Sanchez’s Triple
I hit the triple and I said, “They’re done.’
–Jonathan Sanchez, from the Silicon Valley Mercury News
In game 162, playing against the division rival for the right to go the playoffs, it wasn’t Jonathan Sanchez’s job to hit. It was his job to pitch. Nobody would argue that Sanchez was transcendental on the mound, but he did what he had to do, throwing five shutout innings despite three hits and five walks. He certainly received some defensive help from some unlikely candidates in Pablo Sandoval and Juan Uribe.
Instead, it was Sanchez’s bat which became a story. In the bottom of the third inning, Sanchez hit a triple deep to right center field off young Padres starter Mat Latos. He would eventually score the first run of the game for the Giants, which would turn out to be enough as the bullpen managed to shut the door with four scoreless innings behind Sanchez.
The hit was the third most important play for the Giants on offense – behind the Freddy Sanchez RBI single which scored the pitching Sanchez and the Aubrey Huff RBI double which scored the second baseman Sanchez. Jonathan’s triple had a WPA of +0.083, which seems underwhelming. Somewhat surprisingly, accounting for his role as pitcher only increases the WPA of the at-bat to +.091 (according to calculations from the WPA Inquirer), but it is worth pointing out that Sanchez’s triple was only the 4th by a pitcher all season and only the 20th extra base hit of more than a double. There’s also something to be said for the fact that Sanchez set up the top of the lineup with a runner on third and nobody out – the better hitters at the top of the order aren’t accounted for in WPA.
Perhaps it was a bit much for Sanchez to claim that the Padres were “done” after that hit, but maybe he had so much confidence in the top of his order that he knew he would come around to score. As he indeed scored on the next plate appearance, the Giants win probability rose to 65.4%; by the end of the inning the Giants had a 74.5% win expectancy. Sanchez’s triple wasn’t even the most important play of the inning, much less the game – the two run scoring plays in the inning had WPAs above +.100. But the triple kick-started the rally which gave the Giants the lead, and it seems to represent the turning point of what was formerly a 0-0 tie.
In the end, Sanchez was right: his triple and the ensuing runs buried the Padres. The most prominent threat to the Giants’ chances came immediately after Sanchez was pulled in the sixth inning. His replacement, Santiago Casilla, immediately induced a 5-4 double play from Yorvit Torrealba. The next inning, the Padres managed two baserunners, but Miguel Tejada struck out to end the inning. Those would be the last two baserunners stranded by a Padre in 2010, as Sergio Romo and Brian Wilson took down the Padres in order in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively.
Over 162 games, things tend to even out, but sometimes, it takes only one to decide a season, and in one game, anything can happen. Nobody would’ve guessed before the game that it would be Johnathan Sanchez who would ignite the rally to vault the Giants into the postseason. What happened on Sunday night was simply part of the magic of the game, and now that magic brings the Giants into October with a chance to win it all.
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“There’s also something to be said for the fact that Sanchez set up the top of the lineup with a runner on third and nobody out” – There was 1 out
“As he indeed scored on the next plate appearance” – The next batter struck out
” Nobody would argue that Sanchez was transcendental on them mound, but he did what he had to do, throwing five shutout innings despite three hits and five walks, and he certainly received some defensive help from some unlikely candidates in Pablo Sandoval and Juan Uribe.”
The first part of that sentence doesn’t make sense and the whole thing would fit better split into two sentences.
Surely they mean “transcendent” rather than “transcendental”… unless they mean he wasn’t rational.
I was thinking the same thing.
tran·scen·den·tal
–adjective
1.
transcendent, surpassing, or superior.
2.
being beyond ordinary or common experience, thought, or belief; supernatural.
Wordsmithing and blogs are incongruous.
Sanchez is a good pitcher, and it may help him as a competitor, but he’s pretty full of hot air.
Syntax Error:
Sergio Romo and Brian Wilson took down the Giants in order in the eighth and ninth innings respectively.
should read
Sergio Romo and Brian Wilson took down the PADRES in order in the eighth and ninth innings respectively.
Interesting that Hudson had a big hit for the Braves on Sunday too. A two out RBI single to prolong a rally. Gotta love National League baseball
Bush league article. Get your facts straight and use a proofreader before posting next time, GUY.
Some basic civility by commenters would be nice, too.
Sorry for the mistakes, it’s unacceptable.
Everything should be fixed.
Juan Uribe might be or not be a lot of things but he is not unlikely to turn in a defensive gem.
been a big fan of Sanchez since he was in low A but he says(and thinks) the damnedest things….think next year is his breakout year though…
and for “Jack Moore”, try to get it together – they were already laughing at your work over on Mcc even before this post….
3.07 ERA, 205 K’s? I’d say this was his breakout year; if he breaks out further he’ll be a Cy Young frontrunner.
His ERA’s better but he was essentially the same pitcher as last year by all other accounts.
i think he can be Top 10-15 starter in the NL, no?
for “hi” (some reason the reply option isn’t there) – Sanchez’ BB/9 and K/9 haven’t changed much the last few years but his H/9 and OPP SLG have been dropping like a rock, to the point where he led all of MLB starters in OPP BAA this year and was around 15th in OPP SLG…and of course he was 4th in MLB in K/9….what does it mean – is he improving or is it all that BABIP luck or whatever they want to claim? i’m not an expert but seems like he’s getting better fast and next year when he gets in the occasional jam i think he’ll have enough confidence to go right at the hitters instead of nibbling like he still does now…
@ i’m_freaky
He _has_ seemed to be able to get out of jams significantly better than last year. Whether he has learned to pitch out of them or whether he just got lucky I don’t know (watching him, I did however get the sense that he was extremely lucky to get out of a lot of his jams relatively unscathed)… His BABIP is likely unsustainable and overall, I don’t think he improved from 2009 nearly as much as his ERA suggests.
Only way I could see him being a top pitcher is if he substantially lowers his BB rates and I don’t really see that happening.
(not an expert here either…)
Perhaps he meant it as “If even *I* can hit a triple off this pitcher on this day, the rest of the team shouldn’t have any problems, so the Padres are doomed.”
Yeah, probably not; more likely it was just a fillip of the excessive confidence that enable baseball players to reach the majors in the first place.
Would be interested in reading about the Giants’ Pen over the last 30-something innings with out giving up a run.
Some of you guys should be TA’ing for your high school english teachers, not proof reading baseball blogs and being condescending. Latos sporked the only spot in the entire strike zone where Sanchez can strike the ball with any purpose, that’s the best part. Bravo, Latos. Perhaps now he can complain – at home – more about the Giants’ midseason acquisitions and them not being the same team wire-to-wire, while his three and five hitters were trade pickups
I wish the Silicon Valley Mercury News hadn’t misquoted Sanchez- or taken him out of context. This is the transcript I got from the interview video:
Great moments… are born from great opportunity. And that’s what you have here, tonight, boys. That’s what you’ve earned here tonight. One game. If we played ’em ten times, they might win nine. But not this game. Not tonight. Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight, we stay with them. And we shut them down because we can! Tonight, WE are the greatest hockey team in the world. You were born to be hockey players. Every one of you. And you were meant to be here tonight. This is your time. Their time is done. It’s over. I’m sick and tired of hearing about what a great hockey team the Soviets have. Screw ’em. This is your time. Now go out there and take it.