San Francisco, CA (My Sportsbook) - As the venue shifts to San Francisco for the next three games, the Giants will try to regain the upper hand in Game 3 of the 2002 World Series tonight against the Anaheim Angels.
San Francisco righthander and former World Series MVP Livan Hernandez will make the start tonight, which may cool off Anaheim's recent power surge. The Angels counter with Ramon Ortiz, who has shown some inconsistency in the postseason.
Hernandez is 6-0 lifetime in the postseason, including an undefeated record in the World Series. While a member of the Florida Marlins in 1997, the Cuban hurler went 2-0 in the NL Championship Series and 2-0 in the World Series to garner Most Valuable Player honors.
He last pitched in Game 4 of the NLCS against the Cardinals on October 13 and yielded two runs on nine hits over 6 1/3 frames in San Francisco's 4-3 win.
In Game 4 of the NLDS against Atlanta on October 6, he allowed three runs on eight hits over 8 1/3 innings in an 8-3 win at home.
While his postseason record is spotless, the 27-year-old was just 12-16 with a 4.38 ERA during the 2002 regular season. At home this season, Hernandez went 7-9 with a 3.99 earned run average and three complete games in 18 games.
With a victory tonight, Hernandez will win his first seven playoff decisions -- something only two other pitcher have done. Orel Hershiser (7-0) and Orlando Hernandez (9-0) are the only other pitchers to win their first seven or more playoff decisions.
Hernandez will have his hands full tonight, since the Angels have set a postseason record with 21 home runs. He did not face Anaheim in the 2002 regular season, and is 0-0 with a 2.57 ERA versus the Angels for his career.
Ortiz has something to prove when he responds for the Angels this evening. The 29-year-old righthander made his first two postseason starts this year, allowing a total of nine runs through eight innings.
The Dominican hurler escaped with a no-decision in the ALDS after permitting six runs on three hits in just 2 2/3 innings. He walked four, struck out one and left the game with the New York Yankees ahead by a 6-1 score. However, the Angels rallied for a 9-6 victory.
Then on October 9, he surrendered three runs on 10 hits during 5 1/3 frames in a 6-3 win at Minnesota in Game 2 of the ALCS.
In 17 starts on the road in the regular season, Ortiz was 8-5 with a 3.90 ERA. He has never faced the Giants in his four seasons in the majors.
In Game 2 of the World Series on Sunday, Tim Salmon's second homer of the game, a two-out, two-run shot in the bottom of the eighth inning, lifted the Angels to a wild 11-10 victory over the Giants to even best-of-seven set at one game apiece.
Salmon, who hit his first homer of the game in the second inning, snapped a 9-9 tie in the eighth, belting the first pitch he saw from Felix Rodriguez (0-1) over the left field wall. David Eckstein was aboard with a one-out single.
Francisco Rodriguez (5-0) earned his fifth win of the post-season with three perfect innings. The 20-year-old rookie phenom struck out four of the nine batters he faced.
Troy Percival then set down Rich Aurilia and Jeff Kent on fly balls to left field in the ninth, before serving up a monstrous home run to Barry Bonds to make it a one-run game. Benito Santiago then popped up down the right field line for the final out, giving Percival his fifth save of the post-season.
The teams split two games at Edison Field, as the Giants took the opener on Saturday, 4-3.
"You always want a split on the road," said Giants manager Dusty Baker. "It would have been nice to go home 2-0, but we've got three games at home and we play very, very well at home."
Sunday's see-saw affair saw the Angels open a 5-0 lead in the first inning, but the Giants responded with four in the second. Anaheim added two more in the bottom of the second on Salmon's first homer for a 7-4 lead, but the Giants scored one in the third and erupted for four runs in the fifth to grab a 9-7 advantage. The Angels then got one in the home fifth and another in the sixth to even it up.
Salmon finished the game 4-for-4 with a walk and three runs scored, while Eckstein went 3-for-5 with three runs scored, as the Angels banged out 16 hits. Darin Erstad added a pair of doubles, while Garret Anderson, Troy Glaus and Brad Fullmer each chipped in two hits.
The teams combined for six home runs on Sunday -- four by the Giants -- and have combined for 11 in the first two games of the series.
The Giants finished with 12 hits. Bonds was 1-for-2 with three walks and three runs scored. Reggie Sanders, David Bell and Kent also homered for San Francisco in the highest-scoring World Series game since Toronto's 15-14 win over Philadelphia in 1993.
Anaheim battered San Francisco starter Russ Ortiz for four straight hits to start the bottom of the first. Eckstein singled and raced home on a double to the wall in right-center by Erstad, who then took third on a single by Salmon. Anderson then singled home Erstad for a 2-0 lead, before Glaus flied out.
Russ Ortiz went just 1 2/3 innings, allowing seven runs on nine hits, while Appier was tagged for five runs on five hits in two-plus innings. It marked the first time since Game 3 of the 1957 World Series between the Milwaukee Braves and New York Yankees that both starting pitchers failed to make it out of the third inning.
The Angels are 2-2 on the road in the postseason, while San Francisco is 3-2 at home. Game 4 will be played Wednesday night at Pac Bell Park.
