National League Championship Series preview

Lineup

St. Louis was last in the National League with 105 homers, and while shortstop Jhonny Peralta led the Cardinals with 21 homers, left fielder Matt Holliday is the big stick in the lineup. He hit 20 homers and had a team-high 90 RBIs. No one is hotter than second baseman Matt Carpenter, who hit .375 with three homers and three doubles against the Dodgers in the NLDS. San Francisco scored a mere nine runs in four games against the Nationals, although one of those games went 18 innings. Catcher Buster Posey hit .334 with 15 homers from June 1 to the end of the season. Third baseman Pablo Sandoval is a World Series MVP, while right fielder Hunter Pence had 20 homers this year, and his thrice-hit ball in the 2012 NLCS is sure to be replayed a few times. Edge: Cardinals.

Bench

The Giants will have outfielder Mike Morse back from an oblique injury (16 homers, 32 doubles in 131 games), which means he or Travis Ishikawa will come off the bench, and both are good options for the Giants. Former Royal Gregor Blanco is a speedy option as well. Beyond Oscar Tavares, there aren’t many options for St. Louis, other than adding catcher A.J. Pierzynski gives them a decided advantage in the annoying player category. Edge: Giants.

Defense

Two great defensive catchers in the Cardinals’ Yadier Molina and the Giants’ Posey anchor the teams. According to BillJamesonline.com, the Cardinals saved the second-most runs in baseball (64), while the Giants were a negative-3. Second baseman Kolten Wong and center fielders Jon Jay and Peter Bourjos are excellent defensive players for St. Louis. Edge: Cardinals.

Rotation

Tough call here, because no one really knows what’s up with Adam Wainwright. The Cardinals’ ace didn’t make it five innings against the Dodgers, fueling concerns of a lingering elbow injury. But Wainwright proclaimed himself fine, saying, “The elbow-fearing world can know it’s not my ligament.” John Lackey had a 4.30 ERA with the Cardinals after being traded from Boston, but he was excellent in the NLDS. Lance Lynn has 48 wins over the last three years, but he’s never beaten the Giants and has a 7.98 career ERA against them. For the Giants, Madison Bumgarner, who had a 2.98 ERA this season, has allowed just two earned runs in 16 playoff innings this year. Jake Peavy had a 2.17 ERA in 12 starts after being dealt by Boston. Tim Hudson was excellent in the NLDS against Washington. Edge: Giants.

Bullpen

San Francisco’s relievers were third in the NL with a 3.01 ERA. The Cardinals were 10th at 3.62. Lee’s Summit native Trevor Rosenthal, St. Louis’ closer, wobbled this season but had 45 saves. Pat Neshek was an All-Star as a set-up man. St. Louis had one fewer blown save than San Francisco, and the Giants allowed a higher percentage of inherited runners to score (30 percent to 23 percent). Santiago Casilla (19 saves) took over closer duties from Sergio Romo, who had a 1.80 ERA in the second half. Former Royal Jeremy Affeldt and fellow lefty Javier Lopez are playoff-tested. Edge: Giants.

Managers

Mike Matheny did a fine job of navigating through pitching injuries and offensive woes in guiding the Cardinals to the Central Division crown. However, few question that Bruce Bochy is one of the best managers in baseball today. Heck, Grantland even made the case that he’s one of the best managers ever. Edge: Giants.

The Pick

Giants in six games

This story was originally published October 10, 2014 at 8:13 PM with the headline "National League Championship Series preview."