How sweep it is for San Francisco
Published: 29 Oct. 2012, 20:07
The 2012 world champion San Francisco Giants celebrate at Comerica Park after defeating the Detroit Tigers in extra innings Sunday. [UPI/YONHAP]
DETROIT - Marco Scutaro singled home the tiebreaking run in the 10th inning, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Detroit Tigers 4-3 on Sunday night to complete a four-game sweep and win their second World Series title in three years.
Ryan Theriot, who went hitless for St. Louis in Game 7 of last year’s Series, singled softly into right field off Phil Coke to open the 10th.
Brandon Crawford sacrificed, nearly bunting the ball past Coke. Angel Pagan struck out and Scutaro singled to short center field as Theriot slid home.
Pablo Sandoval, who hit three homers in Game 1, was named MVP. He was 1 for 5 in Game 4 and hit .500 (8 for 16) for the Series.
Santiago Casilla got the final out of the ninth for the win and Sergio Romo struck out the side in the 10th for his third save, getting Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera on a called third strike to end it.
Of the 24 teams to take 3-0 Series leads, 21 swept and three won in five games.
Delmon Young hit a tying home run off Matt Cain in the sixth. Cabrera and San Francisco’s Buster Posey homered, marking the first time both reigning batting champions went deep in the same Series game.
San Francisco’s Brandon Belt hit an RBI triple off the right-field wall in the second inning after a ground-rule double by Hunter Pence. But on a night when the wind was gusting to right at up to 25 miles per hour, Cabrera put Detroit ahead for the first time in the Series with a wind-blown, two-run drive in the third.
It drove Jackson, who had walked with one out, and ended a 20-inning scoreless streak.
San Francisco had not trailed since losing Game 4 of the NL Championship Series, when the Giants fell to a 3-1 series deficit against St. Louis.
With light rain falling, Scutaro reached on a chopper to third leading off the sixth and, one out later, Max Scherzer hung an 82 mph breaking ball. Posey drove it down the left-field line, where it stayed a few feet fair and landed a couple of rows over the wall for a 3-2 lead.
That advantage didn’t last long. Young sent an opposite-field, no-doubt drive into the right-field stands in the bottom half, setting off cheers among the crowd of 42,152, with many fans waving white rally towels.
After watching Barry Zito, Madison Bumgarner and Ryan Vogelsong each allow one run or none in the first three games, Cain gave up three runs and five hits in seven innings with five strikeouts and two walks.
Scherzer, pitching on nine days’ rest, gave up three runs and seven hits in 6 1-3 innings, struck out eight and walked none. After he left with a runner on second and one out in the seventh, lefty Drew Smyly retired Brandon Crawford on a flyout and righty Octavio Dotel induced a groundout from Angel Pagan.
Detroit’s Prince Fielder was hitless in four at-bats, dropping to 1 for 14 in the World Series (.071) and 1 for 25 (.040) against right-handers in the postseason.
On a 44-degree night, fans bundled up at Comerica Park and some players wore caps with earflaps during batting practice.
Detroit scratched catcher Alex Avila who had been playing with a sore right arm since he was hit by a foul tip in the opener.
AP
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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