reCAP: World Series Game 2 – Detroit Tigers vs. San Francisco Giants

10/25/12

Game 2 was very different than Game 1. Game 1 had a surprising performance at the plate by Pablo Sandoval hitting 3 homeruns in the game. Justin Verlander got taken out of the game after pitching 4 innings. Did you expect Game 2 to be the same offensive outburst the Giants had last night? Did you expect the Tigers pitching to be horrendous? I did not think that. I said coming into Game 2 that Doug Fister was having a strong postseason this year and the Tigers had to expect the same results that Fister gave the Tigers throughout the entire postseason. I did question Madison Bumgarner’s ability to pitch successfully in the postseason and albeit he pitched phenomenally in 2010 for the Giants in the World Series he was having the opposite outlook this postseason. Last thing I said about the Giants was that the bottom of the lineup had to contribute to go along with the success that the top of the lineup was having in Game 1.

If you like pitching, this was your kinda game. If you like a game that has a lot of runs scored, this was not your cup of tea. The starters in this game were fantastic. Doug Fister pitched 6 shutout innings of baseball before he got into trouble in the 7^th inning. Fister’s box score line was 6 plus innings, 4 hits, 1 run, 1 walk and 3 strikeouts. What you won’t see in the box score is that he got hit in the head on a line drive hit in the 3^rd inning and stayed in the game. The bullpen of the Tigers was once again troubling. Drew Smyly relieved Fister in the 7^th and had a shaky game. Smyly’s box score line was 1 1/3 innings pitched, 1 hit, 1 run, 3 walks and 2 strikeouts. Octavio Dotel pitched 1 out in the 8^th inning. Phil Coke pitched the last out of the game for the Giants in the 8^th.

The Giants had better plate discipline than the Tigers and swung at “their” pitch. They got a break in the game when Gregor Blanco got a bunt base hit in the 7^th inning that loaded the bases with no outs. They scored all of their runs on outs. They scored a run on a double play which does not count as an RBI in the box score. I had a problem with how the Tigers’ fielders were aligned which I will discuss later. The only RBI in the game was from Hunter Pence and that was from a sacrifice fly in the 8^th inning. Madison Bumgarner was fantastic in Game 2. He had great command with his pitches. He pitched 7 shutout innings and gave up 2 hits and 2 walks with 8 strikeouts on his box score line. Santiago Casilla and Sergio Romo pitched great out of the bullpen in the 8^th and 9^th inning.

I do have a gripe with Tigers manager Jim Leyland and 3^rd base coach Gene Lamont. First off, when Prince Fielder got hit by a pitch in the 2^nd inning and was on first base and Delmon Young hit a double into left field, why did Lamont send Fielder, a heavy-set player from first base to home to score a run? They should have had 2 runners on second and third base with no outs in the inning. Lastly, in the 7^th inning, why would Leyland align his infielders in a double play depth and not move his infielders in when the Giants had the bases loaded with no outs? If they had the infield in, they could have gotten a double play (which they did at second and first base) at home and first base.

Game 3 is on Saturday in Detroit. The pitching matchup is Ryan Vogelsong vs Anibal Sanchez. Both pitchers have had an incredible postseason so I expect another pitching duel with very little offense.

Do you guys agree that Jim Leyland and Gene Lamont ruined the chances of the Tigers winning Game 2? Sound off and stay tuned for my reCAP of Game 3.