Panda Preys On Tigers

The 2012 World Series was the 108th in baseball history and the first time the Giants matched up with the Tigers in the Fall Classic. The Tigers were not the best team in the AL that year as they got into the playoffs with only 88 wins. They knocked out the 94 win A’s in 5 games in the ALDS, thanks to a Verlander complete game shutout in the clincher. In the other series, the Yankees were pushed to the brink by Baltimore but CC pitched a gem in that game 5 to send them into the ALCS.

Unlike the NLCS, the ALCS was over rather quickly due to an awesome Tigers’ pitching staff. It wasn’t just Verlander. They had Max Scherzer and Anibal Sanchez to back him up. The bullpen got the win in Game 1 in New York, followed by an Anibal Sanchez lead shutout the following night. Verlander held them to 3 hits over 8.1 IP in Game 3 and the offense was allover CC with 11 hits in 3.2 IP in the Game 4 clincher. A rare sweep of the Yankees to end their season.

The Tigers had a lot of momentum, but they also had a lot of time. When you’re hot you want to play everyday, not sit on your hands and lose your timing. The ALCS ended on October 18 and Game 1 of the World Series wasn’t until October 24, so they had 6 days to cool off. Meanwhile, the Giants were heating up as they won 3 elimination games in a row to close out the Cardinals, dancing in the rain after a Game 7 win at home. That series ended on October 22nd, only 2 days before the World Series. The red hot Giants would be back on the field in 48 hours.

48 hours later…

The Giants were back on the field. It was the World Series. Their second time in three years and just like in 2010, the opposing pitcher seemed to be coming down from a higher league to play this game. Justin Verlander was 17-8 with a 2.64 ERA in 2012. He lead the league in strike outs (239), ERA+ (161) and innings pitched (238.1). He beat the A’s twice and dominated the Yankees already in the postseason, showing up at AT&T with a 3-0 record, allowing only 10 hits, 2 runs, 5 walks, 25 K, and a .74 ERA! This dude was no joke. There was no way for Verlander to know it, but he was about to learn he has a fear of pandas.

Panda HR #1

If you created a poll before Game 1 and asked people who they thought was the most likely player to hit 3 home runs in this game, you’d probably hear Miguel Cabrera’s name the most. He lead the AL in average, home runs, RBI, slugging, extra base hits, multi-hit games, and total bases. In fact he won the triple crown this year and was easily the MVP. With 44 big flies, he was a threat for sure. Just not tonight. Tonight belonged to Pablo Sandoval (#ForeverGiant).

Panda’s first at bat came in the bottom of the first inning. Pagan lead off with a groundout to first base, then Scutaro grounded out to short. Verlander seemed to be dealing. Enter Panda. Sandoval is a great fastball hitter and a bad ball hitter. The fans knew this by now and so did the entire league. Verlander likes to work quickly and deals a fastball for strike one to Pablo. The second pitch is a low fastball he fouls away. 0-2 now. It was at this point in the at bat, that yours truly thought to himself, “You know, if Verlander tries to throw a high fastball by him right here, Panda’s gonna take him deep.” I regret not saying it out loud now, but, then you risk jinxing it. Panda adjusts his batting gloves and then slowly gets back in the box. Verlander standing tall on the mound, looking in for the sign: fastball. Catcher Alex Avila sets up low and away, but Verlander’s pitch is up and right down the middle. If there’s anything I’ve learned growing up it’s that the panda’s main diet consists of bamboo and high fastballs. If statcast existed at the time, it would probably tell us that the ball left Sandoval’s bat at about 108 mph. He smoked this ball on a line and it got out in the first row of the centerfield bleachers in about 3 seconds. A true laser beam. It was 1-0 Giants.

Panda HR #2

Two innings later it was still 1-0 Giants and Verlander was at 32 pitches so he was almost warmed up. Crawford lead off with a line out to center field, then Zito struck out swinging. Not a great start to the inning. Back to the top of the order for Pagan who saw 6 pitches in his first at bat, and would see 8 more this time. On the final pitch, Pagan chops a fastball down the third base line. Cabrera, moving to his right just behind third base sets up to play it, but the ball hits the bag and ricochets into shallow left field! Talk about catching a break! Pagan easily glides into second base with a double and salutes the dugout. All right, a little 2 out rally maybe?

Here’s Scutaro with a chance to add on. The Giants were making Verlander work. Like, work really hard. As previously stated, he came into the 3rd inning at 32 pitches, now he was at 50. Scutaro refused to go down quickly as he squeezed 8 more pitches out of Verlander before lining a curveball right back up him into center field. Forever Giant Austin Jackson booted it allowing Pagan to score easily and it was 2-0 Giants. Enter Panda.

First pitch to Panda is in the dirt, an easy take for ball one. Sandoval backs out of the box as a new ball is thrown out to Verlander. The fans are shouting a mix of “Let’s go, Giants” and “Let’s go, Pablo” as he digs back into the box. Verlander comes set, deals. Another ball in the dirt. Panda spits on it. It’s 2-0. Verlander’s now at 60 pitches so he’s warm now. Then, to the displeasure of Giants fans, Tigers pitching coach makes a late appearance and jogs out to the mound. Verlander watches him the whole way like, “What are you doing out here?”

They chat briefly and then we’re back to baseball. It’s 2-0 on Panda and Verlander needs to throw a strike. With Scutaro taking his lead off first, Verlander comes set. Avila sets up outside again, calling for the heater. Verlander deals. Panda sees it well and puts a hack on it, sending it to deep left field. Delmon Young races back to the warning track and the ball clears the fence for a two run homer! Panda has done it again and it’s 4-0 Giants! Both homers came on fastballs on the 3rd pitch of each at bat, and they were both at 95 mph. Stop trying to throw cheese past a rat! Replays showed Verlander staring in disbelief as he mouths, “Wow”.

Buster follows with a single of his own, then Pence grounds out to end the inning. Justin Verlander would throw 38 pitches in the inning, giving up 4 consecutive hits with 2 outs.

Panda HR #3

It’s the bottom of the 5th now and the Giants are up 5-0. NLCS MVP Marco Scutaro leads off with a groundout to second and there’s one away. Enter Panda. At this point Verlander has been knocked out after giving up 6 hits, 5 ER, 2 HR, while throwing 98 pitches in 4 innings for a game score of 33 (his 3rd lowest of the year). In comes longest last name in baseball history contender Al Alburquerque. His first pitch to Pablo is a fastball that Panda swings and misses on, losing his bat in the process! Not his home run hitting bat! Bad luck! A new bat is brought out to him and Alburquerque’s next pitch is way in the dirt, ball one. So far, both of Sandoval’s homers have come on the third pitch of the at bat and Alburquerque is about to throw number three right here. This time it’s not a 95 mph fastball, but an 84 mph curveball that Panda has to reach for a bit, but he catches barrel and sends it soaring out to center field. Center fielder Austin Jackson, playing on the other side of second base, has a long way to run for this one. However, he can stop running because this ball’s going over the fence for Sandoval’s third homer of the game! The dugout goes berserk as Panda jogs around the bases, kissing his fist and pumping it in the air. This homer landed about 25 feet to the left of the first one into the empty space in center field. Pablo receives a hero’s welcome in the dugout and it’s 6-0 Giants here in Game 1.

Panda would end up going 4-4 in that game, adding an RBI single in his final at bat. A truly amazing game to kick off the World Series.

Odd Stats

In the regular season Panda only hit 12 home runs so a quarter of his homers came tonight. These three big flies also doubled his total in the postseason bringing it up to 6. The last time he hit 2 homers in a game was actually not too long ago on September 20, 2012 against Colorado. In 2011 he had 2 multi-homer games coming against Padres and Rockies. Sandoval became the 4th member of the 3 Home Run Club in a World Series Game: Ruth in 1926, 1928, Jackson in 1977, and Pujols in 2011. Panda, however, is the first to do it in his first 3 at bats of a World Series. What a night for the big fella!

Including the postseason, Verlander threw over 100 pitches in every start except for two: a September 8th loss to Angels (97 pitches) and Game 1 of the World Series against the Giants (98 pitches). The most he threw in a game was 132 against Yankees on August 6th. Verlander also threw 5 innings or more in every game in 2012 except one: Game 1 of the World Series.

Zito singled in Brandon Belt in the bottom of the 4th making it the 4th game in a row Giants pitcher’s had an RBI. Tim Lincecum relieved Barry Zito in the top of the 6th. It was a Cy Young winner relieving a Cy Young winner in a World Series game. I can’t tell you when the last time that happened was or even if it’s happened before, but that’s still pretty cool. By the way, The Freak faced 7 batters and struck out 5.

In the last two World Series runs, in Game 1 the Giants have outscored opponents 19-10. Also the Giants 8 runs in this game would be more than the Tigers would score the entire series. Think about that. The Giants held the Tigers scoreless from the beginning of Game 2 through the 2nd inning of Game 4.

A Great At Bat

The Giants put up a lot of great at bats against Verlander in Game 1, especially in that 38 pitch 3rd inning. Because of the stunning heroics of Pablo Sandoval, fans might forget that Barry Zito had an RBI of his own that came in the 4th inning. Let’s talk about the Zito at bat!

Verlander was at 85 pitches when Zito came to the plate with Belt on 2nd and 2 outs. His first pitch to Zito misses inside, could have been called either way but home plate umpire Gerry Davis calls it a ball. Zito backs out of the box, probably not thinking about bunting here. The next pitch is 95 outside 2-0. Verlander’s lost it. He’s gotta come in to him now. Can’t walk the pitcher to get to the top of the order. The next pitch is a fastball right down the middle and Zito fouls it off. A good swing for him, but an emergency swing for any position player. The 2-1 is a fastball at the knees, strike 2. Zito takes all the way. Not a bad pitch to take. Now you have his fastball measured. Verlander working quickly here. The 5th pitch of the at bat is a 97 mph fastball that Zito just lines past Cabrera at 3rd through the 5.5 hole. Miggy dove for it but never came close. With 2 outs, Belt doesn’t have to freeze and is moving on contact. Flannery’s waving him as Delmon Young gets to the ball. Young fields it and unleashes a big throw but he spikes it into the outfield grass and it rolls almost 20 feet towards the Giants dugout away from home plate. Belt scores easily and it’s 5-0 Giants. Now a slam can’t tie it and Zito has helped his own cause. Huge hit for the Giants, a real gut punch for Verlander and Detroit.

And if you want to feel sorry for Verlander, remember he wakes up next to Kate Upton everyday.

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Next Blog: 2012 World Series Game 4 – February 7, 2020