Fans decked out in orange and black filled AT&T Park to cheer on the Giants as they won game two of the World Series against the Detroit Tigers 2-0.
At SF State, things were far from rowdy at the Lower Conference Level of the Cesar Chavez Student Center, which had more empty seats compared to the Wednesday World Series opener.
This time around, things didn’t begin to heat up until the seventh inning. The first six innings were a scoreless defensive battle with left-handed pitcher Madison Bumgarner on the hill, going seven innings with eight strikeouts total. Bumgarner used his pitch movement to keep the Tigers’ lineup guessing, holding them to only two hits.
Handfuls of fans watching on campus left after the sixth inning, the end of another 0-0 inning. Fans like Deana Querubin, a senior sociology major, were getting slightly anxious over the scoreless game.
“I just want someone to score right now because I think the momentum needed to come from the beginning of the game,and it’s kinda boring when they don’t score first,” Querubin, 21, said. “They’re running out of time, (so) they need to score now.”
Pitching for the Tigers, Doug Fister kept a steady hold on the Giants. Fister kept them from scoring, despite being beaned by a shot from left-fielder Gregor Blanco for a base hit in the bottom of the second. Fister stuck it out for the next six innings after being examined first by the medical training staff to ensure he was OK.
“I’ve never actually seen that happen in a game, but I gotta admit it was a bit funny (and) a little messed up of course,” Carlos Cartagena, 23, junior at Sierra College, said. “I hope he didn’t get too (hurt) in the head.”
As the seventh inning commenced, the Giants went on the offensive. Hunter Pence led off the inning with a base hit to left field, setting the tone for the rest of the inning. Brandon Belt then took full advantage of Drew Smyly’s struggle on the mound and took his free base, advancing Pence to second. Blanco then laid down a beautiful bunt that painted the third baseline chalk, leaving the Tigers stunned and unable to make a play.
Brandon Crawford then stepped to the plate with hopes of obtaining his first hit of the World Series, but found himself with a ground ball to the right side. The Tigers turned the double play at second and first, but allowed Pence to score, giving the Giants a 1-0 lead.
Giants’ reliever Santiago Casilla then held off the Tigers with a quick three up three down inning, continuing to prove the bullpen’s depth and strength.
The eighth inning proved to be no different than the seventh when the Giants took to the plate. As Angel Pagan took a walk from Smyly to start off the inning, the ball continued to roll in the Giants’ favor, despite Marco Scutaro who struck out looking.
Pablo Sandoval was then walked, as well as catcher Buster Posey, showing the weakness of the Tigers’ pitching staff. Hunter Pence did his job with a sacrifice fly to right field as Pagan tagged up and picked up the second run for the Giants, advancing them to a 2-0 lead.
The game quickly came to an end as Sergio Romo stepped up to the hill to close out the ball game with a quick three outs to etch another win on the Giants’ board.
“It was dreadfully long. It was zero-to-zero for the longest time until the seventh inning,” Cartagena said. “From there on, it kinda stepped up and I’m glad to see the Giants won.”
The Giants will face the Tigers in game three at Comerica Park in Detroit Oct. 27 at 5:07 p.m.
Heather Ito contributed to this report.
