infield hit to Belt but gets Pablo, Pence and Morse to ground out. Bottom of the 4th: Machi still pitching. Bochy must feel like this game is done and just doesn't want to use the core of the bullpen in the pending loss. Butler flies out to Pence for 1st out. Gordon strikes out. Perez runs out an infield grounder to Pablo; throw got to 1st before Perez but Belt couldn't handle it. Could have been an error on Belt for not holding on to the throw but scorer gave the hit to Perez. Moustakas flies out. End of inning. Royals still lead 8-0.

Top of the 5th: Just 3 more innings before the "3 headed monster" of HDH comes in. Not looking good for the Giants. Need to score now or never. Ishikawa strikes out again. Crawford flies out. Blanco grounds out. 3 up and 3 down. Ventura cruising; no stress. Royals still lead 8-0.

Bottom of the 5th: Machi still pitching. Machi immediately gives up a hit to Infante and gives up a double to Escobar scoring Infante; Infante ran to home even though the 3rd base coach gave him the sign to stop. Aoki grounds out advancing Escobar to 3rd. Crawford throws Cain out on an infield grounder fielded almost near 3rd base; very difficult play given Cain's speed and how far the throw was. 2 out. Hosmer strikes out. Inning over. Another run scored on Machi. Royals lead 9-0.

Top of the 6th: Panik flies out. Posey flies out. Pablo walks. Pence grounds out. No threat. Inning over. Bottom of the 6th: Strickland pitching! Bochy must be conceding this game by using his WORST pitcher in relief. Butler walks. Gordon grounds into double play and Perez grounds out to SS. Not quite 3 up and 3 down but at least no one scored. Hooray!!!! Royals still lead 9-0.

Top of the 7th: Ventura still pitching! Belt flies out. Morse grounds out. Ishikawa walks. Crawford base hit to center. 2 on, 2 out. End of the road for Ventura? He's thrown 99 pitches. Pitching coach out is talking to him. Throws 100th pitch to Blanco who pops out foul. End of inning. That's 7 shut out innings thrown by Ventura, which matches Bumgarner.

Bottom of the 7th: Posey out; Sousac catching for Strickland. Of course! Moustakas hits 6th HR off of Stickland this post season!!! 3 up and down after that.
Royals lead 10-0.

Strickland will probably get sent back down to the minors after his HORRIBLE outing in the playoffs. The Giants gave him a HUGE opportunity coming up from DOUBLE A ball to pitch in the Show, in the Playoffs and in the f*cking World Series and he FAILED miserably. Even if he denies it, this will have to have a major negative impact on his confidence in himself and on the Giants' confidence in him, as well. Hope he's able to turn it around but, if he makes it back to the Show next year, I'm sure what happened to him this year in the Playoffs/WS will nag on him until he's able to learn how to avoid giving up mammoth HRs to left hand hitters.

Top of the 8th: Frasor relieves Ventura. Panik singles. Susac flies out. Pablo singles. 2 on; 1 out. Can we score a run? Pence pops out; infield fly rule. 2 on; 2 out. Belt strikes out. Belt seems to have been striking out a lot in the WS. Will have to check on that. Giants can't even score off of Frasor. Looks like they're done for the night.

Bottom of the 9th: Who's pitching for the Giants now? Vogelsong! Bochy's just using up the bottom of the bullpen to save the rest for tomorrow. 2nd string coming in to field as well. Arias at 3rd; Perez in left and Duffy at SS. Vogie walks 1st batter but strikes out next one. Butler hits into a double play. Inning over. Thank goodness! Royals still lead 10-0.

Top of the 9th: Collins pitching/closing for the Royals. Perez singled but Morse flied out, Duffy struck out and Blanco struck out to end the game.

Royals win 10-0 and tie Series 3-3. Doesn't really matter how many runs the Royals scored. All they needed was 1 because it was a shutout. Oh well . . .

Game 7 coming up! GO GIANTS!!!!

[marksae]

Originally Posted by GarySL

You called it Mark, short leash after one inning & 1/3, but now it's a 7-0 KC lead! Oops.

Ugh.. the leash wasn't short enough tonight! The offense could not get anything going against Ventura either. I'm glad we don't have to face him in Game 7 tho.

Guthrie had success against us in Game 3. Hopefully seeing him a 2nd time will work to the Giants advantage. Hudson will need to get his sinker established early. Otherwise, his leash should be short too. The bats need to wake up!

Game 7 of a World Series! This is playoff baseball at its best. Hopefully it works out for the Giants tomorrow. GO GIANTS!

[ChaneRZ]

Go Giants!

[SSW]

Would love to see Bumgarner start Game 7 but it doesn't sound like that's going to happen based on how Hudson was talking during a post-game interview.

Like Peavy, Hudson tends to give up runs early and takes awhile to get into a groove. Hopefully, Hudson won't have the same experience tomorrow that Peavy had tonight.

The MLB commentators felt that Peavy had good stuff but just had BAD LUCK. I think they were just being nice. Peavy got lit up by the Royals like it was the 4th of July. The commentators also thought that he was put on too short a leash BUT, based on what happened, I don't think it was short enough. Personally, I thought Petit should have started today; rotation be damned. Go w/your BEST and throw the dice. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

Petit is NOT use to coming into a game w/any men on base let alone w/the bases loaded. I'm sure he felt stress because of that and make several pitching mistakes that he might not normally make. It was a tough spot and Bochy took him out of it ASAP so as not to wear him out and so as not to damage his psyche too much, so that he'd still be available to pitch tomorrow.

Will be interested to see what the Giants roster looks like for tomorrow. It may be the key to winning or losing the game.

GO GIANTS!!!

[SSW]

Hope I'm wrong but I have to admit that I'm pessimistic about the Giants winning tonight.

Hudson takes a couple of innings to get into his grove and usually gives up runs early. Hudson lost 3-2 to Guthrie in Game 3, which was the only 1 run game of the series. I expect this game to be similar, which means that Hudson MUST hold the Royals to as few runs as possible -- preferably none.

In Game 3, Hudson gave up a quick run in the 1st and then gave up 2 more in the 6th, when he was taken out of the game. Guthrie SHUTOUT the Giants for 5 full innings and then gave up 2 in the 6th when he came out of the game and the "3 headed monster" came in to end the threat and finish the game w/2 more shut out innings. Royals win.

Bochy needs to take Hudson out BEFORE he gives up those extra runs in Game 7; preferably by the end of bottom of the 5th. He then has 3 options for middle relief -- Petit, Lincecum and/or MadBum.

I'm ambivalent about using MadBum in relief. As Petit discovered (or already knew), starting is a lot different than relieving. A starter can give up a few hits w/o worrying about giving up runs in the 1st inning or 2. A reliever usually comes in w/men on base and has to be sharp coming right out of the blocks. If MadBum is sharp, he could throw 3 more shut out innings which would enhance his reputation. But, if he's not sharp, the hits and runs he gives up will diminish his image and will probably contribute to a Giants loss.

I'd rather see Petit go back out there to relieve Hudson at the bottom of a clean inning, so that he'll have a chance to prove that he's still a stopper and go out of the WS w/a better showing than what he experienced last night in the 2nd inning when he had to relieve Peavy w/the bases loaded and only 1 out, which was just about the toughest situation you can put any relief pitcher in; only bases loaded with NO outs would have been tougher.

On the other hand, the Giants MUST find a way to score on Guthrie early. 5 more shutout innings (after being shutout 9 innings last night) won't cut it.

Pretty simple, if we don't score, we don't have any chance to win. Obviously, the Giants (just like the Royals) can hit. It all depends on whether the opposing pitcher can keep them from hitting or not. Let's just hope that Guthrie doesn't have the same "stuff" tonight that he had in Game 3 because, if he does, the Giants probably have NO chance to win the game and the series.

So, here's the word from me, Mr. Obvious. The key to winning the game for the Giants is to score runs (hopefully lots of them) and keeping the Royals from scoring any (or at least less than we score). LOL!!!

Lets just hope it works out that way.

GO GIANTS!!!

[SSW]

Standing by for the FINAL GAME of the World Series . . .

Giants lineup change: Ishikawa out. Perez in. Going for defense in left. Ishikawa didn't make any errors yesterday but he did fall down and had some problems fielding. Perez's bat has also picked up. Morse is replacing Ishi in 7th spot. Crawford moving up to 8th and Perez taking Crawford's spot at 9th.

No change in the lineup for the Royals. After last night, no reason to do so.

No scheduling data for today's World Series game on Comcast yet. Makes it impossible to set up the DVR. Will be REALLY pissed off if I can't record and re-watch parts of the game if it goes the Giants' way. Doesn't matter if the Giants lose, because I'll just delete everything about that game if that happens.

GO GIANTS!!!

[GarySL]

Loaded for the Giants in the top of the second, no outs for Morris, sac fly, 1-0. Giants score first.

[GarySL]

KC ties it in the bottom of the second, 2-2 & knocks out Hudson. Not looking too great for the Orange & Black.

[GarySL]

Remains 2-2, after three innings, with a brilliant play by Joe Panik to start a double play in the bottom of the third. Giants manager Bruce Bochy appeals the safe call at first, & after relay review, Bochy's appeal is supported and the safe call is over-ruled (a WS first?).

[GarySL]

Giants go ahead 3-2, in the 4th. Bumgarner in relief after only 2 days rest.

[GarySL]

The Giants lead holds up, with Bumgarner finishing the game. So cool. Go Giants!

[SSW]

Game 7 Play by Play:

Top of the 1st. Guthrie looks sharp. 3 up and 3 down. Easy 1-2-3.

Bottom of the 1st. Hudson looks good but not great. Gets Escobar to fly out. Walks Aoki. Cain hits into what looks like a double play but is too fast and beat out the throw to 1st. Hosmer strikes out w/Cain running; beat the throw but inning over. NOT an easy inning for Hudson who threw 19 pitches to 10 for Guthrie. Score 0-0.

Top of the 2nd. Giants get to Guthrie early. Pablo hit by pitch. Pence singles. Belt singles. Bases loaded. Morse flies out deep to right. Pablo scores. Crawford flies out deep to center. Pence scores. Perez strikes out. Inning over. Giants lead 2-0.

Bottom of the 2nd. Hudson in trouble. Butler singles. Gordon doubles to the wall in right. Butler scores. Perez hit by a pitch. 2 on; 1st & 2nd; no out. Lincecum and Affeldt warming up. Moustakas flies to left; Gordon advances to 3rd. Infante flies to center. Gordon scores. Escobar singles. Runners on 1st & 2nd; 2 out. It's Peavy all over again. Hudson is OUT after only 1 2/3 innings!!!! Affeldt pitching. Aoki hits high bouncing grounder to 2nd that Crawford fields and tags 2nd forcing out Perez who is still limping after being hit by a pitch. Score tied 2-2.

Pitching has to tighten up BIG time to keep the Royals' bats quiet and not squander hard to come by leads.

Top of the 3rd: Guthrie gets his change-up back. Blanco grounds out back to the pitcher and both Panik & Posey strike out. 3 up and 3 down. Score still tied 0-0.

Bottom of the 3rd: Affeldt still pitching. Cain battles to get a single to right. Hosmer grounds up the middle towards 2nd. FANTASTIC stop by Panik who tosses the ball to Crawford w/his glove who turns the double play after a video review which overturned the safe call at 1st. 2 out; no one on. Butler battles Affeldt too but grounds out to SS. Giants DEFENSE saves the inning. That should be all for Affeldt. Score still tied 0-0.

Top of the 4th: Guthrie still pitching. Pablo runs out an infield grounder up the middle that's fielded by Infante who slips while making the throw. Pence single to center. 2 on and no outs!!! Herrera warming up. Belt flies to deep left; Pablo advances to 3rd. Runners on 1st and 3rd; 1 out. Guthrie's out. Herrera coming in to face Morse. Broken bat base hit to right by Morse. Pablo scores; Pence to 3rd. Runners on 1st & 3rd; 1 out. Giants lead 3-2. Herrera gets the Royals out of trouble. Strikes out Crawford and Perez grounds out to SS. 2 runners LOB; 1 RISP. Giants lead 3-2.

Bottom of the 4th: Affeldt still pitching!!! Why not bring in MadBum or Petit? Hope it works out ok. Affeldt loses control of breaking ball that hits Gordon. Lincecum warming up. Perez grounds into double play; still limping. 2 out; no one on base!!! Moustakas grounds out to 3rd playing SS. Inning over. Should be all for Affeldt now after 32 pitches which is about his limit. Giants still lead 3-2.

Top of the 5th: MadBum warming up! Gordon runs down deep fly to left by Blanco. Panik and Posey strike out. 2nd time both of them struck out back to back. 3 up and 3 down; easy 1-2-3 for Herrera.

Bottom of the 5th: MadBum coming in !!!!! MadBum doesn't look that sharp coming in but gets the job done. Single to Infante. Sac bunt by Escobar advances Infante to 2nd. Fly to left trailing away to the corner by Aoki caught by Perez. Switch to Perez in left pays off. Cain strikes out. Hope MadBum has settled down now. Giants still lead 3-2.

Top of the 6th: Herrera still pitching; Davis warming up. Pablo gets single to center. Pence hits into a double play. Belt singles. Morse strikes out.
Herrera probably done after throwing 33 pitches.

Bottom of the 6th: MadBum's got his rhythm. Hosmer pops out. Butler lies out. Gordon lines out. 3 up 3 down. Giants still lead 3-2.

Top of the 7th: Davis pitching. The Giants tapped him in Game 5. Hopefully they can do it again. Davis strikes out Crawford and Perez and gets Blanco to ground out to SS. 3 up and 3 down.

Bottom of the 7th. Off key version of God Bless America sung during the stretch. Hurt my ears. Game currently looks like a replay of Game 2, except the Giants are on top 3-2. All we have to do is hold the lead and we win the game!!!! Easier said than done but it CAN be done.

MadBum's on fire! Fly out, ground out and strike out. 3 up and 3 down again. 3 shut out innings in relief. Giants still lead 3-2.

Top of the 8th: Davis still pitching. Holland warming up. Panik strikes out for 3rd time. Posey grounds out. Very poor showing at the plate this series. Pablo doubles to the LF corner; his stock is up and can ask for big bucks in free agency if the Giants win the WS.

Bottom of the 8th. MadBum still pitching. NO ONE warming up! 3 up and 3 down. 4 shutout innings!!! Leave him in in the 9th!!!! Giants still lead 3-2.

Top of the 9th. Holland pitching. Belt grounds out. Morse and Crawford strike out. 3 up and down.

Bottom of the 9th. MadBum gets to close the game. Casilla warming up just in case. Middle of the order -- Hosmer, Butler & Gordon -- batting. Hosmer strikes out. Butler pop foul out to Belt at 1st. Gordon doubles to center and gets a triple on a error by Blanco and misplay by Perez. If Dyson or Cain hit that ball, it would have been an inside the park home run. Thank goodness that didn't happen. Perez pops out foul to Pablo at 3rd. The Giants win 3-2.

THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!!!!!!

THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!!!!!!

THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!!!!!!

[GarySL]

Giants win the 2014 World Series (they won the National League pennant 2 weeks ago!).