That didn’t stop the Giants from winning the NL West with a 94-68 record, and while Pence’s slump continued through the postseason (.210/.231/.290), he emerged as an emotional leader thanks in part to his rousing pre-game speech before Game 3 of the Division Series against the Reds, when the Giants were down two games to none. After going hitless in Game 1 of the World Series against the Tigers, Pence went 4-for-10 and scored the game’s first run in each of the final three games of the team’s sweep; he led off the seventh inning of Game 2 with a single off Doug Fister, then plated the Giants’ second run with an eighth-inning sacrifice fly off Octavio Dotel. While Pence hit just .256/.341/.333 during the first three rounds of the playoffs — a Wild Card win over the Pirates (during which he scored two runs), a Division Series win over the Nationals (highlighted by his spectacular catch of a Jayson Werth fly ball in the Game 4 clincher), and an NLCS win over the Cardinals — he had key RBI singles in their victories in Games 3 and 4 against St. Louis.
Author: Jay Jaffe
Published at: 2026-01-04 20:53:26
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