World Series set to continue in Frisco
Steve Keating, Reuters, San Francisco, California
The Anaheim Angels and San Francisco Giants are playing in the first wildcard World Series in Major League Baseball's 98-year history.
With the series moving up the California coast from Anaheim to San Francisco's Pac Bell Stadium for Games Three, Four and Five, the Fall Classic has been just that -- a wild and woolly rollercoaster ride that has left fans of both teams perched on the edge of their seats.
In dramatic fashion, the Angels and Giants split the first two games, each team claiming a one-run victory in contests that featured plenty of fireworks at the plate.
It is the first time since 1979 that teams have split a pair of one-run games to open a World Series.
That year the Pittsburgh Pirates went on to edge the Baltimore Orioles in seven games and many expect the closely matched Angels and Giants to need the maximum seven too.
Anaheim's Rally Monkey will not make the trip north but Giants slugger Barry Bonds is looking forward to his return home Tuesday to the 41,500-seat Pac Bell Stadium, a privately owned $357 million state-of-the-art facility on the San Francisco waterfront with spectacular views of the Bay Bridge included in the price of a ticket.
"Home field means a lot," said Giants manager Dusty Baker, his team having swept a three-game interleague series from the Angels at Pac Bell last year. "I wish we were playing four in our place and three in theirs.
"That bottom of the ninth at home you can just play for top of the ninth and go home.
"On the road you have to stop them in the bottom of the ninth. That last inning is usually the toughest.
"That's the last three outs, the last breath of anything is hard to take away."
Bolted to the wall in right field at Pac Bell is a sign that reads, "Splash Hits", tracking the number of home run balls that have sailed into the Pacific Ocean just the other side of the fence.
The number currently stands at 23 and 21 of those fished out of the McCovey Cove by souvenir collectors, who patrol the waters in kayaks with fishing nets, were put there by Bonds, who set a single season home run record last year with 73.
Despite the fact Bonds pounded almost half his 46 homers this season at home, Pac Bell is not generally regarded as a hitter's ballpark. In fact, because of the unpredictable swirling winds and stadium design, there were fewer home runs hit at Pac Bell than any other park in the major leagues this year.
Having waited 17 years to make his first World Series appearance, Bonds set the tone for the Fall Classic when he cracked a home run in Game One in his first at bat.
Two batters later, outfielder Reggie Sanders also homered while Troy Glaus kept the Angels in the contest in Anaheim's half of the inning with a home run.
The home run explosion marked the first time in World Series history that the first three hits of a game were all homers.
But the fireworks had just begun, Saturday's opener featured a total of five home runs as the Giants held on for a 4-3 win.