It is brief and illustrious, the list of baseball players who have hit three home runs during a World Series game: Albert Pujols, Reggie Jackson and Babe Ruth, who achieved the feat twice.
Now add to it Pablo Sandoval, the San Francisco Giants’ smiling, rotund third baseman, who slammed homers in his first three at-bats Wednesday to power his team to an 8-3 victory over the Tigers in Game 1 of the World Series.
Sandoval’s home runs came in the first, third and fifth innings, inciting hysterics from the announced crowd of 42,855 at AT&T Park and providing a surplus of support to Barry Zito, who pitched five and two-thirds innings to earn the victory. Sandoval’s was only the ninth three-homer performance in postseason history.
“I still can’t believe it,” Sandoval said after the game. “When you’re a little kid, you dream about being in the World Series. But I wasn’t thinking about being in this situation, three homers in one game, you know?”
Here's what some columnists had to say:
Tim Kawakami, San Jose Mercury News: What's momentum worth in baseball? The stat guys say there is no such thing, that it's all imaginary, but there is something odd and powerful going on with the Giants right now. Barry Zito is a superstar. Pablo Sandoval is a Verlander-killer. And the Giants' wave gets stronger and stronger. Is that meaningless? Only if you really can't bring yourself to admit it. Read more.
Bob Nigtengale, USA Today: The San Francisco Giants can't be for real, can they? When did they sell their souls to the devil, making circus catches, getting bizarre bounces and turning Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander into Barry Zito and Barry Zito into Justin Verlander? Read more.
Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle:The Giants' 8-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers in Wednesday night's Game 1 wasn't just fun or inspiring, it was hilarious. When the same twisted screenwriter keeps showing up, crafting tales of the absurd, the only proper response is laughter - and the hope that this astonishing ride doesn't end anytime soon. Read more.
Phil Rogers, Tribune.com -- Why even play three more games? It's the San Francisco Giants' world, and the rest of us just eat overpriced Cioppino and get fat on Ghirardelli chocolate. It was impressive for Barry Zito to use his 85-mph fastballs to shut down the Cardinals in St. Louis in a must-win game. But it was preposterous for him to stick out his bat and get a run-scoring single against Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers. Read more.
