Giants Push Phillies To Brink Of Elimination

Normally, I’d try to find some witty yet sarcastic way to recap the previous nights happenings for you…but I think doing that this morning would not only be a disservice to the Giants as a whole, but, to you as a fan. There simply is no way to recap what happened last night. You can’t put it into words. I’ve motored around the wide world of the interwebz this morning looking at article after article, recap after recap and every writer has pretty much said the same thing.What happened last night, was magic. Well, at first it was magic. Then it became more magical. Then it became torture. And then the torture got worse. But then it got magical again!!! But then the torture grew to new levels. But then! THEN! Then the magic became so fantastic even David Copperfield was envious.

The Giants blew the game twice last night. Oddly enough, the fantastic bullpen fluttered as both Santiago Casilla and Sergio Romo surrendered Giant leads but neither had a complete meltdown (though Casilla tried his best) which kept the Giants in the game. That was all they needed.

Last night’s tilt was the baseball equivalent to a premier boxing match. A thrill-an-inning type affair. If it wasn’t a play at the plate, it was a clutch hit. If it wasn’t a clutch hit, it was a clutch defensive play. If it wasn’t that, it was a perfectly placed pitch to escape a jam. There wasn’t a moment last night on either side of the ball where you couldn’t cut the tension with a knife. And now? Now, this collection of castoff’s are knocking on the Fall Classic’s door….

Say what you will about the Giants offense, but tonight, they beat the Phillies at their own game. Madison Bumgarner was solid but Casilla couldn’t hold the damage to a minimum once he took over for the North Carolinian country boy. So what did the Giants do? They went on an offensive attack, of course. What else did you expect?

Buster Posey was a man on a mission tonight. From his fantastic defensive plays to his 4 for 5 offensive night (and game changing hit in the 9th), Posey emerged as the star he is to the National spotlight. To be down 0-2, having to battle Roy Oswalt with the game on the line….in the biggest game of the season, the biggest at-bat of his life…and do what he did? Special.

To see injured players such as Edgar Renteria and Juan Uribe not only contribute but make game changing plays on both sides of the ball…again, there are no words.

But make no mistake – this series is far from over. Sure, the Giants have a 3-1 series lead. Sure Tim Lincecum takes the mound tonight. Sure they have their #2 and #3 starters going after Lincecum. But these are still the two time defending NL Champs and they wont bow out easy. If the Giants take their foot off of the accelerator for even a moment, the Phillies can and will take advantage of it. But I think the Giants have shown they have no intentions of slowing down…

Brian Wilson said it best…

"“We don’t have 25 stars,” Wilson said after the game (via @castrovince). “But we do have 25 guys who will outwork you. That’s a fact.”"

And that my friends, is the business. And that, wins game.