CIN 12, SF 11: The (Almost) Best Game of the Year

Wow. I was at the ballpark today, and that was a crazy game. The game had three stages: Extreme Boredom, Overwhelming Jubilation, and Mild Disappointment. I'm going to break down all 3 stages and it means a lot coming from me, because I was there. Live. This is first-hand experience, people. So, listen up!

Stage 1: Extreme Boredom

Madison Bumgarner was terrible today. Absolutely terrible. As a result, the Reds went all Giants on the Giants. I hope that makes sense. Right off the bat, the Reds scored 4 runs in the 1st inning. Then they scored 4 more in the 3rd. At that point it was 8-1 and Bumgarner was out of the game. Then it was 10-1. The Reds were just piling it on. It must've been the same way Reds fans had felt for the past 2 games. Awful. It was complete boredom. The combination of terrible pitching, a lackluster offense, and the hot sun made me want to take a nap. Luckily, I don't do that at baseball games. The Giants would cut it down to 10-5, but still I had pretty much conceded this game to Cincinnati. Stage 1 lasted until the 7th inning.

Stage 2: Overwhelming Jubilation

Stage 2 had maybe the most 8th Inning Weirdness we've seen all year. But it was good Weirdness. At this point the score was still 10-5. Jose Guillen singled to start the inning. Pablo Sandoval followed by also hitting a single. The next batter, Juan Uribe, hit a 3-run homer right over the wall. Unbelievable. Uribe has fallen pretty far over the course of the season (his OBP is below .320), but he has had a few very important home runs. If nothing else, his power is very valuable in the 7th spot of the order. The Giants were now down just 10-8 and there were still 0 outs. Then a pair of new Giants, Cody Ross and Mike Fontenot, each singled. Up came Andres Torres, who roped a double down the left field line. Seeing Fontenot rounding third to score the tying run was amazing. Four innings ago, no one would've thought the Giants would be in a position to take a lead in this game. And you know what else? Still. 0. Outs. So, Andres Torres was on 2nd and Buster Posey came up. Buster was the only Giant without a hit today, but in his most important at-bat of the game, he came through with a sacrifice fly to move Torres over to 3rd. One out. Next up was Aubrey Huff. Huff hit a fly ball not too deep to right field, but it was good enough for Torres. 11-10 Giants. Un. Freakin. Believable. Onto the next stage.

Stage 3: Mild Disappointment

In the top 9th, the Reds tied the game at 11-11, and it was pretty much all Pablo Sandoval's fault. On a sharp ground ball to 3rd base, Sandoval rushed the throw to 1st and it went over Huff's head. Drew Stubbs advanced to 2nd on the throw, and there was just 1 out. A single from Paul Janish would bring Stubbs home to tie the game. It would've been great if the Giants could shut down the Reds after such a great comeback, but it didn't happen. Sandoval's error was 1 of 5 Giants errors in the game.

The 10th and 11th innings were quiet, but because the Giants have been carrying just 11 pitchers, Barry Zito had to come out and pitch the 12th. Zito wasn't too sharp, giving up a double and then an RBI single to give the Reds the lead. The Giants weren't able to score in the bottom of the inning and the game was over.

The disappointment was just mild because the Giants showed resiliency. They came back from a 9 run deficit, not giving up after falling behind so early in the game. It was certainly good to see and at least I didn't have to sit through a completely boring game.

Brandon Belt was promoted to AAA today. This is his first year in the minors and he's jumped from A to AAA. I love him. Keep an eye out for a post on him tomorrow.