As Tim McCarver noted, you just don’t hit many 0-and-2 pitches hard against Justin Verlander.
Pablo Sandoval’s homer gives Giants 1-0 lead in 1st inning
But with two outs in the bottom of the first inning of the first game of the 2012 World Series, that’s exactly what Pablo Sandoval did:
There wasn’t anybody on base, and it’s only one run. But considering that the Tigers were widely expected to beat the Giants 17 to nothing in Game 1, this qualifies as both a statistical and a moral victory for the home team.
In the top of the first, Barry Zito gave up a single and a base hit, but then retired both Prince Fielder and Delmon Young to quash the Tigers’ little rally.
The pitch Sandoval hit, by the way, was a) thrown really hard, and b) probably not even in the strike zone. Check the location of the little blue baseball icon:
If Verlander doesn’t give up any more runs, the Tigers are still probably going to win this game. But teams that are behind in the second inning do usually lose ... and in the second inning, it’s Giants 1, Tigers 0.
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