Giants Tame Tigers in Game 1 of the World Series

An unstoppable force met an immovable object, Wednesday night.

And the Panda has spoken.

Game 1 of the 2012 World Series featured a ‘force’ of San Francisco Giants’ hitters, led by third baseman Pablo “Kung-Fu Panda” Sandoval and his historic three home runs that conquered Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Justin Verlander (two of which he gave up) and the Detroit Tigers in an 8-3 Giants’ victory.

Sandoval crushed his third home run (a solo shot that seemed to seal the deal) off relief pitcher Al Albuquerque in the sixth inning to enter the history books as only the fourth player in World Series history to hit 3 home runs in one game.

Verlander, the immovable object, was shaken. Verlander entered Wednesday’s World Series Game 1 pitching three gems into the postseason with a 3-0 record, .074 ERA, and holding batters to a batting average less than .200.

Aside from Sandoval’s first inning solo home run, Giants’ CF Angel Pagan knocked a line-drive bouncer that floated high within the infield and literally bounced off the third base bag, flustering third baseman Miguel Cabrera. Pagan rallied to second base and he later scored on a Marco Scutaro 9-pitch at bat, forcing Verlander to throw the kitchen sink until he caved in on an eventual RBI single by Scutaro. That made it 2-0. Sandoval subsequently jacked an opposite field two-run homerun in the third inning to cap a three-run inning.

By the deafening cheers and a surprise visit from pitching coach Jeff Jones, the orange swarm was overwhelming the typically calm Verlander. He left after 4 innings, 6 hits, and 5 earned runs. It was only the fifth time in his career allowing a 2 home run game from one player. To make matters worse, his pitching opponent, lefty Barry Zito, knocked an RBI single in the fourth inning. It was the fourth game in a row a Giants’ pitcher drove in a run.

The Giants showcased their blue-collar spirit on national television, top to bottom. Their MLB low of 31 home runs (in the course of a regular season) at home stadium AT&T Park signals how dangerous the Giants can be when the bats heat up. Questions now linger because of the sneeze-worthy performance of their ace.

Both teams return Thursday night for Game 2 when Tigers’ right-hander Doug Fister faces off against the young lefty Madison Bumgarner.