What is this all about?
Yesterday
Here are all the October 11 games in San Francisco Giants history that mattered.
1962 World Series, down 3-2, game 6 is 10-15
1987 NLCS Game 5 home vs. Cardinals, the series is dead even at 2, Game 5 is at the Stick, nearly 60,000 paid on a Sunday afternoon. We trade runs in both the first and third, the big blow Kevin Mitchell's homering off of Greg Mathews to tie it 2-2. They went up 3-2 on a Reuschel error in the 4th, but we busted it open in our half - singles for Davis/Clark/Uribe all led to a two run Robby Thompson triple off of Ricky Horton and took a 6-3 lead. Joe Price came on in relief in the fifth and went the last five innings of the game, never allowing a Cardinal to reach scoring position. We head back to St Louis a game away from the pennant.
1989 National League Champions, World Series starts 10-14
2002 NLCS Game 3 is tomorrow
2010 NLDS Game 4 at Atlanta, we're up 2-1 in a best of five, one game away from our first NLCS appearance in 8 years. Monday night at Turner Field, we only get 5 hits, and Madison Bumgarner's in trouble early, the Braves leave them loaded in the second and push across a run in the third. Our first hit comes with 1 out in the 6th, but it ties the game, Cody Ross homering off Derek Lowe. Bumgarner gives it back in the bottom half on a Brian McCann homer. We come right back in the 7th, tying the game on an Alex Gonzalez error and, with the bases loaded and two out, Cody Ross comes through again with a base hit off Jonny Venters that scored the go ahead run. Atlanta threatens in the bottom of the 9th, getting 2 on with 1 out against Brian Wilson - but he strikes out Omar Infante and gets Melky Cabrera to ground to third to end the series. We are back in the NLCS, game 1 is Oct 16.
2012 NLDS Game 5 at Cincinnati, winner take all, we lost the first two at home, won the last two on the road - we're still in Cincinnati needing to win one more game to advance to the NLCS. Both clubs had 2 on with 1 out in the first - but neither scored. No baserunners in the second or third, each team had harmless singles in the 4th. And in the fifth we won the game. Gregor Blanco opened with a base hit off Giant nemesis Mat Latos, three pitches later Brandon Crawford tripled to drive home the game's first run and a Zack Cozart error gave us a second. We loaded the bases with one out, Buster Posey at the plate and Latos still on the mound - Posey hit a 2 strike grand slam to give us a 6-0 lead. The Reds chip away. 2 in their half. Another in the 6th. One more in the 9th off of Sergio Romo, the tying runs on base, only 1 out. Romo got Jay Bruce to fly out. Romo struck out Scott Rolen. And we advance to the NLCS.
2014 NLCS Game 1 at St Louis 12 years have passed since '02, 27 since '87, and once again we're meeting the Cardinals in the NLCS. Madison Bumgarner gets the ball for the good guys and he's lights out, 7 and 2/3, 0 earned, 4 hits, 7 strikeouts and 1 walk. We scored 2 in the second, Travis Ishikawa driving home the first off of Adam Wainwright and a Matt Carpenter error getting us the second. A Brandon Belt sac fly the following inning gave us the final margin of our 3-0 shutout victory.
2016 NLDS Game 4, we're down 2-1 in a best of five and the Cubs end our season by scoring 4 runs in the 9th inning to beat us 6-5. We had a 5-2 lead through 5, when we entered the 9th we had a 97% chance to win the game and go to a winner take all game 5. We used 5 pitchers in the inning to face just 7 batters. That's not just a failure of execution, it's a strategic failure that was not appreciated as such by the organization or local analysts.
See you tomorrow. Go Giants!
