Contact! Ryan Vogelsong ‘slashes’ and burns Cards with bat and arm

22 Oct
2012
by David Brown in Fantasy Baseball, General

SAN FRANCISCO — Old-timers call it the "Butcher Boy." Youngsters, the "Slash." Whatever its name, the contact made by pitcher Ryan Vogelsong that brought in a run during San Francisco's huge second inning Sunday night proved to be a sign the Giants were on their way to forcing a Game 7 in the NLCS.

Vogelsong's at-bat, along with his dominant nine-strikeout performance over seven innings, helped lead the way in the Giants 6-1 victory against the St. Louis Cardinals at AT&T Park. It's the second time in the series Vogelsong has come up big for the Giants who, after playing on the verge of elimination three times in the first round of the playoffs, are about to do it again with a trip to the World Series at stake.

"I didn't want to let these guys down, I didn't want to let this city down," said Vogelsong, who has a 1.29 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 14 innings in the NLCS.

A former top prospect with the Giants who was traded away and wandered the globe for a decade trying to find success in the majors, Vogelsong leaned on his Christian faith when trying to explain his journey.

"I just believe that God had a plan for me this whole time," said Vogelsong, who turned 35 this summer. "And He's shining down on me right now."

The Giants led 1-0 in the second inning and threatened for more against right-hander Chris Carpenter by putting runners at the corners with one out. On the first pitch to Vogelsong, he showed bunt, but pulled back the bat as Brandon Crawford ran from first. Vogelsong gave a mighty hack and made enough contact for a weak grounder to short, where rookie Pete Kozma bobbled the ball for an error. Vogelsong was given credit for an RBI, as Brandon Belt was moving from third on contact and would have scored regardless.

It was the second critical mistake by Kozma in as many games. Via MLB.com, he made no excuses.

"I just missed it," Kozma said. "I thought I had a handle on it, and the ball just popped out."

Vogelsong hit .093 in the regulat season, striking out 31 times in 54 at-bats. He's a .169 hitter in 166 career at-bats and hit .226 a season ago.

"He's probably as good as anybody on the staff at putting the ball in play on the slash," manager Bruce Bochy said. "You look at his average, you may think different. But he can help you with the little things when you need it."

One out later, Marco Scutaro followed with a two-run double to left, giving the Giants a 4-0 lead. Vogelsong, huffing and puffing all of the way, scored from first standing up. When asked about the extra cushion of runs, he said:

"Well, I was looking for the oxygen first."

Pretending to apologize, Scutaro replied: "Couldn't breathe? Sorry, brother."

Vogelsong wasn't having it.

"You can do it every time, buddy," he said. "I'll take it."

The Giants would take a Vogelsong kind of game any time, from anybody.

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Giants lead Cardinals 5-1 in Game 6 of NLCS (Yahoo! Sports)

21 Oct
2012

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Ryan Vogelsong throws during the first inning of Game 6 of baseball's National League championship series against the St. Louis Cardinals Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Ryan Vogelsong tied a career high with eight strikeouts and the San Francisco Giants took a 5-1 lead over the St. Louis Cardinals through six innings in Game 6 of the NL championship series Sunday night.


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Giants lead Cardinals 5-1 in Game 6 of NLCS (Yahoo! Sports)

21 Oct
2012

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Ryan Vogelsong throws during the first inning of Game 6 of baseball's National League championship series against the St. Louis Cardinals Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Ryan Vogelsong tied a career high with eight strikeouts and the San Francisco Giants took a 5-1 lead over the St. Louis Cardinals through six innings in Game 6 of the NL championship series Sunday night.


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Cardinals’ Holliday scratched with back tightness (Yahoo! Sports)

21 Oct
2012

St. Louis Cardinals' Matt Holliday takes batting practice before Game 6 of baseball's National League championship series against the San Francisco Giants Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Left fielder Matt Holliday has been scratched from the St. Louis Cardinals' lineup because of lower back tightness just before Game 6 of the NL championship series against the San Francisco Giants.


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Gainey wins Sea Island with course-record 60 (The Associated Press)

21 Oct
2012

Tommy Gainey reacts after hitting a birdie putt on the 16th green during the final round of the McGladrey Classic PGA Tour golf tournament Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012 in St. Simons Island, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. (AP) -- Winning on the PGA Tour is what Tommy Gainey dreamed about when he held a job wrapping insulation around hot water tanks, when he was playing more mini-tours than he can remember, when he was taking part in a Golf Channel reality series where he was best known as the guy wearing two gloves.


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Leyland: Valverde will be ready for World Series (Yahoo! Sports)

20 Oct
2012

Detroit Tigers' Jose Valverde watches batting practice before Game 3 of the American League championship series against the New York Yankees Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya )

DETROIT (AP) -- Jose Valverde threw a few pitches during Detroit's workout, then returned to the dugout as upbeat as usual.


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NLCS Game 5: Barry Zito sends series back to San Francisco with 5-0 Giants win

19 Oct
2012

Score and situation: These San Francisco Giants don't go quietly. Facing the possibility of elimination in NLCS Game 5, the Giants put together a 5-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals Friday night at Busch Stadium. The win narrows the Cardinals' series lead to 3-2 and sends the series back to San Francisco for Sunday's Game 6.

Leading lads: It took six years and $99 million, but the Giants finally have an outstanding highlight to show for the Barry Zito experience. The oft-maligned and richly-compensated lefthander threw 115 pitches over 7 2/3 shutout innings against the powerful Cardinals lineup to extend the Giants season at least one more game. Not only did Zito strike out six batters while allowing six hits and walking only one, but he also contributed offensively with a two-out bunt in the fourth that tacked on an extra run.

San Francisco scored all but one of its runs in the fourth, taking advantage of a Lance Lynn throwing error that allowed Marco Scutaro to score and created an opportunity for the Giants to add Brandon Crawford's two RBI single and Zito's RBI bunt.

Head hangers: Lynn gave up four runs over 3 2/3 innings though none were technically earned as a result of his throwing error. He also gave up four runs over the same time frame in the Cardinals' Game 1 victory, though obviously got a lot more run support. His lineup couldn't put anything together against Zito with Matt Holliday (0 for 4, three Ks) suffering the worst night at the plate.

Key play: Lynn's throwing error was big and put the Giants in the driver's seat for the rest of the night. But just as important was the double play that Zito got from Lynn with the bases loaded to end the second inning. The play allowed Zito to escape the frame after he had put runners on second and third to start the inning and set the tone for his highlight night.

Interesting stat: According to ESPN Stats and Info, Lynn is the first pitcher to notch a bases loaded GIDP since the Cubs' Rick Sutcliffe did it against the Giants in the 1989 NLCS.

What they'll be talking about: The Giants fell behind by two games in the NLDS against the Cincinnati Reds and won three straight elimination games to advance. Can they pull off the same thing in the NLCS? They'll head back to AT&T Park for the final two games and arguably hold the advantage in the pitching matchups for Games 6 and 7. They'll have to win at home, though, where they're only 1-3 this postseason.

What's next: The series heads back to San Francisco for Game 6 at 7:37 ET on Sunday night. The scheduled pitching matchup is the same as it was in Game 2 — Chris Carpenter against Ryan Vogelsong. You'd normally give the Cards the edge in that faceoff, but Vogelsong was almost as good in Game 2 as Zito was in Game 5.

As has always been the case in this post-Bonds era in San Francisco, the pitching will have to carry them.

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Tigers again face long layoff before World Series (Yahoo! Sports)

19 Oct
2012

From left, Detroit Tigers' Gerald Laird, Phil Coke and Jhonny Peralta celebrate after winning Game 4 of the American League championship series 8-1, against the New York Yankees, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012, in Detroit. The Tigers move on to the World Series. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya )

DETROIT (AP) -- The next few days may feel a bit familiar to Detroit manager Jim Leyland.


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Beltran returns to Cardinals’ lineup in NLCS (Yahoo! Sports)

19 Oct
2012
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Carlos Beltran returned to the St. Louis Cardinals' starting lineup Friday night for Game 5 of the NL championship series.
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Giants-Cardinals Preview (Yahoo! Sports)

18 Oct
2012
The St. Louis Cardinals are one game away from reaching back-to-back World Series for the first time since the NL championship series has been contested.
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