Justin Verlander is rocked by Pablo Sandoval in shocking start to 2012 World Series SAN FRANCISCO - The World Series is supposed to shock and stun us, instantly reverse our expectations and bring almost inconceivable possibilities onto center stage. Often, that happens instantly in Game 1. But the 2012 World Series, after the underdog Giants stomped Detroit, 8-3, looks like it wants to top "em all. The Tigers" near-legend, Justin Verlander, not only lost but got bombed, lasting just four innings in which he gave up five runs and staggered through 98 pitches against a San Francisco lineup that didn't look one bit impressed. The book on this series was that Verlander, who won 24 games in "11 and captured his third strikeout crown this year, would be to the key to the battle. Maybe he will be. But not in the way that was expected. Verlander has a nemesis, it now appears. In the All-Star Game, Verlander faced Pablo Sandoval, the Giants" No. 3 hitter, for the first time in their careers. Sandoval slashed a three-run triple as Verlander was hammered for five runs in his one inning and took the loss that gave the National League home-field advantage in this series. Sandoval faced Verlander twice more in this game and proved that his work in Kansas City was shoddy, second-rate stuff. With more exposure to Verlander, Sandoval increased his output. In the first inning, he hit a chin-high 0-2 fastball for a solo home run to center field. In their next meeting, Sandoval slashed a low-away fastball for a two-run homer that was sliced to left field for a 4-0 Giants lead. Before the night was over, the Kung Fu Panda had three home runs in a World Series game, joining just three other men in that category: Babe Ruth (twice), Reggie Jackson and Albert Pujols (last year). If Sandoval and Verlander meet later in this series, nothing less than a five-run homer will suffice. Sandoval also reopened a worrisome chapter in Verlander's past. In the first eight postseason starts of his career, Verlander was a consistent disappointment, trying too hard and amassing an ugly 5.57 ERA. In Game 1 of the "06 World Series, after being rookie of the year, he lost lopsidedly to five-game-winner Anthony Reyes, obscure then and long retired now. Only this October has Verlander blossomed into a postseason monster with three dominant starts. If his bad old big-game ways have returned, with his All-Star Game loss as another exhibit for the prosecution, then the whole tone of this series changes. Verlander's next effort may be a shutout when the series goes to Detroit. But now the whole range of outcomes is on the table. And the all-fields-hitting Giants know they can get under his skin. A World Series always looks for symbols - of victory and of defeat - for players who are emblems of one team that succeeds and foes who fail. The Giants, if only for one game, couldn't have asked for a bigger (rim shot) star than Sandoval, the Round Mound of Pound. The Tigers" Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera was supposed to be the best Venezuelan third baseman in this Series, but Sandoval has already put him in a tough spot.