BOX SCORE
SAN FRANCISCO2U-4.For those not accustomed to baseball scorekeeping, that means the catcher madean unassisted out and threw to the second baseman for a double play.Unlike the 4-6-3, the 6-4-3 or even the 3-6-1 double play, the 2U-4 double playis not a common occurrence. But much to the dismay of Delmon Young, PrinceFielder and Jim Leyland, the Giants completed the rare 2U-4 twin killing in thefourth inning.It started when Fielder led off the frame with a single and Young stepped tothe plate next. After falling into a quick 0-2 hole, Young swung at a BarryZito curveball at his knees and drove it straight down into the area directlyto the pitchers left of home plate.Young assumed that he had hit the ball foul, but Buster Posey didnt. TheGiants catcher caught the ball as it was coming back down into theright-handed batters box and promptly applied a tag to young, then fired astrike to Marco Scutaro at second base, where a stunned Fielder slid right intothe tag.I played it and I thought I heard Gerry Davis, thehomeplate umpire, call him out as I tagged him, Posey said. So I justfinished the play off.Posey didnt seem very impressed by his own awareness on the play, but heshould be. While Young and Fielder both assumed a foul ball, Posey took nothingfor granted. Had Young started running out of the box, Posey would have beenforced into a decision about whether to go for the out at first or second. HadFielder reacted on contact, he may have moved into scoring position with justone out.Leyland trotted from the visitors dugout to argue with Davisthat the ball was foul, which would bring Young back to the batters box andFielder to first base. But Davis shook Leyland off and the double play stood.While Pablo Sandoval hitting three home runs and Barry Zito outdueling JustinVerlander are the obvious highlights of the Giants Game 1 win, Posey doing thelittle things while two Tigers depended on an umpires call cannot beconsidered insignificant.
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