Comeback kids: Giants headed to World Series

October 22nd, 2012

SAN FRANCISCO -- The showers that drenched AT&T Park toward the end of Monday night's game seemed surreal.

"We haven't had rain like that in a long time," Matt Cain said.

But the precipitation provided a nice segue to the waterworks in the Giants clubhouse, where ballplayers sprayed each other with champagne to celebrate their latest triumph.

And what a triumph it was. Completing their second rare comeback of the postseason, the Giants subdued the St. Louis Cardinals, 9-0, to win Game 7 of the National League Championship Series and advance to a World Series confrontation against the Detroit Tigers.

San Francisco's five-run surge in the third inning, launched by the second of three hits from series Most Valuable Player Marco Scutaro, backed Cain, who worked 5 2/3 innings before turning the game over to the bullpen. Cain sustained the excellence of the Giants' starters, who yielded one run in 20 1/3 innings during the series' final three games.

The Giants sealed their fifth pennant since moving to San Francisco in 1958 by winning six consecutive elimination games, matching a standard set by the 1985 Kansas City Royals. The Giants overcame a 3-1 deficit in the best-of-seven NLCS by fending off St. Louis three games in a row, which followed three consecutive victories that erased a 2-0 disadvantage in the best-of-five Division Series against Cincinnati.

"Incredible," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "I'm still numb."

Bochy led a group of resolute professionals who refused to quit. The Giants became the 12th team out of 77 that trailed 3-1 in a best-of-seven series yet emerged triumphant. They're also just the fifth NL club to achieve this distinction.

"We've made a lot of good memories so far," catcher Buster Posey said. Turning his attention briefly to the World Series, which begins here Wednesday, Posey added, "We still have a lot of work to do."

First, the Giants wanted to revel in their comeback against the Cardinals, who happened to be the reigning World Series champions. San Francisco outscored them 20-1 in the final three games in a dramatic reversal.

"They played better baseball than us. Bottom line," St. Louis right fielder Carlos Beltran said.

Referring to the last three games, Beltran added, "We made a lot of mistakes and they didn't make any mistakes. They were able to put things together -- offense, defense and pitching -- and we couldn't do that. I think that was the difference."

The turnaround began with the Giants' Game 5 victory behind Barry Zito, which brought the series back to San Francisco.

"He was a momentum-shifter for us," Cain said. "We felt like we had a lot going for us, especially getting back in front of these fans."

Hosting the first Game 7 played in San Francisco since the 1962 World Series, the Giants jumped ahead by scoring in each of the first three innings off Cardinals starter Kyle Lohse. The right-hander allowed seven hits while walking five in Game 3 yet somehow yielded just one run in 5 2/3 innings. Lohse's luck ran out this time before a roaring AT&T Park crowd that showed up eager for the Giants' first series-ending Game 7 victory in franchise history.

"The energy that the stadium had today was awesome," Cain said. "I think we really fed off that."

Cain helped the Giants apply the early pressure upon the Cardinals with a second-inning RBI single. It marked the first time that pitchers have driven in runs in three consecutive postseason games, as Cain extended the streak started by Zito and Ryan Vogelsong.

Leading 2-0, San Francisco loaded the bases in the third on Scutaro's single, Pablo Sandoval's double and Posey's walk, which finished Lohse. Hunter Pence, batting .159 (7-for-44) in the postseason, lined reliever Joe Kelly's first pitch on a hop past shortstop. The ball spun oddly in the grass -- probably because Pence's bat shattered yet made contact with the pitch perhaps three times, as television replays indicated. Center fielder Jon Jay swooped over to scoop up the ball but missed it. The error enabled Posey, beckoned frantically by third-base coach Tim Flannery, to follow Scutaro and Sandoval home.

"You never know what's going to happen next," Giants right-hander Sergio Romo said. "It was a big hit for us, regardless of how many times he hit it."

Brandon Belt chopped a grounder that Kelly unsuccessfully tried to barehand, resulting in a single. Blanco walked to load the bases again, setting up run-scoring, fielder's-choice grounders by Brandon Crawford and Angel Pagan.

That provided ample support for Cain, who staggered on a tightrope during the first three innings but remained upright. After stranding Beltran on second base in the first inning, Cain was rescued one inning later by Crawford, who timed his leap perfectly to snare Lohse's soft liner toward shortstop and leave runners on second and third.

"It was tough because it was straight over my head," Crawford said. "So I couldn't turn right or turn left and then jump. I had to go straight up. That made it harder. But with Cain pitching the way he did, I knew I had to make a play."

Jay singled to open the third inning but was left on third base when cleanup hitter Allen Craig flied out.

"I think those first two or three innings were probably the turning points of the game," Posey said. "Because if they get on the board quick and get a little momentum, it could be a different game. I think Matt did a great job of shutting them down."

The cumulative effect was overwhelming. Nothing, it seemed, could stop the Giants, who added two late runs, the last coming on Belt's eighth-inning homer.

"Tonight just seemed to be our night," Pence said. "We got all the breaks. You could have played this game 100 times and it could have gone 50-50. The breaks were on our side."

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com