The San Francisco Giants did it again despite great Detroit Tigers pitching as they went on to win Game 3 by the score of 2-0.
Ryan Vogelsong built on his 2012 postseason resume going 5.2 in a shorter outing than his previous two, but they were shutout innings of five hits and four walks. He also recorded three strikeouts on the night.
Backing him up with offense were Gregor Blanco and Brandon Crawford.
They say walks come to bite pitchers and their teams in the playoffs and it was true here.
Anibal Sanchez, who pitched beautiful baseball beyond the second inning, walked Hunter Pence on four straight pitches. Blanco lined a curveball into the right field gap and Pence came in to score.
Crawford followed after Hector Sanchez struck out and he smacked a single to Austin Jackson in centerfield. Blanco scored and Crawford moved to second after Jackson could not handle the ball cleanly.
From then on it was a pitchers' duel.
The Tigers had a chance to score big in the bottom of the fifth. They had the bases loaded, but Quentin Berry struck out and Miguel Cabrera, who received the Hank Aaron Award and an actual crown for his 2012 feat, popped up as Vogelsong jammed him with a perfect pitch inside.
It is the second straight game in which the Tigers were shutout. That makes 18 consecutive innings in which the Tigers have not scored a run.
Side note: Pablo Sandoval, no he didn't hit a home run tonight, but he smacked his 23rd hit of the playoffs, breaking the Giants' record for most hits in a single postseason once held by J.T. Snow.
It is do or die tomorrow for the Tigers. Matt Cain, the Giants' true ace takes the mound against the Tigers' Max Scherzer.
Game time is at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT.
