[新聞] Ford, Burriss key Giants' walk-off w …
http://0rz.tw/TtrTI
Ford, Burriss key Giants' walk-off win in 11th
By Adam Berry / MLB.com | 5/22/2011 10:30 PM ET
SAN FRANCISCO -- With 10 1/2 innings in the books and the Giants' bench all
but cleared, Darren Ford stood at second base and momentarily locked eyes
with Emmanuel Burriss, walking up to the plate with a chance to drive in the
winning run. The two had shared many similar moments in Fresno as Minor
Leaguers, and Ford had no doubt history would repeat itself Sunday afternoon
in AT&T Park.
Burriss, meanwhile, wasn't quite so sure.
"It was more so, 'If I get a hit, you better score.' It wasn't so much, 'I'm
guaranteeing a hit,'" Burriss said. "With his speed, I knew if I put the bat
on the ball and hopefully get a knock, he should be able to score."
The hero of Friday night's walk-off win over the cross-bay rival A's, Burriss
delivered once again. As did Ford, nicknamed "The Bullet" for his speed on
the basepaths. Burriss turned the first pitch into a line-drive single to
right field and Ford beat a surprisingly close play at the plate to give the
Giants (27-19) a 5-4 win over the A's (22-25).
The victory in front of a sold-out crowd of 42,288 was San Francisco's ninth
straight at AT&T Park, its 13th in 18 home appearances, its 11th by one run
and its seventh on a walk-off hit.
Seemingly everyone has played a part in the Giants' late-game heroics dating
back to last year's dramatic run to the World Series, and the significance of
Burriss and Ford stepping up when it mattered most wasn't lost on either of
them. Burriss described himself and Ford as "two of a kind" and almost like
family, as the two became close friends during the playoff run last year.
Ford said they now spend a great deal of their time together, even visiting
each other during the offseason.
They have been used sparingly this season, combining for only 28 at-bats, but
Ford and Burriss were ready to make their mark on the season and pick up
their teammates when they heard their names called.
"It means a lot, especially considering, for the most part, these guys won a
World Series for us," Burriss said. "This year, being able to actually
physically help the team out, it means a lot."
Ford came to the plate with one out in the bottom of the 11th, the
second-to-last man off the bench taking the pitcher's spot in the lineup. He
smacked a single into right field off A's lefty Brian Fuentes -- his first in
AT&T Park and his first off a Major League lefty -- and stole second despite
everyone in China Basin knowing he would. Fuentes then intentionally walked
Buster Posey, who joked afterward he felt "kind of out of place" between the
team's two fastest players, and set up Burriss to record the game-winning
single on the first pitch of the at-bat.
"It's a game of little breaks, taking advantage of things," A's manager Bob
Geren said. "They got a game-changing hit, and that was the difference."
But that certainly wasn't the only game-changing hit Sunday afternoon.
The A's took a 4-2 lead heading into the eighth inning after Giants
left-hander Jeremy Affeldt entered for Jonathan Sanchez in the seventh and
gave up a single to Cliff Pennington. Gio Gonzalez's sacrifice bunt moved the
runner into scoring position, then Coco Crisp doubled and Daric Barton
knocked a single to left, erasing the Giants' lead and giving the A's a 3-2
advantage. They padded their lead in the eighth, when Mark Ellis scored on
Hideki Matsui's sacrifice fly to left field.
Nate Schierholtz erased the deficit and tied the game with a tough pinch-hit
at-bat in the bottom of the eighth. Schierholtz ended an eight-pitch battle
against right-hander Grant Balfour by slamming a 3-2 fastball over the
right-field wall for the second pinch-hit home run of his career.
"It's not easy, the pinch-hitting thing. You don't see many young players
handle it as well as Nate does," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "To come up
in that situation, I think he knew what we were looking for, and he got a
pitch he could handle and carried it out. He's done a lot of it, so I think
he's gotten comfortable with it."
From there, San Francisco relied on its bullpen to hold the line, and the
relievers did just that. Save Affeldt's difficult outing, the rest of the
Giants staff found success on the mound. Lefty Jonathan Sanchez only gave up
one run on five hits and two walks in six innings of work, Ramon Ramirez gave
up one run on Matsui's sacrifice fly, and Dan Runzler recorded two outs to
escape the eighth inning.
Brian Wilson then tossed a scoreless ninth, and right-hander Sergio Romo
carried the team the rest of the way, giving up only one hit and striking out
three in the final two innings to set up the two unlikely heroes in the
bottom of the 11th.
"To be out on the field at the same time and have the opportunity to come
through and actually succeed at that, it means the world to us," Burriss
said. "When it comes down to it, it's one ballgame, and this team did
everything it could to set us up to be in that position."
Adam Berry is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject
to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 140.113.22.70
SFGiants 近期熱門文章
PTT體育區 即時熱門文章
