Anaheim Angels tickets

That spot came with one out in the seventh inning of Game 6, with the Giants leading 5-0 and needing only eight more outs for a world championship. As the Rally Monkey energized the crowd, the Angels began to chip away. Troy Glaus singled. Brad Fullmer singled. Scott Spiezio hit a three-run homer. In the next inning, Salmon homered. Darin Erstad singled. Garret Anderson singled. Glaus doubled. By the time it was all over, the Angels had tagged four of the Giants' best pitchers-starter Russ Ortiz and relievers Felix Rodriguez, Tim Worrell, and Robb Nenfor six runs to take a one-run lead. For the seemingly invincible Nen, it was the first blown save in his last 21 attempts, and it was only the fifth time in Series history that any team had overcome a five-run deficit to win. "Everybody's bullpen is a little tired," Dusty Baker said. "That was a heck of a comeback."

Now it came down to a seventh game, and like many seventh games, this one was decided on the strength of the starting pitching. It seemed a mismatch: Livan Hernandez, with one World Series MVP award already under his belt, against Anaheim's 24-year-old John Lackey, who had started the season with Triple-A Salt Lake City. But Hernandez was knocked around again and Lackey pitched well, enabling Scioscia to hand a 3-1 lead over to his familiar bullpen trio of Donnelly, Rodriguez, and Percival. Although the Giants brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning, Baker, with possibly the weakest bench of any Series team ever, was forced to let two inept hitters-Tom Goodwin and Tsuyoshi Shinjo-flail away against Percival. When center fielder Darin Erstad squeezed Kenny Lofton's fly ball, it was all over for the Giants.

As usual, the sportswriters couldn't wait to pounce on Barry Bonds. "One for three with a walk was a good night," the testy slugger told the media after the game. "Am I supposed to go 3-for-3 with three homers? What do you want from me?" When all was said and done, Bonds dominated the World Series as few batters ever had. He reached base in 21 of his 30 plate appearances for a mind-blowing .700 on-base percentage, second-best in Series history. (Lou Gehrig's figure in the four-game 1928 Series was .706.) Bonds' 1.294 Series slugging percentage was the third-best ever, topped only by Gehrig and Ruth. The problem for the Giants was that thirteen of Bonds' times on base came via walks, seven of which were intentional. As teams had done all year, the Angels knew they could walk Bonds with impunity because he was followed in the batting order by the light-hitting Benito Santiago, who batted just .231 in the Series without an extra-base hit. With a slightly better fifth place hitter, the Giants might have been world champions.

The Giants hit 14 home runs, a new Series record, and scored 44 runs, third-most in Series history, but it was small-ball Anaheim that emerged with the championship trophy. The Angels batted .310 in the Series and were no slouches in the power department themselves, hitting seven homers to up their postseason total to a record-setting 24. Glaus, who batted .467 in the Fall Classic while hitting his fifth, sixth, and seventh homers of the postseason, was named Series MVP. "This is why we play," he said after the seventh game.

"This is why we put all the time and effort in. You know, this is what all the swings against the garage door when you were a kid, that's what it all builds to, this point here".