Pablo Sandoval hits 3 homers, Giants take Game 1

Here’s Sandoval’s first home run:

Whatever. A 1-0 lead after one inning isn’t a big deal. It’s how Verlander started the playoffs, after all. What did him in was the bottom of the third inning, and it wasn’t bad pitching that caused the cave-in.

Wednesday night, right?

Wrong. I’m talking about Game 1 of the 1935 World Series. And Game 1 of the 1945 World Series. And Game 1 of the 1968 World Series... all lost by the Tigers.

The first pitch of Game 2 is set for 8:07 p.m. ET on FOX.

One way is to think of them in the context of Pablo Sandoval’s greatness, both generally and as a power hitter.

Before we explore that notion, a bit of historical context is probably in order. Just in case you missed it. Before Wednesday night, a player had hit three home runs in one World Series game only four times.

You need to restore some normalcy to a baseball game?

Don’t call Alberto Alburquerque.

But if you’re in the market for omens, it’s a buyer’s market.

Okay, okay. So there was a funny double play. There can’t be any other omens and weirdness, right?

And so ended another enemy rally, as Babe Ruth and Cy Young and the rest of the baseball gods continue to smile upon Barry Zito.

And by “settles down,” I mean that Verlander was all over the place in the first. And by “all over the place,” I mean that he threw an 0-2 pitch at Pablo Sandoval’s eyeballs, and that somehow turned into a Giants lead. Next time, throw it down the middle, Justin. Sheesh.

Both pitchers look sharp in the early innings of Game 1, although looking sharp means something really, really different for these pitchers. For Zito, it means flopping a slow curve over for strikes, or burying in the dirt when he’s ahead in the count, and it means getting his slutter to bust right-handers in on the hands.

Both teams finished sixth in their leagues in scoring, but that’s a little misleading because the Tigers played half their games in a pretty good hitter’s park -- relative to their league, anyway -- while the Giants played half their games in a really tough park for hitters. On balance, it’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that the Giants actually hit better than the Tigers this season.

* By the way, if you’re interested in betting on a sure thing, bet that Scutaro’s run, which is now nearly three months long, will hit a wall against the Tigers’ starting pitchers. Great story, but nothing lasts forever.

All that said, the Giants actually fared just as well (slightly better, actually) against left-handed pitchers as right-handed pitchers this season. On the other hand, the Giants ranked 15th in the National League in strikeouts, which might mean they’re less vulnerable to the Tigers’ power pitching than most teams would be. They do make contact, and they will draw their share of walks. So, they’ve got that going for them.