Travis Marmon
Sports Editor
The MLB World Series came to an abrupt end on Sunday night when the San Francisco Giants completed a 4-0 sweep of the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park in Detroit.
The Giants’ batting quieted the Tigers’ pitching rotation, which had thoroughly dominated the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series. Detroit’s Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera and big free agent signing Prince Fielder went a combined 4-for-27 at the plate for the series.
Game 4 was the first time that San Francisco was challenged in the series. Cabrera’s two-run homer in the third inning gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead, which they held until the sixth, when Buster Posey hit a two-run homer of his own. Delmon Young tied it back up for Detroit with a solo shot at the bottom of the sixth inning.
The game was still tied at three runs apiece through the ninth inning, but Marco Scutaro hit an RBI double to centerfield in the tenth, giving his team a 4-3 lead. Cabrera was the last hope for Detroit, but Sergio Romo struck him out to put an end the game and the series.
Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval was named the series MVP, thanks in large part to his three home run performance in Game 1, which his team won 8-3. Two of those homers came off of Tigers ace Justin Verlander, who had entered the game with a postseason ERA of 0.74. Sandoval hit .500 for the series with a double and four RBIs in 16 at-bats.
The Giants qualified for the Series after coming back from a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Championship Series. The Tigers swept the Yankees to win the AL pennant, and many analysts have pointed to the extra five days of rest as a reason for their poor performance. Detroit was the fourth team to reach the World Series after sweeping their league championship opponent. All four teams went on to lose. One of those teams was the 2006 Tigers, who swept the Oakland Athletics in the ALCS before losing to the Cardinals in five games.
The Giants’ starters in order were Barry Zito, Madison Bumgarner, Ryan Vogelsong and Matt Cain. Bumgarner and Vogelsong both pitched shutouts in 2-0 victories. Cain is the only one who did not earn a win, as Santiago Casilla took over during Game 4.
With the exception of Verlander, Detroit’s starters (Doug Fister, Anibal Sanchez and Max Scherzer) pitched well, but the bullpen was subpar and the Tiger hitters were held to a .159 average and six runs for the series. Detroit’s problems at closer never surfaced, as they did not lead in a game until Game 4.
This was the Giants’ second World Series win in three years and their third appearance in the last ten. They beat the Texas Rangers 4-1 in 2010 and lost in seven games to the Anaheim Angels in 2002. It is their seventh championship in franchise history, but only the second since they moved to San Francisco from New York in 1958.
The Tigers will continue to reach for a title that has eluded them since their 1984 victory over the San Diego Padres.