2007 Red Sox it was! The Giants have continued their remarkable postseason by coming back from a 3-1 deficit to win these NLCS immediately after coming back from a 2-0 deficit to Cincinnati. It seemed like last night would be a tight pitching matchup between Matt Cain and Kyle Lohse, but it was really a completely lopsided affair starting from the very beginning. For the second straight game, fielding was not on the Cardinals’ side as the Giants picked up a first inning run when Pablo Sandoval grounded to Lohse, who couldn’t get it out of his glove in time to catch the speedy Angel Pagan.
Oct 22, 2012; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants second baseman Marco Scutaro (19) holds the MVP trophy after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 9-0 in game seven of the 2012 NLCS to advance to the world series at AT
The Giants kept rolling in the second, scoring on an RBI single by Matt Cain of all people. However, it would be in the third inning where the Giants really put the Cards away. The Giants loaded the bases with no outs, then got three runs when Hunter Pence doubled to center, aided by an error by center fielder Jon Jay. The Giants kept rolling still, loading the bases again, still with no outs. Fielding still was against the Cardinals here, as Brandon Crawford seemingly grounded into a fielder’s choice. However, everyone was safe and the run scored to make it 6-0. Angel Pagan actually would ground into a fielder’s choice next, scoring another run and making it 7-0, as the damage was most definitely done.
This would be the time where the Cardinals normally would click into full comeback mode. However, Matt Cain continued to dominate the Redbirds over his 5.2 innings of work, holding them to no runs on five hits. The Giants scored single runs in the seventh and eighth innings, but it really wouldn’t matter as the bullpen stifled the Cardinals as effectively as Cain did. When it was all over, one part particularly makes me feel good, and that’s that Marco Scutaro was MVP of the series. Although he only spent two years in Boston, he was a classy guy and a good clubhouse man and I always enjoyed watching him play.