Beltran connected in the fourth inning off Bumgarner
The St. Louis Cardinals scored six runs in the first four innings and held on to beat the Giants 6-4. Carlos Beltran and David Freese each hit to run home runs as the Cardinals took Game 1 of the NLCS over the San Francisco Giants. Giants starter Madison Bumgarner pitched 3 2/3 innings and was knocked around for six runs. The Giants are 0-3 at home so far this season. Tim Lincecum pitched two scoreless innings for San Francisco.
Cardinals starter Lance Lynn also struggled pitching 3 2/3 innings and giving up four earned runs. However, the St. Louis bullpen delivered with 5 1/3 scoreless innings and the Cardinals held on. Jason Motte finished for his second save of the postseason.
After starting the game with three hitless innings, Lynn ran into trouble with two outs and a runner on first in the fourth. Hunter Pence and Brandon Belt followed with singles to drive in San Francisco’s first run. They both scored on Gregor Blanco‘s triple. Brandon Crawford followed with an RBI double to make it 6-4 and Lynn left after walking pinch-hitter Aubrey Huff. MVP candidate Buster Posey was hitless on the night
Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Monday night. Chris Carpenter pitches for the Cardinals against Ryan Vogelsong.
