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Pablo Sandaval is greeted in the Giants dugout after hitting one of his
three homeruns in game one of the World Series.
San Francisco Giants
Giants ride
Panda-monium in Game 1
SAN FRANCISCO -- Pablo Sandoval possesses Babe Ruth's build, Reggie
Jackson's flair and Albert Pujols' formidable presence at the plate.
Wednesday, Sandoval shared a characteristic with all three men: their
swing.
Sandoval joined Ruth, Jackson and Pujols in baseball lore by clobbering
three home runs, matching a postseason record while launching the
Giants to an 8-3 triumph over the Detroit Tigers in Game 1 of the World
Series.
"Man, I still can't believe it," Sandoval said.
Sandoval struck his first two homers off Detroit ace Justin Verlander,
who yielded five runs and six hits in four shockingly ordinary innings.
Sandoval added his third against reliever Al Alburquerque to join the
pantheon of sluggers to homer thrice in a Series game: Ruth, who
performed the feat in 1926 and '28; Jackson, who homered on each of
three swings against the Dodgers in 1977; and Pujols, who made history
with St. Louis at Texas in last year's Game 3.
Sandoval's 4-for-4, four-RBI outburst also supported Barry Zito, who
approached the magnificence of his Game 5 performance at St. Louis in
the National League Championship Series. Zito followed up his 7 2/3
shutout innings against the Cardinals by limiting the Tigers to one run
and six hits in 5 2/3 innings. The outcome extended the Giants' winning
streak in Zito's starts to 14, dating back to the regular season.
More importantly, the Giants finally won a postseason series opener,
placing them on course to avoid the deficits that forced them to win
six consecutive elimination games -- an impressive but risky task.
"We said, 'Please, let's not start like the last two series,'" left
fielder Gregor Blanco said.
The previous Game 1 winners proceeded to capture the Series 66 times,
or 61.7 percent. Since 1993, all 11 home teams to triumph in Game 1
ultimately became Series champions.
"This is a great way to start," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "But
that's what it is, a start."
The Giants delivered a medley of excellence for the partisan crowd at
jam-packed AT&T Park. Blanco made virtually identical catches on
Miguel Cabrera in the third inning and Prince Fielder in the sixth
inning to deny base hits. Catcher Buster Posey displayed dexterity and
presence of mind to turn Delmon Young's fourth-inning chopper in front
of the plate into a double play. Tim Lincecum relieved Zito in the
sixth inning and turned in another stellar performance, striking out
five in 2 1/3 perfect innings.
But the spotlight in the first Fall Classic between these storied
franchises shone brightest on Sandoval, who appeared only once in San
Francisco's five-game Series triumph over Texas two years ago. Then, an
overweight Sandoval struggled to play third base effectively and adjust
at the plate. Nowadays, Sandoval's still portly, but he carries his
weight better. And as this Fall Classic opened, he carried the Giants
on a mostly windless evening -- which might have helped propel his
drives.
Read the rest of the article at San Francisco Giants
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