Follow @mlbreports

Friday October 12th, 2012

Bernie Olshansky: Game One: Reds 5, Giants 2: The first game of the National League Division Series looked to be a pitchers’ duel with Johnny Cueto of the Reds matching up with Matt Cain of the Giants. This possibility quickly went out the window when Cueto was seen in major discomfort after throwing a pitch to the second batter of the game. Out went Cueto with back spasms and in came Sam LeCure. Lecure pitched very well bridging the gap to probable game three starter Mat Latos. Right as Cueto came out, this became a must-win game for the Giants. These first two games would be the only two home games of the series for the Giants, and the ace of the Reds’ staff was out of the game after a third of an inning. While the Reds bullpen and Mat Latos continued to keep the Giants’ offense at bay, Brandon Phillips and Jay Bruce delivered all the offense that the Reds needed with a two-run bomb to left and a solo shot to right-center. Latos and the bullpen did the rest, only giving up a solo shot to Buster Posey and a run in the ninth inning. It looked as if the Reds had all the momentum taking at least a tie back to Cincinnati.

Game Two: Reds 9, Giants 0: The Reds picked up just where they left off starting the scoring with a Ryan Ludwick solo homer to dead center. In a fall evening in San Franciso, a hitter needs to get all of it for it to be a home run and Ludwick did just that, putting the Reds up 1-0 in the second inning. A few innings later, the Reds continued to pummel Madison Bumgarner scoring three in a rally started by Joey Votto. In what was a weird turn of events, Tim Lincecum came in to pitch in the sixth inning in relief of George Kontos. Lincecum went to the bullpen and only threw a few pitches before heading back to the dugout. Then, to what looked like his surprise, Bruce Bochy inserted him into the game as part of a double switch that put Xavier Nady into left field. Lincecum pitched very well for the limited warm-up tosses he had, shutting down the Reds and keeping the deficit at four. Unfortunately for the Giants the Reds kept going, shelling Jose Mijares and Santiago Casilla for five more runs, bringing up the total to nine. As of Sunday night, it looked like the Giants were completely dead.

Game Three: Giants 2, Reds 1: The third game of the series was not exactly one for the ages. Ryan Vogelsong was set to take on recent thrower of a no-hitter Homer Bailey in an elimination game. Vogelsong looked a bit shaky at first, giving up a run in the first inning, but eventually settled down and was able to make it through five innings. Homer Bailey was sharp through all seven of his innings, actually taking a no-hitter into the sixth. The Giants scored on a hit-by-pitch, walk, sacrifice bunt, and finally a sacrifice fly by Angel Pagan. The score stayed at 1-1 until the tenth inning when a series of miscues by the Reds’ defense broke the tie. A passed ball sent Hunter Pence and Buster Posey to second and third, which set up Scott Rolen’s fielding error that scored Posey. The Giants sent Barry Zito out for Wednesday’s elimination game in hopes of staying alive and forcing a game five.

Game Four: Giants 8, Reds 3: Game four was all Giants with Angel Pagan hitting a solo home run on the second pitch of the game. Barry Zito was not the sharpest, walking in a run and only going 2.2 innings. Tim Lincecum (besides the Giants’ offense) was the star of the show. He went 4.1 innings while giving up one run on two hits and struck out six. The game was 5-2 when he came in, so he did a great job of keeping the lead. It looked like the momentum had shifted in the Giants favor for game five as Matt Cain was set to take on Mat Latos.

Game Five: Giants 6, Reds 4: The fifth and final game of the series was all set to be another pitchers’ duel with Mat Latos owning the Giants in the past and Matt Cain being the go-to guy for the Giants this year. The first few innings went off without a hitch until the fifth inning when Brandon Crawford drove home Gregor Blanco for the first run of the game. Angel Pagan followed this up by reaching on an error by Zack Cozart that scored Crawford. The Giants loaded the bases for Buster Posey, who promptly hit a grand slam that gave the Giants the final four runs of their six-run inning. Matt Cain seemed to run out of steam, giving up two runs in the bottom of the inning, and one run an inning later on a solo home run by Ryan Ludwick. George Kontos came in and held the Reds, leaving it up to the rest of the bullpen to close it out. Santiago Casilla came in and did his job as well, keeping the lead at three. The Reds had the tying run at the plate for the last four innings, but could never get the job done. Sergio Romo, seemingly running on fumes, got the four out save but made it interesting, giving up one run on two hits and a walk. It might not have been pretty, but the Giants managed a miraculous comeback from being down two games to none. On top of this deficit, the Giants also had to win these three games in Cincinnati. The Giants are riding high after this series victory and I would not be surprised to see them win the NLCS and go on to the World Series.

(*The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com*)

***Today’s feature was prepared by Bernie Olshansky, Baseball Writer & Facebook Administrator.  We highly encourage you to leave your comments and feedback at the bottom of the page and share in the discussion with our readers.  You can also follow Bernie on Twitter (@BernieOlshansky)***

Please e-mail us at: mlbeports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback.  You can follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook .  To subscribe to our website and have the daily Reports sent directly to your inbox , click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.