Giants thank Conrad for late 3-2 rally

With the highlight of game 1 being dominant pitching and late game heroics in game 2, game 3 would be a mixture of both. After the Giants failed to capitalize in the first inning with the bases loaded, they made sure they wouldn't make the same mistake when given another chance. Third baseman Mike Fontenot who was acquired from the Cubs as late as mid-August, led the second inning off with a triple before scoring on Cody Ross' routine pop-up in shallow right field that was dropped for an error by the Braves second baseman Books Conrad. For the Giants, drawing first blood would be important against Atlanta's Tim Hudson who went on to win 17 games this year and owned an ERA south of 3.00.

Heading into the eighth inning, it looked like another 1-0 finish in favor of the Giants. Then came in reliever Sergio Romo who blew the lead for the second straight game. With a man on and 1 out, Eric Hinske hit a pinch-hit 2-run homer that hit the foul pole and gave Atlanta their first lead of the game. With another questionable pitching change by manager Bruce Bochy, the call to the 'pen proved to come back to bite him in the ass for a second time in three days. Although the go-ahead dinger would be costly, the Giants would still have life thanks to their new favorite opposing second baseman -- Brooks Conrad. After already committing three errors in the game, Conrad showed shades of the '86 World Series by doing his best Bill Buckner impersonation and letting a ground ball hit by Buster Posey sneak between his legs and underneath his glove. Freddy Sanchez scored on the mishap, which gave Conrad three errors on the night, setting a new Division Series record for most in a series (4).

And just like that, the Giants rallied to steal a game, similar to Atlanta's triumphant game 2 comeback. Despite his stellar 7.1 innings of 2-hit, 11-strikeout outing, Sanchez was given a no-decision as the Giants won, 3-2. One decision that has been made however, is the decision to sit ace Tim Lincecum for tomorrow's game 4. Instead, Giants skipper Bruce Bochy will give the ball to the young rookie southpaw -- Madison Bumgarner. Meanwhile, Atlanta decides to go with game 1 starter -- Derek Lowe. Heading into tomorrow's game, the one thing running through the minds of Giants players and fans alike is how sweet it would be to celebrate on enemy turf, instead of having to play a deciding game 5 in San Fran.