Game Wrap 2014 NLCS Game 1: Giants 3 Cardinals 0

The Giants continued to follow the script to a T with shutdown pitching from Madison Bumgarner, Sergio Romo and Santiago Casilla while taking advantage of several fielding miscues by the Cardinals to scratch out 3 runs.  Key Lines:

Pablo Sandoval- 3 for 4, 2B, BB.   Pablo started the rally in the second inning by driving the ball to the wall in RF.  Grichuk was unable to hang on as he crashed first into the fence then onto the ground and the ball rolled free for a double.

Brandon Belt- 1 for 1, 2 BB, SF.   No dingers, but Belt was in the middle of both rallies.  His single kept the line moving in the 2-run 2'nd inning  and his SF cashed in a runner at 3B with 1 out in the 3'rd.

Travis Ishikawa- 2 for 3.  Ishikawa's bloop single down the 3B line just out of the reach of a diving Carpenter drove in a run.  He also made a nifty diving catch in LF.  I don't think he covered much ground on the catch, but it looked difficult and he came up with the ball, which looked at first like it would be a hit.

Madison Bumgarner- 7.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K's.  Once he got past the first inning, Bumgarner was overpowering.  Probably the closest the Cardinals came to scoring all night was when Holliday hit a drive to the warning track in right-center with a runner on, which probably would have been a dinger in a day game or even a night game during the summer.  Blanco caught up to it and almost made it look like a can of corn.  Fortunately, it was to the deepest part of the yard and it was a cold night.

Bumgarner has really established himself as a big game pitcher.  I don't know if Bochy was trolling Clayton Kershaw and Don Mattingly by leaving Bummy in for 112 pitches.  Personally, I would have taken him out 1 batter sooner after he faced the left-handed hitting Carpenter to lead off the 8'th inning. No sense in fatiguing him in case he is needed to win Game 5.  On the other hand, my concerns about giving him an extra day of rest and start him in Game 2 were completely unfounded.  If Matt Cain is a horse, this guy is as strong as an ox!

Sergio Romo- 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  Romo came in for 1 batter and got Matt Holliday to reach for a 2-strike slider for a weak flyball out.

Santiago Casilla- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, Save.  Here's what I like about Casilla.  He doesn't waste pitches.  When he gets 2 strikes on a batter, he makes sure the pitch close enough to the zone that the batter has to swing, but it's not in the fat part of the strike zone, so the contact, if it is made, is weak.  Sure, he's going to get BABIP'd once in a blue moon, but most of the time, he gets through the inning quickly, which leaves him fresh to go out there again the next game if needed.  The ninth inning in this one was dominant, even though there were no K's.  He just jumped out 0-2 then got the weak contact.  Ballgame!

Adam Wainwright(Cards)- 4.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K's.  Waino is clearly not himself.  As against the Dodgers, he did not throw a lot of FB's although he did get it up to 91 MPH.  Not only was his velocity pedestrian, his command was off as he gave the Giants a lot of easy takes.  The Giants also did a good job of recognizing the curveball and laying off as Waino depends on getting batters to swing outside the zone at the deuce.  Cards gotta be wondering if they can use him again this postseason.

Marco Gonzalez- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  This kid could be trouble down the road if he continues to be this tough on the lefty batters in the Giants lineup.

The Win puts the Giants up 1-0, which doesn't guarantee anything in a 7 game series, but if you have the choice, you do want to win Game 1.  What is the postseason success rate of teams that win Game 1 of 7 game series'?

Jake Peavy starts Game 2 for the Giants facing Lance Lynn, a guy the Giants have had some success against in the past.

Around the League:  The KC Royals shocked the Baltimore Orioles in Camden Yards by winning the first two games of the ALCS on the road.  The Royals are looking more and more like this year's Team of Destiny.  I can hear heads starting to explode over at Fangraphs as I write this.