Giants To Battle NLCS Rival Cardinals

Yesterday, the Giants defeated the Athletics at AT&T Park by a score of 5-2, avoiding the series sweep.

The Giants bats finally came alive, but it took them 4 games to finally get going. They’ll look to carry that momentum from that final game of the series over to St. Louis where they’ll start a road trip facing off against the Cardinals.

The Cards are no strangers to the Giants. They played them in this season’s AT&T Park home opener but more memorably, getting to the brink of last year’s World Series being up three games to zero, only to watch the Giants surge back in epic fashion to win four games in a row eliminating them at Busch Stadium.

As they say, the rest was history, and the Giants went on to perform a sweep of the Detroit Tigers capturing their second World Series title in three seasons.

Oct 17, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher

(18) throws to a St. Louis Cardinals batter during the first inning of game three of the 2012 NLCS at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dilip Vishwanat/Pool Photo via USA TODAY Sports

In the last match up between these teams, the Cardinals won the series, taking two out of three in San Francisco. The Giants will have no easy task as the Cardinals are sitting atop the Central Division with the best record in the National League.

Matt Cain looks to get back on track being the starter for the series opener. His ERA is at an un-Cain-like 5.00 although he has logged a winning record, getting the W his last four starts compiling a record of 4-2.

Here are the pitching matchups for the weekend series:

Matt Cain vs Shelby Miller (5-3, 2.02 ERA)

Madison Bumgarner (4-3, 3.13 ERA) vs Adam Wainwright (7-3, 2.48 ERA)

Chad Gaudin (0-1, 2.05 ERA) vs Tyler Lyons (2-0, 1.29 ERA)

Notes:

Pablo Sandoval is out for the first game with strained left foot. He could miss a week after having an MRI.

Angel Pagan still out with hamstring issues but is reported to be nearing his return.

Chad Gaudin will get his first start of the year. Mike Kickham was sent back down to the minors. There is a  revolving door in the rotation for Ryan Vogelsong‘s vacant spot as he is on the DL.

My Keys to the Series:

Stay Hot Hunter- Pence has gotten two or more hits in the last three games including solo homeruns on back to back games.

DEFENSE- The Giants have the second most errors in the majors. This can’t continue, as the defense is not helping out their already struggling pitchers.