Old-style small ball made the difference.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

After the Gaints took the lead in the second on a pair of doubles (C Buster Posey and SS Brandon Crawford), the Brewers tied it in the sixth \u2013 without getting the ball out of the infield<\/em>. It went: Leadoff hitter\/CF Keon Broxton was safe on a throwing error by Giants’ 3B Evan Longoria; RF\u00a0 Christian Yelich walked; 1B Jesus Aguilar grounded out short-to-first (with runners going) and Broxton and Yelich each moved up a base; LF Ryan Braun grounded out second-to-first, Broxton scoring and Yelich taking third. 3B Tyler Saladino flies out. The Brewers manufactured a run on no hits, a walk, an error, a stolen base and a couple of ground outs.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The Brewers then further used small ball to take the lead in the top of the seventh. Hernan Perez rolled a ground single through the right side to open the inning; Manny Pina sacrificed Perez to second (nice bunt to the right side, with Pina thrown out by Bumgarner with 2B al Nansen covering first); Perez then stole third and scored on an Orlando Arcia ground out (third to first).\u00a0 A successful sacrifice – now that’s old-style hardball.<\/span><\/p>\n

Milwaukee added an insurance run in the eighth on a Christian Yelich double and a Ryan Braun run-scoring single.<\/span><\/p>\n

Those who follow BBRT know how much I love the 6-4-3 and 4-6-3 double killing.\u00a0 Well, I got one in the bottom of the seventh, as the Giants’ 1B Pable Sandoval hint into a nifty second-to-short-to first, inning-ending double play (with Evan Longoria, who had walked on first).<\/span><\/p>\n

The crowd (40,000+) had been pretty quiet \u2013 perhaps literally frozen in their seats – \u00a0until the Giants tried to rally in the eighth, loading the bases (two ground ball singles and a walk) for Buster Posey (with two out). Chants of “Posey – Posey” rippled across the stadium. Posey is clearly an SF favorite. Unfortunately, he ended the threat, grounding out third-to-first.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Food-Food-Food \u2026 But bring your wallet.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

This IS<\/em> San Francisco, where the locals love to eat, so there are plenty of great options \u2013 from sausage to sushi to \u2026 clam chowder to caramel corn (hand tossed) \u2026 and Ghirardelli chocolate to garlic fries.\u00a0 Again, this IS<\/em> San Francisco, so you can expect a little sticker shock.\u00a0 I recommend walking the concourse (they are a bit narrow by the way), to take in the sights and smells before making your decision. A few recommendations:\u00a0 Garlic Fries<\/strong> are really an AT&T staple; Crazy Crab\u2019s Dungeness Crab<\/strong> sandwich on sourdough is a local favorite; clam chowder<\/strong> in a sourdough bread bowl is perfect for cold, breezy SF evenings (aren’t they all<\/em>); and, if you have a sweet tooth, you cannot beat the Ghirardelli Chocolate\u2019s Hot Fudge Sundae.\u00a0 There are some bargains to be found. For example, hot dogs, brats and the like are grilled (not steamed or boiled) around the park and can be reasonably priced.\u00a0 I tried the Giant Dog \u2013 grilled and served with fried onions \u2013 form The Doggie Diner for just $6.50.\u00a0 Also, you’ll see lots of “independents” selling grilled sausages and other treats on the way into the park. Well worth a try and you can bring food into AT&T.<\/p>\n

Service-Service-Service \u2026 Now that\u2019s an usher.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Okay, one bit of gripe \u2013 maybe the Twins have spoiled me<\/em> \u2013 no free scorecards (the Twins scorecard is inside the free Twins Magazine<\/em>.) I searched for a scorecard for about 20 minutes and with game time getting close, I asked an usher where I could find one.\u00a0 I learned that the scorecard is included in the five-dollar program. I was about to look for a souvenir booth offering programs, but the usher (seeing we were close to game time and not wanting me to miss any action) took down my section and seat number and said he would find one, bring it to me and I could pay him then. Three batters into the contest, he showed up with my program and I was good to go.\u00a0 Now that is fan-friendly service.<\/p>\n

Wind-Wind-Wind \u2026 Bring your jacket<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

A night game on the Bay can get pretty cold.\u00a0 After my AT&T experience, I\u2019ll never complain about a Twins\u2019 Opener again.\u00a0 It was in the low 50’s with a chilly breeze off the Bay.\u00a0 Lots of blankets, hoodies and jackets in use throughout the game \u2013 and after the sun set, it was shivering cold.<\/p>\n

Fans-Fans-Fans … Did you lose your watch?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Okay, a watch is old school and, maybe, showing up for the first inning is as well.\u00a0 The stands were only about half-full at game time and not looking like the announced 40,000 until by the fourth.\u00a0 A few of other general observations: I saw literally<\/em>\u00a0no one near me keeping score; the crowd didn’t really seem to get into the game until the Giants loaded the bases late; and, at one point, I looked down my row and saw fiveof the eight people closest to me looking at the cell phones (mid-inning). Seemed like a subdued crowd – possibly a combination of recent World Series Championships and this years around-.500 squad?\u00a0\u00a0Anecdotally, I’ve heard that Giants’ fan are a good crowd, might just have been the chill of the eventing.\u00a0 Yes, I’m back to that again.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n