The Giants will advance to their third World Series since 2010. Bruce Bochy is now 10-1 in playoff series after outfielder Travis Ishikawa smacked a walk-off three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth off Michael Wacha to give the Giants a 6-3 win.
It only took the Giants five games to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals, who they also beat in the 2012 NLCS. San Francisco will now face the Kansas City Royals in the World Series - a matchup between two wild-card teams who clawed their way into the 2014 playoffs. The Royals swept the Orioles yesterday to advance to their first World Series since 1985.
But the spotlight is on the Giants tonight, who have proved to be relentless throughout the postseason. After defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-0 on the road in the Wild Card game, the Giants then took down the NL-best Washington Nationals in the NLDS after four games. And tonight they're celebrating a five-game NLCS victory over the Cardinals in yet another close matchup.
Tonight was a rematch of Game 1. The Giants sent Madison Bumgarner to the mound to face Adam Wainwright. The two aces have had successful careers in the postseason, but Wainwright had two tough starts during the 2014 playoffs. He put those behind him and tossed seven innings on Thursday night, giving up four hits and two earned runs while striking out seven. Bumgarner surrendered five hits, two walks and three earned runs through eight innings and looked as if he would lose his fourth career postseason start.
But the Cardinals bullpen proved to be the difference-maker again. Pat Neshek came in to relieve Wainwright in the eighth inning and immediately gave up a pinch-hit game-tying home run to Michael Morse. Neshek finished the inning and the score was tied at three heading into the ninth. Santiago Casilla and Jeremy Affeldt took care of the top half of the inning for the Giants, and Travis Ishikawa took care of the bottom of the ninth.
Wacha relieved Neshek, giving up a leadoff single to Pablo Sandoval and then walking Brandon Belt two batters later. The next to step into the batter's box was Ishikawa, who crushed a fastball to right field stands that sent the Giants to the World Series. This marked another comeback win in the series for the Giants, who erased a three-run deficit last night in Game 4 and broke a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the 10th in Game 3. Tonight, the team was able to overcome home runs from Matt Adams and Tony Cruz that gave the Cardinals a 3-2 lead in the fourth inning.
Bochy and the Giants look to claim a third World Series title in their last three postseason appearances. San Francisco defeated the Texas Rangers in 2010 and the Detroit Tigers in 2012, but now face a similar underdog team in the Royals. Game 1 will take place in Kansas City on Tuesday, October 21, and it should be an intriguing matchup between two historical franchises.
