Pablo Sandoval decided sometime long ago that he was going to swing at the first pitch of his second at-bat.
Ryan Vogelsong struck out six during a hitless start, and the San Francisco Giants took a 5-0 lead over the St. Louis Cardinals through three innings in Game 6 of the NL championship series Sunday night.
Jason Motte had a lot more time than usual to get ready, learning the plan before the grounds crew took the tarp off the field. It was nice to get some advance notice before going for the first two-inning save of his career under October pressure.
The veritable silence that had descended on Nationals Park on Thursday night was as stifling as the muggy, 95-degree air that sat over it all day. Matt Cain was dealing. The Nationals weren't producing. A ho-hum game that would fall into the "can't win 'em all" category in a series already decided seemed an all-but-certain outcome.
Aubrey Huff was so worn down he was among a handful of San Francisco Giants players to receive permission to skip the team flight to Arizona on Monday afternoon just to get a few extra hours of rest at home.
San Francisco Giants outfielder Cody Ross is expected to miss the next three weeks because of a strained right calf.
The hype surrounding Brandon Belt compares to that around Buster Posey two years back.
