The Red Sox won’t close the door on bringing back James Loney, but he’s more of a Plan B, someone to be looked at later in the offseason if there’s still a need at first base.

Some of the biggest names on teams that made the playoffs this season reportedly took cortisone to help play through injuries including Washington’s Ryan Zimmerman, Carlos Beltran of the Cardinals and Brian McCann, Freddie Freeman and Tim Hudson of the Braves.

Finding comfort on a baseball field has never been a problem for Padres first-base prospect Nate Freiman, who has proved his worth by clubbing 71 home runs in his first four professional seasons.

Though the Braves might not have been easy to root for due to the many lousy teams they had during the majority of his childhood, Tim Hudson has always had a connection with the club.

Pablo Sandoval’s historic performance in Game 1 of the World Series had fans across the world buzzing on social media Wednesday night.

The Giants got sensational starts from Barry Zito and Madison Bumgarner in Games 1 and 2 of the Fall Classic, and now they take a 2-0 Series lead on the Tigers into Game 3 on Saturday night at Comerica Park. Oh, they also have Ryan Vogelsong and Matt Cain lined up to try to tame the Tigers, who are countering with Anibal Sanchez and Max Scherzer, respectively.

Game 2 of the World Series is dedicated to Welcome Back Veterans, and prior to Thursday’s game at AT&T Park, Giants legend Will Clark, Commissioner Bud Selig, Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry, Hall of Fame broadcaster Jerry Coleman and Giants president Larry Baer visited the San Francisco V.A. Medical Center.

Suddenly, it’s the bullpen again. It was always lurking there in the background for the Detroit Tigers, a small problem with the potential to become a big one.

Dancing in the streets of San Francisco might be mildly premature, but at this point it would also be completely understandable.

There were hints galore Thursday night that these Giants are truly a team of destiny, a team playing under a mystical spell it hopes never ends.

If your third-base coach is surrounded by reporters following a World Series game, that’s a pretty good sign something bad happened to you. And something bad did happen to Detroit in the second inning on Thursday night at AT&T Park.

The Giants have managed to contain Tigers sluggers Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder. Largely because of that, they kept the American League champions’ offense quiet while building a 2-0 World Series lead.

A look at some notable facts and figures from the San Francisco Giants’ 2-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers in Game 2 of the World Series at AT&T Park on Thursday night.

The glaring storyline these Tigers were so quick to dismiss heading into the World Series is almost undeniable now, while facing an 0-2 hole because they couldn’t figure out the soft-tossing Giants lefties that have taken the mound these last two nights.

The Tigers are banking on the idea that getting back to Comerica Park will be just what they need to turn things around in the World Series.

Nick Kimmel has been a baseball fan his entire life, but he never could have imagined four years ago that the game he loves would play such an important role in helping him get through recent events that were both tragic and challenging.

The Tigers’ 2-0 loss to the Giants in Game 2 of the World Series on Thursday night at AT&T Park was agonizing torture for them.