San Francisco Giants outshine St. Louis Cardinals with 5-0 win in Game 5 of NLCS – NLCS Update
The San Francisco Giants avoided elimination from the National League Championship Series on Friday, October 19, by beating the St. Louis Cardinals 5-0 at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals who had a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven game series were dominated by the Giants’ tremendous defensive and offensive combination.
Barry Zito pitched few of the best 7.2 innings of his career to win a majestic game for the Giants, backed by an equally strong and solid offence put by the batters. Zito did not surrender any run and allowed only a walk to keep the Cardinals' batters at bay.
Lance Lynn, on the other hand, fell once again. In his 3.2 costly innings, the Cardinals’ starter allowed four runs, all of which came in the fourth inning that put the Giants in a strong position, helping them stage a comeback in the National League Championship Series.
It was Hunter Pence who grounded into fielder’s choice to allow Scutaro to score, giving the team a much-needed 1-0 lead. With bases loaded on a full count, Brandon Crawford then singled to add two more runs, adding to the team’s lead.
Zito then did a charm with the bat as well, executing a bunt and scoring an RBI single to make it 4-0 for the Giants by the end of the fourth inning.
"This is definitely it for me," Giants' starter Zito said who also was instrumental with bat. "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."
Pablo Sandoval smashed a homer in the eighth to make it 5-0 for the Giants. With the lead that the Giants scored, it was then Santiago Casilla who ended the eighth without surrendering any run.
Sergio Romo came in the ninth, with the Giants 5-0 lead, to pitch a perfect scoreless inning to end Game 5 with a 5-0 win, putting the Giants back into the NLCS as the best-of-seven games now stands at 3-2. With Game 6 out of Busch Stadium, it remains to be seen if the Cardinals will make it to World Series with a win.
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