Philadelphia @ San Francisco preview
Oracle Park
Last Meeting ( Oct 17, 2010 ) San Francisco 1, Philadelphia 6
After splitting the first two games of the National League Championship Series in Philadelphia, the San Francisco Giants face the possibility - albeit a difficult task - of closing out the series by winning the next three games at AT&T Park.
To keep that dream alive, the Giants will have to start by getting past Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels, who takes the mound for Game 3 on Tuesday looking to continue his outstanding postseason performance.
Hamels will look to pick up where he left off in the division series against Cincinnati, which he closed out with a five-hit shutout in Game 3. The 2008 World Series MVP, Hamels is 6-3 with a 3.36 ERA in 11 postseason starts.
The Giants, who are playing their first NLCS since 2002, will need to figure some things out at the plate to change Hamels' postseason luck. They managed only four hits in Game 2 against Roy Oswalt and Ryan Madson.
One of the four hits Sunday was Cody Ross' third home run of the series - and his fourth in six postseason games.
Ross has 13 regular-season homers against the Phillies in his career, more than he has hit against any other team. Four of those blasts have come against Hamels - he is 9-for-30 with four homers and six RBIs against the star left-hander.
Outside of Ross, though, the Giants have done little at the plate. They're hitting .194 in the series, and the lineup took a hit in Game 2 with shortstop Juan Uribe out with a bruised left wrist. If Uribe isn't cleared for Game 3, Edgar Renteria probably will get another start at shortstop, with slumping Pablo Sandoval replacing Mike Fontenot at third base.
The Phillies' offense hasn't been all that much better, hitting only .234 in the series, but it came to life in a four-run seventh inning Sunday.
Shortstop Jimmy Rollins delivered a three-run double in the big inning, perhaps a sign he is breaking out of a slump. Rollins is 3-for-18 this postseason, but he has fared well against right-hander Matt Cain, who will start for San Francisco in Game 3. Rollins is 6-for-10 with a home run and five RBIs against Cain.
Cain had another solid season, going 13-11 with a 3.14 ERA, and he carried over that success into his first playoff start. He allowed one unearned run over 6 2/3 innings but didn't factor in the decision in a Game 2 loss to Atlanta in the division series.
His record against the Phillies isn't good - he's 0-3 with a 6.23 ERA in five starts against them - and Rollins and second baseman Chase Utley (7-for-15, 3 HRs, 7 RBIs) have played a big role.
Rollins hit a three-run homer when the Phillies beat Cain and the Giants 8-2 on Aug. 18 in Philadelphia. In that one, Cain allowed five runs - only two earned - over six innings.
Philadelphia's Joe Blanton and San Francisco's Madison Bumgarner are scheduled to pitch Game 4 on Wednesday with aces Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum slated to square off in Game 5 on Thursday.