San Francisco Giants take 3-1 series lead in NLCS
For a series that was supposed to be all about pitching duels, the National League Championship Series (NLCS) sure didn't look much like it Wednesday night. Playing in a pitcher’s stadium, AT&T Park, in
Game 4, neither the San Francisco Giants’ starter, Joe Blanton, nor the Philadelphia Phillies’ starter, Madison Bumgarner, lasted five innings in a 6-5 Giants win. The Giants now hold a 3-1 series lead over the Phillies with one game left to play in San Francisco.
The Giants had a 2-0 lead heading into the fifth inning before Bumgarner allowed a single with two men on. The first runner, Ben Francisco, scored easily to cut the lead in half, but Carlos Ruiz was called
out at home; the victim of a great throw from Aaron Roward, and a great short-hop catch by Buster Posey.
Another single later and Bumgarner was done for the night. He left after four and two thirds innings, in which he allowed three runs on five hits.
"He wasn't as sharp with his command and gave up four pretty good line drives there, and he wasn't quite getting it where he wanted," said Giants manager, Bruce Bochy. "So that's why I went out and got
him."
Bochy put in Santiago Casilla to stop the bleeding. Casilla did well in the regular season, stranding 41 of 47 inherited runners, but this time a two-run double by Placido Polanco put the Phillies in front
3-2. Casilla allowed another run on his own tab, and the Phillies went to the bottom of the fifth up 4-2.
Blanton came out to pitch the bottom of the fifth, but after issuing a leadoff walk and an RBI single a couple batters later, he was pulled too. Blanton allowed three runs on five hits over four and two
thirds innings.
"It's a situation where we're down, 2-1 [in the series]," Blanton said. "Maybe in the regular season it's a different story or maybe if we're up 2-1, it's a different story. In a do-or-die situation, you
have to do whatever you can to try and win."
It turned out to be a much better call to pull Blanton than it was to pull Bumgarner as reliever, Jose Contreras, stuck out Buster Posey to end the fifth, letting the Phillies keep a 4-3 after five innings.
By the ninth inning the game was tied at five with both bullpens struggling to earn the win. The Phillies did nothing with their half of the ninth, going three-up three-down, but the Giants were able to
provide some of that playoff magic we all love to watch.
With one out, Aubrey Huff singled and then moved to third on Posey’s fourth hit of the game. Juan Uribe then fouled off a couple before hitting a sacrifice fly to left that scored Huff, and gave the Giants
a walk-off victory.
"Every victory's just as tasty but tonight's was really delicious," said Brian Wilson, who earned the win for San Francisco.
Game 5 will see a rematch between Tim Lincecum and Roy Halladay Friday night.
Tags: