[SSW]

Game 4 Play by Play:

Vogelsong looked pretty good in the stop of the 1st getting 2 Ks and a grounder but gave up a single.

Vargas had control problems in bottom of the 1st. Walked Blanco who advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch and then stole 3rd. Panik popped out and Posey walked. Men on 1st and 3rd. Pence grounds into what looks like a double play but he runs it out and Blanco scores. Pablo strikes out to end the inning. Again, the Giants score a run w/o a hit and really had to grind to get it.

Vogelsong again gives up a single in the top of the 2nd but is able to get the other 3 batters out w/o too much trouble. Vargas regains his control in the bottom of the 2nd -- 3 up and 3 down -- on 2 fly outs and a grounder.

Vogelsong BLOWS UP in the top of the 3rd!! Gets the pitcher Vargas to fly out but then gives up a single to Escobar who is forced out on a grounder by Gordon. 2 out w/a man on 1st. Just needs to get one out to get out of the inning.

Gordon steals 2nd. Cain hits a hard to reach grounder to SS that he beats out. Men on 1st and 3rd, 2 out. Then Hosmer bloops a grounder into no man's land between the mound and 1st which Belt fields but Volgie doesn't go straight to 1st base and Hosmer beats him to the bag. Gordon scores. Game tied 1-1.

Men on 1st and 2nd, 2 out. Vogie walks Moustakas. Bases loaded, 2 out. Then Infante singles, scoring Cain and Hosmer. Royals lead 3-1. Men on 1st and 2nd, 2 out. Then Perez singles scoring Moustakas. Men on 1st and 2nd, 2out. Royals lead 4-1.

Bochy finally takes Vogie out BUT then brings in MACHI!!!! Machi walks the 1st batter. Bases loaded, 2 out. The pitcher Vargas comes up and Machi falls behind 3-2 but is able to strike Vargas out. End of an AWFUL inning for the Giants, which might cost them the game and the series.

Bottom of the 3rd. Duffy PH for Machi singles. Blanco grounds out; Duffy to 2nd. Posey singles scoring Duffy. Pence singles. Men on 1st and 2nd, 2 out. Pablo strikes out reaching; not a patient at bat. Passed up a ball or 2 right down the middle. K kills a potential rally w/a RISP. Royals lead 4-2.

Finally, Petit comes in in top of the 4th. Gets 3 up and 3 down w/one K but gives up a LONG fly by Gordon to dead center field which is caught by Blanco.

Giants need to score 2-3 runs QUICK! Belt strikes out. Perez singles. Crawford flies out. Petit (THE PITCHER) singles!! Men on 1st and 2nd, 2 out. Blanco pops out. ANOTHER squandered scoring opportunity w/a RISP for the Giants. Royals still lead 4-2.

Running out of innings. Top of the 5th. Hosmer gets a lead off double. But Petit gets the next 3 out, one a K. In the bottom of the 5th, Vargas gives up a double to Panik who hits the ball into Triples Alley but Cain cuts off the ball and robs Panik of a triple. End of the night for Vargas.

Frasor pitching. Posey grounds out; Panik advances to 3rd. Pence singles, scoring Panik. Royals lead 4-3.

Duffy pitching. Pablo singles, Pence advances to 3rd. Perez flies to center. Dyson's great catch robs Perez of a single but Pence tags and scores. Belt walks. Runners on 1st & 2nd w/2 outs. Crawford strikes out AGAIN leaving a RISP. Another chance to score more runs (and in this case to go ahead) squandered. But the Giants have fought back to tie the game at 4-4.

Top of the 6th. Petit still pitching. Dyson singles. Aoki PH for Duffy grounds into a double play (1st to 2nd to 1st). Pop out by Escobar ends the inning. Petit struck out 2 and has given up only 2 hits in 3 shut out innings!!!!!

Bottom of the 6th. Let's see who's pitching for the Royals. Finnegan is pitching. Arias PH for Petit gets a broken bat single!!! Blanco singles. Runners on 1st & 2nd, no outs Panik puts down a perfect sac bunt. Runners on 2nd & 3rd, 1 out. Posey walked intentionally. Bases loaded, 1 out. Pence grounds to SS, FC forcing Arias out Arias at the plate. Runners at Bases still loaded, 2 out. Pablo singles to center, Blanco and Posey score. Runners on 1st & 2nd, 2 out. Belt singles scoring Pablo. Perez grounds out. Inning over. Giants battle back to lead 7-4.

This is the 1st time in 4 attempts this season that Posey has scored while running on base this post season; he'd been thrown out at the plate twice trying to run from 1st to home and once trying to score on a wild pitch. Posey was on 2nd when Pablo singled, so I guess it made it easier but the throw did get to the catcher about the same time as Posey touched home, only the throw was a little late and the catcher was about 6 feet away and couldn't tag him. Boy is Posey SLOW!!!

Top of the 7th. Affeldt pitching. Perez makes a great catch on a fly to left by Gordon to save a double. Cain lines out to 3rd. Hosmer hits a dribbler down the 1st base line and Affeldt slips fielding it. That's the 2nd weak infield hit that Hosmer got tonight. Runner on 1st, 2 outs. Moustakas grounds out to 2nd. Giants still lead 7-4.

So, who's pitching for the Royals in the bottom of the 7th? Surprise, Finnegan still pitching. Crawford finally gets a hit, an infield bouncer than he runs out. Now everyone in the line-up has gotten a hit for the Giants. Finnegan walks Morse PH for Affeldt. Romo warming up for Giants.

Collins coming in to pitch. Nix to 3rd for Moustakas. Runners on 1st & 2nd, no outs. Blanco bunts. Collins throws the ball away. Crawford scores, Morse to 3rd and Blanco on 1st. 2 on, no outs. Giants lead 8-4.

Panik doubles to center scoring Morse & Blanco. Giants lead 10-4. Runner on 2nd, no outs. Posey grounds out, Panik advances to 3rd. Pence doubles to right, Panik scores. Giants lead 11-4. Runner on 2nd, 1 out.

No one warming up for the Royals. Hanging Collins out to dry. Don't want to use HDH in a losing game. Pablo pops out. Belt walks. Runners on 1st & 2nd, 2 out. Perez strikes out stranding 2. Inning over. Giants BLOW it open. Bat around in the inning and lead 11-4.

Top of the 8th. Romo pitching. Gives up a single but gets the side out w/a fly out, grounder and K. Bottom of the 8th. Is Collins still pitching? Yes, he is and he gets 3 up and 3 down after an awful 7th inning for him. Crawford strikes out again; only 1 for 4 for the night. Ishikawa PH for Romo lines out. And Blanco grounds out.

Top of the 9th. Oh shit! STRICKLAND pitching again. Assume Bochy wants to give him yet ANOTHER chance to get it right. Should be ok w/a 7 run lead BUT I'd rather see Casilla in there. This is no time for ON THE JOB training!!!!

Stickland strikes out Escobar but gives up a double to Gordon on a fastball up in the zone. Cain flies out to right and Pence makes a great catch to prevent a double or more. Then Hosmer grounds back to Strickland. GAME OVER!!! Giants win 11-4 and tie the series 2-2.

Petit is the game saver and gets the win. He's 3-0 in the post season. Vogelsong got hammered and got knocked out in the 3rd; same as in the NLCS. And Petit saved his ass and the Giants ass again. The Giants were finally able to get to Vargas in the 5th, who was charged w/3 runs, one less than Vogelsong but a run one lead was not enough for the Royals tonight because their middle relievers -- Frasor, Finnegan and Collins -- gave up 8 runs in the 5th, 6th and 7th innings, which kept the 3 closers -- Herrera, Davis and Holland out of the game.

After Petit left in the 6th, the Giants relievers were able to shut out the Royals for 3 innings through the 9th, which they were unable to do in Game 2 or 3. So, in this game, despite a weak start, the Giants bullpen out pitched the Royals and the Giants hitters were finally able to face the Royals weaker middle relievers to make the game another blowout. In fact 11 batters in the Giants lineup got a hit, which apparently is a WS record. In fact, the Giants got a total of 16 hits (8 of them off Finnegan & Collins in the 7th) but the Royals also got 12 hits (7 off of Volgelsong, 5 of them in the 3rd).

So, the Giants pitching always has to be ON, in order to keep the Royals bats under control. Any weakness and the Royals batters will do justwhat they did to Volgelsong in the 3rd and ring up a lot of runs, just as the Giants did to their bullpen in the 7th. Only "problem" in the game from the Giant's standpoint was that Herrera, Davis and Holland were not use and will be well rested for Game 5. So, the Giants will again need to score early and often in order to keep them out of Game 5 & 6 (and 7, if there is one).

Of course, I'd be happier if the Giants just swept the Royals but they are a good team and this is turning out to be one of the BEST World Series matches in a LONG TIME. It will be BEST IMO if the Giants win, but regardless who wins, each team is doing all they can to win and it should be interesting to anyone who is seriously interested in baseball.

Bumgarner pitches vs Shields again tomorrow night. If Bumgarner can pitch a full 7 innings and if the Giants can hit Shields like they did in Game 1, the Royals may have to go back to their "tired" middle relievers again, which should make it easier for the Giants to add on runs to keep Herrera, Davis and Holland out of the game. Advantage: Giants.

GO GIANTS!!!!