Seriously?

Waiting for the last out (Chron photo)

The Giants won the National League pennant by defeating the St. Louis Cardinals, 9-0, in the rain at AT&T Park. They blew the game open in the third inning on an odd broken-bat hit by rightfielder Hunter Pence [bold added]:

The ball broke Pence's bat as he made contact. Replays showed that as the barrel busted, the bat hit the ball two more times, imparting wicked spin and forcing the ball to change course.

That explains why shortstop Pete Kozma initially broke to his right, then had to do a 180 and go left. His diving attempt was futile. The ball rolled into center field and two runs scored on the hit. Buster Posey then rumbled home from first for a 5-0 lead when Jon Jay bobbled the ball.

The downpour intensified during the ninth inning, making the odds of a Cardinal comeback even more remote. Perhaps realizing the inevitability of the outcome, the umpires refused to postpone the game, which ended in a driving rainstorm.

Satellite photos showed the center of the storm to be over AT&T Park while the rest of the Bay Area only had a few sprinkles. The Pence hit and the sudden squall provide more evidence that strange forces are at work during this postseason: the Giants have won six straight "elimination" games in which the opponent--first Cincinnati and then St. Louis--could have ended the series by winning just once. The Giants heroes were players whose skills had been on the decline for years but who were now hitting (and pitching) like Babe Ruth.

The World Series starts Wednesday against the Detroit Tigers, who are favored by most experts because of their superior line-up. I'm betting on the baseball gods, however. Giants in 7.