The Original Game » d his bat and shifted into a slow trot as soo

SAN FRANCISCO -- Sweating, sniffling and sneezing, Pablo Sandoval felt horrible until his final swing. Travis dArnaud Jersey . Sandoval hit a towering two-run home run in the bottom of the 10th inning after Gregor Blancos tying triple in the ninth, and the San Francisco Giants rallied past the Washington Nationals 4-2 on Tuesday night. "You have to give 100 per cent no matter what. Its your job to fight," said Sandoval, who was so dehydrated he had to receive intravenous fluids before the game. Saddled with flu-like symptoms all week, Sandoval flipped his bat and shifted into a slow trot as soon as he sent the changeup off Yunesky Maya (0-1) over the right-centre field wall for his eighth homer this season. It was Sandovals second career game-ending hit -- both home runs against the Nationals -- and San Franciscos sixth walk-off win this year. The ball landed just shy of the plaque on the brick wall marking Barry Bonds record-breaking 756th home run. "I dont think Bonds ever hit one that high," said Matt Cain, who allowed two runs in seven innings. Blanco finished 3 for 4, including the RBI triple off closer Rafael Soriano with two outs in the ninth. The Giants comeback upstaged a superb outing by Stephen Strasburg. Both starters lasted seven innings in a matchup of NL aces. Jeremy Affeldt (1-0) tossed a scoreless inning for the win. Maya had been called up from Triple-A Syracuse earlier in the day after the Nationals placed reliever Ryan Mattheus on the 15-day disabled list. Mattheus broke his right pitching hand punching a locker following a loss at San Diego on Sunday. "I dont feel good because I didnt make a zero and (keep) the game tied," Maya said. Washingtons fourth consecutive loss might be its most painful. Buster Posey hit an infield single leading off the ninth against Soriano and was lifted for pinch-runner Andres Torres. With San Francisco down to its last strike, Blanco sent an 84 mph slider over the head of right fielder Bryce Harper for the tying triple. Harper said he was thinking about the play last week when he ran face-first into the wall in a scary collision against the Dodgers and needed 11 stitches in his chin. He also missed two games because of a bruised left knee before coming back Monday night. "I should have caught it. I put that whole loss on me," Harper said. The Giants earned their 13th comeback win this season. After entering the game just 2-17 when trailing after the eighth inning, they handed Soriano his second straight blown save and third in 15 chances this year. "We love pressure. Its our favourite part," Sandoval said. What started out as a scintillating matchup on the mound faded at the finish. Strasburg struck out seven and allowed five hits and three walks. Cain gave up four hits and two walks while striking out seven. Strasburg had his changeup confusing hitters most of the night. He retired 14 of the final 15 batters -- six on strikeouts -- and never allowed a runner past first in his last five innings. Ian Desmond and Ryan Zimmerman each hit an RBI double in the first to give the Nationals a 2-0 lead. Blanco singled, took second on Cains sacrifice and hustled home on Angel Pagans single in the second for San Franciscos only run off Strasburg. Cain worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth. He got Kurt Suzuki to ground into a fielders choice and Strasburg struck out swinging after an appeal to first base umpire Gary Darling. Neither starter faced a serious threat the rest of the way. Marco Scutaro extended his hitting streak to 19 games -- the longest in the majors this season -- when he doubled off the left-field wall against Tyler Clippard with two outs in the eighth. Sandoval followed with a weak grounder to second to end the inning, then atoned for the out his next time up. Sandovals other game-ending hit came at Washington on May 12, 2009. "He didnt show any effects from the bug there," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "Hes got better discipline (at the plate) now. Hes got more patience." NOTES: Several Nationals players wore a T-shirt in the clubhouse that had a younger image of pitching coach Steve McCatty shirtless from when he posed for Playgirl magazines July 1984 issue after the photo recently surfaced on the Internet. The back of the shirt had the slogan: "Untuck." "I could have done without that revelation," manager Davey Johnson joked. "I didnt know he had that good a body, and I didnt know he had that much hair." ... Bochy said Johnson will be on his coaching staff for the NL All-Star team. "Hes all set to go. I have tremendous respect for Davey," Bochy said. ... Madison Bumgarner (4-2, 3.09 ERA) will start for the Giants opposite Washingtons Gio Gonzalez (3-2, 4.01 ERA) in a matchup of hard-throwing young lefties in Wednesdays series finale. Wilmer Flores Jersey . After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. Darryl Strawberry Jersey . Ivanovic was leading 7-5, 1-0 when Hantuchova withdrew after falling 0-40 behind in the second game. The match started slowly for Ivanovic, who surrendered her first two serves as Hantuchova took a 5-3 lead. http://www.metsrookiestore.com/Mets-Lenn...ra-Kids-Jersey/ . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April. In the lead-up to Rio, Australia were forthright in their belief they could win an historic first Olympic mens basketball medal - even gold.The early signs were brilliant, with the Boomers beating France, Serbia, China and Venezuela and pushing Team USA all the way in the group stages.Confidence was high ahead of the semifinal against Serbia but the Boomers dreams were brutally crushed as they were busted open in an 87-61 thrashing.?They were never in the contest, suffering one of their most embarrassing defeats in Olympic competition.So, what went wrong for the Boomers?1. Did they choke? And if so, why?Its one thing to lose, but its another to get embarrassed on the big stage. After a spectacular campaign - including upset wins over France and Serbia as well as pushing the U.S. to the limit - the Boomers saved their worst performance for when it mattered most. A win over Serbia would have guaranteed an Olympic medal for the first time in Australian mens basketball history.But they were way off from the very start as Serbia exploded with an early 8-0 lead that the Boomers could never recover from. Theres no doubt Serbia were strong, especially on the defensive end in stifling the Boomers attack, but the Australians looked dazed and daunted in defence for the first time this tournament.The Serbians pick and roll offense was a thing of beauty that the Boomers had no answers for. They tried going over the screen at the start of the match which allowed Serbia to get inside and knock down the easy elbow jumper. ?They then switched and tried going under screens, leading to open looks from beyond the arc for Serbia.Every little run and adjustment the Boomers made was well and truly countered by Serbia.To make matters worse for the Boomers, talisman Andrew Bogut looked visibly hobbled with a knee concern.2. Why couldnt the Boomers score?The Boomers dont have a go-to player but they used that to their advantage in playing selfless team basketball in the group stages, making sure to move the ball and force the extra pass for easy baskets and open looks. However, that was non-existent against the Serbians.At halftime, Auustralia had just 14 points on the board and had coughed up 11 turnovers as Serbia led by 21 points to virtually put the result beyond doubt. David Wright Jersey. Yes, Serbias defense was suffocating but the Boomers execution and ability to get to their sets was awful.Off the ball, Australia lacked the same cohesion and effort that posed such a threat in offence. Without that activity, the Serbians were able to focus all their pressure on the ball without having to make many difficult decisions in defence.On top of that, the Boomers dynamic backcourt Matthew Dellavedova and Patty Mills could never find their groove as they combined to score just 16 points (less than Mills average of 21.2 points per game) on 7-22 shooting.3. Would Ben Simmons make a difference?After one NBA general manager proclaimed if Simmons had played, Australia would have beaten Team USA, its hard not to imagine that Simmons would have made a difference against Serbia and Australia would be through to the gold medal match.This years No. 1 NBA draft pick is a dangerous threat with ball in hand and would certainly have given the Boomers many opportunities when there was seemingly little happening. His ability to drive to the basket and crash the offensive boards would give Australias three-point shooters such as Dellavedova and Mills even greater room to operate and cut to the lane.At the very least, he would have attracted extra attention and forced Serbia to adjust their defensive schemes.4. Where to from here?The Boomers Olympic campaign isnt over yet.While the result wasnt what the Boomers were hoping for, they still have a chance to make history with a bronze medal against Spain on Monday morning (12:30am AEST).The game against No. 2-ranked Spain wont be easy, but you can bet that after the game against Serbia, theyll have a point to prove.Australia is motivated to lay the platform for the next generation of superstars with Simmons, Thon Maker and Dante Exum set to feature prominently for the Boomers in years to come. ' ' '