The San Francisco Giants found themselves in a new situation Saturday night as far as this postseason is concerned — favorites.
The Giants faced elimination games against the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals en route to their World Series match up with the Detroit Tigers , but San Francisco has been dominant so far. The Giants beat the Tigers 2-0 Saturday night in Detroit to take a 3-0 lead in the World Series.
San Francisco got a shutout pitching performance from starter Ryan Vogelsong and spotless relief appearances by Tim Lincecum and Sergio Romo. Vogelsong gave up five hits by no runs in 5.2 innings while Lincecumm and Romo didn’t allow a single hit the rest of the way.
The offense didn’t need much thanks to the Giants’ bullpen, but it got enough. Pablo Sandoval, Hunter Pence, and Brandon Crawford each recorded two hits for San Francisco. Both runs scored in the second inning. Pence scored on a triple from Gregor Blanco, and Blanco wasn’t far behind. He scored on a single by Crawford.
The Tigers bullpen was effective, but, with no run support, Detroit now faces an elimination game in game four. Anibal Sanchez started for the Tigers and pitched seven innings, giving up six hits and two runs. He struck out eight batters and only walked one.
The Giants will attempt to complete the sweep of the Tigers tonight in Detroit. Matt Cain will pitch for the Giants while Max Scherzer will take the mound for Detroit. The game is scheduled for an 8:07 pm (Eastern) start.
The Examiner reports that a game five, if needed, would take place Monday in Detroit at 8 pm. Game six would be back in San Francisco on Halloween, and the final game seven, should the Tigers rally to force one, will be Thursday, November 1, also in San Francisco.
