Giants infielder Juan Uribe smacks a three run homerIt was a classic day at AT&T park Wednesday afternoon both weather-wise and baseball-wise. On a balmy day following a northern california heat wave, the San Francisco Giants would score in double digits for the third straight time. Would it be enough?
It would be a see-saw of emotions draining the tank of the average fan on this day. I'd suffered through losing a starting pitcher in just three innings as well as seeing the visiting Cincinnati Reds score ten runs, many escorted toward homeplate by Giants errors.
Then something amazing started to occur at the plate. The Giants began hitting and scoring a few runs giving us fans a pinch of comeback hope. As the later innings started rolling around Giants hitting got down right contagious. Juan Uribe capped a six run eigth inning with a three run homer and the scoreboard glowed 10-8.
Then through the ninth and into the twelth the Giants and Reds battled like two hungry lions over a gazelle. The Giants feeling the bulge of a historic comeback in their back pocket were looking for a three game series sweep while the Reds were just trying to avoid league embarassment. There'd been another horrendous comeback earlier in the day and the Reds wanted no part of that headline.
The SF Chronicle captures the peak of Giants excitement best:
Cincinnati took advantage of balls carrying on an abnormally warm day and Bumgarner's poor pitch location to take a 10-1 lead through 4 1/2 innings. Bumgarner yielded eight runs, including three first-inning homers, in 2 2/3 innings.
The Giants, however, scored two runs in the fifth and had a minor celebration after cutting the deficit to 10-5 in the sixth. The minor celebration turned into a near-euphoric party in the eighth, when they took an 11-10 lead.
In the end though, history would take a back seat to torturous heartbreak as the Giants surrendered the Reds winning run in the twelth and lost the game 12-11. I left the ballpark feeling as if I'd seen a double-header where the Giants won the first game and lost the second.
So what positives can a Giants fan take from this gut-wrenching day? We Got Hitting!
Then something amazing started to occur at the plate. The Giants began hitting and scoring a few runs giving us fans a pinch of comeback hope. As the later innings started rolling around Giants hitting got down right contagious. Juan Uribe capped a six run eigth inning with a three run homer and the scoreboard glowed 10-8.
Then through the ninth and into the twelth the Giants and Reds battled like two hungry lions over a gazelle. The Giants feeling the bulge of a historic comeback in their back pocket were looking for a three game series sweep while the Reds were just trying to avoid league embarassment. There'd been another horrendous comeback earlier in the day and the Reds wanted no part of that headline.
The SF Chronicle captures the peak of Giants excitement best:
Cincinnati took advantage of balls carrying on an abnormally warm day and Bumgarner's poor pitch location to take a 10-1 lead through 4 1/2 innings. Bumgarner yielded eight runs, including three first-inning homers, in 2 2/3 innings.
The Giants, however, scored two runs in the fifth and had a minor celebration after cutting the deficit to 10-5 in the sixth. The minor celebration turned into a near-euphoric party in the eighth, when they took an 11-10 lead.
In the end though, history would take a back seat to torturous heartbreak as the Giants surrendered the Reds winning run in the twelth and lost the game 12-11. I left the ballpark feeling as if I'd seen a double-header where the Giants won the first game and lost the second.
So what positives can a Giants fan take from this gut-wrenching day? We Got Hitting!
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