Score and situation: The San Francisco Giants secured their second World Series championship in three years and seventh in franchise history with to an extra inning 4-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday night. In the process, they became the first National League to sweep the World Series since the Cincinnati Reds in 1990.
Leading lads: After being acquired in a throwaway trade on July 27, Marco Scutaro caught fire in San Francisco and is now a World Series hero after singling home Ryan Theriot with the go ahead run in the tenth inning. We haven't seen regular season Buster Posey very often in the postseason, but when we have it comes at the most opportune time for San Francisco. His two-run homer in the sixth inning was a stinging blow for Detroit, much like his grand slam in Game 5 of the NLDS was a dagger for the Cincinnati Reds.
Not far behind them would be Jeremy Affeldt, who struck out Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder and Delmon Young consecutively in the eighth after walking the leadoff hitter. Also, Brandon Belt broke an 0 for 10 string to begin the World Series with a second inning RBI triple. To that point, he had become the first player ever to go hitless for many that at bats on a team that led the World Series three games to none.
Head hangers: There are very few candidates from this very entertaining, well played baseball game, but unfortunately somebody had to be on wrong side of the ledger. That somebody on the pitching side would be Phil Coke, who despite striking out four batters over two innings, made two small mistakes to Theriot and Scutaro and paid for it. Outfielder Quintin Berry added to him postseason misery with another 0 for 3.
Key play: Marco Scutaro's RBI single was the championship clincher for San Francisco. It would be impossible to argue against that one standing alone in this position, but Buster Posey's go-ahead blast truly felt like the backbreaker. Once he turned the score around again after Miguel Cabrera gave Detroit their first lead in the series, you knew the Tigers offensive mettle would be tested severely.
Interesting stat: Until Miguel Cabrera's home run gave Detroit a third inning lead, San Francisco had not trailed in a postseason game since the ninth inning of Game 4 in the NLCS. That covers a stretch of 234 consecutive Giants batters that hit with their team either tied or leading.
What they'll be talking about: Tons of praise will be heaped upon Brian Sabean for again putting together an absolutely perfect mix of baseball talent. It will all be deserved. You'll hear a little bit about the weather conditions and crazy wind that played tricks on several well hit baseballs. Also, it was another rough night in the music department for Major League Baseball and FOX. Demi Lovato set an inauspicious tone — literally and figuratively — with her rendition of the National Anthem. And let me just say you should be talking about the defense of Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford, who has played at a near Ozzie Smith type level this entire series.
What's next: The next big event on the baseball calendar will be the Winter Meetings in Nashville, TN, which are scheduled to run from Dec. 3-6. If you're waiting for competitive baseball, we'll have that March 2, 2013 when the first round of the World Baseball Classic kicks off in Fukuoka, Japan and Taichung, Taiwan
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