World Series Game 2: Derek Holland Walks Three In A Row As Giants Erupt For 7-Run Inning

World Series Game 2 was a tight one, right up until the bottom of the eighth. At that point, it was 2-0 Giants, and everyone was preparing for a save situation. And the Rangers bullpen even managed to retire the first two Giants hitters it faced in the eighth. But it was then, with just one out to go, that the meltdown began.

Darren O'Day allowed an infield single and came out of the game, replaced by lefty Derek Holland. Holland had been effective in previous playoff appearances this month. But in Thursday night's Game 2, he was anything but. Holland looked lost. Completely lost. He walked Nate Schierholtz on four pitches. He walked Cody Ross on four pitches. And, with the bases loaded, he walked Aubrey Huff on five pitches, forcing in a run. At that point, Ron Washington came out of the dugout to replace Holland with Mark Lowe. Here's how Holland's pitch chart looked, courtesy of Brooks Baseball:

The black box approximates the strike zone. Holland wasn't missing by a ton, but he was missing consistently, and threw only one of 13 pitches for strikes. He became the second pitcher in World Series to face at least three batters and walk them all, the other guy being Ryan Speier in 2007.

Of course, pulling Holland didn't exactly provide any relief. Mark Lowe - a late addition to the World Series roster after being left off for the ALDS and the ALCS - walked Juan Uribe, forcing in another run. Then Edgar Renteria singled two more home, and after Michael Kirkman came in to replace Lowe, Aaron Rowand tripled two more home, before Andres Torres brought Rowand home with a double to cap it off.

In the end, eight consecutive batters had reached with two outs, and the Giants had a seven-run bottom of the eighth. That allowed them to become the first team since the 2002 Angels to score at least nine runs in consecutive games in the World Series.