Cardinals vs. Giants, 2014 NLCS Game 3 results: 3 things we learned about San Francisco’s 5-4 win
The Giants pulled ahead in the NLCS despite not doing much for eight full innings against the Cardinals on Tuesday.
Brandon Crawford scored on a throwing error by reliever Randy Choate with nobody out in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the San Francisco Giants a 5-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Tuesday.
Crawford led off the inning with a walk and Juan Perez followed with a single -- the Giants' second hit since the first inning -- against Choate. Gregor Blanco laid down a bunt with runners on first and second, and Choate threw the ball wide of first base, allowing the game-winning run to cross the plate.
The Cardinals had stormed back from a 4-0 first-inning deficit to tie the game by plating two runs in the fourth and one each in the sixth and seventh. Kolten Wong, the Game 2 hero, hit a two-run triple to cut the Giants' lead in half three innings before Randal Grichuk knotted things up with a solo homer, chasing San Francisco starter Tim Hudson in the process.
Choate is not exactly a workhorse
It had been 13 years since Choate had thrown double-digit pitches in an inning during the postseason, according to ESPN’s Jayson Stark. The veteran left-hander had 15 playoff outings under his belt since then and topped out at eight pitches on two occasions. The largest reason for that is Choate’s designation as a lefty specialist, but he was allowed to face Perez anyway, and the reserve outfielder’s single played a large part in the outcome. The throwing error, of course, didn’t help.
The Cardinals own the seventh inning
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St. Louis has now scored 15 of its 27 runs this postseason in the seventh inning after Grichuk’s game-tying homer. Ten of those 15 runs have come on five round trippers, and before Tuesday, the Cardinals had won all four games in which they scored in the seventh.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, things often don’t work out as planned against a Giants squad that has not lost a postseason series since 2003.
Lackey’s resiliency nearly paid off
John Lackey had a rough first inning that was made worse by Mike Matheny’s decision to intentionally walk Brandon Belt. Before the Cardinals had a chance to bat for the second time, the Giants had four runs on four hits -- all with two outs -- and provided all sorts of breathing room for Hudson. But once St. Louis’ offense began to put the pressure on the Giants, Lackey really bore down and began hitting his spots, something he talked about during the off day.
“I think the most important thing to think about this time of year is think about the glove, think about location, because you’re going to have a little extra behind it,” Lackey told reporters on Monday. “Don’t force that, and just use it to your ability and try and throw through that thing.”
The 35-year-old right-hander gave up just one hit -- a single to Hudson -- after the first inning, continuing a run of strong postseason starts that stretches back to the 2013 ALDS while he was with the Red Sox.
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