[新聞] Panda, Wilson play big roles in All-Star win
http://0rz.tw/lS13C
Panda, Wilson play big roles in All-Star win
By Corey Brock / MLB.com | 07/13/11 1:09 AM ET
PHOENIX -- It was a relatively quiet night at the All-Star Game on Tuesday
for the five Giants on the National League roster for the Midsummer Classic.
Pitchers Tim Lincecum and Ryan Vogelsong didn't appear in the game -- they
can blame their own manager, National League skipper Bruce Bochy, if they
like -- while Matt Cain, another pitcher, wasn't eligible to play since he
pitched Sunday.
Pablo Sandoval and Brian Wilson had much bigger impacts in the National
League's 5-1 victory before the sold-out crowd at Chase Field.
Sandoval, the Giants' first position player to make the All-Star team since
Barry Bonds in 2007, entered the game defensively at third base in the sixth
inning, replacing Scott Rolen of the Reds.
Sandoval, who officially replaced Mets shortstop Jose Reyes (sore left
hamstring) on the roster, went 1-for-1, driving in the Astros' Hunter Pence
from third base with a ground-rule double to left field off Seattle's Brandon
League in the seventh inning for the NL's fifth run of the game.
"I was nervous the first couple of pitches but then I got a deep breath,"
Sandoval said of his first All-Star Game appearance. "I really wanted to
drive in that guy."
Wilson, who was the Giants' lone All-Star elected by players, coaches and the
managers, got the save by recording the final two outs of the ninth inning,
thus securing home-field advantage for the NL in the World Series, something
Wilson said helped the Giants on their way to winning the World Series a year
ago.
"That's what everyone wants ... home-field advantage," he said.
Wilson had been perfect in two previous All-Star appearances. He retired both
batters he faced in 2008 at Yankee Stadium before working a scoreless eighth
inning a year ago in Anaheim.
In addition to being on the same All-Star team as his Giants teammates,
Wilson relished the opportunity to play for his own manager, Bochy.
"This was a special experience for all of us," Wilson said. "It was exciting."
When Lincecum didn't pitch, it marked the third time in four All-Star Game
appearances that he didn't throw a single pitch in the All-Star Game.
At least Lincecum had company in the dugout with Vogelsong and Cain.
Voegelsong, one of baseball's best feel-good stories in 2011 after reviving a
career that seemed to dead-end and forced him to play in Japan for three
seasons, knew that there was real possibility that he wouldn't pitch. Bochy
had indicated Vogelsong would be held in reserve as a long man in case the
game went into extra innings.
"It was a smart move. ... That's what those guys [relievers] do, close
games," said Vogelsong of the decision to use relievers late in Tuesday's
game instead of putting him in a role he's uncomfortable in.
Not pitching Tuesday didn't take the shine off Vogelsong's first All-Star
Game experience.
"This has been amazing," he said. "I'm never going to forget this and being
able to share your experiences with your [Giants] teammates was great."
As for Cain, he already found his mind wandering toward the second half of
the season, which begins Thursday with the first of four games in San Diego
against the Padres.
The Giants, in their bid to win the NL West for the second time in as many
years, enter the second half of the season with a three-game lead over the
D-backs. It's a lead that Cain considers tenuous at best, given the nature of
the division.
"I expect it's going to be like it's been in years past. ... It's going to be
close where you can't count anyone out." Cain said. "Look at last year -- a
lot of teams thought that they were out of it but they weren't.
"It was pretty cool to have it come down to the end."
A year ago, the Giants defeated the Padres in the final game of the regular
season for the division title. The Giants then went on to beat the Braves and
Phillies before defeating the Rangers in the World Series.
Corey Brock is a reporter for MLB.com. Keep track of @FollowThePadres on
Twitter. 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: 114.39.138.30
SFGiants 近期熱門文章
PTT體育區 即時熱門文章
10
11