In a do or die Game 6 at Home for the Phillies, Roy Oswalt was called upon as the fate of Philadelphia's Postseason hung by a thread. But with the proud owner of the highest career win percentage after August 1st in the MLB since 1920 on the mound, the odds were in Philly's favor. And with the opposing pitcher Jonathan Sanchez digging a hole for himself in the first inning, the Philadelphia faithful looked like they were in store for a decisive Game 7. Chase Utley managed to drive in his first run of the series with an RBI double before scoring on a sac-fly from fellow teammate Jayson Werth, as Philly took an early 2-0 lead.
Though, the Giants would strike back in the third thanks to a lead-off single from the pitcher Sanchez. With Andres Torres at the dish and hitting a ball deep to the warning track, Shane Victorino looked to have made a basket-like catch reminiscent of Willlie Mays' famous grab in the 1954 World Series. Instead, the ball bounced out of Victorino's glove and hit the wall before falling to the ground. Sanchez who was unsure about the hit, was only able to make it to second on the play. After a Freddy Sanchez bunt to move the runners over, Aubrey Huff hit one up the middle to score a run. Torres also tried to score on the play, but was tagged out at home by a throw from Victorino. Buster Posey would tie things up after a softly hit ball fielded by the catcher Ruiz was thrown off the line, with Posey reaching the base safely.
After exchanging runs in the top half of the inning, both teams exchanged words and came close to exchanging blows as the benches cleared in the bottom of the third, started with an 87 MPH pitch that plunked Chase Utley in the back. Upon trotting to first, the ball bounced in front of Utley and into his hands before being tossed back towards Sanchez who stood on the mound. Sanchez didn't take the toss very likely and began staring the All-Star second baseman down before the two jawed back and forth, ensuing the fracas. As the players walked back to their respected positions, dugouts, and bullpens, no ejections were issued. Instead, Giants skipper Bruce Bochy decided to pull the plug on Sanchez and make an early call to the bullpen.
With the starting pitcher out and only two innings to show for, the relief corps would be asked to take on a heavy workload. However, Jeremy Affeldt, Madison Bumgarner, Javier Lopez, and Tim Lincecum would all combine to hurl seven scoreless innings before handing the ball over to their closer. With 1-out in the 8th, Juan Uribe broke a 2-2 tie with an opposite-field homer. What appeared to be an innocent fly ball to right-field, ended up drifting deeper and deeper as Jayson Werth ran out of room while the ball barely made it over the fence, landing into the first row of seats. Brian Wilson would then be called upon to protect a 1-run lead and slam the door on a Philly team eying a third straight World Series appearance. With the hard hitting Ryan Howard up to bat with two men on and 2-outs, Wilson made it as nerve-racking as possible, pushing the at-bat to a full-count before striking out the former MVP looking on a slider that caught the outside corner and sending the Giants to the World Series for the first time in eight years, where they will face the AL Champion Texas Rangers.
Noteworthy - As if anyone else on the team put up a worthy enough fight for the award, Cody Ross was named NLCS MVP, hitting .350, with 3 HR's, 3 2B's and 5 RBI's. With yet another save in Game 6, Wilson became the first pitcher with 3 Saves and a Win in a Postseason series.
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