2012 National League Championship Series

2012 National League Championship Series

San Francisco Giants 94 - 68 in the NL	4 - 3 Series Summary	St. Louis Cardinals 88 - 74 in the NL

Overview[edit]

The 2012 National League Championship Series pitted the winners of the previous two World Series, the St. Louis Cardinals, defending World Series champions, against the San Francisco Giants, winners of the big prize in 2010.

Both teams had to overcome the odds to reach this far, however. The Cardinals benefited from the addition of a fifth postseason team for the first time in 2012 to even get to play in the postseason, as they finished 6 games behind the other wild card team, the Atlanta Braves, and would have been shut out of postseason play in previous years. However, they managed to beat the Braves on the road in the Wild Card Game, then defeated the Washington Nationals in five games in the NLDS, overcoming a two-run deficit in the 9th inning of Game 5 to move forward. The Giants won the NL West title relatively easily, but then quickly lost the first two games of the other Divison Series at home while their offense was completely muzzled by the Cincinnati Reds' pitchers. They managed to somehow pull out a victory in extra innings in Game 3 in spite of getting only 3 hits, then completed an unprecedented comeback by winning the series' final two games also on the road.

The two teams had met once before in the postseason, in the 1987 NLCS, when the series went the distance with St. Louis prevailing over the Giants.

The Teams[edit]

Managers: Cardinals: Mike Matheny | Giants: Bruce Bochy

St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals retained the core of the team that had won the previous year's World Series and its greatest strength was its experience of winning tough postseason games, as they had proved in pushing aside the Atlanta Braves in the Wild Card Game and the Washington Nationals in the NLDS, while coming in as underdogs both times. They had a new manager in Mike Matheny, taking over from the retired Tony LaRussa, and he had proved to be a calm hand on the tiller all season.

The Cardinals' main strength was their offense, as they finished second in the National League in runs scored with 765. They were also tied for first in hits and first in OBP. Long-time star 1B Albert Pujols was gone, but still around were LF Matt Holliday (.295, 36 2B, 25 HR, 102 RBI); C Yadier Molina (.315 with 22 HR); 1B Allen Craig (.307, 22 HR, 92 RBI); CF Jon Jay (.305); RF Carlos Beltran (.269 with 32 HR and 97 RBIs); and 3B David Freese (.293, 20 HR, 79 RBI). Only 2B Daniel Descalso, who hit .227 with little power was considered a weak link, but in the wings they had utility player Matt Carpenter, who had a .365 OBP during the season, and a very useful bench player in Skip Schumaker. The other problem was that SS Rafael Furcal had gone down with an injury at the end of August after playing nearly every day until then, and it was down to rookie Pete Kozma to fill in; however, pressed into action in the middle of the postseason chase, Kozma had hit .333 and slugged .569 to confirm his slot as the starter at short.

On the mound, the Cardinals were not as strong, finishing 5th in the NL in ERA and middle of the pack in strikeouts; one strong point was that they did not walk many batters, their 436 walks being 4th best in the circuit. The starters were led by Kyle Lohse, the winner of the Wild Card Game, at 16-3, 2.86, although Adam Wainwright at 14-13, 3.94 had been a repeat Cy Young Award candidate before missing the 2011 season with an injury. Meanwhile, the other perennial Cy Young candidate on the staff, Chris Carpenter, had missed almost the whole season before coming back in September to make three starts and showed enough to be added to the postseason roster. Lance Lynn had led the staff in wins, going 18-7, 3.78 and striking out over a batter per inning, while Jake Westbrook (13-11, 3.97) and Jaime Garcia (7-7, 3.92) rounded out a starting staff that was built more for the regular season marathon then for the sprint of a postseason series. One concern was that Garcia had been pulled early from his only Division Series start among health worries that put his further availability in doubt. In a rare statistical quirk, a single pitcher, Jason Motte, had been responsible for every one of the team's 42 saves during the season and had very solid numbers all-around. Set-up man Mitchell Boggs had also been solid, posting a 2.21 ERA in 78 games, but the rest of the bullpen was more iffy, including LOOGY Marc Rzepczynski (4.24) and righty Fernando Salas (4.30); the relief crew had received a late-season boost from rookie Trevor Rosenthal, who had put up a 2.78 ERA in 19 games while showing outstanding stuff, and he was expected to play an important role if the Cards were to advance further.

San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants were back in the League Championship Series for the second time in three years, having been crowned World Champions in 2010, but they had suffered a major scare in the Division Series, having had to come back from a two games to none deficit against the Cincinnati Reds. Again managed by Bruce Bochy, they were a solid but generally unspectacular team: for example, they were 6th in the NL in runs scored and in runs allowed as well. They had character in spades, though, and the ability to manufacture runs with very few hits when required.

On the mound, Tim Lincecum had long been the Giants' ace, winning the Cy Young Award in 2008 and 2009, but he had had an uncharacteristically poor season in 2012, going 10-15, 5.18. Thus, Matt Cain (16-5, 2.79) had become the team's ace, finding a knack for the spectacular: he pitched a perfect game and won the All-Star Game. Backing him was Ryan Vogelsong (14-9, 3.37), who had become an overnight pitching sensation in his mid-30s, and Madison Bumgarner (16-11, 3.37). In the wings was Barry Zito (15-8, 4.15). In the bullpen, the Giants had never found a closer to replace Brian Wilson when he was injured midway through the 2011 season, but they had plenty of good arms: Santiago Casilla (7-6, 2.84, 25 saves), Sergio Romo (4-2, 1.79, 14 saves), Jeremy Affeldt (1-2, 2.70), Javier Lopez (3-0, 2.50) and George Kontos (2-1, 2.47). The Giants did not allow a lot of runs, and their pitchers knew how to keep the ball within the confines of spacious AT&T Park.

With the bat, the Giants were less intimidating. They only hit 103 home runs on the season, last in the major leagues. Their best offensive player, LF Melky Cabrera, had run afoul of Major League Baseball's PED policy during the season and was no longer with the team. Their star was now MVP candidate C Buster Posey (.336, 24 HR, 103 RBI), although 2B Marco Scutaro had been red hot since being acquired in mid-year, hitting .362 in 61 games. Other dangerous hitters included leadoff hitter CF Angel Pagan (.288 with 38 doubles and 15 triples), 1B Brandon Belt (.275) and 3B Pablo Sandoval (.283, 12 HR, 63 RBI). The rest of the line-up had significant holes though: SS Brandon Crawford hit .248 with no power, LF Gregor Blanco was a .244 hitter, and RF Hunter Pence had hit only .219 after his mid-season acquisition. On the bench, Aubrey Huff, one of the heroes of the 2010 title run, was down to pinch-hitting at a clip below .200, with Joaquin Arias, Ryan Theriot and Hector Sanchez being the other main options off the bench, none of them a game-changer. Defensively, the Giants were average, with none of their players Gold Glove candidates, but no obvious holes either - even the pudgy Sandoval at third base was much more agile than he looked.

Umpires[edit]

Gary Darling (crew chief), Jerry Layne, Ted Barrett, Bill Miller, Greg Gibson and Chris Guccione

Series results[edit]

Game	Score	Date	Pitchers	Time (ET)
1	St. Louis Cardinals 6 San Francisco Giants 4	October 14	Lance Lynn (0-0) Madison Bumgarner (0-1)
2	St. Louis Cardinals 1 San Francisco Giants 7	October 15	Chris Carpenter (0-1) Ryan Vogelsong (1-0)	8:00 pm
3	San Francisco Giants 1 St. Louis Cardinals 3	October 17	Matt Cain (0-1) Kyle Lohse (1-0)	4:00 pm
4	San Francisco Giants 3 St. Louis Cardinals 8	October 18	Tim Lincecum (0-1) Adam Wainwright (1-0)	8:00 pm
5	San Francisco Giants 5 St. Louis Cardinals 0	October 19	Barry Zito (1-0) Lance Lynn (0-1)	8:00 pm
6	St. Louis Cardinals 1 San Francisco Giants 6	October 21	Chris Carpenter (0-2) Ryan Vogelsong (2-0)	7:30 pm
7	St. Louis Cardinals 0 San Francisco Giants 9	October 22	Kyle Lohse (1-1) Matt Cain (1-1)	8:00 pm

Results[edit]

Game 1 @ AT&T Park[edit]

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cardinals	0	2	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	6	8	0
Giants	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	7	1
WP: Edward Mujica (1-0), LP: Madison Bumgarner (0-1), SV: Jason Motte (1)
Home Runs: - STL: Carlos Beltran (1), David Freese (1)

Attendance: 42,534

The Cardinals rolled out to an early 6-0 lead over the Giants in Game 1 of the NLCS, then hung on for a 6-4 win. The Cards got on the board first in the 2nd inning against Madison Bumgarner on a two-run homer by David Freese with Yadier Molina on first base. In the 4th inning, they chased Bumgarner from the game with back-to-back doubles from Daniel Descalso and Peter Kozma; Jon Jay then singled to make it 4-0 and Carlos Beltran followed with a homer to make it 6-0. George Kontos took over for Bumgarner at that point, and five relievers, including Tim Lincecum who went two innings, held the Cardinals scoreless the rest of the way. It proveds too deep a hole to climb out of for the Giants, however.

After starter Lance Lynn had limited the Giants to only a walk through the first three innings, their bats woke up in the bottom of the 4th. Marco Scutaro hit a leadoff single, but Lynn struck out Pablo Sandoval and got Buster Posey on a fly ball. But he could not notch the third out: Hunter Pence singled, Brandon Belt singled in a first run, Gregor Blanco tripled to plate two more runs, and Brandon Crawford doubled to cut the lead to 6-4. With Kontos due up, Bruce Bochy sent in Aubrey Huff to pinch hit, and he drew a walk. That was enough for Mike Matheny, who removed Lynn in favor of rookie Joe Kelly. He stopped the bleeding by getting Angel Pagan to hit a ground ball, forcing out Huff.

With the game again close, the final innings featured a parade of relievers on the mound for both teams. Marc Rzepczynski replaced Kelly to get the final out in the bottom of the 5th while Lincecum faced the minimum number of batters in the 5th and 6th. Rookie Trevor Rosenthal pitched a scoreless 6th for St. Louis, then Jeremy Affeldt got the Cards in order in the 7th. Next up was Edward Mujica who struck out the side in the bottom of the 7th, with Scutaro, Sandoval and Posey all going down swinging. Santiago Casilla pitched the 8th for San Francisco, also getting a pair of swinging strikeouts after an error by 3B Sandoval had put Molina on base. Mitchell Boggs then pitched a perfect 8th, followed by Jose Mijares who retired the Cards in order in the 9th. Down to their last chance, the Giants faced closer Jason Motte in the 9th. He got Crawford and pinch-hitter Hector Sanchez to fly out, then, after a single by Pagan, closed out the win by getting Scutaro to ground out to first base.

The game was a rare instance when the official scorer had to decide who would be the winning pitcher, as the Cardinals had led all the way but Lance Lynn had not completed the required five innings to be credited with the win. Normally, Joe Kelly should have been distinguished, given he had been the first pitcher to follow the starter and did get the Cardinals out of a jam, recording the final out in the 4th with the tying run on base, even if he had required another pitcher's help to complete the 5th after putting a couple of runners on. However, the W went instead to Edward Mujica as the most efficient of a group of relievers who had all pitched very well.

Game 2 @ AT&T Park[edit]

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cardinals	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	2
Giants	1	0	0	4	0	0	0	2	x	7	12	0
WP: Ryan Vogelsong (1-0), LP: Chris Carpenter (0-1)
Home Runs: - SF: Angel Pagan (1)

Attendance: 42,679

In Game 2, the previous year's postseason pitching hero, Chris Carpenter, started for the Cardinals, against veteran Ryan Vogelsong for the Giants. Carpenter had been injured almost all season, only getting to play a few games at the major league level at the end of September, but was now back and healthy; for the Giants, Vogelsong had completed the second year of a remarkable career turnaround, in which he had become one of the National League's most reliable pitchers after sputtering in his first six major league seasons, and being out of the major leagues altogether from 2007 to 2010.

The Cardinals tried to give the game its tone early by being very aggressive, with Matt Holliday barrelling into 2B Marco Scutaro to break up a potential double play with two on and one out in the top of the 1st. Holliday leveled the much smaller Scutaro, but his throw to first was still accurate, although late, forcing Jon Jay to stop at third base. Scutaro stayed on the ground a few minutes but remained in the game, and Vogelsong forced Yadier Molina to ground out to end the inning without a score. After the game, Giants manager Bruce Bochy would call Holliday's slide "illegal". In the bottom of the 1st, Angel Pagan led off with a solo homer for San Francisco for the game's first run. However, St. Louis tied the game right back when Pete Kozma walked with two outs in the 2nd and Carpenter, a lifetime .118 hitter, doubled him in.

The score remained tied until the 4th, when San Francisco mounted a big push. Brandon Belt doubled after one out and Gregor Blanco followed with a single, putting runners on the corners. Brandon Crawford hit a weak ground ball back to Carpenter, who threw it away, allowing Belt to score. Vogelsong bunted both runners over, and Pagan drew a walk to load the bases. Scutaro then delivered the blow that opened up the game for the Giants, hitting a single to Holliday in left that cleared the bases, two runs scoring on the hit, and Pagan coming around to score on Holliday's error.

The Giants controled the game from that point onward. Carpenter was removed for a pinch-hitter in the top of the 5th, but the Cardinals were unable to mount any serious offensive threat. After the 5th inning, Scutaro was replaced by Ryan Theriot, being bothered by pain in his hip as a result of the 1st-inning play. He underwent an MRI that showed no fracture, however. The Giants added a couple of insurance runs in the 8th when Blanco walked, and pinch-hitter Aubrey Huff and Pagan singled to load the bases against reliever Shelby Miller. Theriot followed with another single that scored two more runs, making the final score 7-1. Vogelsong got the win, having given up only 4 hits over 7 innings, while Jeremy Affeldt and Sergio Romo added a scoreless inning each. Carpenter took the loss for St. Louis.

Game 3 @ Busch Stadium[edit]

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Giants	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	9	1
Cardinals	0	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	x	3	6	0
WP: Kyle Lohse (1-0), LP: Matt Cain (0-1), SV: Jason Motte (2)
Home Runs: - STL: Matt Carpenter (1)

Attendance: 45,850

St. Louis won Game 3 at home after the contest's start was delayed for nearly 3 1/2 hours by a rain storm. When play began, Kyle Lohse was facing the Giants' new ace, Matt Cain, who had taken over the distinction during the season as Tim Lincecum struggled all year; Cain had sealed his standing by throwing a perfect game during the season and starting and winning the All-Star Game.

National Anthem sung before Game 3

Cain started the game by plunking lead-off hitter Jon Jay, but Carlos Beltran immediately grounded into a double play. However, Beltran hurt his knee running out the ground ball, and had to be replaced by Matt Carpenter in the top of the 2nd. Carpenter was 4 for 4 lifetime against Cain, and would live up to that when his turn to bat came up in the 3rd inning. With Jay on second base as the result of a two-out single and an errant pick-off attempt, Carpenter took Cain deep to give the Cardinals a 2-1 lead. San Francisco had scored in the top half of the inning when Angel Pagan led off with a single; Marco Scutaro, back in the line-up after an MRI on his hip had proved negative, doubled, and Pablo Sandoval grounded to shortstop, scoring Pagan and moving Scutaro to third with one out. Lohse walked Buster Posey intentionally and then got Hunter Pence to ground into a double play, ending the threat and preventing a big inning.

The game settled down after the early fireworks, with no scoring in the middle third. Lohse left with two outs in the 6th, having given up 7 hits and 5 walks, but only one run. Trevor Rosenthal got the last out of the frame, then in the bottom of the 7th, the Cardinals chased Cain when David Freese doubled with one out, Daniel Descalso received an intentional pass and Pete Kozma singled to load the bases. Shane Robinson, who had come in to play RF in place of Carpenter as part of a double switch in the top of the inning, grounded out to Scutaro, allowing Freese to score and give St. Louis a 3-1 lead. Javier Lopez replaced Cain and retired Jay on a ground ball to end the inning. The Giants had placed a ton of men on base through the first seven innings, stranding 11 baserunners, but when Jason Motte came in to pitch the 8th, their bats had run out of steam. They went down in order in both the 8th and the 9th, and the Cardinals were up two games to one.

Game 4 @ Busch Stadium[edit]

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Giants	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	3	6	1
Cardinals	2	0	0	0	2	2	2	0	x	8	12	0
WP: Adam Wainwright (1-0), LP: Tim Lincecum (0-1)
Home Runs: - SF: Hunter Pence (1), Pablo Sandoval (1)

Attendance: 47,062

The Cardinals went into Game 4 with Adam Wainwright on the mound; the former ace had struggled during his first season back from Tommy John surgery but got better as the season progressed and was giving signs of soon being back to his previous dominance. Facing him was another former ace, Tim Lincecum, who had struggled even worse than his opponent and had in fact been dropped from the starting rotation in the NLDS in favor of Barry Zito. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny also decided to keep Carlos Beltran on the bench following the previous day's knee injury, playing Matt Carpenter at first base and Allen Craig in right, although Beltran was available to pinch-hit if needed.

Wainwright was outstanding during his seven innings on the mound, giving up only four hits while striking out 5 and walking none. The only blemish on his record was a solo homer by Hunter Pence in the 2nd inning. However, the Cardinals had already taken a 2-0 lead by that point, as Lincecum allowed the first three batters he faced to reach base in the 1st inning: Jon Jay singled, Carpenter walked, and Matt Holliday singled to score Jay and move Carpenter to third. Craig followed with a sacrifice fly and it was 2-0, St. Louis, before the Giants cut the lead in half on Pence's homer in the next inning.

The score remained 2-1 in favor of the Cardinals until the 5th inning, when Lincecum ran into more trouble. Carpenter doubled after one out, then Holliday singled him in with Holliday taking second on the throw. After Craig struck out, Yadier Molina singled to make it 4-1. George Kontos relieved Lincecum at that point, but he got into more trouble in the 6th, when he allowed singles to Daniel Descalso and Pete Kozma to lead off the inning. Wainwright bunted both runners over and Jose Mijares replaced Kontos. Jay greeted him with a double, scoring both runners, and increasing the lead to 6-1. The Cardinals did not rest however, scoring two more runs in the 7th on a single by Craig, a run-scoring double by Molina, a wild pitch and a single by Kozma. With the score 8-1, the Giants scored a couple of late runs against reliever Fernando Salas in the 9th, on a two-run homer by Pablo Sandoval, but the game's outcome was no longer in doubt by that point.

Game 5 @ Busch Stadium[edit]

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Giants	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	1	0	5	6	0
Cardinals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	1
WP: Barry Zito (1-0), LP: Lance Lynn (0-1)
Home Runs: - SF: Pablo Sandoval (2)

Attendance: 47,075

With his team facing elimination, Giants manager Bruce Bochy decided to use a fifth different starter in Game 5, with Barry Zito taking the mound. Zito had been a major disappointment since signing a huge free agent contract with San Francisco before the 2007 season, being in fact not used at all when the Giants won a World Championship in 2010. However, the Cardinals had teed off seemingly at will against Madison Bumgarner in Game 1, so Bochy was unwilling to give him the ball again. For St. Louis, Game 1 starter Lance Lynn was back, although he too was a second choice, having spent the NLDS in the bullpen and earning his way back to the starting rotation only because of Jaime Garcia's season-ending injury. For the Cards, Carlos Beltran was also back in the line-up after sitting out Game 4.

Bochy's choice turned out to be an inspired one, as Zito's start was a form of redemption for his string of disappointing seasons for the Giants. In 7 2/3 innings, he did not give up a run, allowing 6 hits and a walk, to lead the Giants to a 5-0 win. The game was decided in the 4th inning, when the Giants put together a big frame against Lynn. Marco Scutaro and Pablo Sandoval opened the inning with consecutive singles. After Buster Posey struck out, Hunter Pence hit a comebacker to the mound,; Lynn tried to force Scutaro at third, but threw wildly, allowing him to score, and putting Sandoval on third. Brandon Belt popped out for the second out, but Gregor Blanco drew a walk to load the bases. SS Brandon Crawford then had the game's key hit, a single to center that scored both Sandoval and Pence. Zito then laid down a perfect bunt for a hit, and Blanco scored in turn, making it 4-0. Joe Kelly replaced Lynn at that point, but the game was out of reach already.

Zito continued to muzzle the Cardinals through the 7th. In the top of the 8th, Sandoval hit a solo homer off Mitchell Boggs, making the score 5-0. Zito left with two outs in the 8th, having allowed a single to Jon Jay, but Santiago Casilla stepped in to strike out Matt Holliday. Sergio Romo then pitched the 9th, allowing only a single to Yadier Molina, and the game was over, with the Series heading back to San Francisco for Game 6.

Game 6 @ AT&T Park[edit]

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cardinals	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	5	1
Giants	1	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	x	6	9	1
WP: Ryan Vogelsong (2-0), LP: Chris Carpenter (0-2)
Home Runs: - none

Attendance: 43,070

Back in San Francisco, Game 6 was almost a repeat of Game 2. The same two men were on the mound, Chris Carpenter for the Cardinals and Ryan Vogelsong for the Giants, and the results were almost identical, with the Giants coming up with a 6-1 win to force a decisive Game 7.

San Francisco scored early and then cruised to the win. In the 1st inning, Marco Scutaro drew a one-out walk and Pablo Sandoval doubled. Buster Posey then hit a ground ball to 3B David Freese, who thought about throwing home, then hesitated, bobbled the ball slightly, and finally had no choice but to relay to first base as Scutaro scored the game's first run. In the 2nd, Brandon Belt led off with a triple to deep right-center, and, one out later, Carpenter intentionally walked SS Brandon Crawford to face Vogelsong. With the infield drawn in, Vogelsong faked a bunt then hit a tapper towards Pete Kozma at shortstop; Kozma fumbled the ball, allowing Belt to score the second run and Vogelsong to reach safely. After Angel Pagan struck out for the second out, Scutaro followed with a double to left, scoring two more runs; Sandoval followed with another single, and the Giants were up 5-0 after two innings.

In the meantime, Vogelsong was dealing on the mound, not allowing his first hit until two were out in the 5th. In 7 innings, he set a career high with 9 strikeouts, allowing only 4 hits and a walk. The Cardinals' only run came in the 6th, when Carlos Beltran doubled with two outs and Allen Craig singled him in. Vogelsong pitched another inning before giving way to Jeremy Affeldt in the 8th. When he left, the two starting pitchers had statistical lines almost identical to those they had put in Game 2: 5 runs - 2 earned - in 4 innings for Carpenter, and 1 run in 7 innings for Vogelsong; the ultimate result was the same as well, a second win for Vogelsong and another loss for Carpenter. It turned out to be Carpenter's final major league appearance, as injuries prevented him from ever taking the mound the following season, and he decided to formally retire a little over a year after this game. The Giants ended the scoring when Belt singled off Marc Rzepczynski with one out in the 8th, and after Crawford had walked, pinch-hitter Ryan Theriot hit a single off Edward Mujica to make the final score 6-1. Sergio Romo then got the last three outs to end the game.

Game 7 @ AT&T Park[edit]

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cardinals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	2
Giants	1	1	5	0	0	0	1	1	x	9	14	0
WP: Matt Cain (1-1), LP: Kyle Lohse (1-1)
Home Runs: - SF: Brandon Belt (1)

Attendance: 43,056

The Giants completed their second remarkable comeback of the postseason, winning for the third straight time after having been down 3 games to 1. Once again, the Giants dominated the game from start to finish, as indeed they outscored the Cardinals 20-1 in the final three games when the chips were down. On the mound was their ace, Matt Cain, facing the dependable but unspectacular Kyle Lohse. Cain finally pitched the sort of game that had made him one of the National League's top pitchers, after three middling starts in his previous postseason outings. In 5 2/3 innings, he gave up only 5 hits and a walk, and left with an impregnable 7-0 lead, having thrown over 100 pitches. It was a different story for Lohse, however. He had flirted in and out of trouble all night in winning Game 3, but this time, the Giants made him pay for his generosity in allowing baserunners to reach. Angel Pagan and Marco Scutaro opened the bottom of the 1st with consecutive singles, the second moving Pagan to third base. Pablo Sandoval followed with a ground ball that forced Lohse off the mound, and it was quickly 1-0. In the 2nd, Gregor Blanco singled after one out and Brandon Crawford moved him to second with a ground ball to the right side. Cain then became the third straight Giants starter to drive in a run, singling to center field for a 2-0 lead.

The Cardinals were already in trouble, but the 3rd inning was a killer for Lohse. Scutaro opened with another single - he would hit three on the night on the way to winning the NLCS MVP award - and Sandoval hit a double. Lohse walked Buster Posey to load the bases, and was removed in favor of Joe Kelly, having given up 6 hits and a walk in only two innings. Hunter Pence stepped up to the plate and broke his bat on one of Kelly's fastballs, but the ball was out of reach of SS Pete Kozma after curving away from him while in the air. It fell into centerfield for a double; two runs scored on the hit and a third did so when CF Jon Jay misplayed the ball. Replays showed that pieces of the broken bat had hit the ball while in the air, giving it its incongruous trajectory. There was no coming back from that early 5-0 deficit. The Giants added two more runs before the inning was over, as Belt followed with a single, Blanco walked and Crawford hit a ground ball to Kozma, who hesitated and could not retire anyone, for a fielder's choice and a 6th run. After Cain struck out, Pagan grounded into a force out for the 5th run of the inning, and another walk later, Kelly was out, replaced by Edward Mujica. When the inning ended, the Giants were up 7-0, and with Cain pitching very well, it was just a matter of completing the game.

The Giants added a couple of late runs, on a double play grounder in the 7th and on a solo homer by Belt off Jason Motte in the 8th, to make the final score 9-0. Four relievers - Jeremy Affeldt, Santiago Casilla, Javier Lopez and Sergio Romo - combined to keep the Cardinals off the scoreboard over the last 3 1/3 innings, but the outcome was no longer in doubt. A steady rain began pouring late in the game, and drenched the field as the Giants celebrated their return to the World Series, where they would face the Detroit Tigers, giving groundskeepers the challenge of repairing the damage in less than 48 hours.