S.F. Giants finish sweep of Tigers, win second World Series in three years

The San Francisco Giants finished their sweep of the Detroit Tigers over the weekend, winning games Saturday and Sunday night in Detroit to earn their seventh World Series title in team history and second of the last three years.

The Giants took the lead for good in the tenth inning Sunday night after Marco Scutaro singled home Ryan Theriot to make the score 4-3. Closer Sergio Romo set the Tigers down 1-2-3 to get the save, freezing Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera for a looking strikeout to end the World Series.

San Francisco was far from dominant in the World Series but it got the breaks when it needed them. There was the Angel Pagan would-be groundout that hit third base and became a double in game one. Then there was a Gregor Blanco bunt staying just fair in Game two — sometimes it is better to be lucky than good.

That is no consolation to the Tigers tonight, however.

After Detroit went scoreless in games two and three, the Tigers finally found some offense Sunday night. Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera hit a wind-aided, two-run home run in the third inning, giving Detroit a 2-1 lead and its first runs since the ninth inning of game one.

Detroit’s offense even found a way to answer San Francisco catcher Buster Posey’s two-run home run in the sixth inning with one of its own. Delmon Young hit a solo home run in the bottom half of the sixth to tie the game at 3-3, where it would stay until Scutaro’s single in the tenth.

Both starters in game four pitched well, leaving the game tied for the bullpens. Giants starter Matt Cain made it through seven innings, only allowing five hits and two walks. Cain struggled to keep the ball in the park, however, giving up three runs on two home runs.

Tigers starter Max Scherzer only pitched 6.1 innings, but he struck out eight batters while only walking one. Scherzer also allowed three runs, on seven hits and the Buster Posey home run.

For Detroit, this World Series was one of disappointment. The Tigers were in almost every game but fell short in all four contests.

Going back to game three on Saturday night, it was not Anibal Sanchez’s fault that the Tigers lost. Outside of one rough patch in the second inning, the Detroit starting pitcher shut down the Giants, only allowing six hits, one walk, and two runs while striking out eight over seven innings.

Any time a team gets seven innings of two-run ball from its starter, it expects to win. Detroit fell short, though, thanks to its offense.

The Tigers only managed five hits in game three, failing to score for the second consecutive night. Giants starter Ryan Vogelsong was decent in 5.2 innings, but he was not that overpowering. Detroit had its opportunities all night but failed to actually do anything with them.

San Francisco, to its credit, got the lead early and never let it go. Left fielder Gregor Blanco hit an RBI triple, followed by an RBI single from shortstop Brandon Crawford to start and finish all the scoring for the night.

The Giants got contributions from their entire roster, from the great starting pitching of Barry Zito, Madison Bumgarner, Vogelsong, and Cain to the power hitting of World Series MVP Pablo Sandoval and Posey to the timely hitting of Pagan, Blanco, and Scutaro.

San Francisco came through when it mattered most and now they are the World Series champions.

Contact Jim Piascik at [email protected].