The NLDS Comeback Part 2: 1700 Words on Game 5

Games 3 and 4 were filled with wild, inexplicable moments. Game 5 put all that craziness to shame. It was a game that placed your cardiovascular health through an obstacle course that included 5 Ryan Ludwicks. There were nerve wracking times during the 2010 playoffs to be sure (Game 4 in Atlanta, Game 6 in Philadelphia). But I can’t remember a game that caused this much palm sweating and which multiplied the gray hair population in the U.S. by this much. By the end of the game I chewed off a finger. This all for an optional hobby that we participate in for leisure and pleasure. It's probably time to re-evaluate our life choices. 

There were so many gut wrenching plays during game 5. Just as in part 1, here’s a breakdown of every significant play that made your blood pressure look like Buster Posey’s batting average.

Game 5

Angel Pagan safe at first on error by Zach Cozart, Brandon Crawford scores. 2-0 Giants: Here’s an excerpt from John Sickels’ scouting report on Zach Cozart:

He was an All-American in college and well-regarded for his defensive skills, but scouts weren't sure he would hit. 

So he’s a rookie shortstop with good defense but questionable hitting. Sound familiar? Say who’s that that just scored? Oh Brandon Crawford! He probably is a little less sound with the glove but more talented with the bat than Crawford, but all in all he’s kind of their Crawford, but with 15 home runs. He’s a very solid fielder. And for the second straight day a sure handed Red made an oopsie on the field that directly influenced the outcome of the game. There’s no telling whether Cozart would have been able to throw out Crawford at home, but if I would have to guess.

Well a good throw would have gotten him. Cozart is just about to throw there. Perhaps Latos settles down after that and pitches differently to Posey with 2 outs. Instead he dropped the ball and caused Mat Latos to spontaneously combust. The takeaway here is that Mat Latos exploded.

Buster Posey hits a grand slam, 6-0 Giants: The comeback, the MVP, the presidential campaign, the whole thing. A new chapter was added to the legend of Gerald.

It was a 2-2 count with the bases loaded and one out with the score 2-0. You knew if the Giants pulled a 2011 Giants here and didn’t score, it would come back to gobble them up in the end. 2 runs wasn’t going to mean squat after Ryan Ludwick’s 3 home run outburst. And with a 2-2 count to Posey it was easy to start thinking like that. Since Posey hit a home run in game 1, he wasn’t exactly mashing. From game 2 to that point in game 5, Posey had gone 1 for 11. And with 2 strikes, a strikeout was a very realistic possibility. What we forgot is that Buster Posey does not care for reality. As it is, I am always reassured when a teammate touches him because that confirms his physical existence. Buster Posey is inexplicable and will do incredible things. Also Mat Latos threw a fastball right down the middle. (via McCovey Chronicles)

So just to summarize: Buster Posey hit a grand slam against Mat Latos in game 5 of the NLDS. I wish I could cuddle with that sentence and spoon with it until the end of time. It was a swing that caused Twitter to die. The Giants were going to win after that. According to Fangraphs the Giants win expectancy went from 76.8% to 96.7% after that swing. Pretty much it was an almost guaranteed win!

Ryan Ludwick homers, 6-3 Giants: Or not. Apparently Ryan Ludwick played in the series.

Ryan Hanigan strikes out looking, and Buster Posey throws out Jay Bruce trying to steal third for the double play: Buster Posey’s grand slam felt like the death blow to the Reds. A game that looked to be a pitchers duel suddenly turned into a 6-0 blowout. But of course, it was only the 5^th inning. The Reds had 15 more outs to play with. But Matt Cain was pitching, so really Matt Cain. 

And then Matt Cain ran into trouble. This was not expected. The Giants lead was cut in half, and there were runners at 1^st and 2^nd with nobody out. The tying run was at the plate, and one swing could negate everything the Giants had done. That was the reality after Buster Posey had just an inning prior appeared to have sent the Giants to the NLCS. All of the sudden the Reds had a chance for the buzz kill of the millennium.

It’s obvious why Dusty sent the runners. He wanted to avoid the double play. That's kind of funny in retrospect. Overall it wasn’t a good decision down by 3 runs. It’s especially bad considering Buster Posey arm is an illegal firearm. That and the fact that Hanigan didn’t swing which makes the whole operation a mess. Had Dusty not sent the runners, the tying run would still be at the plate and assuming no double play, would be up again even after that.

The Reds had 2 runners on and nobody out. It was a rally waiting to happen. The Reds were set up to go large and tie the game. The rally was right in front of them. And then Dusty Baker walked over and accidentally threw it in the Ohio River. Buster Posey then ran over it with a truck.

The Bottom of the Seventh Inning: The Reds brought the tying run to the plate. This would be a trend.

Jeremy Affeldt falls down the stairs after Gregor Blanco hit a line drive into the Giants dugout. Forced to leave game: BREAKING: Jeremy Affeldt injured eating dinosaur egg oatmeal. Updates to come. 

The bottom of the 8th: Brandon Crawford diving catch: Remember at the beginning of the year. Everyone and their mother thought Brandon Crawford was going to hit .150 this season. At least, not enough to justify his defense which was supposed to be tremendous. Then he led the league in errors for the first 2 months or so of the season and he became a probable .150 hitter with below average defense. Yippy!

Crawford wasn’t nearly as awful with the bat as anticipated. He’s still poor, but there’s enough promise of him becoming a competent hitter that it’s not a hopeless skill. And his defense was just as advertised if not more impressive. The man  ended the season with a better WAR than Hunter Pence, even though he had a .684 OPS. Yep.

It’s easy to take defense for granted and sweep it under the rug. Pitching and offense are the two most noticeable and well known parts of the game. Defense is always secondary to them. But when Brandon Crawford makes a play like that, to hold down a rally in a game where the winner goes to the NLCS. That makes you really happy he’s here. Again, the tying run was at the plate, and the go ahead run would have come up if Crawford doesn’t make the catch. Kudos to Brandon Crawford. Kudos to the Giants for believing in him.

The bottom of the eighth inning: Angel Pagan diving catch to end the inning: Sometimes Angel Pagan gets confused and thinks home plate is in the left field bleachers. Sometimes Angel Pagan gets caught zoning out in his happy place, which causes him to get a late break on a fly ball. This is what we’ve learned about Angel Pagan as a fielder this season. This flip side is this. (Also via McCovey Chronicles)

Angel Pagan is quick, and when he gets a good beat on the ball, he’s as good as any centerfielder in baseball. Thank all that is good he got a good beat on this fly ball. The most embarrassing part of this base hit would be Dioner Navarro and his Dioner Navarro hitting skills. Thank you Angel Pagan, for saving us from Dioner Navarro humility. Also thanks for keeping the season alive. I can't decide which one I'm more thankful for.

The Jay Bruce-Sergio Romo battle: This was the at bat. The previous 3 innings, were just a warm up. This was the plate appearance that flat lined the heart of every Giants fan in the World. It was during this at bat that I ate off the top of my computer screen, threw it up and then ate it again. Words do not do this at bat justice. Jay Bruce fought like a maniac. Sergio Romo threw slider after slider after slider. Jay Bruce fouled those off and then fouled off a slider. He threw in a few fastballs and change ups also. 12 pitches total, which after you account for moment factor was actually 89 pitches. By the end of the at bat I was in the kitchen yelling at my T.V. in the living room of my empty apartment.

Jay Bruce couldn’t just tie the game. He could win it with won swing. Jay Bruce, who has maybe the best raw power south of Giancarlo Stanton. One swing could destroy everything. The comeback, the Posey prophecy the whole thing. Jay Bruce could erase it all by sending a ball into the bleachers of the office cubicle known as the Great American Ballpark. Every pitch carried that much tension. Every pitch had the chance of resulting in a Giants victory (double play) or a Reds victory (3-run homer). That was the epitome of fandom. The pacing, sweating and utter nervousness by some random soul who has no direct affiliation with the result. But in the end we were crawling under the table like school kids during an earthquake drill. It was pure beautiful fandom.

On pitch 12, Jay Bruce flew out to Xavier Nady. You always knew Xavier Nady would be involved in the most heart stopping at bat of the year. It’s in the prophecy.

Sergio Romo strikes out Scott Rolen: It was still scary. Although it makes it a little easier to breathe knowing the fate of the Reds season rest on the shoulders of a 37 year old oft injured third baseman. Actually fate probably shouldn’t rest there because Scott Rolen could get hurt. But it was frightening. The winning run was still at the plate. The Giants were a 1 strike away from the NLCS. What does Sergio Romo throw?

A hanging slider. Weeeeeeeeeeeee.

Other than that though, it was a relaxing series. And it was just the division series. 

<3 baseball.