The Detroit Tigers batted just .159 in the 2012 Fall Classic. That is the lowest mark since the Los Angeles Dodgers batted just .142 in the 1966 World Series. Each of those, not surprisingly, resulted in sweeps. However, two games were close in 1966 and three were tight as well in 2012. Detroit came out just a run or two short. The San Francisco Giants had the answers on the mound.
Detroit got eight hits in game one in San Francisco. But the problem was, the offence didn't get going until the top of the sixth. Further damaging was the fact that the Giants were ahead 6-0 at the time. Detroit collected three hits that inning, and finally scored. They were retired 1-2-3 in the next two frames. In the top of the ninth, down 8-1, they scored two more on Jhonny Peralta's two-run home run. But it was too little, too late.
Detroit had even more problems in game two. They were blanked 2-0 on a fine two-hitter over seven innings by Madison Bumgarner. Omar Infante got a single. Delmon Young hit a double. Neither scored a run. However, this game was tied through 6 1/2. San Francisco tallied once each in the seventh and eighth, so the outcome was still in doubt. Santiago Casilla and Sergio Romo retired the Tigers in order in the top of the eighth and ninth. The loss was tough on Detroit's starting pitcher Doug Fister, who went six strong, giving up just a single run.
In Detroit for game three, the Tigers came up on the wrong side of another 2-0 blanking. San Francisco's only two runs came in the top of the second. Detroit got five hits this time, but could not score as Ryan Vogelsong went 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball. The bullpen of Tim Lincecum and Romo did the job the rest of the way. They combined to fan four and walk just one batter while pitching hitless ball over the last 2 1/3 innings. Anibal Sanchez took the loss, despite pitching well. Now, San Francisco could taste the champagne, as they were up three games to none.
Detroit fought hard in game four. Trying to extend things, they scored twice in the bottom of the third to erase a 1-0 San Fran lead. Buster Posey's two-run home run in the top of the sixth seemed to spell the end for the Tigers. Down 3-2, Detroit rallied again. Delmon Young took Matt Cain out of the park for a game-tying solo home run. This thing was destined for extras.
Marco Scutaro's single in the top of the tenth put the Giants up 4-3. Romo was needed again, and for the third straight game, he retired the side for the save. It was very impressive as he got 'em 1-2-3 on strikeouts. Detroit had been held to just five hits.
Detroit finished the 2012 Fall Classic with just twenty hits in the four games. So their .159 batting average reflects their five hits per game average. Of those twenty, just five were for extra bases. The San Francisco Giants had Bumgarner, Barry Zito as star power starters. Romo and Lincecum were amazing in relief. They shut down the Tigers. Baseaball's old adage of, "Good pitching beats good hitting", here again!
References
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print.
“The Official Site Of Major League Baseball.” MLB.com, Major League Baseball. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. www.mlb.com/.
Snyder, John S. World Series!: Great Moments and Dubious Achievements. San Francisco: Chronicle, 1995. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org>.
Youtube. Youtube. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/>.
Detroit got eight hits in game one in San Francisco. But the problem was, the offence didn't get going until the top of the sixth. Further damaging was the fact that the Giants were ahead 6-0 at the time. Detroit collected three hits that inning, and finally scored. They were retired 1-2-3 in the next two frames. In the top of the ninth, down 8-1, they scored two more on Jhonny Peralta's two-run home run. But it was too little, too late.
Detroit had even more problems in game two. They were blanked 2-0 on a fine two-hitter over seven innings by Madison Bumgarner. Omar Infante got a single. Delmon Young hit a double. Neither scored a run. However, this game was tied through 6 1/2. San Francisco tallied once each in the seventh and eighth, so the outcome was still in doubt. Santiago Casilla and Sergio Romo retired the Tigers in order in the top of the eighth and ninth. The loss was tough on Detroit's starting pitcher Doug Fister, who went six strong, giving up just a single run.
In Detroit for game three, the Tigers came up on the wrong side of another 2-0 blanking. San Francisco's only two runs came in the top of the second. Detroit got five hits this time, but could not score as Ryan Vogelsong went 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball. The bullpen of Tim Lincecum and Romo did the job the rest of the way. They combined to fan four and walk just one batter while pitching hitless ball over the last 2 1/3 innings. Anibal Sanchez took the loss, despite pitching well. Now, San Francisco could taste the champagne, as they were up three games to none.
Detroit fought hard in game four. Trying to extend things, they scored twice in the bottom of the third to erase a 1-0 San Fran lead. Buster Posey's two-run home run in the top of the sixth seemed to spell the end for the Tigers. Down 3-2, Detroit rallied again. Delmon Young took Matt Cain out of the park for a game-tying solo home run. This thing was destined for extras.
Marco Scutaro's single in the top of the tenth put the Giants up 4-3. Romo was needed again, and for the third straight game, he retired the side for the save. It was very impressive as he got 'em 1-2-3 on strikeouts. Detroit had been held to just five hits.
Detroit finished the 2012 Fall Classic with just twenty hits in the four games. So their .159 batting average reflects their five hits per game average. Of those twenty, just five were for extra bases. The San Francisco Giants had Bumgarner, Barry Zito as star power starters. Romo and Lincecum were amazing in relief. They shut down the Tigers. Baseaball's old adage of, "Good pitching beats good hitting", here again!
References
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print.
Snyder, John S. World Series!: Great Moments and Dubious Achievements. San Francisco: Chronicle, 1995. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org>.
Youtube. Youtube. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/>.
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