Before we get into the NLCS, I think Giant fans should really reflect on the history this team just made. After a disastrous start in San Francisco, against a very talented Reds team, the truth is a lot of us were beginning to lose faith. I, for one, will admit that heading into game three I still had hope but I had resolved to being satisfied as long as they made Cincinnati sweat a little bit.
In game three, behind a gutsy start by Ryan Vogelsong, we started to see the fight that we all had gotten used to. Despite not getting a hit until the 6th inning, the Giants manufactured a run against a very good young Homer Bailey. The bullpen stood up and fought of a few threats by the Reds. We finally got to see Sergio Romo get a shot and he held the door shut to send it to extra innings. Then in the 10th inning, for the first time in the series, the Giants offense stepped up. Posey and Pence got back to back hits and the Giants ultimately would take the lead on a slow roller that Scott Rolen misplayed allowing Posey to score with two outs. Giants fans, we were that close to being out. Romo came back out and closed the door and now we knew we had a series.
In game four, Cueto was gone and the Reds went with Leake against Zito. This felt big and my confidence sky-rocketed. Heading in, the Giants had won the last 12 starts by Zito and you had to feel like our bats were do for huge breakout. Right away, Pagan took Leake deep and the Giants scored first for the first time in the series. Zito was not sharp however and he gave that run back right away. That just set the stage for the Reds to get a little freaked out. Blanco gave the Giants the lead back and Lincecum came into the game in the fourth and promptly closed the door on the Reds for the next four plus innings while the bats played add on baseball. Truly, game four was the kind of baseball we wanted to see and it set the stage for history the next day.
Game five, we had our ace versus our nemesis. Cain, trying to rebound from a sub-par game one, faced off against the game one hero for the Reds, Mat Latos. Latos brought in a great career resume against the Giants but you had to believe Cain would match him. Through the first three innings, that is exactly what happened. The pitchers dominated and it looked as if we were set for a classic. In the fourth inning, despite not scoring, the Giants finally had some production and made Latos throw a game high 18 pitches. This was where the game turned. Latos finally broke a sweat and the next inning it really paid off. Blanco and Crawford started it off with two great abs and the Giants took the lead. Later, Dusty decided to stay with Latos against Buster with the bases full and that decision may have lost the series. Posey slammed Latos out of the game and the Giants were on their way. However, the Reds showed real heart and battled back. The 9th inning provided an epic battle between Bruce and Romo, where Bruce represented the series winning run. Romo showed a lot of heart and won, perhaps, the biggest one at bat battle this post-season. One out later, the Giants made history.
Not only has no other NL team ever done this but this team was dead to rights through much of game three. They had an extra challenge because the Reds hadn't lost three straight at home all season. They had won 50 games at home. However, the Giants were road warriors in the second half and they showed a ton of heart. Unsung heroes were everywhere. Vogelsong had the best start of the series when he had to. Lincecum showed the form we all remembered from the 2010 post-season. Blanco had huge hits, as did Arias (who didn't even start a game in the series). The Reds will be second guessing this all winter, we can enjoy it for another day then we get to move on to the Cardinals. Enjoy the history this team just made.
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