2012 World Series: Giants win Game 1, 8-3

Pablo Sandoval hit three home runs and the San Francisco Giants knocked off Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers 8-3 in Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday.

Sandoval go the scoring started early with a solo home run off of Verlander in the bottom of the first inning. Sandoval hit a two-run home run off of Verlander in the third inning before adding a third home run of the game in the fifth inning. He finished 4-4 on the night with four RBI.

After being dominant in his first three postseason starts, Verlander struggled on Wednesday allowing five earned runs over four innings. He had allowed just two earned runs over his previous 24-1/3 postseason innings. While the Giants roughed up Verlander, Barry Zito was solid, allowing one run over 5-2/3 innings. It was the second strong start from Zito after he tossed 7-2/3 shutout innings in Game 5 of the NLCS.

With the win, the Giants take a 1-0 lead in the series and maintain home-field advantage. They will attempt to jump out to a 2-0 series lead in Game 2 on Thursday. Madison Bumgarner will start for the Giants and be opposed by Doug Fister. First pitch on Thursday is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.