Major League Baseball

GIANT TRIUMPH: San Francisco headed to NLCS after beating Braves

Published Oct. 13, 2010 10:13 a.m. ET

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ATLANTA And now, from the beer-soaked aftermath of the Giants' 3-2 victory at Turner Field Monday night, we present two opposing points of view on the Giants' NL Division Series triumph over the Atlanta Braves:

"If you're a baseball fan, you had to love this series," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.

"I don't know how you can be a fan of this team sometimes," first baseman Aubrey Huff said.

In the ninth inning at Turner Field, grown men turned away from the field like they were preteen girls at a gore flick. Huff, removed for defense, had his head buried in a water cooler. Pat Burrell admitted he shut his eyes in the dugout, too.

"I couldn't take it anymore," Huff said.

"It was a panic attack," Burrell added.

Closer Brian Wilson issued two walks, but third baseman Juan Uribe fielded Melky Cabrera's ground ball, first baseman Travis Ishikawa barely kept his foot on the bag while catching a laser from across the diamond, and the Giants erupted in a mosh pit, finally able to exhale after repelling a wounded but dangerous opponent that gave them all they could handle.

Each of the four games in the series was decided by one run; the Giants outscored the Braves 11-9.

"I watched the whole throw, every millisecond of it, watched Ishikawa's foot, saw the umpire call him out and then pandemonium," Wilson said. "It was, 'Where am I? Who's going to hit me? Do we even do that right now? I don't care. I'm going to jump around.'

"Let's do this."

The Giants did it, barely. They sure don't have a lot of punch. But they know how to counterpunch.

Cody Ross hit a tying, solo home run in the sixth inning to break up Derek Lowe's no-hit bid. The Braves immediately retook the lead on Brian McCann's solo shot in the bottom of the sixth, hitting a good curveball from poised rookie Madison Bumgarner.

But the Giants didn't freak out.

"This was just the sixth. The other day, they hit (a go-ahead homer) in the eighth," Huff said. "I almost puked then, but I was fine with it this time. We knew how these games would go."

Patience, and a bit of luck, led to their two-run rally in the seventh. Huff and Burrell drew walks around Buster Posey's swinging-bunt single against a tiring Lowe, who was pitching on short rest. Uribe's bases-loaded ground ball off right-hander Peter Moylan scored the tying run as shortstop Alex Gonzalez threw high to second base. Then Ross came up huge again, lashing a two-out single off left-hander Jonny Venters that put the Giants ahead.

Santiago Casilla, Javier Lopez and Wilson survived tense moments to hold the lead and clinch a dramatic and often disorderly series that left both teams with each others' skin under their fingernails.

Although the Braves were ravaged by injuries, it remained no small feat that the Giants came away with two victories at Turner Field where the Braves' 56-25 home record was the best in the NL.

And now it's on to Philadelphia to face the two-time defending pennant winners, who finished with the best record in the NL once again this season and are coming off a convincing sweep of the Cincinnati Reds.

"Hey, Phillies are tough," said Burrell, who won a World Series ring with them in 2008. "You don't get to the World Series two years in a row without being good, and they know they're good.

"Obviously, we'll probably be the underdog. But for this team to accomplish what it has, I think we're all proud and well give it our best shot."

The NLCS begins Saturday at Citizens Bank Park. The Giants need every minute to rest after what they've just come through.

"We knew these would be tight ballgames," Bochy said. "Every pitch, every play, every at-bat would count. To come in here and win two against two really outstanding pitchers, (Tim) Hudson and Lowe, and their bullpen É these games could've gone either way.

"We were fortunate to have come out on top. We know it."

They did it with pitching. The Giants held the Braves to a .175 average in the series. Even Bumgarner, their 21-year-old No.4 starter, managed to keep them within spitting distance despite the Giants' total inability to touch Lowe before Ross' homer in the sixth.

Bumgarner worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the second inning and pitched out of traffic in the third while holding the Braves to one run on McCann's sacrifice fly.The kid from North Carolina refused to look into the stands, where 50,000 foam tomahawks threatened him.

"His composure was unbelievable," said catcher Buster Posey, a fellow rookie. "I came out to talk to him once and he just kind of smiled and said, 'I'm all right.' When you see that, you know you're probably in for a good night."

Will the Giants keep Bumgarner as their No.4 starter against the Phillies, or turn to Barry Zito? That's a terrific question. They were in no mood to answer it amid a spraying and eye-stinging celebration.

The ninth inning. A champagne shower. All times it's best to keep those peepers shut.

"I know how the fans feel now," Huff said. "It's a grind every day, man. They had some great pitchers in this series, but we waited them out. We got it done.

"Just another day for this team."

Giants 3, Braves 2
·Series: Giants win 3-1

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