Huff Calls Series Homer Against Hometown Rangers 'Surreal'
ARLINGTON, Texas (CBS / AP) -- Aubrey Huff grew up in the Fort Worth area wanting to be a pitcher like Nolan Ryan, only to find out, "I didn't throw very hard."
So he became a slugger and made the majors. Now he's in the World Series with the San Francisco Giants, taking on the Texas Rangers club he grew up rooting for, and he just hit a home run that helped his club win Game 4 on Sunday evening and move to the cusp of winning it all.
"It's pretty surreal right now," Huff said.
Huff hit a two-run homer in the third inning for the game's first runs, and all the scoring rookie Madison Bumgarner would need on the way to a 4-0 victory and a 3-1 Series lead.
It was Huff's first postseason home run in 51 at-bats - in his first postseason after 11 years in the majors. Giants manager Bruce Bochy tweaked his lineup and used Huff as the designated hitter instead of at his usual spot at first base, so all Huff had to focus on was hitting.
Rounding the bases, Huff could've thought about the 100 or so games he's attended as a fan at this ballpark and its predecessor. He may have looked for Ryan in the stands or pictured guys like Juan Gonzalez, Rafael Palmeiro, Ivan Rodriguez and Julio Franco trotting home after putting one in the seats. He certainly could have seen his old high school teammates and other faces in the crowd he recognized. They were probably among those chanting "Aubrey! Aubrey!"
Huff, however, has tried to avoid strolling down memory lane this week. He said no to pretty much anyone who asked for tickets - "I'm not going to spend 100 grand on tickets" - and had to skip a lunch reunion with some buddies planned for Sunday afternoon.
"My two kids and my wife got a little sick this morning, so I wasn't going to be able to connect with those guys," he said. "You see so many faces you recognize in the stands during stretching and stuff. But once the game starts, you don't even really realize how many people are out there probably that I went to high school with or what have you."
Photo Gallery: Giants 2010 World Series Run
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UPON FURTHER REVIEW: Umpire Jeff Kellogg appeared to have a rough night at first base.
He had two tough calls to make and replays indicated he went 0 for 2. Both went against the Rangers.
In the top of the second inning, he ruled San Francisco's Travis Ishikawa safe on the back end of a double-play attempt. It would've ended the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth, Kellogg ruled Texas' Elvis Andrus out on a double play that ended the inning.
Had either or both been called differently ...
"You never know what would have happened after that, but that's the human nature of calling a ballgame," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "I thought he missed both of them, but there wasn't much you can do about it."
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LINCECUM'S NEW ROUTINE: Giants ace Tim Lincecum still feels strong this late in the season thanks in part to his new routine between starts.
The two-time reigning NL Cy Young Award winner tried just about everything during a career-worst five-start losing streak in August, and he has stuck with what worked to get him back on track. The hard-throwing righty tossed 212 1-3 innings in the regular season on the way to 16 wins and has gone 29 more innings this postseason heading into his start in Game 5 of the World Series on Monday night against Texas. It will be the second matchup of Lincecum and Rangers ace Cliff Lee.
Lincecum credits his work between starts to avoiding fatigue so late in the year - the deepest Lincecum has ever pitched as a postseason first-timer. These days, he spends more time maintaining his leg strength and on core work.
"It's been one that's stuck and worked for me," Lincecum said. "Just being that it's new, it's not as tedious and it's exciting. Obviously the nature of the games that we're playing help that. That stuff kind of helped me just ease my mechanics, and it becomes more second nature for me."
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DETOUR: Peter Magowan, the Giants former controlling owner, attended the Dallas Cowboys' game against Jacksonville on Sunday before heading across the parking lot to Game 4.
Magowan said he originally was supposed to be on a safari in South Africa this weekend, but because the Giants were in the World Series, he stayed behind while his wife went.
"I was there the last time we won - in 1954, Game 2, at the Polo Grounds," he said.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
