Giants win the World Series!
Tim Lincecum. Edgar Renteria. Juan Uribe. Cody Ross. Matt Cain. Aubrey Huff. Brian Wilson. Buster Posey. Pat Burrell. Freddy Sanchez. Andres Torres. Who would of thought that this group of guys would lead the Giants to title glory?
No one really, except the Giants.
Edgar Renteria belted a 3 run homer, Tim Lincecum pitched 8 strong innings and got the win as the Giants beat the Rangers 3-1 to win their first World Series title since arriving in San Francisco. The Giants last won a title in New York, 56 years ago.
The game was a pitcher's duel for 6 innings, as only 5 hits were surrendered in total over the first six innings. But after Cody Ross and Juan Uribe hit change-ups for no-out singles, the inning looked pretty good.
Aubrey Huff bunted the runners, and then Pat Burrell struck out for the 10th time in 12 at-bats. After Burrell came Renteria, an experienced veteran who had hit the walk-off RBI single in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series. Renteria has been in 2 World Series and he won 1.
With the count 2-0, Renteria received a cut fastball. Renteria liked the pitch, and he swung. Josh Hamilton and David Murphy ran back at the wall, but they had no chance. The ball traveled 400 feet and ended up barely going over the fence.
Then it was Timmy's turn. The break on his slider was amazing, and it was getting on top of Rangers hitters, They simply couldn't hit it. And when they expected a slider, he threw a fastball that simply couldn't be hit.
If he wasn't using that, he was throwing change-ups. The change-ups were also unhittable, but that didn't stop Texas from swinging. Lincecum recorded 2 straight strikeouts on the change-up to get out of a tough 7th inning.
In that inning, Lincecum went with a change-up to Nelson Cruz. This one was hittable, and he belted the ball over the left field wall. Then Lincecum walked Ian Kinsler. This is a time where you would think that Timmy would lose it. But he didn't.
He turned to the change-up, and he made it unhittable by placing it lower. It got David Murphy and Bengie Molina swinging, ending the inning.
In the bottom of the eighth Lincecum kept his dominance, striking out Mitch Moreland on a slider. After 2 more grounders on the slider, the inning was over, and so was a great night for Lincecum.
In the bottom of the ninth the Giants put on closer Brian Wilson, who was looking for his 7th playoff save. But this one wouldn't be easy, as he would have to face Josh Hamilton, Vlad Guerrero, and Nelson Cruz.
Wilson quickly got ahead of the count 0-2 on Hamilton, then he hit the high corner of the plate and got Hamilton looking. Guerrero grounded out to short, and the Giants were one out away.
Then came Nelson Cruz. Wilson got ahead of the count 1-2, then fell behind 3-2 after 2 balls. Wilson decided on a fastball with a little bit of a break, a ball inside and low.
Cruz was mixed up, and he swung with no luck. Everybody got into a big pile around the pitching mound, bench players stormed the field, and Aaron Rowand and Cody Ross tackled each other.
For a team that was just a bunch of cast-offs, rookies, used-to-be's, and guys that nobody else wanted, that was a big prize. And at some point of the year, players took turns carrying the team.
Renteria, the Series MVP, hit just 3 homers over the course of the season. But he made every one count, all 3 making a huge impact in a Giant W. Remember, San Francisco only won the division by 2 games, so everyone who helped the team win 2+ games helped lead the team to victory.
Uribe and Burrell each came through with homers late in games, or homers that eventually turned out to be the winning margin in a Giant victory. Buster Posey knocked in many clutch runs and he scored big runs, while Aubrey Huff used his power to carry the Giants.
Cody Ross arrived in August and didn't do much until October, but he turned October into Rosstober with 5 homers and 9 RBI's, including 2 homers in a 4-3 win over Philadelphia.
Now to the pitching staff. Tim Lincecum went 16-10 in the regular season and 4-1 in the playoffs, combining for a 20-11 record. Take out his miserable August and he went 20-6.
Lincecum got the slider and the change-up working in Game 1 of the NLDS and in the series clincher. Lincecum combined to go 2-0 in those games, allow just 1 earned run and strike out 24 batters over 17 innings.
Matt Cain won 13 games and didn't allow an earned run over 21.1 postseason innings, leading the Giants to believe that they could win easily any time Cain was on the mound. Cain was huge in Game 2, and he was big in Game 3 of the NLCS, leading the Giants to a 3-0 win and a 2-1 series lead.
Barry Zito was taken off the postseason roster, but he still contributed, winning 9 key games early in the season. Jonathan Sanchez was amazing down the stretch in September, and he carried a no-hitter into the 6th inning in a 3-2 win over the Braves in the NLDS.
Madison Bumgardner arrived in San Francisco looking to play well as the 5th starter, and that's exactly what he did. He helped lead the Giants down the stretch, and he combined for a 9-6 record over the playoffs and regular season. Bumgardner didn't allow a run over 8 innings in Game 4 of the World Series.
The Giants pitching staff wouldn't be complete without Brian Wilson, who used his speed to get ahead of hitters. Wilson tied a franchise record with 48 saves, and he added 7 saves over the postseason.
No one really, except the Giants.
Edgar Renteria belted a 3 run homer, Tim Lincecum pitched 8 strong innings and got the win as the Giants beat the Rangers 3-1 to win their first World Series title since arriving in San Francisco. The Giants last won a title in New York, 56 years ago.
The game was a pitcher's duel for 6 innings, as only 5 hits were surrendered in total over the first six innings. But after Cody Ross and Juan Uribe hit change-ups for no-out singles, the inning looked pretty good.
Aubrey Huff bunted the runners, and then Pat Burrell struck out for the 10th time in 12 at-bats. After Burrell came Renteria, an experienced veteran who had hit the walk-off RBI single in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series. Renteria has been in 2 World Series and he won 1.
With the count 2-0, Renteria received a cut fastball. Renteria liked the pitch, and he swung. Josh Hamilton and David Murphy ran back at the wall, but they had no chance. The ball traveled 400 feet and ended up barely going over the fence.
Then it was Timmy's turn. The break on his slider was amazing, and it was getting on top of Rangers hitters, They simply couldn't hit it. And when they expected a slider, he threw a fastball that simply couldn't be hit.
If he wasn't using that, he was throwing change-ups. The change-ups were also unhittable, but that didn't stop Texas from swinging. Lincecum recorded 2 straight strikeouts on the change-up to get out of a tough 7th inning.
In that inning, Lincecum went with a change-up to Nelson Cruz. This one was hittable, and he belted the ball over the left field wall. Then Lincecum walked Ian Kinsler. This is a time where you would think that Timmy would lose it. But he didn't.
He turned to the change-up, and he made it unhittable by placing it lower. It got David Murphy and Bengie Molina swinging, ending the inning.
In the bottom of the eighth Lincecum kept his dominance, striking out Mitch Moreland on a slider. After 2 more grounders on the slider, the inning was over, and so was a great night for Lincecum.
In the bottom of the ninth the Giants put on closer Brian Wilson, who was looking for his 7th playoff save. But this one wouldn't be easy, as he would have to face Josh Hamilton, Vlad Guerrero, and Nelson Cruz.
Wilson quickly got ahead of the count 0-2 on Hamilton, then he hit the high corner of the plate and got Hamilton looking. Guerrero grounded out to short, and the Giants were one out away.
Then came Nelson Cruz. Wilson got ahead of the count 1-2, then fell behind 3-2 after 2 balls. Wilson decided on a fastball with a little bit of a break, a ball inside and low.
Cruz was mixed up, and he swung with no luck. Everybody got into a big pile around the pitching mound, bench players stormed the field, and Aaron Rowand and Cody Ross tackled each other.
For a team that was just a bunch of cast-offs, rookies, used-to-be's, and guys that nobody else wanted, that was a big prize. And at some point of the year, players took turns carrying the team.
Renteria, the Series MVP, hit just 3 homers over the course of the season. But he made every one count, all 3 making a huge impact in a Giant W. Remember, San Francisco only won the division by 2 games, so everyone who helped the team win 2+ games helped lead the team to victory.
Uribe and Burrell each came through with homers late in games, or homers that eventually turned out to be the winning margin in a Giant victory. Buster Posey knocked in many clutch runs and he scored big runs, while Aubrey Huff used his power to carry the Giants.
Cody Ross arrived in August and didn't do much until October, but he turned October into Rosstober with 5 homers and 9 RBI's, including 2 homers in a 4-3 win over Philadelphia.
Now to the pitching staff. Tim Lincecum went 16-10 in the regular season and 4-1 in the playoffs, combining for a 20-11 record. Take out his miserable August and he went 20-6.
Lincecum got the slider and the change-up working in Game 1 of the NLDS and in the series clincher. Lincecum combined to go 2-0 in those games, allow just 1 earned run and strike out 24 batters over 17 innings.
Matt Cain won 13 games and didn't allow an earned run over 21.1 postseason innings, leading the Giants to believe that they could win easily any time Cain was on the mound. Cain was huge in Game 2, and he was big in Game 3 of the NLCS, leading the Giants to a 3-0 win and a 2-1 series lead.
Barry Zito was taken off the postseason roster, but he still contributed, winning 9 key games early in the season. Jonathan Sanchez was amazing down the stretch in September, and he carried a no-hitter into the 6th inning in a 3-2 win over the Braves in the NLDS.
Madison Bumgardner arrived in San Francisco looking to play well as the 5th starter, and that's exactly what he did. He helped lead the Giants down the stretch, and he combined for a 9-6 record over the playoffs and regular season. Bumgardner didn't allow a run over 8 innings in Game 4 of the World Series.
The Giants pitching staff wouldn't be complete without Brian Wilson, who used his speed to get ahead of hitters. Wilson tied a franchise record with 48 saves, and he added 7 saves over the postseason.
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