The player once left on baseball’s scrap heap delivered another key hit.
Cody Ross, claimed off waivers by the Giants in August so the Padres could not acquire him, has found a home in San Francisco.
“A month and a half ago I didn’t dream I’d be in this situation,” Ross said. “The Giants were awesome to bring me over here and it’s just been a great ride.”
Ross has the pink slip on Cole Hamels, batting .303 lifetime (10-for-33) with four home runs. After a fourth-inning RBI single yesterday, he is batting .444 in the NLCS with 13 total bases.
“For the most part, it’s about confidence, going up there and knowing you’re going to get the job done or do something to help your team,” Ross said.
Hamels pitched well enough for a victory. He worked six innings, giving up three runs on five hits while striking out eight. His scoreless streak of 12 innings this postseason was snapped in the fourth.
“When you’re pitching from the stretch, that means guys are on base,” he said. “It’s crunch time, and you just work and focus on trying to do the best you possibly can. I feel like I did a very good job of making the right type of pitches, I just didn’t have the type of luck.”
Matt Cain picked up his first career win against the Phillies, allowing two singles in seven scoreless.
“When we don’t score runs, I’m always concerned,” manager Charlie Manuel said. “We came in the series and everybody built it up as a pitching series … in the three games, that’s what we’ve seen.”
