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San Francisco
Giants' Angel Pagan, left, Brandon Crawford, middle, and Hunter Pence
celebrate after the Giants defeated the Detroit Tigers, 2-0, in Game 2
of baseball's World Series Thursday at AT&T Park in San Francisco.
San Francisco Giants
Stout pitching
carries Giants to 2-0 Series lead
SAN FRANCISCO - Thursday night at AT&T Park had a 2010 feel, and
not just because ex-Journey crooner Steve Perry appeared live on the
scoreboard while "Lights" played during the middle of the eighth inning.
The Giants' starting pitching is again muting opposing offenses, just
as it did two years ago when the club won its first World Series since
the franchise moved to San Francisco in 1958. Madison Bumgarner
continued this re-enactment, yielding two hits in seven innings as San
Francisco captured Game 2 of the current Series with a 2-0 decision
over the Detroit Tigers.
Having scored 28 runs in their previous four games, the Giants resorted
to small ball this time. They shattered a scoreless tie in the seventh
inning on Brandon Crawford's bases-loaded double-play grounder -- which
followed Gregor Blanco's improbable bunt single -- and added an
eighth-inning run without benefit of a hit.
San Francisco grabbed a 2-0 lead in the Series, which resumes Saturday
in Detroit. Of the 52 previous teams to win the first two Series games,
41 (78.8 percent) ultimately bathed and showered in champagne. Fourteen
of the last 15 teams that forged ahead 2-0 in the Series won it.
But the Giants refused to assume anything.
"Look at what we were able to do the last couple of series,"
right-hander Sergio Romo said, referring to the Giants' six consecutive
victories in elimination games. "You definitely can't count that team
out. They're American League champions. Those guys were picked to be
here from the get-go for a reason. So you don't count them out."
If anybody has earned a reputation, it's San Francisco's starters.
They've affirmed their legitimacy by posting a 0.55 ERA during the
Giants' five-game postseason winning streak, a franchise best. Two
years ago, San Francisco sailed through the postseason with a 2.23 ERA
from the starters.
"They talk about our starting rotation for a reason," Romo said. "It's
fitting that they've done as well as they have."
Thursday's shutout of Detroit, which included perfect innings by
relievers Santiago Casilla and Romo, was a significant achievement. The
Tigers were blanked twice in the regular season, fewest in the Major
Leagues.
It began with Bumgarner, who wasn't supposed to display such
effectiveness. He recorded an 11.25 ERA while losing his previous two
postseason starts. Bumgarner also struggled in his last seven
regular-season outings, going 2-4 with a 5.73 ERA in that span.
But the Bumgarner who took the mound on another calm night by the Bay
resembled the Bumgarner who worked eight scoreless innings at Texas in
Game 4 of the 2010 Series. If that performance announced Bumgarner's
presence to the baseball world, this one reaffirmed it…
Read the rest of the article at San Francisco Giants
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