I apologize for this post coming out so late, but with a late New York Jets game last night and a busy day at work, I really didn’t have much time to write.
That being said, I thought Game 4 of the Atlanta Braves-San Francisco Giants NLDS was a pretty awesome game.
For that matter, I thought every game in this series was pretty amazing. Four games and each game decided by one run. I take that any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
That is some serious nail-biting time if you are a fan of either of these teams. I don’t have any rooting interest in either of these teams, and I was nervous in all four games.
Unfortunately for the Braves, they came up on the short end of the stick in three of those games. The Giants once again won 3-2 in Game 4 to send them to their first NLCS since 2002 and send Bobby Cox into retirement.
This game was like all the rest in this series: tightly contested, solid pitching by both teams and one or two plays that really decided things.
The Braves had a 1-0 lead going into the top of the sixth, and Derek Lowe was just dealing. I have followed Lowe for 14 years, and for the first five innings I have never seen him as good.
His slider was ridiculous, and he hadn’t allowed a hit in 5.1 innings. That is until Cody Ross came to the plate. Lowe threw a rare flat slider, and Ross sent it into the left field bleachers.
It’s amazing who become heroes in the postseason. One of the main reasons Ross is even on the Giants is because they wanted to keep him away from the San Diego Padres. If the Padres don’t show interest in Ross, then there is a very good chance he never becomes a Giant.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Braves came right back as Brian McCann ripped a HR to give the Braves a 2-1 lead. But just like in Game 3, the Braves couldn’t hold the lead.
The Giants scored two runs in the seventh thanks to a couple of walks, a couple infield singles by Buster Posey and Juan Uribe and another timely hit by Ross.
Of course, the biggest decisions of the game was the decision by Cox to leave Lowe in the game with two on and one out in the sixth. The classic second-guess says that Cox should have pulled Lowe and let Peter Moylan face Pat Burrell.
I believed at the time and still do even knowing the results that Cox was correct in sticking with Lowe. Lowe to that point still only had allowed two hits, the Giants weren’t hitting the ball hard against him and Burrell was 0-for-2 coming into that AB.
People want to compare that situation to the Grady Little and Pedro Martinez situation in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, which is complete nonsense. The two situations were completely different.
The New York Yankees started to knock Martinez around pretty good that inning, and it was clear he was spent. Lowe was still dealing, and the Braves needed a ground ball in that situation, and who better to throw a worm burner than DLowe?
The Giants went into the ninth with a 3-2 lead, and Brian Wilson closed the door. Albeit it wasn’t pretty, he got the job done.
Here are some other observations from Game 4…
Madison Bumgarner was clearly pumped for this game. He averaged 91 mph on his fastball throughout the season but averaged 93 last night.
His adrenaline should have cost him because he was leaving a lot of balls up in the zone early. If the Braves weren’t so inept on offense, it could have hurt him.
Note to Brian Wilson: YOU THROW 97 MPH—STOP NIBBLING!
The Giants seem like this hodgepodge of players, but when you watch them on a day in and day out basis, they really play well as a team.
Classy move by the Giants saluting Cox at the end of the game.
Wilson might have gotten the “save” last night, but the real save should have gone to Santiago Casilla. He struck out two and allowed just one baserunner in 1.2 innings of work. Despite looking like he drank five Red Bulls prior to coming out to the mound, he did a phenomenal job of holding the Braves in check.
The Giants’ starters finished with a 0.93 ERA in this series.
The Giants will now play the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS, and Game 1 will be Saturday night in Philadelphia. Roy Halladay vs. Tim Lincecum is must watch TV.
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