The San Francisco Giants ousted the Washington Nationals Tuesday night to advance to the NLCS. With the St. Louis Cardinals downing the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier in the day, the Giants will face the Cardinals in the NLCS for the second time in three years. In their last matchup, which took place in 2012, the Giants prevailed on their way to a World Series title.
The Giants got strong pitching again. This time it was Ryan Vogelsong, who worked through 5.2 innings while allowing just one run on two hits and two walks with four strikeouts. The last batter he faced, Jayson Werth, almost drove the ball out of the ballpark, but Hunter Pence went back for a great catch. Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez was lifted in the 5th for a pinch hitter. He surrendered two runs in the second inning.
After retiring Brandon Belt on a popup, Brandon Crawford singled and Juan Perez reached on an error by Gonzalez. Vogelsong attempted to sacrifice, but the Nationals were unable to get an out, and the bases were loaded. Gonzalez issued a free pass to Gregor Blanco, which pushed home a run. Rookie second baseman Joe Panik grounded out, bringing home another run.
The score would not be tied for long, as Panik and Buster Posey hit one out singles in the bottom half of the inning. Hunter Pence worked a walk to load the bases, and Panik hustled home on a wild pitch. Rafael Soriano entered and managed to avoid further damage, but the Giants 3-2 lead would be too much to overcome. Harper drew a two-out walk in the 9th, but the Nats were unable to muster a rally.
The Giants pitching staff held the Nationals offense at bay throughout the series. In four games and 45 innings worth of baseball they allowed only nine runs. With the exception of Harper, who hit three home runs and slashed .294/.368/.882, the Nats bats were cold. Anthony Rendon notched seven hits in the series, but all were singles. Werth had only one hit as did Adam Laroche and Denard Span had two. None of those players registered an extra-base hit.
The Giants-Cardinals series features strong starting pitching and solid bullpens. Don’t expect a lot of scoring in the NLCS. But, if this October has taught baseball fans anything, it’s to expect the unexpected.
