The San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals will meet for Game 4 of the NLCS at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT. Tim Lincecum will be on the mound for the Giants and with the way he has been pitching in the postseason you can almost guarantee the Giants will tie the series 2-2.
Lincecum does not look like himself out on the mound in the playoffs, his 2012 self that is.
In 2012 Lincecum posted the worst numbers of his career, but in 8.1 innings pitched in the postseason he has only allowed one earned run on three hits and has nine strikeouts.
The Cardinals got a little taste of what Lincecum can do as he threw two innings of hitless baseball in relief in Game 1 of the NLCS. Against the Cincinnati Reds, also in relief, Lincecum 6.1 innings of one run baseball and even won a game in the process.
The Cardinals will have Adam Wainwright on the mound and he had a forgettable start in Game 5, almost risking elimination as he allowed six runs on 2.1 innings against the Washington Nationals.
Lincecum has built his confidence in his previous, Wainwright has not, which is why I give the pitching edge to the Giants.
Somebody needs to give Hunter Pence a nice pep talk before a game so they can get his bat going. There is no way anybody is going to pitch to Buster Posey knowing that Pence cannot drive in runs.
Score Predictions: Wainwright knows how to battle, but if he starts off the way he did against the Nationals, the Giants will not let him pass the third inning once again. Game will finish in the Giants' behalf 6-3.