A Little Means a Lot for Giants, but Not Braves in NLDS

Filed under: Braves, Giants, MLB Playoffs, National League Division Series

SAN FRANCISCO -- It's over.

Well, not officially, because it was just one game Thursday night at AT&T Park in a best-of-five series.

Even so, it was as clear as the gorgeous sky over McCovey Cove that the San Francisco Giants have more of what it takes to survive and advance during these baseball playoffs than the Atlanta Braves.

"This is the story of our season, with the pitching keeping us in it, and then we scratch here and scratch there," said first baseman Aubrey Huff, referring to everything surrounding his Giants' 1-0 victory in the first game of this National League Division Series. And remember: taking the opener usually guarantees you a spot in the next round.

Still, here's the reason the Giants should feel better about their chance of postseason longevity: Little things win in October, and while the Giants did most of them, the Braves failed to do many of them.

That, combined with Tim Lincecum pitching out of his mind, gave the Giants a slew of momentum heading into Friday night's Game 2 with the Braves looking so much like road-kill again.

Braves starting pitcher Derek Lowe had it about right. "I was so disappointed of allowing that run (in the fourth inning)," said Lowe, who otherwise was impressive while pitching into the sixth. In fact, Huff said of Lowe, who struck out six while scattering four hits, "I've never seen his sinker do what it did tonight."

 

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Randy Levine Shaquille O\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Neal Casey Wasserman James Dolan John Madden