El Barrio, New York – Justin Verlander whose start and loss in the mid-Summer
All Star Game determined that the Fall Classic be played in a National League
Park, got roughed up by Pablo Sandovar
who would end up matching a postseason record of being just the
fourth player to hit three homers in any World Series game. Of the Panda’s three blasts, two came off Justin
Verlander who in four innings of work gave up 5 earned runs on six hits. And the
Giants finally won a postseason series opener.
The Giants starter Barry Zito, left
off the roster in the Giant’s 2010 World Series win over the Texas Rangers, has
won 2 post season games so far. He went 5.2 innings allowing only one run on
six hits. He even got a fourth-inning RBI single to left field off Verlandar. This
win extended the Giants' winning streak in Zito's starts to 14, dating back to
the regular season.
Another interesting note on this game’s
heroes is that Pablo Sandovar, also in the 2010 World Series played only one
game and had 3 at-bats with no hits while striking out once. He may have looked
like Babe Ruth, but was not hitting like him. Even though he still has that
pudgy look, he seems to be in better form despite only hitting 12 home runs
during the regular season with just 63 RBI. In this post season, however, Sandoval
is hitting .370 in the postseason, with six homers and 13 RBIs in 54 at-bats.
The New York Yankees, who led the
Majors with 245 home runs during the regular season before totally collapsing in
the ALCS, can learn a lesson from the Giants anemic over the fence heroics. While the Tigers were 16th, with 163, the
Giants were 30th, dead last, with just 103 home runs. Go figure.
The Giants hit 31 regular-season home
runs at AT&T Park, by far the fewest in the Majors and the lowest total
since 1992. Sandoval, it seems, made a
mockery of that statistical blemish. Go figure.
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