Ishikawa's ninth-inning blast off Wacha ends Cardinals' playoff run
SAN FRANCISCO -- Called on to make his first appearance of the postseason in the bottom of the ninth of a tie game, Michael Wacha gave up a three-run homer to Travis Ishikawa and the Cardinals' season ended with a 6-3 loss in Game 5 of the NL Championship Series Thursday night.
The Cardinals led, 3-2, after seven innings but gave up homers in the eighth and ninth innings. The Giants finished the game with three homers after hitting two in the first nine games of the postseason.
3 UP
-- Adam Wainwright. If this wasn't his A stuff, you wonder what is. The tall right-hander bounced back from two subpar starts by working seven innings and allowing only four hits, one of them a two-run homer by rookie Joe Panik. Wainwright struck out seven, including the heart of the Giants' order -- Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval and Hunter Pence -- in the sixth.
-- Long balls. Matt Adams and Tony Cruz had zero hits and eight strikeouts in their first 13 at-bats against Madison Bumgarner. They changed that with two swings in the fourth inning as both powered home runs off the Giants' starter and turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead. The homers were the Cardinals' 14th and 15th in nine postseason games.
-- Jon Jay. The postseason's hottest hitter added two more hits to his total, giving him 14 hits in 29 at-bats. Jay also got his first extra-base hit with an RBI double and, showing his skills on the other side of the ball, made a hit-saving catch in the ninth after he moved from center field.
3 DOWN
-- Pat Neshek. You wonder if the outcome would have been different if he had not had to pitch the eighth inning of Game 4 when the Cardinals were losing. Perhaps not, because even though he was working for the third straight day, he looked as sharp as usual on nine of the 10 pitches he threw. But he hung a slider on his third pitch to pinch-hitter Mike Morse, who deposited it over the left-field fence to tie the game at 3. Neshek responded by retiring the next three batters with his usual efficiency.
-- First-inning luck. The Cardinals looked like they were ready for an early rally when Jon Jay and Matt Holliday both singled with one out and cleanup hitter Jhonny Peralta hit a line drive to third. But wait. Pablo Sandoval somehow got his rotund body up in the air high enough to make the catch. Not satisfied with one out, the Panda came down and fired to second to catch Jay for an inning-ending double play.
-- NL pennants lead. By winning their 20th NL pennant, the Giants broke a tie with the Cardinals for most among NL teams. The Yankees have won twice as many to lead all teams. Even if the Giants beat the Royals, though, St. Louis still will hold the edge in World Series titles. They have 11; the Giants will be going for their eighth.
You can follow Stan McNeal on Twitter at @StanMcNeal or email him at stanmcneal@gmail.com.
