The Giants are now one win away from winning the National League pennant for the third time in five years. Last night the Giants beat the Cardinals, 6-4 in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series. If they win tonight, they will be going to the World Series against the Kansas City Royals.
Ryan Vogelsong took the mound for the Giants and at first pitch, we all knew this was going to be a battle of the bats. Vogelsong only pitched three innings, giving up a leadoff double, which eventually scored in each inning. Vogelsong pitched three innings with seven hits, two walks, and four runs.
Bruce Bochy left it up to his relievers to finish the game with by having Yusmeiro Petit enter in the fourth inning. Petit helped the Caridnals at their four run lead by pitching three innings with only one hit and one ball. Jeremy Affeldt, Jean Machi, and Javier Lopez all entered in the seventh inning.
It was a tough inning for the Giants, with two on, and the pitchers not getting the final out. But Lopez came through when Adams grounded out, leaving runners on base. Santiago Casilla did what he does best and shut the Cardinals down in the ninth inning.
The Giants would not go down easy, it was a back and forth lead the entire night. After the Cardinals scored in the first, Buster Posey hit an RBI single allowing Gregor Blanco to score. The bottom of the third came and the Giants were down 4-1 when Posey hit another RBI line drive, scoring Joaquin Arias.
Hunter Pence then singled on a ground ball, bringing Posey home, and bringing the Giants closer to a lead. In the bottom of the sixth, Blanco reached base on a fielders choice, a mistake by the Cardinals because Juan Perez scored, tying the game. Brandon Crawford then scored off of Joe Panik’s ground out, giving the Giants the lead. Posey, the MVP of Game four, hit another RBI single, scoring Blanco and giving the Giants a 6-4 lead over the Cardinals.
Posey went 2-3 with three RBIs, Pence was 2-3, and Crawford went 2-3. The Giants are improving their hitting, but have yet to hit a home run in this series, which proves that even singling or grounding out can go a long way in a close knit game.
The Giants play today at 5:07 p.m. with Madison Bumgarner once again on the mound as the Giants attempt to win and make their way to the World Series.
