Longoria Blast and SF Giants
Longoria Blast: There is no denying that Brandon Crawford can blow the roof off of a stadium.
The Giants won Game 3 of the NLDS on Monday after Crawford snared an off-speed line drive from Dodgers star Mookie Betts after capturing it during Game 2 of the playoffs seven years ago. 54,299 screaming fans erupted in celebration after Crawford stole Betts’ potential walk-off base hit in the seventh inning. This gave the Giants a 2-1 lead in the five-game series.
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Third baseman Evan Longoria, who sat in the front row, called the play “the biggest defensive play of the game.” Crowford’s glove helped the Giants defeat the Dodgers and ace Max Scherzer on the road thanks to his bat, Longoria’s glove, and a pitching staff led by starter Alex Wood.
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About SF Giants lead
As in Candlestick Park, it was cold and windy when that rivalry went on Monday at Chavez Ravine. During our conversation, Crawford noted, “I barely remember there being a light breeze here most nights.”. He also summed up the situation, saying the wind was crazy on this particular evening.
As the pitch was blown back toward the outfield grass by all-powerful gusts in the bottom of the ninth, Giants center fielder Steven Duggar caught the ball.
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As soon as he hit it, the stomach sank, Longoria recalled. As much as I would like to believe that it did not (get out), tonight just wasn’t our night.”
Dodger Longoria Stadium
Dodger Stadium had won 16 straight games for Los Angeles, including the wild card game last week and all 12 games Scherzer has appeared in, since the right-hander was traded from the Nationals before the July 30 deadline. After Roy Halladay, Justin Verlander, and Adam Wainwright, Scherzer was the latest ace to be beaten by the Giants in October.
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As part of an outstanding 110-pitch outing, Scherzer dominated the Giants over the course of seven innings, allowing one run while striking out 10 batters. The three-time Cy Young Award winner needed 25 pitches to complete the first inning against a Giants squad that’s still obviously without first baseman Brandon Belt due to an injury.
The mistake clearly distinguished the two games.
About the Scores
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Scherzer asserted that losing one pitch is constant in the postseason. „Tonight at Longoria blast I lost my game because I lost one pitch.“
In his last 35 at-bats, Longoria had only recorded one hit, and in his last 10 playoff at-bats, he hadn’t managed to get a hit. In the third inning, with the Giants down 0-2, Scherzer delivered a 96-mile per hour fastball over the middle of the plate that turned out to be a gift.
In his first postseason home run since 2013, the former Rays star redirected Scherzer’s offering to break a scoreless tie in the left-field bleachers.
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Wood turned the ball over to right-hander Tyler Rogers after recording two more outs before pitching 1 2/3 scoreless innings while matching a season-high with 29 pitches in the Longoria blast. The lefty Jake McGee entered in the seventh inning after Rogers went 0-2 in the sixth inning, striking out pinch-hitter Austin Barnes and Betts came up.
With Donovan Solano and Steven Duggar providing excellent defensive plays for the Giants in the longoria blast, Crawford stole the show with a soaring catch to give manager Gabe Kapler a chance to use 24-year-old closer Camilo Doval to close the game.
In their second shutout win in the series, the Giants used a rookie reliever with electric fastballs and a wipeout breaking ball to finish off Dodgers hitters.
Doval replied, “Of course I’ve got this, papa,” when Kapler told him to Longoria blast prepare for the ninth inning. “I’ll be fine.”
Conclusion
Unlike Scherzer, who had an abundance of strikes called on pitches that weren’t even inches off the plate, Wood benefitted from an expansive strike zone permitted by home plate umpire Ted Barrett. In the fourth inning, Barrett erred by calling Corey Seager’s two pitching attempts balls before calling on the third-base umpire to assist him on his unsuccessful swing with a check swing.
A three-pitch walk to center fielder Chris Taylor later extended the Dodgers’ inning when the umpire ruled Seager didn’t swing on a 3-2 ball.
On the last play of the evening, the Giants were favored by the wind despite several calls going against them. The Giants’ chances of reaching the NLCS increased after a 106.9-mile-per-hour fly ball was hit at the warning track.
