Kuzul

I would have never believed that as a Philadelphia Phillies fan a sweep in the NLDS would feel about the same as a win in mid-June.

There’s certainly excitement over the series win, but this is an expected step back to the World Series at this point. The Cincinnati Reds are a good team, but there was never any real anxiety that the series would turn out any other way.

The Phillies top three starting pitchers couldn’t allow it. Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels were absolutely lights out, and even though Roy Oswalt looked very uncomfortable at times during his Game 2 start, he pitched well enough for the Phils to roll and get an early start preparing for whomever they might face in the NLCS.

At this point, it looks like a rematch of NL East foes isn’t going to happen and the Phils will face off against a team that has the same type of feel in the San Francisco Giants.

Both teams rely on great pitching and have been able to count on their offenses to do just enough this season to allow them to win games.

But for as great as the Giants pitchers can be, they just don’t match up with the Phillies’ staff.

Even if we call Halladay vs. Tim Lincecum a wash, I don’t think many people would argue that Matt Cain is better than Oswalt or that Barry Zito or Jonathan Sanchez are better than Hamels at this point.

Hamels has been a bit erratic throughout his career, but he’s been spectacular this season and is coming off a complete game shut-out to send the Phils into the next stage of the playoffs.

And if the Atlanta Braves happen to steal the series from the Giants, we’ve seen what the Phils can do to Bobby Cox and his squad. The Phillies’ offense has to be a cause for concern at this point, and Charlie Manuel must make sure they aren’t becoming complacent, but they can stand with either the Braves or the Giants.

Anything other than a World Series appearance will be a disappointment. In fact, just appearing in the World Series for a third consecutive season likely won’t be enough for the fans of Philadelphia. The talk is of a Phillies dynasty, and it’s what everyone wants to see.

If Oswalt can pick up his play another notch, there isn’t anything other than themselves standing in the way of that dream becoming reality.

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The Giants have been torturing the San Francisco faithful all year and this game was no different. This game had two blown saves, two lead changes, and a crucial error all within one inning.

Bottom line is, they won 3-2 and have a 2-1 series lead going into Monday’s Game 4.

Pablo didn’t play. Jonathan Sanchez’s stellar performance. How does Brooks Conrad fit in?

Starting pitching, bullpen, offense, and managerial decisions. All to be analyzed.

Let’s see how the Giants fared after Game 3 of their series with the Atlanta Braves.

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The Phillies entered into Game 3 of the NLDS with one thing in mind: Win and go home.

And they did just that.

Behind a dominant Cole Hamels and a constructed hitting squad that showed the value of both the long ball and the short ball, the Phillies dominated nearly every aspect of this game.

Let’s take a look at how the Phillies fared against not only the best defensive teams in the NL this season, but also against one of the best teams, in one of the most hitter friendly parks in the majors.

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I know the New York Yankees—Minnesota Twins series was a dud, but other than that series, this postseason so far has been fantastic. And the San Francisco Giants—Atlanta Braves series has been really fantastic.

In Game 1, we saw an all-time pitching performance from Tim Lincecum. In Game 2, we saw the Braves comeback on the Giants’ bullpen after the Giants took a 4-0 lead. And in Game 3, we saw a range of emotions in the final two innings like we haven’t seen in a very long time.

With the Giants holding a 1-0 lead going into the bottom of the eighth, Alex Gonzalez led off the inning with a single up the middle off of Jonathan Sanchez. Sanchez was pretty much unhittable up to that point (more on him later), and this single was a big break through.

After Brooks Conrad (more on him later too) failed to move the runner over, Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy decided that he would rather have Sergio Romo face Eric Hinske rather than Sanchez face Troy Glaus, who was announced as the pinch-hitter.

Sanchez was up to 105 pitches at that point, and I am not sure why Bochy didn’t stick with him. Sanchez threw more than 105 pitches 12 times during the season, so this wasn’t going to be foreign territory for him.

At that point all the Braves were able to muster were two measly singles. They showed no signs of figuring out Sanchez, and Glaus hasn’t been productive in three months.

Bochy went with Romo and boy did he pay for it. On a 2-2 pitch, Hinske roped a low tracer down the right field line that just barely went over the fence and just barely stayed fair. The pitch from Romo was supposed to be a Frisbee-like slider that was supposed to break down and in to the lefty, but it flattened out and hung right in the middle of the plate for Hinske.

Hinske flew around the bases with his hands raised and Turner Field was rocking. It was a pretty awesome sight, and just like that, the Braves had a 2-1 lead.

Without Billy Wagner, Bobby Cox went with Craig Kimbrel to close out the game. Kimbrel got Cody Ross to pop out to second and then the key AB of the game took place.

Travis Ishikawa hit for Romo and after falling behind 1-2 on the count, he worked a walk. That AB was the key to the inning and to the game. There is no way Kimbrel can walk Ishikawa in that spot.

Andres Torres struck out on a slider that seemed to go around the plate. Freddy Sanchez then singled up the middle (I’ll talk about this AB in a few) and then after Cox pulled Kimbrel, Aubrey Huff singled off of Mike Dunn to score Ishikawa.

Cox went to his third reliever of the inning and brought in Peter Moylan to face Buster Posey. Posey hit a routine grounder to second that went through Conrad’s legs to give the Giants a 3-2 lead. It was Conrad’s third error of the game and according to ESPN, it was the first time a non-throwing fielding error led to the go-ahead run in the ninth or later in a postseason game since the Bill Buckner game in 1986.

That is pretty amazing.

Brian Wilson came in and shut the door in the ninth and the Giants now have a 2-1 series lead. This was a relatively mundane game until the bottom of the eighth came knocking.

Here are some other observations from this game…

I don’t care if the Braves have to bring back Mark Lemke, there is no way they can keep running Conrad out there. He is terrible. Put Diory Hernandez out there.

Sanchez was the story until the wild eighth and ninth inning happened. He struck out 11 over 7.1 innings of work, and his slider was shades of Steve Carlton. Out of his 11 K’s, 10 of them were on the slider.

Tim Hudson was also very good in this game. After his marathon first inning, I didn’t think there was a chance he would make it past the fifth. He ended up going seven.

Can someone explain to me why Torres tried to steal third in that first inning? I didn’t understand it at the time because Torres on third wasn’t going to make a difference in the inning. He would have scored on a single regardless. Terrible play.

Can someone also explain to me why Cox pinch ran for Brian McCann with David Ross in the ninth? A catcher pinch running for a catcher? Why take your best hitter out of the lineup to gain a fraction if that of a speed advantage.

The pitch sequence to Sanchez in the ninth was horrific. The guy couldn’t catch up to Kimbrel’s fastball to save his life and McCann calls for a slider? That’s inexcusable.

The pitch Jason Heyward struck out on in the bottom of the ninth was about five inches outside. Terrible call in that spot.

Game 4 will be played Monday night at 8:37 PM est. The Braves will go with Derek Lowe on three days’ rest, while the Giants will counter with Madison Bumgarner.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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As the Yankees faded down the stretch this season, many fans scrambling for any semblance of hope pointed back to 2000.

That was the year New York lost 18 of 21 games to close out September, their 87 wins still enough to win the division thanks to a little late period “Curse of the Bambino” action.

Those Yankees seemed bored by it all, a bunch of Roger Dorn types, thinking more about their retirement portfolios than continuing a dynasty. They’d won back-to-back titles and three out of four overall—you couldn’t blame them for losing focus. What else did they have to prove?

It turned out they weren’t done yet. They outlasted the A’s in a five game ALDS, then worked past the Indians and Mets for their third straight World Series victory. It was awesome.

A residual effect of that season was that it gave Yankee fans a template to work off in the future. No matter how bad a team looks in September, the switch can always be flipped.

How else to explain the events of this week? The Yankees looked tired and old during a 9-17 September with a playoff date set against the rolling Minnesota Twins. Yet four days later, New York is back in the ALCS and Twins fans are still staring at their television screens like people who hit the play button in The Ring.

How did this happen? How did a series the Yankees seemed destined to lose become a total walk in the park?

My first inclination is to point to Ron Gardenhire, who buried his uniform after losing one game. Nothing says panic like your 52-year-old manager burying his clothes in the middle of a field somewhere in Minnesota.

Another reason is the Yankees’ pitching staff, which entered the postseason as the biggest question mark surrounding the team. And while CC Sabathia needed serious help from Mark Teixeira to claim a Game 1 win, Andy Pettitte and Phil Hughes were outstanding. Mariano Rivera, meanwhile, proved that the G.O.A.T. needn’t be doubted until he says so.

A huge factor was the return to a sense of urgency completely absent as the Yankees stumbled from division leader to wild card entry. The seventh inning in Game 1 was the turning point of the season—the Twins going from 3-0 up to 4-3 down—and suddenly filled with nagging doubts that they’d never beat the Yankees.

Make no mistake, the Twins beat the Twins as much as the Yankees beat the Twins. Minnesota barely showed up in the Bronx last night. They were mentally shot. There were depth issues here, too. Brian Duensing pitching at Yankee Stadium with your season on the line?

Please. See you next year.

Stray thoughts:

• I organized a search party and canvassed every bar in the tri-state area last night looking for Joba Chamberlain. No luck.

• I know the Yankees are going to have some time off after wrapping up their series so quickly, but no need to bring in Mariano Rivera last night. The G.O.A.T. had two high-stress saves in the first two games of the series. Remember Joe, the road to 28 will need a driver whose 40.

• The Stadium was rocking last night. Here’s the equation: Playoff opener + Saturday night + Perfect weather + copious amounts of beer = Good times.

Dan Hanzus writes the Yankees blog River & Sunset and can be reached at dhanzus@gmail.com. Follow Dan on Twitter @danhanzus.

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Going into Saturday night’s Game Three, the Yankees had to be feeling very confident of their chances to sweep the Twins.

They were up 2-0 on the Twins and they had history on their side since Minnesota had not won a playoff game against the Yankees since 2004.

Now back in the Bronx at the new Yankee Stadium, the Yankees were sending up Phil Hughes to pitch Game Three. This would be the first time Hughes was making a start in the postseason for the Yankees, although he has pitched in relief for them in the past. Going up for Minnesota was left-hander Brian Duensing, looking to keep the Twins’ playoff hopes and season alive.

All it took was the second inning to realize Minnesota’s season and their chances of staying alive were all but done, because the Yankees had total control of this game from start to finish.

In the bottom of the second, Robinson Cano led off the inning by hitting the ball over Denard Span’s head in center and got a lead-off triple.

One batter later, Jorge Posada drove in Cano for an RBI single and the Yankees were quickly on the board 1-0.

In the bottom of the third, Nick Swisher crushed a two-out double to right center and Mark Teixeira drove him in with an RBI single to make it 2-0.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, after Cano got an infield single, Marcus Thames crushed a Duensing fastball to right field for a two-run home run and the Yankees were now ahead 4-0.

As the Yankees were scoring runs, the Twins were being left off the scoreboard by Hughes as he was just mauling the hitters at the plate.

After Matt Guerrier relieved Duensing, the Yankees continued to add onto their lead.

Curtis Granderson walked, then stole second with Brett Gardner batting and then was able to get to third on Joe Mauer’s error and Gardner drove him in with a sac fly to left and it was now 5-0.

Hughes finished his final inning of work in the seventh as he polished off Delmon Young, Jim Thome and Michael Cuddyer.

Hughes pitched seven great innings, allowed four hits, no runs, walked one and struck out six. In his first playoff performance, he pitched a gem, which is exactly what the Yankees needed.

In the bottom of the seventh, Nick Swisher hit a solo home run to right field to add onto the Yankee lead as it was 6-0 now.

After Hughes, Kerry Wood came in and did struggle in the eighth inning. Danny Valencia led off with a double and Denard Span hit a single, setting up first and third with only one out.

Orlando Hudson singled up the middle to make the game 6-1. After Joe Mauer walked to load the bases, Yankees manager Joe Girardi pulled Wood and put in Boone Logan.

Logan was able to get Kubel to pop out in the infield for the second out and Young flied out to center for the third out and the Yankees were able to shut down any attempt for a Twins rally.

In the top of the ninth, despite it not being a save situation, Mariano Rivera came into the ninth looking to close out the ALDS and end the Twins’ season.

Rivera got Thome to strike out for the first out, Cuddyer to fly out to right for the second out and Valencia to fly out for the final third out and just like that, the Twins season was over.

The Yankees win Game 3 6-1 and sweep the Twins 3-0 right out of the ALDS.

Hughes picked up the win for the Yankees, while Duensing took the loss.

In the series, the Yankees hit better than the Twins, pitched better than the Twins and overall, were just a better team than Minnesota. The Twins looked lost, couldn’t get big hits when needed and were over-matched.

Most of the Yankees lineup had a pretty good series. Granderson may have stood out the most as he hit .455 against the Twins.

The Yankees now advance to the American League Championship Series and will await the winner of the Rays-Rangers series, where currently, the Rangers have a 2-1 lead going into Sunday.

So far, so good for the Yankees.

Three down, eight to go until No. 28 for Yankees Universe.

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Now, that’s more like it.

This is the Rays that folks are used to seeing. They won with great pitching and timely hitting this entire season.  After failing to do that for the first two games of the playoffs, they found their formula in staving off elimination Saturday afternoon.

The Rays received a great starting pitching performance by Matt Garza, and they got the hits to tie the game late and then take the lead. Joaquin Benoit and Rafael Soriano did the rest by closing it out.

It was good times. It was something the Rays needed. Maybe that gets the team going. If there is one thing about the Rays, they can get hot in a hurry.

Once the Rays figure it out, there is no stopping them. The Rays’ stars played well, and now, they can finally relax and just play. Maybe those guys know they can keep hitting well.

The thought here was the Rays were going to win this game. It was hard to believe they were going to get swept. They won 96 games for a reason, and they did it by winning the American League East, which is not an easy task once you take a look at the Blue Jays, Yankees and the Red Sox. It takes a great team to win that division.

It does not guarantee they are going to win the series, but the Rangers knew the Rays were not going to give up like the Twins have in their elimination game with the Yankees. This team is resilient enough not to go down easily.

It looked like it was going to be a good day for the Rays from the beginning. Even though the Rays scored only one run of Colby Lewis, the hitters were taking good at-bats. They were getting on base. It was a matter of time until they broke out.

In the meantime, they needed a starter who could keep up with Lewis. They got it from Garza of all people. No one knew if Garza had it in him to pitch like a shutdown ace, but he proved them wrong.

It’s understandable if people had questions. Garza pitched terribly in September. He gave up hits like free candy. His ERA was high, and he had command issues.

With the way the Rangers hit the ball in the ALDS, who knew if Garza would be up to the task?

He did better than cynics expect. He allowed one runs and five hits. Most importantly, he had a strong grip of the ball. He hit the strike zone well.

His only mistake came when he threw his pitch up to Ian Kinsler in the seventh inning. That mistake turned out to be a home run, and it gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead.

Despite that, he put the Rays in a position to be in the game by going deep in the game. The Rays rewarded his performance by scoring two runs in the eighth inning, and it was good enough for them to take a 3-2 lead.

The timely hitting came through for the Rays. They figured it out after being shutdown by Cliff Lee and C.J. Wilson. They got to Darren Oliver and Pedro Feliz.

Dan Johnson got it going with a double. That hit might have been as big as his hit against the Red Sox in August and the Yankees in September. This hit was huge since it was the tying run. It got the Rays going on offense.

Then, Carlos Pena’s single scored Desmond Jennings, who ran for Johnson. Tie game.  Then John Jaso’s hit brought Pena home to give the team the lead.

Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena hit home runs to give the Rays breathing room in the ninth inning.

It wasn’t just the Rays’ timely hits that stood out. It was the guys who got it done.

For a team to win postseason games, stars need to play well. In this game, they did. Pena took good at-bats and he found holes to hit. That’s where the Rays wanted to see.

Crawford’s home run was encouraging. Maybe he can get hot today and then in Game 5. One thing about hitters is that if they are going well, they go well. That’s one reason why the Rays should not be counted out just yet.

There are going to be people that said the Rangers should have won the series today. They will feel the Rangers gave the Rays a chance to win the series now.

Those people are not wrong. The Rays have hope. That’s what this win does.

Once the team gets going, there’s no stopping them. Waking them up is not a great idea.

The A’s of 2001 learned it the hard way. After they dominated the Yankees in the first two games, the Yankees eked out a victory in Game 3 on a brilliant performance by Mike Mussina. From there, the Yankees won the next two games to win the series.

The Rays are talented enough to do the same thing. This win gives them a chance to go out and win it.

All it takes is one win to change the momentum.

For a team like the Rays coming back from a 2-0 deficit is not impossible. They have the mentality where they know they can come back.

Winning a game was good enough to survive. Now, the goal is to find a way to get the game to the Tropicana Field this afternoon. If the Rays can do that, they get into Game 5, and anything can happen.

The Rays have their ace in that game, but most importantly, they have their crowd behind them in a night game. Of course, they have to face Cliff Lee, but the Rays are banking David Price will be better than he showed in Game 1.

The possibilities are endless now with this win. Who knows how it will turn out?

One thing for sure. The Rays are happy to still play. It beats going to the airplane and get ready to pack their belongings.

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Conventional wisdom heading into last night’s game seemed to suggest that Roy Halladay’s historic Game 1 masterpiece might have provided a devastating psychological edge in the Phillies-Reds NLDS series. 

The thinking was that the Reds might be demoralized to the point of believing they had no chance in the series, especially as they were staring at the back two-thirds of “The Big Three.” And, conversely, the Phillies would be brimming with the necessary confidence and energy to overwhelm their rivals.

Brandon Phillips put a quick end to that notion, clubbing a 2-1 offering from Roy Oswalt into the left field bleachers to open the game.  One swing of the bat, and the mood seemed to change, both in the Reds dugout and throughout the stadium. 

Suddenly, “The Bank” was quiet and so were the Phillies. 

It was as if Halladay’s no-hitter had counted for more than a single win. Both the players and the crowd seemed flat. 

Cincinnati proceeded to build its lead over the first five innings. A pair of Chase Utley throwing errors provided one run, Phillips’ double was the catalyst for another, and Jay Bruce’s thunderbolt into the second deck made it 4-0.

In contrast to Halladay, Oswalt struggled from start to finish, and never really settled in. His command was off, and he was largely unable to locate his curve anywhere near the strike zone, bouncing many in the dirt. 

Consequently, Reds hitters could narrow their focus to jump on anything straight. To Oswalt’s credit, he battled and kept the game close.  

The Reds appeared to be playing loose, while the Phillies looked tight.    

Oddly, everything then seemed to reverse itself at the contest’s mid-point. The game served as a great testimonial to the clichés about playing all nine innings and never giving up. 

The early-game heroes suddenly became the goats. And one of the Phillies players who appeared headed to a post-game of answering difficult questions transformed into the catalyst for victory. 

With some generosity by their opponents, the Phillies began scratching their way back into the contest in the bottom half of the fifth. 

Gold Glove second-sacker Phillips, who was a triple away from the cycle after his first three plate appearances, booted a ball to prolong the inning. Then seven-time Gold Glove winner and Philly fan favorite Scott Rolen booted another ground ball to load the bases. 

Up stepped Utley, whose game resume included a fly out and strikeout to go along with his two errors. 

The Phillies second baseman began his atonement by ripping a liner to right to cut the lead to 4-2. 

In the sixth, a pair of walks wrapped around two hit batters narrowed the lead to 4-3. It was a painful and scary run, as Arthur Rhodes drilled Carlos Ruiz in the knee cap and 6′ 8″ rookie Logan Ondrusek beaned Ben Francisco in the head. 

The turnabout was completed in a wild home half of the seventh inning. And, keeping with the plot, it was Utley who set it all in motion. 

Facing rookie flamethrower Aroldis Chapman, replete with a gaudy diamond necklace signifying his large free agent contract, Utley took a 100-mph fastball and an 88-mph slider for strikes. 

Apparently in keeping with the Reds game plan to move hitters off the plate, and perhaps intimidate them, Chapman’s 101-mph fastball at Utley’s head backfired when it was ruled to have grazed his hand. Baseball’s consummate gamer had found a way on base. 

After Howard was blown away by three triple-digit heaters, Jayson Werth hit a chopper to third, and Utley hustled to beat the attempt to force him at second. 

Next, Jimmy Rollins lined a ball to right that Bruce apparently lost in the lights for a two-base error. Utley frantically raced home, and Werth followed when Phillips dropped the relay throw for another error. 

The Phillies plated another run with the aid of a Raul Ibanez hit to exit the seventh with a 6-4 advantage. They extended it to 7-4 in the eighth when Utley singled, stole second, and scored on Werth’s base hit. 

Meanwhile, the Phillies bullpen maintained focus on firing balls in the strike zone and shutting down the Reds high-powered offense. Jose Contreras, Ryan Madson, and then Brad Lidge all worked scoreless frames to nail down the win. 

Baseball fans had just witnessed an amazing plot twist like few they had seen before. The Phillies had just proved that turnabout is fair play when it comes to baseball’s postseason. 

Early appearances were deceiving, as perhaps the expected Phillies confidence and experience ultimately prevailed—while a surprisingly loose Reds team seemingly became a bundle of nerves, befitting a club making its first postseason appearance in 15 seasons. 

Chase Utley went full circle, from goat to hero, to provide real-time vindication. Roy Oswalt will have to wait for his next start.

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Rick Ankiel was never supposed to be an outfielder.

Troy Glaus was not supposed to be a third baseman.

Brian Wilson was not supposed to be human.

The National League Division Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Atlanta Braves is not supposed to be tied—but it is.

The Giants were only five outs away from taking a 2-0 lead in the NLDS, and taking one more step towards sweeping the Braves, but the team with the second-most comeback victories in all of baseball was not going to go down without a fight.

The Giants led 4-1 all the way into the eighth inning before shortstop Alex Gonzalez tied the game up in the Braves’ three-run eight inning with a two-run double off the NL saves leader, Brian Wilson. Twenty-two-year-old Craig Kimbrel shut down the Giants lineup for two innings to carry the game into the 11th inning.

The rest could very well be history.

With one out in the top of the 11th, Rick Ankiel, the former St. Louis Cardinals pitching phenom, hit the go-ahead home run on a 2-2 fastball from Ramon Ramirez out of AT&T park and into McCovey Cove—only the fourth postseason go-ahead home run in extra innings in Braves franchise history.

Ankiel’s former Kansas City teammate, Kyle Farnsworth, pitched a scoreless 11th to give Atlanta the victory and swing the momentum their way as the Giants come to Turner Field and try to get back on track.

Isn’t baseball a funny game?

As far as pitching matchups go for the rest of the series, the Braves may have the edge over the incredible Giants pitching staff.

In Game 3 on Sunday, Braves ace Tim Hudson will duel it out with the resurgent Jonathan Sanchez, but now that Game 4 is set in stone, managers Bobby Cox and Bruce Bochy have an important decision to make—who will start?

Cox is likely to bring back Derek Lowe on short rest. Lowe threw only 96 pitches in Game 1 and is 4-1 with a 4.30 ERA in seven starts on short rest. 

Bochy has a more difficult decision to make. He has not ruled out bringing back Tim Lincecum on short rest, though Lincecum never has been used on three days’ rest and threw 119 pitches in his spectacular Game 1 start. His other choice is rookie Madison Bumgarner (7-6, 3.00 ERA), who would be getting the ball on nine days’ rest.

Suddenly the pitching matchups and home-field advantage have turned for Atlanta—Hudson against Sanchez in Game 3, and possibly Bumgarner against Lowe in Game 4.

The Braves are the best team in baseball on their own diamond, so there is nothing they would love more than to end this series on Monday night—in their house.

News and Notes:

• Braves closer Billy Wagner left Game 2 with an oblique injury and he will not return for the rest of the series or, if the Braves reach the NLCS. Takashi Saito will replace Wagner on the roster.

• The likeliest candidate to take over closing duties is rookie Craig Kimbrel. Kimbrel threw 33 pitches in two innings of relief on Friday night—and the Giants only put two of those pitches into play. Since being called up in May, Kimbrel has pitched 23 1/3 innings and struck out 45 men.

• Jason Heyward has yet to record a hit in his first postseason. The Giants’ Buster Posey is 3-for-8 with two runs scored.

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It seemed all but over. The Giants were leading 4-1 with two innings to go.

San Francisco has one of the best bullpens in baseball, but there came the Atlanta Braves, and in the blink of an eye, the game was tied.

It marked the second time that night a team came back from a 4-0 deficit to win the game, as the Braves eventually won 5-4 in 11 innings thanks to a home run by Rick Ankiel.

Now the series moves back to Georgia tied at one.

The Braves are one of the best teams at home in baseball, and the Giants will need at least one win there in order to bring the DivisionSseries right back to San Fran for a Game 5 showdown.

Here are the grades for the San Francisco Giants. 

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