This Day In Postseason History: October 24, 2012: The Panda Show

October 24^th, 2012

World Series, Game 1

Detroit Tigers at San Francisco Giants

AT & T Park, San Francisco

            After winning the World Series in 2010, the Giants were back two years later to capture another. But their path to the Fall Classic had not been easy. In the NLDS against the Cincinnati Reds, the Giants had dropped the first two games at home before rallying to win three straight in Cincinnati to capture the series.

            Then, in the NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Giants again fell behind, this time three games to one, but again reeled off three wins in a row to comeback and win to advance to the World Series.

            As for the Tigers, they had beaten the Oakland Athletics in the ALDS three games to two before sweeping the New York Yankees in the ALCS in four consecutive games. The Tigers boasted the first Triple Crown winner in the Major Leagues in 45 years. Third baseman Miguel Cabrera had batted .330, hit 44 home runs and had 139 RBIs en route to being named the American League’s Most Valuable Player.

            But it would be the third baseman on the Giants who would steal the show in Game 1. Pablo Sandoval had been a non-factor in the Giants World Championship in 2010. He only played in one game and had been 0 for 3. But in 2012, things had been different. He batted .333 with a home run and three RBIs against the Reds, then slugged two dingers, drove in six runs and batted .310 against the Cardinals.

            Now it was Detroit’s turn to try and tame the Panda. And to do that, the Tigers looked to pitcher Justin Verlander. The Giants would go with Barry Zito on the mound.

            In the first inning, Sandoval put the Giants on the scoreboard first with a home run off of Verlander on a 0-2 pitch. Two innings later, an RBI single by Marco Scutaro made it 2-0 San Fran. Then, Sandoval cracked his second homer of the game, scoring Scutaro ahead of him and it was 4-0 for the Giants. In the fifth, Zito helped his own cause with a single that scored Brandon Belt and it was 5-0.

            Then it was Sandoval’s turn again. His third home run of the game gave the Giants a 6-0 lead as they headed for an 8-3 opening game victory. Sandoval became just the fourth player in World Series history to hit three home runs in a single game: Babe Ruth (who did it twice, 1926 and 1928), Reggie Jackson (1977) and Albert Pujols (2011) being the other three.

            The Giants went on to sweep the Tigers and win the World Series. While Sandoval didn’t hit another home run in the Series (or drive in another run), he did continue to hit well, finishing with a .500 batting average and was named the MVP of the Series.

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