After going down 3 games to 1 in the NLCS, the Giants again were faced with the prospect of 3 elimination games in order to advance. They then proceeded to outscore the Cardinals 20-1 (5-0, 6-1, 9-0) in those 3 games to reach their 2nd World Series in 3 years, and their 5th overall since moving to SF. Zito, Vogelsong and Cain all gave outstanding performances to hold St. Louis to just 1 run in 3 starts. Midseason roster add, Marco Scutaro was the NLCS MVP, finishing with 14 hits, 3 of which came in Game 7 (along with a walk).
Historically, the Giants are just the 12th team in postseason history to come back from 3-1 deficit out of the 77 total teams who were in a 3-1 hole. (They're the 7th team to do so in a LCS). Incredibly, they had already come back in the NLDS (starting 0-2) with 3 straight wins, which means that before even reaching the World Series, the Giants have won a record-tying 6 straight elimination games in a single postseason. (Hopefully they don't break that record in the WS). Incredibly, they are the first team to ever win 4 eliminations on the road in the same postseason.
The 9-0 win was amazingly also the Giants' first Game 7 win in their history, ending an abysmal 0-5 streak. It was also the first Game 7 of any kind hosted in San Francisco since the 1962 World Series, when they lost 1-0 to the Yankees in heartbreaking fashion. That was the first World Series that the Giants played in since moving to SF.
SF World Series Appearances
1962 Lost to NY Yankees 3-4
1989 Lost to Oakland A's 0-4
2002 Lost to Anaheim Angels 3-4
2010 Won over Texas Rangers 4-1
2012 Vs. Detroit Tigers
The matchup against Detroit seems to be almost insurmountable. With Verlander who's possibly the league's best pitcher, and Cabrera who is the league's first triple crown winner since 1967, the Giants are the underdogs even though they have home field advantage (thanks to Melky and other Giants' allstar game heroics). But, these 2012 Giants clearly thrive when the odds are against them.
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