Giants complete stunning comeback, defeat Reds 6-4 to win series

The Reds managed to crawl back into the game late with help from the Giants’ bullpen, but a six-run deficit proved to be too much no matter how many times the tying or winning run got on base. For Grant Brisbee of McCovey Chronicles, the game was not just about the hero Posey, but also the flood of emotions caused by the late-inning bullpen scares:

The Cincinnati Reds had a commanding two-game advantage over the San Francisco Giants in their National League Division Series matchup, but the Giants made an improbable comeback and ended the Reds’ season on Thursday. Reds fans ran the gamut of emotions, from shock to anger to resignation. Well, they ran the gamut of negative emotions, anyway. Here is a sample, courtesy of SB Nation’s Reds affiliate, Red Reporter:

The 37-year-old Rolen has had injury problems throughout his career, playing fewer than 130 games in nine of his 17 seasons. His best season was 2004 with the Cardinals, when he hit .314/.409/.598, with a career-high 34 home runs and a Gold Glove.

In the top of the fifth, Latos simply fell apart.

Somewhere in this great country of ours, a young lad, new to baseball, silently thought, “Well, this game is over!” after Buster Posey’s grand slam.

It is most certainly not over. The Reds charged back with two runs in the bottom of the fifth, and they tacked on another in the sixth on Ryan Ludwick’s solo home run. But they left runners on base when Ryan Hanigan took a (questionable) called-third strike, and Jay Bruce was thrown out on a strike-‘em-out-throw-‘em-out double play.

Teams that lead 6-0 in the fifth inning wind up winning 96.3 percent of the time.

Teams that lead 6-0 in the fifth inning, and have their best pitcher on the mound, win 98.7 percent of the time.

After the Giants exploded for six runs in the top of the fifth inning, Matt Cain hit the first batter he faced. That’s never a good sign.

Whether it was adrenaline, nerves, sitting on the bench for too long, or just one of those things, the Matt Cain that came out with a lead was different than the Matt Cain who was pitching in a tie game. After hitting Ryan Hanigan, Cain allowed a line-drive single to Drew Stubbs. Pinch-hitter Chris Heisey popped up to first for the first out.

Mat Latos was pitching fantastically, painting the strike zone, and trying to take advantage of a Tom Hallion strike zone that had just a little width early in the game. But it didn’t have a lot of room low in the zone, as he found out.

After Gregor Blanco led off the inning with a single, light-hitting shortstop Brandon Crawford took two close pitches. Super close. Hoooo, so close:

Textbook.

So we’re still scoreless in the bottom of the fourth.

Umpire Tom Hallion might be the most Frank Drebin of all the working umpires today. When he gets to call a third strike, he recognizes it’s an opportunity that he should never, ever take for granted, and he goes nuts.

And early on, his strike zone is a touch wide on both sides, but it’s not egregious. And with Cain and Latos known for their command, this has the makings of a fast-paced game.

You’ll get ‘em next time, Panda.

Heading into the third inning, this one’s still scoreless.

HREEERRRRIIIIAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKE!!!!!

Mat Latos opened the first inning of Game 5 with an impressive, fastballs-only strikeout of Angel Pagan, and the initial fear of the Giants was confirmed: Oh, it’s going to be that Latos, the one who can paint the corners with mid-90s stuff. Goodie.

But the Giants got two runners on, with Marco Scutaro rapping a single to left, and Pablo Sandoval punching an opposite-field single. The Giants were set up well for Buster Posey and Level 61 Fiery Orator Hunter Pence, but both popped up to shallow center on high fastballs, and Latos escaped the jam.