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On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, my family all gathered around the radio to listen to a ballgame, just like the olden days. I'm not going to say it was ideal to be blacked out from a television broadcast, but it's nice to listen to a full game on the radio every now and again.
... and CB Bucknor will be calling the balls and strikes today ...
Pretty glad I didn't have to watch that, to be honest. But it's still nice to see hear them win, especially against a good team. Pretending to be excited about a high draft pick is something you do when you don't have a choice. When the Giants win, you don't need that nonsense.
Since none of us could really watch the game, it's probably best to tell the story in GIFs. The first run of the game scored on a Brandon Belt error.
Something like that. He made a throw to second to force out Nate McLouth, who jumped five feet out of the baseline and kicked the ball with his left foot. Hey, maybe you didn't see it either. Maybe that's how it happened. Regardless, that's how the Giants were going to lose 1-0. It was going to be Belt's fault. Why not try Pill?, the talk-radio callers ask innocently.
But then Marco Scutaro tied the game with a single. The single came with a runner on second base. Even better: It actually scored the runner. The Giants were going to lose in extra innings again, but at least they wouldn't be shut out.
That's when Belt jumped on Wei-Yin Chen.
It was a booming double, and it would have scored the go-ahead run with two outs, but the ball bounced over the fence for an automatic double. Which meant everything was ruined and the Giants weren't going to score. Because a run-scoring hit with two outs? Impossible. Probably illegal if you know the rulebook.
The Giants had just five two-out RBI in the month of August before Saturday's game.
| Date ▾ | Batter | Opp | Pitcher | Out | Play Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-08-09 | Brandon Belt | BAL | Chris Tillman | HR | 2 | Home Run (Fly Ball to Deep CF-RF) |
| 2013-08-08 | Brandon Crawford | MIL | Donovan Hand | 1B | 2 | Single to LF (Line Drive to Short LF Line); Scutaro Scores |
| 2013-08-02 | Brandon Belt | @TBR | Chris Archer | HR | 2 | Home Run (Fly Ball to Deep RF Line) |
| 2013-08-02 | Brandon Belt | @TBR | Chris Archer | 3B | 2 | Triple to LF (Fly Ball to Deep LF-CF); Pence Scores |
| 2013-08-02 | Brandon Crawford | @TBR | Chris Archer | HR | 2 | Home Run (Fly Ball to Deep RF Line); Belt Scores |
Huh. Well, that doesn't really fit the narrative of ... oh, whatever. Point is they needed a two-out hit again. And that's when Hunter Pence came through.
That two-out hit finally came. And with Chad Gaudin pitching well ...
... the Giants finally won a close game with clutch hits. And it probably doesn't mean a lot in the short- or long-term, but it's kind of nice to not be completely discouraged on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The Giants are tied with the Dodgers in the NL West over the last day, everyone. And you can't take that away from them.
Good win. Wish I could have seen it. But still a good win.