The Best Game I Have Ever Been To

Having use of season tickets for 30 years I have been to a lot of games. The first game I ever attended was at Candlestick Park in approximately 1986 at the age of 2. Since then I have bounced around the country and have now seen games in 16 different big league ballparks, attended 5 All Star Games and HR Derbys, 26 playoff games, and 10 World Series games. Given all of that, one game comes to mind as the best game I have ever been to: Game 5 of the 2014 NLCS.

It was a battle of aces as Madison Bumgarner took on Adam Wainwright. The Giants were up 3 games to 1 already having split the first 2 in St. Louis and taking the first 2 games in San Francisco. Waino was pitching to save the Cardinals’ season by getting a W in AT&T Park. Up to this point the Giants had won their last 5 postseason games against the Cardinals at home (3 in a row in ’12, 2 so far in ’14) and were looking to continue that streak. A win here would send them to the World Series for the 3rd time in 5 years. Let’s talk about this.

The Cards Jump Out In Front

The 1st inning was scary immediately. With 1 out Jon Jay lined a single to left field. Then on the next pitch Holliday singled to right and the Cards were in business. But then a base running mistake by Jay got MadBum out of the 1st unscathed! Peralta lined one at third that Panda leapt for and snagged, then doubled Jay off at 2nd who didn’t freeze. You actually have to do more than freeze. You have to take a step back to the base to really give them no chance at doubling you. Jay went one step too far and could have been called safe but his fingers were stretched out over the bag instead of touching it, much like a guy sliding into home who’s front foot stays up. Because of that, Bum was out of the inning on 9 pitches, but that wasn’t the last we’d hear of Jon Jay.

Jumping to the top of the 3rd, Bumgarner walks Tony Cruz to start it off. After a sac bunt by Wainwright and a walk to Carpenter, the Cards have 2 on and 1 out and here’s Jon Jay again (see, I told you). Jay’s been a real thorn in the Giants’ ass this series. Overall, he’d go 9-18 (.500), but only score 2 runs and drive in 1. And that 1 happens right here. Jay hits the first pitch from Bum into left center field, a playable ball actually. However, the inexperience of Travis Ishikawa came into play and the ball sailed over his head. He gave it a jump but there was no way to recover from his bad route. Cruz scores easily and it’s 1-0 St. Louis. Now it’s 2nd and 3rd 1 out for Holliday. Scary.

Bum will do a good job against Holliday as he gets him to fly out to shallow center field on 4 pitches. Now here’s Peralta who Bum has some ownage on as he’s only 1-14 against him. Bumgarner starts the at bat with 4 fastballs in a row to get to 2-2. The sold out crowd gets loud now, waving their orange rally towels but Bum misses with a ball and it’s 3-2. A long at bat here by Peralta. On the 6th pitch Jhonny lines one to left field, but this one is right at Travis who makes the catch easily and the Giants are out of the inning but trail 1-0. Bum got lucky there as Peralta got barrel to it. But if you’re going to win a pennant, you need some luck.

2 Out Panik

It’s the bottom of the 3rd and Waino is doing Waino things. He’s at 27 pitches and very efficient. He will continue his dominance as he gets Craw to ground out to 1st and Bum to pop out to 3rd. But this rolls the lineup over and it’s Blanco who lead off this game with a single to right. He’s not going to wait around and he jumps all over a first pitch fastball from Wainwright and he drills it into right field. He’s seeing it well. That brings up the rookie Joe Panik. Panik only played 73 games with the Giants, splitting time with Forever Giants Brandon Hicks and Dan Uggla. But Panik was on fire. Over those 73 games he hit .305 and was flashing the leather at 2nd base. The Crawford/Panik double play combo quickly became the best in baseball and they will forever be known as “Crawnik”.

Meanwhile, Joe Panik is digging in the box for his 2nd at bat against Wainwright. Waino starts him with a fastball way inside and it’s 1-0. Panik leans out of the box with a hitter’s count, adjusting his sleeves. Wainwright, working quickly, tries to run another fastball inside but it gets too much strike zone. Panik is able to get barrel to it and sends it high down the right field line. The crowd erupts, knowing it has the distance but will it stay fair? A lot of guys lose sure homers because of the slice, but Panik is able to hit this ball straight and it lands in the arcade for a 2 run big fly and the Giants have the lead! A home run unlooked for! Panik only had 1 in 2014 so this was technically his 2nd big league home run and it gives the Giants the lead in a postseason game. Huge for the rook. Huge for the Giants. Huge for all of us.

Buster would ground out to third 2 pitches later but the Giants, and Madison Bumgarner, have the lead. That’ll last right?

F@#$ing Matt Adams

Bum was not typical postseason Bum this game. As fans we came to expect complete game shutouts, not falling behind early. But, he’s human and 4 pitches after we took the lead Matt Adams homered to tie it. This wasn’t going to be easy. Bum had him 1-2 and then tried to throw a curveball in the dirt but it stayed up and Adams went down and got it. The last time Bum gave up a HR to a lefty was back in April. This game was tied and Bum was hitable.

Behind some anger he’s able to retire Randal Grichuk on the first pitch, then strikes out Wong on 3 pitches. This brings up catcher Tony Cruz. 2014 was his fourth year in the big leagues and the most games he every played in a season was 51. You’re not going to see a lot of playing time if you’re job is to backup Yadi. But Molina was hurt for this series and Cruz got the start. That was detrimental to the Cards because Cruz was not in there for his bat as he only hit .200 in 2014 with 1 HR. In fact, from Aug 7th on he hit .120. But none of that matters. What does matter is what he’s about to do against Bum here.

It’s only the top of the 4 and Bumgarner’s at 55 pitches. Cruz is at the plate with 2 outs in a tie game. He swings and misses at a back foot slider pathetically and it’s 0-1. Then on the next pitch, Bum left an 88 mph cutter up and Cruz hammered it half way up the left field bleachers. Maybe we should have kept throwing him sliders. The home fans can’t believe it and just like that the Cards have taken a 3-2 lead with two homers off Bumgarner in the same inning…

So perhaps other than each club’s pitchers, the two guys least likely to go deep in this game have left the yard. That’s got to be the last home run hit in this game right?

Morse Of Course

Michael Morse was a journeyman outfielder that came up with Seattle in 2005, but played his best years as a member of the Washington Nationals from 2009-2012, hitting .294 with 67 HR, and 208 RBI in that span. He split 2013 with Seattle and Baltimore playing only 88 games and looking like his career might be over. But Brian Sabean didn’t think so and the Giants signed the 32 year old Morse for a 1 year deal to be a power bat off the bench, and perhaps hit dingers in huge spots.

Game 5 was progressing quickly and soon enough we found ourselves in the 8th inning with the score still 3-2 red birds. Wainwright had just got through the bottom of the 7th and was done for the night with a final line of: 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO, 97 Pitches, 66 Gsc. All Star Pat Neshek with the funky wind up will take over. He appeared in 71 games for St. Louis in 2014 and had a dominant 1.87 ERA. 68 strike outs in 67.1 innings pitched to only 9 walks. A tough guy to face. Especially if you’re brought in the game to face him like Mike Morse was. He hit .279 with 16 home runs for the Giants in 2014 and was actually just activated for this series against the Cards after he had an oblique strain. Welcome back, Michael Morse.

Neshek deals the first pitch of the bottom of the 8th to him and it’s way inside, ball 1. Next pitch is a low fastball that Morse fouls back. A mighty swing. Neshek gets a new ball and paces around the mound a bit, then climbs back up the hill. Morse never leaves the box, looking very zen. He’s looking for HIS pitch. Neshek gets the sign from Cruz and deals the 1-1. It’s a slider at 83 that Cruz wants outside but it never really gets there because Morse’s huge bat gets in the way. This ball is hammered down the left field line and Morse leaves the batter’s box with his hands up in the air like superman. He knows it. 43,000 fans know it. Neshek is WELL aware. That ball is gone and this game is tied.

Morse runs the bases like some excited 11 year old at “kids run the bases day”. Easily the most exciting moment of his career so far and the entire stadium is going nuts. It’s only the 5th pinch hit postseason home run in Giants history, but what a moment for the big guy. One day he’s going to be a part time tv broadcaster!

Neshek will get the next 3 guys out on 7 pitches and we’re off to the 9th at 3-3.

The 9th

Casilla will come in for Bumgarner to pitch the 9th. He was hot in the postseason appearing in 6 games and was 4-4 in save opportunities. But this was also the 3rd game in a row he’s pitched so the Cards are familiar with him. He gets Peralta to ground out to short but then gets in trouble after walking freaking Matt Adams and giving up a Grichuk single. The Cards had something going with 2 on and 1 out. Pitching coach Dave Righetti will come out and have a talk while the Cards pinch run for Adams with Descalso. Rookie Kolten Wong digs into the box with a chance to send his team back to St. Louis for Game 6 if he can find a gap.

But then a gift. Wong swings at the first pitch and chops one to Sandoval’s left. Panda takes two steps and dives for it but it glances off his glove! But wait! There’s Brandon Crawford backing him up and the ball goes right to him! He backhands and fires to 2nd barely getting the force out on Grichuk. An incredible play that could have only been made by an athletic short stop that has the ability to improvise. That ball shot off Panda’s glove with some heat on it and bounced only twice before it reached Craw. Then he had to throw across his body to Panik at 2nd. Panik threw to Belt trying for the double play but Wong was too fast and they could only get the one. Great hands by the Gold Glover. Now the Cards have the go ahead run at 3rd but there’s 2 outs.

Into the box steps the very, very dangerous Tony Cruz (this guy’s taken Madison Bumgarner deep in the postseason). Casilla has a base open so he doesn’t have to groove him anything, and he doesn’t. The first two pitches are balls inside and on the 2-0 Wong steals 2nd without a play and Cruz takes it for a strike. So now the Cards have guys on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs. A base hit is huge.

Casilla’s 2-1 pitch is 95 mph right down the middle and Cruz chops it foul at his feet. Casilla got away with one there. 2 strikes now and the fans all get up out of their seats. 40,000 orange towels waving in unison. The 2-2 is another fastball at 95 but it’s way high and Cruz has to duck out of the way of it. A scary moment if you’re Cruz. That ball had “face” written all over it. The count is now full and Casilla’s 17th pitch of the inning is a silder that’s also way high and it’s an easy take for Cruz who works the walk. Ugh. That’s it for Casilla as Bochy makes the move for Affeldt.

Affeldt misses badly inside on the first pitch to Oscar Taveras but is able to find the zone on the next one to even up the count. Taveras looks like he was taking all the way. Another walk gives them the lead. Affeldt looks in and gets the sign from Buster who sets up inside. The pitch is down but over the plate and Taveras chops it to the first base side but Affeldt cuts it off before it can roll out to Panik and sprints to first base to get the out himself! A great job by Jeremy who ends up 30 feet down the line in shallow right field after this play. The Giants escaped a bases loaded jam and now have an opportunity to send everyone home with an incredible story to tell forever and ever.

Travis

Here we go. An inning that will live forever in Giants history is about to begin. Michael Wacha has entered the game to pitch. 2014 was only his 2nd season in the big leagues but he had a lot of experience already. In fact, he was voted MVP of the 2013 NLCS when he beat the Dodgers twice. Now he was asked to be the long man for Matheny in case this game went extras. It’s interesting to note that the last time he pitched was September 26th, 20 days earlier. Now he’s here in the 9th to try and save their season.

Of course the first guy up is Pablo Sandoval and he’s going to line the 4th pitch he sees into right field for a lead off single. Wacha threw a 98 mph fastball to him 2 pitches earlier, but Panda was all over this hanging changeup at 89 and smoked it. Pablo claps his hands as he reaches 1st and shows some love to the dugout. His night is now done as Bochy brings in the more speedy Joaquin Arias. Risky to lose Panda’s bat and defense in a game like this. If you’re not going to steal with Arias and Pence hits into a double play, you may wish you still had Pablo in the game. Sometimes it’s better to wait and see if your guy can make it to 2nd base before pinch running (again, if you’re not going to steal).

Speaking of Pence, he’s up right now and now he’s not as he flies out on the first pitch. Taveras actually makes a nice play on a sinking fly ball to keep Arias at 1st. Now here’s Brandon Belt who’s going to do what baby giraffes do best: walk on 4 legs- er, pitches. Wacha went fastball, changeup, fastball, fastball and missed badly with all of them. Brandon didn’t even need a bat for that plate appearance.

Now the Cards have a big meeting on the mound as the Giants have the winning run on 2nd base with 1 out now. Their bullpen is busy but Matheny elects to leave the 22 year old in there to face Travis Ishikawa.

Ishikawa came up with the Giants in 2006, but played the most games (236!) between 2009-2010 and winning a ring with the club. Then he spent time with Milwaukee, Baltimore, Yankees, and Pittsburgh before reuniting with the Giants in the middle of the 2014 season. He was a grinder. A battler. A guy who deserved a chance to come up huge in a big spot.

So here he is with the run that would win the pennant on 2nd base. All he needs to do is flip one into the outfield and the Giants are the champions of the National League. Wacha from the stretch takes a look at Arias at 2nd and deals. Fastball inside at 96, another pitch not close. That’s 5 in a row since the Panda rap. I imagine Cardinals’ fans everywhere wondering why he’s still in there. The home crowd starts chanting “Let’s go, Giants!” as Wacha comes set. He throws and it’s a fastball inside again, ball 2. Fox cameras shows Panda on the railing of the dugout waving his arms up, trying to get the whole stadium to make some noise as if we needed some motivation. Matheny, on the other hand, seems to have come to peace with the fact that his season is just about to be over and he’s just trying to soak it all in.

Wacha’s at 11 pitches, the last 6 have been balls. If you’re Travis Ishikawa, do you take a strike here or risk swinging and hitting into an inning ending double play, sending this game into extras? 2-0 is quite the hitter’s count. I recall this moment fondly. I was with my dad and 2 family friends in our seats in section 105. We had had those seats since the ballpark opened in 2000 and little did we know that we were about to witness the greatest moment in the history of AT&T Park.

We were all standing in anticipation of a pennant winning hit. I had my GoPro in my hand recording. It was 2-0 to Travis Ishikawa. Wacha had to find the zone here. He comes set, Cruz asking for it to be on the outside corner. Wacha deals a fastball at 96 and the pitch is low, but out over the plate. Travis hammers it.

One second into the flight of the ball we knew the Giants had won. Even if it’s off the wall, Arias scores easily and they’re mobbing Travis out at 2nd base. But this ball hits no wall. It sneaks into the first row JUST over the little red Levi’s sign above the last archway. It’s a walk off, pennant winning, three run home run, and the Giants are going to the World Series!

It’s the Giants’ 3rd home run of the game and the hugest. How Travis remembered to touch all the bases I will never know. It was his “Joe Carter moment”. It was his “Bobby Thomson moment”. He can’t contain himself as he jogs around the bases. Jake Peavy is so pumped that he rushes Travis between 2nd and 3rd, trying to hug him before he’s reached the plate. Travis actively pushes him aside, making sure to touch 3rd base. This cannot be ruined! In fact, 6 Giants players trail behind him as he comes down the 3rd baseline, spiking his helmet, and jumping into a mosh pit around home plate. The crowd is losing their minds and I even drop my camera at this point into the row behind me. For a moment I have to snap myself out of this euphoric fantasy to find it and make sure it’s still recording. It was.

This moment is almost too incredible to be real. How were we so lucky to have been at this game? How were Giants fans so lucky to live through these moments? No way this is real life. If you hated hugging people this was the worst night of your life. Travis may have set the record for “most hugs from other men” in a 3 minute span.

It’s weird. I didn’t cry in the moment, not even close. However, every time I rewatch this I do. I cried writing this. That moment, that game, were once in a lifetime events and I am so fortunate to have witnessed it first hand.

A Great At Bat

This week’s Great At Bat award goes to Michael Morse for his pinch hit AB in the 8th. Pinch hitting may be the toughest task in the sport. You have to sit around all game and then you’re brought in in a huge spot against perhaps the other team’s toughest pitcher. Neshek had a 1.87 ERA and only gave up 4 home runs all year and only 2 of those to right handed hitters. Morse was put in that spot to run into one and tie the game and he actually did it! A more typical move is to pinch hit with a high average guy with some speed instead of going with pure power. But Bochy went with power over average and it paid off.

Odd Stats

Panik’s HR was the Giants first in 243 PA. Then they hit 3 in 23 PA.

Affeldt would come in, throw 3 pitches, and get the W in this game.

There was special meaning for each guy to homer in tonight’s game except for freaking Matt Adams. Tony Cruz’s HR was only his second of the year. Panik’s HR was his 2nd Major League HR. Morse’s was a clutch pinch hit HR to tie the game in the 8th. Huge for him because of his journeyman career. Travis’ because of the turn his career took. He thought he was going to stop playing baseball after getting DFA’d by Pittsburgh. Then the Giants took a chance on him and now he’ll live forever in Giants history.

This was the Cardinals 6th straight postseason loss in San Francisco.

The last time the Giants hit 3 or more home runs in a game was August 3, 2014 in a 9-0 win over Bartolo and the Mets. They hit 4. Pence 2, Buster 1, Belt 1. Actually, Pence batted lead off that game and went 3-5, 3 R, 4 RBI, 2 HR.

The below video is what I recorded that night, including dropping my camera mid celebration. Enjoy.

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Next Blog: 2014 World Series Game 5 – March 6, 2020