Tear here
Angels 5, Giants 4
We've all wrestled with annoying packaging before. The bag that won't rip open, or the plastic wrap that clings a little too tight. The best packaging has a little indent in it, and sometimes even a clear indication: TEAR HERE.
Once you start tearing, well, it's hard to stop. That brings us to the complete unraveling that was Sunday's ninth inning.
It all started with the slightest tug at TEAR HERE.
Ryan Walker spun a 3-2 slider to Mike Trout that should have been strike three. Instead it went for ball four, which shouldn't have meant much in the context of a 4-1 game you're three outs from winning.
But the hardest part about tearing something is open is right at the beginning. Once you get even a sliver of packaging to yank at, the rest falls apart pretty easily. Just ask Walker.
The Angels ripped at that leadoff walk like a seven-year-old on Christmas morning. In a blink they dropped a single to center, lined another one to left, took a hit-by-pitch, and cleared the bases with a walk-off double.
Momentum is real. It is fast. It is real fast.
The Giants were left with nothing more than an empty loss, the scraps of their 4-1 lead strewn across the field.
Up next: Luckily the Giants play again immediately. They head back to San Francisco to start a four-game series Monday night with the Brewers. It’ll be Robbie Ray against Quinn Priester at 6:45 pm.