San Francisco @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 11, 2014 ) San Francisco 3, St. Louis 0

The San Francisco Giants look for their eighth consecutive postseason road victory when they visit the St. Louis Cardinals in Sunday’s Game 2 of the National League Championship Series. San Francisco won the opener 3-0 behind 7 2/3 stellar innings from ace Madison Bumgarner and three hits from third baseman Pablo Sandoval. The Cardinals are struggling offensively and have scored eight runs over the last four games after putting up 10 in their postseason opener.

The Giants are turning to Jake Peavy, who was acquired from the Boston Red Sox in late July and has excelled since getting the change of scenery and being reunited with Bruce Bochy, his former manager in San Diego. “He has been very much of an adjuster,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny told reporters of Peavy. “He figures out what he needs to do in his game to give himself a chance with the stuff that he has right now.” San Francisco was economical in the opener, scoring its runs on Travis Ishikawa’s bloop single, an error and Brandon Belt’s sacrifice fly.

TV: 8:07 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1

PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants RH Jake Peavy (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Lance Lynn (0-0, 3.00)

The 33-year-old Peavy is 3-4 with a 2.97 ERA in nine career regular-season starts against St. Louis. He has been re-energized since being acquired with a 6-4 mark and 2.17 ERA in 12 regular-season starts and promises he won’t lose his composure on the postseason stage. “I’ll be fiery,” Peavy said at Saturday’s press conference. "I will be emotional but I will be under control. With a game plan in place, we’ve got our work cut out for us.”

Lynn has been roughed up in three career regular-season outings against San Francisco, losing each start to go with a 7.98 ERA. He has won 48 regular-season games over the past three seasons and might be the Cardinals’ best pitcher in this series after Adam Wainwright’s second straight sub-par effort in the opener. “Confidence has never been a problem, that’s for sure,” the 27-year-old Lynn said at Saturday’s press conference. “I just go out and pitch. I don’t worry about anything. Pretty simple.”

WALK-OFFS

1. Sandoval has 10 career multi-hit games in the postseason, second in franchise history behind Hall of Famer Frankie Frisch (15).

2. Cardinals LF Matt Holliday is 8-for-28 with a homer against Peavy, while SS Jhonny Peralta is just 7-for-34 with a homer.

3. Giants C Buster Posey is 4-for-6 with a homer against Lynn, and INF Joaquin Arias is 4-for-5 with four RBIs.

PREDICTION: Giants 4, Cardinals 3