San Francisco Giants vs. St. Louis Cardinals: Predictions

By Tyler Ruby on October 11, 2014

 

NLCS Game 2: San Francisco Giants at St. Louis Cardinals (San Francisco leads series 1-0)

Sunday, October 12th, 2014 at 8:07 p.m. Fox Sports 1

Probables: Jake Peavy (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Lance Lynn (0-0, 3.00 ERA)

After stealing home field advantage away from the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 1 of the NLCS, the Giants are playing with house money before they head to San Francisco for three games.

A strong outing by Madison Bumgarner in Game 1 shut down the St. Louis offense that owned Clayton Kershaw in the previous NLDS. Now the Cardinals are entering an almost must-win situation. Not only are teams at a significant disadvantage being down 2-0 in a series, but losing those first two games at home can be devastating.

With that in mind, the Cardinals send Lance Lynn to the mound. You can make the argument that he has been the Cardinals’ best pitcher this year. On the season, he finished 15-10 with a 2.74 ERA. He started against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS, and he gave up three runs. The Cardinals eventually lost that game. He may not be able to afford giving up three runs against the Giants as they counter with Jake Peavy.

Since coming over from the Boston Red Sox, Peavy has been outstanding for San Francisco. He is 6-4 with a 2.17 ERA. His reunion with Bruce Bochy has done wonders for his confidence, and he is pitching like he did seven years ago when he won the Cy Young Award.

I can’t help but think that this will be a pitcher’s duel. I also can’t imagine the Cardinals losing both games at home, so with that in mind, the Cardinals will come out on top in a close one that could very well see extra innings. Both teams should be heading to San Francisco with the series knotted at one apiece.