Is history repeating itself?

Picture this scene:

An amped-up crowd in St. Louis is eager to see the Cardinals finish the series in five games.

Instead, the Cardinals are shut down by an opposing lefty and lose by five runs.

It happened Friday night in the National League Championship Series when the Giants won 5-0 behind Barry Zito. It also happened in the 1985 World Series when the Royals won 6-1 behind Danny Jackson.

Like the Royals 27 years ago, the Giants won their previous series by winning three straight elimination games.

Like the Cardinals 27 years ago, this year’s team is having trouble at the plate. In 1985, St. Louis hit just .185. The Cardinals are doing better this time around. If you consider hitting .233 doing better, that is.

The Cardinals lost the final two games of the 1985 World Series on the road. This year's team faces two games in San Francisco.

While the stakes are not quite as high this year, will history repeat itself? We’ll soon find out.

| Pete Grathoff, pgrathoff@kcstar.com