Errors decide Game 5 of NLCS
It could have been a 2-1 victory for Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants Thursday night at AT&T Park against Roy Halladay and the Philadelphia Phillies, but a three-run third inning that featured
two errors helped the Phillies stay alive in their best of seven National League Championship Series (NLCS) with a 4-2 win. The Giants now head to Philadelphia up 3-2 in the series.
Roy Halladay looked a little shaky in the first, walking the first batter he faced, Andres Torres, and giving up a single to the second, Freddy Sanchez. Torres was able to move to third base on the single
giving the Giants runners on the corners with no outs to start the game.
Huff lined out to set up a chance for Halladay to end the inning with a double play, and he got the young Buster Posey to hit a sharp ground ball to Chase Utley, a perfect double play ball. But as it sometimes
goes in sports, Utley didn’t quite get a hold of the ball, and tagged Sanchez with an empty glove. He recovered to record the out, but Posey was safe at first and Torres had given the Giants a one-run lead.
Where the first battle between these two star pitchers was decided by home runs, four of them to be exact, in a 4-3 Giants win in Game 1, Game 5 was determined to be decided by fielding mistakes. Halladay’s
first inning run was an earned run, but the double play would have saved it. In the third inning it was Lincecum falling victim to some shoddy play by his infielders.
This inning started with two early base runners as well, always a killer for pitchers, a Raul Ibanez single was followed by Carlos Ruiz being hit by a pitch. Then it was up to Halladay to move the runners
along with a bunt, which he laid down with near perfection.
It was one of those bunts that goes straight down, and no one can tell if it’s fair or foul. Halladay certainly couldn’t as he stood frozen in the batter’s box staring at the ball. Posey wasn’t sure either.
“I just picked it up,” said Posey. “You go with it until you hear it's foul.”
Posey threw it to third base in time, but third baseman, Pablo Sandoval, didn’t have his foot on the bag, although he did manage to throw out Halladay.
"I tried to get back quickly to the bag," said Sandoval. "I missed the base. It's one of those mistakes you don't want to make. You practice that every day."
Still no damage had been done, yet. The next batter, Shane Victorino, smacked the ball to Aubrey Huff who booted it out to shallow centre field. It was enough to score two, and give the Phillies the lead.
“I was just trying to rush it,” Huff said. “I tried to get it in my glove and throw it. I just didn't get it down.”
Placido Polanco singled with Victorino on second making it 3-1 before Lincecum could stop the bleeding.
“It was tough luck,” said Lincecum. “I take it on myself. I should have made better quality pitches to the next two batters to keep it a 2-1 lead.”
The Giants got one back in the bottom of the fourth on a Cody Ross double, and after four scoreless innings the Phillies regained their two-run lead in the top of the ninth on a Jayson Werth home run.
Brad Lidge pitched a one-two-three bottom of the ninth to end the game, and send the series back to Philadelphia.
Tags: