San Francisco Giants crush St. Louis Cardinals 5-0 in Game 5 of NLCS – MLB Recap
San Francisco Giants crushed the St. Louis Cardinals 5-0 in Game 5 of seven-match series in National League Championship Series on Friday, October 19 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.
"I couldn't be happier for him, He had it all going. He put on quite a show," manager Bruce Bochy said.
Giants entered this game with huge pressure as they knew if they suffered another defeat, they will be out from the race towards the World Series.
"I don't mind him being aggressive if he's got the play, (Shortstop Pete) Kozma was in the right place; he just made a low throw. And to do it over again, I'm sure he'd like to take the easy out at first base," manager Mike Matheny said.
On the other hand, the Cardinals entered with a 3-1 lead and were expecting that they will easily oust the Giants and play against the Detroit Tigers in World Series seven-game clash.
However, as the game started, the Giants took the early lead and later did not allow the Cardinals to bounce back in the game at any stage.
Giants’ batters and at the same time pitchers played beautifully and hammered the Cardinals with great force.
Especially Giants' starting rotation felt the responsibility and pitched with great accuracy. They all pitched in right areas and did not allow any single run during the entire game which eventually proved one of the winning factors for the Giants.
Starting pitcher Barry Zito pitched over seven innings spell and received only six hits. Not allowing any run during his exceptional spell, Zito also struck-out six and remained calm on the mound.
"This is definitely it for me, Coming here, especially doing it in a Giants uniform. A lot of people were saying stuff about A's days. And for me, the most important thing is doing everything for San Francisco right now." Zito said.
Zito’s pitching alone proved to be the difference in the game as he did not provide the Cardinals a chance to stay in the competition, but his exceptional outing boosted his entire team’s morale to confront St. Louis in Game 6 of National League Championship Series.
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