Sandoval Hits 3 Home Runs in Game One of 2012 World Series

Pablo Sandoval etched his name in the baseball history books last night, becoming the fourth player in baseball history to hit three home runs in one World Series game.  His memorable performance in game one led the Giants to a tone settting 8-3 victory over the Tigers and Justin Verlander.

Prior to Kung Fu Panda's performance, the "three World Series home runs in a single game" feat had only been accomplished three times in all of baseball history by three of the All-Time greats - Babe Ruth (1935), Reggie Jackson (1977) and Albert Pujols (2010).  Notably, Reggie Jackson did it on three consecutive pitches in 1977.  

Last night also marked the first time since 1983 (Jim Palmer, Mike Flanagan) that one Cy Young winner (Tim Lincecum) came in relief for another Cy Young Award winner (Barry Zito) in a World Series game.  

The game one victory over the Tigers will likely prove to be huge for the Giants.  Putting eight runs on the board against any team is great but doing so against the Tigers' ace Justin Verlander - tagging him with a loss puts the Tigers at a huge disadvantage for the rest of the series.  The match-up in game two features Doug Fister and Madison Bumgarner in what could be a "must win" for the Tigers.  If the Tigers go down 0-2, the hole could prove to be too deep for them to climb out of.  They will be heavily favored in the game two match-up (as they were in game one) so a 0-2 hole would be very deflating.  Looking ahead, they still have to contend with Matt Cain and Ryan Vogelsong.