Philadelphia @ San Francisco preview
Oracle Park
Last Meeting ( Oct 20, 2010 ) Philadelphia 5, San Francisco 6
San Francisco's youth has served it well. On the strength of a strong core of twentysomethings, the Giants are one win away from reaching the World Series for the first time since 2002.
To get there Thursday, the Giants will have to beat the Philadelphia Phillies and ace Roy Halladay, but they've done it before - twice this season, in fact, including Game 1 of this series.
Halladay is 0-3 with a 7.23 ERA in three regular-season starts against the Giants, and he took the loss in Game 1, allowing four runs on eight hits over seven innings.
Strong pitching performances from Tim Lincecum - who will start Game 5 - and Matt Cain gave the Giants their first two wins in the series, but their bats did the work in Game 4, and rookie catcher Buster Posey was at the forefront.
After leading the Giants with a .375 average (6-for-16) in the division series against Atlanta, Posey struggled in the first three games of the National League Championship Series. He was 1-for-11 in the series before going 4-for-5 with two RBIs and scoring the winning run in Game 4.
The Giants also got a lift from slumping third baseman Pablo Sandoval, who made his first start of the series and laced a two-run double in the sixth inning.
The Phillies finally did something at the plate in Game 4 - their nine hits were the most they've had in the series - but their paltry .216 team average during the NLCS is not what was expected of the team that scored the second-most runs in the league in the regular season.
It's up to Lincecum to ensure they don't rediscover their potent offense.
Lincecum has faced the Phillies seven times in the regular season, going 2-1 with a 3.17 ERA, and he continued that success in the series opener. In Game 1, the two-time Cy Young Award winner allowed three runs on six hits over seven innings, striking out eight and walking three. He has struck out 22 in 16 innings in two postseason starts.
Giants closer Brian Wilson worked a perfect ninth to earn the win Wednesday, adding it to his two saves in the series. Wilson has allowed two hits in 3 1/3 scoreless innings in the series.
If the Phillies can stay alive and force the series back to Philadelphia for Game 6 on Saturday, Roy Oswalt is scheduled to pitch against left-hander Jonathan Sanchez.
Oswalt, who threw eight innings of one-run ball to win Game 2, was the losing pitcher in Game 4. He came on in relief in the ninth and allowed singles to Aubrey Huff and Posey before Juan Uribe's sacrifice fly to deep left won it for the Giants.
Huff had three hits and an RBI in Game 4, and Cody Ross went 1-for-3 and scored a run. Ross is 5-for-12 with three home runs and four RBIs in the series.