In the winter of 2014, third baseman Pablo Sandoval was the hottest commodity at the hot corner on the free-agent market. After helping the San Francisco Giants claim their third World Series championship in five years in what would be the closest thing we've seen to a baseball dynasty since the New York Yankees of the mid to late 1990's and into the year 2000, the former World Series MVP inked a five-year, $95 Million dollar deal with the Boston Red Sox. And while his time in Boston began nightmarish for the 2-time All-Star, it would eventually be cut short as he was designated for assignment over the weekend.
Though staying healthy and in shape has never been a strong suit of Sandoval's, his ability to hit coupled with the defense he showed while with the Giants was virtually nonexistent during his time in Boston as he's been a shadow of his former self. In his first full year with the Red Sox, Sandoval struggled mightily, hitting a mediocre .245 on the season with career lows in both home runs (10) and RBI's (47) since breaking into the bigs in 2008. Hoping to bounce back with a solid 2016, his Sophomore year in Boston would be anything but as he was limited to only six at-bats in 3 games after straining his left shoulder which would require season-ending surgery. Following the injury, 2017 seemed to be promising for the 30-year old Sandoval who appeared in Spring Training close to 40 lbs. lighter and hitting much better at the plate as his .338 batting average and 5 home runs helped him win back the job as Boston's Opening Day starting third baseman. Instead, the struggles both offensively and defensively would continue as soon as the season started, as he hit just .212 with 4 HR and 12 RBI in 99 at-bats.
Adding to his frustration, Sandoval was plagued by injuries once more which eventually contributed to his designation despite still being owed over $48 Million dollars. That amount marks the second-highest total of money owed to a player, trailing only Josh Hamilton's $68.4 Million owed by the Angels after being cut by Los Angeles only two years into his five-year contract. While many around the baseball world would point to his former ball club in San Francisco as being an ideal landing spot for Sandoval, it's easier said than done and rather unlikely that he'll be reunited in the Bay Area. Though Sandoval became an instant favorite among Giants fans and players alike who embraced him with such nicknames as "Pandaval" and "Kung-fu Panda", he didn't leave on the best of terms with the Giants front-office. Not to mention the Giants appear to already have their third baseman of the future in 22-year old Christian Arroyo. Whether or not we'll be seeing fans at AT&T Park dusting off their old panda hats is anybodies guess at this point, but given the Giants could sign him to the prorated league minimum after Friday if the Red Sox fail to trade his rights, it wouldn't be the biggest of surprises if they decided to kick the tires on an old friend. In just 161 games with Boston over the past two and half seasons, Sandoval hit a sub par .237 at the dish with 14 homers and 59 RBI's.
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Game 1: Pandamonium - Prior to Game 1 of the World Series, pundits gave the San Francisco Giants little chance against the reigning AL Cy Young & MVP Justin Verlander and predicted the Detroit Tigers would make quick work of game 1 starter Barry Zito. Little did they know the exact opposite would take place. Having won Zito's last 13 starts, it was thought that the Giants would have their work cut out for them if they planned to make it 14, but a guy who goes by the nickname 'Kung-Fu Panda' would prove otherwise. Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval who was left off of the postseason roster in 2010 alongside Zito when the Giants brought their first World Series title back to the city by the bay, made up for lost time with two home runs in his first two at-bats versus Tigers ace Justin Verlander who also surrendered a bases-clearing triple to Sandoval in July's All-Star Game which awarded the Giants home-field advantage in this year's Fall Classic.
Sandoval's home run in the first inning which came on an 0-2 pitch and gave the Giants an early 1-0 lead was the first homer Verlander had allowed in an 0-2 count this season. Sandoval's heroics would continue just two innings later when Angel Pagan sparked a 2-out rally in the third with a double that appeared to be on its way to the glove of Miguel Cabrera but instead bounced off the third base bag and rolled into the outfield. Marco Scutaro drove in the game's second run by lacing an RBI single up the middle, bringing Sandoval to the plate a chance to cause more damage. Two pitches later he would do just that, sending a 2-0 pitch over the left field fence for an opposite-field home run, giving the Giants a 4-0 lead and causing Verlander to mouth the words, "Wow." Verlander's rough outing would continue in the fourth as Brandon Belt led the inning off with a walk and later scored on a single off the bat of Barry Zito as the Giants became the first team in postseason history to have their pitcher drive in a run in four consecutive games.
With Verlander's night coming to an early end after being roughed up for five earned runs on six hits and a walk through four innings, his shortest outing of the season, Sandoval's dominance at the plate would continue as he greeted Tigers reliever Al Alburquerque who came in for Verlander by hitting his third home run of the ballgame. With his trio of long balls, Sandoval became only the fourth player to ever hit three home runs in a World Series game, joining the likes of Babe Ruth who accomplished the feat twice, Reggie Jackson and Albert Pujols who did it in last year's World Series. Sandoval, however, was the only player to do it in his first three plate appearances. Sandoval would finish the game 4-for-4 by adding a single in the seventh. Detroit's only runs would come in the form of an RBI single from Miguel Cabrera off Zito in the sixth and a 2-run home run from Jhonny Peralta off George Kontos in the ninth. RBI singles from Scutaro and Buster Posey in the seventh would round up the scoring for the Giants who would go on to take game 1 by a final of 8-3.
Game 2: Bumgarner outduels Fister - With the Tigers allowing more runs in game 1 of the World Series than they allowed in the entire ALCS against the Yankees (six), they'd turn to pitcher Doug Fister in game 2, hoping to calm the Giants bats and avoid heading to Detroit down 0-2. And with the Tigers going up against Madison Bumgarner who entered Thursday's game having struggled of late with an ERA north of 11.00, many expected Detroit to bounce back and even the series. Bumgarner, however, would have other plans, challenging Fister to a duel. Fister who entered the game with an ERA under 2.00 this postseason, would pitch as good as advertised, but would be outdone on this night.
Shutout only twice during the regular season, a league-low, Bumgarner would stifle the Tigers lineup by allowing only 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 8 over seven stellar frames, proving too much for Jim Leyland's ball club. Detroit's only chance to plate a run came in the second inning when Prince Fielder was hit by a pitch and tried scoring from first on a Delmon Young double to left field. Gregor Blanco fielded the ball and luckily overthrew the cutoff man Brandon Crawford, hitting Marco Scutaro who made the catch and rifled a strike to Buster Posey who tagged the sliding Fielder just in time before touching home. Fister would overcome a scary moment in the second inning when taking a line drive off the side of his head that Blanco reached to first on for a single. Fister would prove to be fine, retiring 12 of the next 13 batters he faced.
With the game still scoreless heading to the bottom of the seventh inning, the Giants would get their first chance at a big inning after Hunter Pence, Brandon Belt and Gregor Blanco all reached base with a single, a walk and a bunt. With Brandon Crawford stepping to the plate, Tigers reliever Drew Smyly limited the damage by getting the Giants shortstop to ground into a double-play as a run came in to score. The Giants would execute a bit of small ball to plate another run in the eight inning as Angel Pagan, Pablo Sandoval and Buster Posey all drew walks, setting up Hunter Pence who hit a sacrifice fly to right field to give his team a 2-0 lead heading to the ninth inning. A shutout eight inning from Giants reliever Santiago Casilla would setup the bearded Sergio Romo who slammed the door on any chance of a Tigers rally by hurling a 1-2-3 ninth inning, sealing the 2-0 victory and giving the Giants their fifth straight postseason win, a franchise-record in which they've only allowed a total of 4-runs.
Unfortunately for the Tigers who hope a trip to Detroit will help summon their offense, 41 of the 52 teams who've taken a 2-0 lead in the World Series have gone on to win it all. But to their credit, the Tigers are yet to lose at home this postseason, where they currently boast a 4-0 record. The Giants, however, are the perfect team to put an end to that streak as they've proven during this postseason that they're even better when playing on the road. The only difference being they'll have to emulate their play under American League rules, using a designated-hitter which Giants skipper Bruce Bochy will most likely hand the reigns to backup catcher Hector Sanchez. And similar to game 2, game 3 could very well be another low-scoring affair not only because of who will be on the mound for each team, but because the weather forecast is expected to be in the low 40's. While the Giants hope to ride the arm of Ryan Vogelsong who's been arguably their best pitcher this postseason, the Tigers will look to mid-season acquisition Anibal Sanchez who in the past has been tough on the Giants during his days with the Marlins. And though I expect Detroit to have much better luck at home than they did on the road, I'm sticking with my prediction of the Giants winning it all in six games.
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