Romo closes out game in style | The Salt Lake Tribune

World Series notes • San Francisco pitcher has perfect ninth inning for save.

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San Francisco • There's a bearded and boisterous reliever pulling pranks in the dugout and closing out games for the San Francisco Giants in the World Series again.

No, it's not Brian Wilson — though it might be hard to tell.

Sergio Romo pitched a perfect ninth inning for his first World Series save Thursday night, stranding Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera — the potential tying run — on deck to finish off San Francisco's 2-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

The crowd of 42,982 cheered Romo's every move.

"You don't feel alone out there. I'm 5-10. I don't feel 5-10 out there," said Romo, who helped the Giants take a 2-0 Series lead. "I feel 6-10. I feel much bigger. I feel important. I feel like my teammates legitimately feel like I'm somebody."

Pandamonium surrounds Sandoval

Pablo Sandoval had more than 300 text messages on his phone when he woke up Thursday morning. Players from around major league baseball, including the rival Dodgers' Matt Kemp, acknowledged his accomplishment on social media. Even Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez tweeted in Spanish, "There goes the third! Pablo makes history!"

Sandoval's three World Series swings truly were heard around the globe.

A day after joining Babe Ruth , Reggie Jackson and Albert Pujols as the only players to hit three home runs in a single World Series game, Sandoval soaked in the moment. He said he was overwhelmed by the reaction.

"I still can't believe it," Sandoval said. "In the morning when I wake up, all the stuff, my friends keep texting me. But, you know, you have to realize what's going on right now in your life, so you have to keep your head up and keep focused."

Designated pitcher

Giants manager Bruce Bochy has been contemplating who to use as his designated hitter when the World Series shifts to Detroit for Game 3 on Saturday night — a pitcher has not been among them.

Maybe one should.

Entering Game 2 on Thursday night, San Francisco is the first team to have a pitcher with an RBI in four consecutive games in the same postseason. Barry Zito, who batted .075 with only two RBIs all season, has a pair during the current streak — including an opposite-field RBI single to left off Justin Verlander in the fourth inning of Game 1.

Bochy has been leaning toward backup catcher Hector Sanchez to DH for Game 3. He already has said he plans to have Buster Posey catch every game.