NLCS Game 4 - Heading into Game 4, a lot was on the line for both teams. For the Phillies, it meant keeping their hopes of playing another game at home alive. As for the Giants, Game 4 meant a chance to end the series at home instead of having to fly back to Philly for a game 6. That of coarse being if they were to win Game 5 in San Francisco as well. On the bump aiming to fulfill those dreams of inching the Giants closer to the 2010 Fall Classic, was the 21 year old southpaw Madison Bumgarner. In only his rookie year, Bumgarner became the youngest Giants pitcher to ever start and win a Postseason game, less than a week ago when he held the Braves offense to only 2-runs in 6 innings pitched, punching SF's ticket to the NLCS.
Sharing the mound with Bumgarner was Phillies pitcher Joe Blaton. Pitching for the first time since September 29th, Blanton was erratic to open the game surrendering a single to Freddy Sanchez who moved over to third on two wild pitches. Those early miscues would cost Blanton, as Buster Posey who had a phenomenal night, laced a 2-out RBI single, putting the Giants up with an early 1-0 lead. For what it's worth, Blanton's two wild pitches in the first inning, matched his regular season total of two wild pitches. With back-to-back 2-out hits by Aubrey Huff and Buster Posey who combined to hit 7-for-10 on the night, the Giants would take a 2-0 lead. As the game wore on, Bumgarner would run into a few jams, including one he would get out of in the 4th, with two on and two outs.
However, an inning later, he wouldn't be so lucky. With one out and runners on second and third, Shane Victorino connected for an RBI single up the middle, scoring Utley. Thanks to a tremendous effort by the Giants defense, a second run would fail to score, as a throw home from Aaron Rowand beat the sliding Carlos Ruiz to the plate. Posey would also get kudos on the play for executing an excellent tag, all while holding onto the ball. Although the run was prevented, the inning would continue, as Bochy decided to hook his rookie pitcher in favor of Santiago Casilla. A decision that would take a turn for the worst, as Bumgarner soon found himself in line for a loss after being credited with two more runs. Placido Polanco did most of the damage, hitting one into the gap, good enough for a double and giving Philly their first lead of the night. The nightmare would continue, as Casilla walked Howard and hit Werth in consecutive at-bats to load the bases. Then came a wild pitch, scoring Polanco and putting Philly on top 4-2.
The inning that saw 9-hitters come up to bat and combine to scratch four runs across the board would last 25 minutes and would prove to be too long of a rest for Blanton who waited patiently in the dugout. After walking Torres to lead off the inning, Huff would bring him home with another clutch 2-out RBI single. And before you knew it, the game would turn into a battle of the bullpens, as the Phils pen began to have its own struggles in the sixth. Philadelphia reliever Chad Durbin would then do his best Casilla impersonation. Making his first start of the series, Pablo Sandoval would come through with a big 2-out double, as San Francisco stole back the lead. Once again, Philly would fight back two innings later to tie it, capped off by a lead off double from Ryan Howard. With both teams locked up 5-5 heading into the 9th, Posey would continue to shine, moving Huff over to third on a double, giving Juan Uribe a chance for some late game heroics.
Uribe would do just that, hitting a sac fly to left field, as Huff trotted to home as the winning run, 6-5. Uribe connected for only the 8th walk-off via the sacrifice fly in Postseason history. As for the Phillies, the walk-off loss was their first since the '93 World Series in which they lost to the Toronto Blue Jays. Speaking of firsts, Posey became only the second rookie catcher in Postseason history to compile 4-hits.
Game 5 Preview - With a Game 1 rematch of Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum, the Giants have only one thing on mind, winning a trip to the World Series. Philly on the other hand hopes to survive to live another day. All making this match-up one for the ages.
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