Giants clinch NL West; A look back at the Giants season
San Francisco vs San Diego
With 2 strikes and 2 outs on Will Venable, Brian Wilson knew he couldn't give up a hit and the momentum. So he decided to pitch a high fastball.
And it worked like a charm.
Wilson got Venable swinging high to start a celebration at AT&T Park as the Giants beat the Padres 3-0 to win the NL West. Jonathan Sanchez got the win, and Mat Latos lost his fifth straight.
Both teams got runners on early, but no one could finish and score a run. Then with Jonathan Sanchez leading off the third, the Padres looked to have an easy out. Not exactly.
Sanchez knocked a fastball into Triples Alley to get the Giants started, and Freddy Sanchez knocked him in to put San Francisco up 1-0. Aubrey Huff then blasted a double into deep center, giving the Giants a 2-0 lead.
Sanchez pitched 5 3-hit innings, and then Santiago Casilla pitched 1.2 sharp innings. However, he came out with 2 outs and runners on first and second, and Ramon Ramirez was thrown into the game. He struck out Miguel Tejada to end the seventh.
Ramirez started the eighth, and got Adrian Gonzalez to pop up into foul territory. Then Sergio Romo was put into the game, and he retired Ryan Ludwick and got Yorvit Torrelba swinging at a curveball to put the Giants 3 outs away from the playoffs.
Buster Posey led off the 8th for the Giants, and he looked to come up big for the first time in the series. The rookie saw a pitch he liked, and he blasted it deep into left field. The ball carried about 3 feet over the wall, and it gave the Giants a 3-0 lead and the momentum. Cody Ross then singled, but the Giants couldn't knock him in.
In the ninth, Brian Wilson threw 2 strikes to Luis Durango, then 3 balls. Durango fouled off 4 pitches, and then he grounded out to Juan Uribe. Chase Headley grounded out, and the Giants were one out away.
Wilson threw 2 quick strikes to Will Venable, and Wilson decided he couldn't give up a sweet pitch, because Venable had the power to hit the ball 400 feet. So Wilson threw a high fastball to Venable, who swung early. The Giants, the 41,835 fans at AT&T Park, the fans outside of the park and fans everywhere celebrated.
The Giants sprayed each other with champagne, took interviews and ran a victory lap around the ballpark. San Francisco, who is celebrating a playoff appearance for the first time since 2003, will host Atlanta on Thursday.
A quick look back at the Giants season
Stats
Wins: Tim Lincecum, 16
ERA: Jonathan Sanchez, 3.07
Strikeouts: Tim Lincecum, 231
Saves: Brian Wilson, 48 (League Leader)
Home runs: Aubrey Huff, 26
RBI's: Aubrey Huff, 86
Batting Average: Buster Posey, .305
Runs: Aubrey Huff, 100
Top 5 Giants games
5 San Francisco 5, Atlanta 4, F/13
Tim Hudson went 18 up, 18 down against the Giants, but San Francisco came back to make the game 4-2. Edgar Renteria hit a 2 run homer in the ninth, and Aaron Rowand hit an RBI single to improve San Francisco to 4-0.
4 San Francisco 1, San Diego 0
A mistake by Miguel Tejada and a failure to turn a double play gave the Giants a 1-0 lead that they kept in a huge, division tying win.
3 San Francisco 8, Chicago 7
Pat Burrell hit a grand slam and Andres Torres knocked in the GW run with a single as the Giants took 3 of 4 from Chicago with a huge win.
2 San Francisco 3, San Diego 2 F/11
Buster Posey made a heads up play to turn a single into a double, and Juan Uribe knocked Posey in to give the Giants a key 3-2 win over the Padres to tie the series at 1.
1 San Francisco 3, San Diego 0
Jonathan Sanchez hit a triple, scored a run and pitched 5 shutout innings as the Giants beat the Padres 3-0 to clinch the NL West. Buster Posey homered in the eighth, and Brian Wilson picked up his 48th save to give the Giants a playoff berth.
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