By Fitzgerald Cecilio

San Francisco, CA

Marco Scutaro delivered three hits and Hunter Pence added two RBIs as the San Francisco Giants punched their ticket to the World Series with a 9-0 blanking of the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals Monday in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series at AT&T Park.

The victory completed another comeback by the Giants, who became the 12th team in league history to bounce back from a 3-1 deficit and win a best-of-seven series. San Francisco also overcame a 2-0 deficit in the best-of-five Division Series against the Cincinnati Reds.

The Giants, who sealed their fifth pennant since moving to San Francisco in 1958, will host the Detroit Tigers in Game 1 Wednesday.

"I can't explain it," Angel Pagan said. "I think the fans have been so good to us, they've been so positive. And my teammates, we've been unbelievable at not giving up. That's been the key for us, and we saw it in both series. And we're ready to go to the World Series now."

Scutaro delivered his sixth multi-hit game of the series and matched an LCS record with 14 hits to win the NLCS MVP trophy.

"Well first of all, I want to thank God for giving me this opportunity to live this great experience," said Scutaro. "I'd also like to thank my teammates. I wouldn't have done it without you guys."

Matt Cain (1-1) tossed 5 2/3 shutout innings with five hits and four strikeouts to continue San Francisco's pitching dominance over St. Louis, giving up just one run in the series' last three games.

Pagan jumpstarted San Francisco's offense against Kyle Lohse (1-1) with a first-inning leadoff single and moved to third behind Scutaro's single. Pagan then ran home after Pablo Sandoval hit a ground out.

Aside from doing his thing on the hill, Cain also did some damage with his bat, hitting an RBI single that brought Gregor Blanco home for a 2-0 lead in the second inning.

Lohse's night was finished after just two innings after he loaded the bases on Scutaro's single, Sandoval's double and Buster Posey's walk.

Pence then ripped reliever Joe Kelly's first pitch for a two-run double then ran home after a fielding error by center fielder Jon Jay. Brandon Crawford and Pagan then added run-scoring fielder's choice grounders to pad the Giants lead to 7-0.

Blanco added another run behind Aubrey Huff's double-play grounder and Brandon Belt slugged a solo homer in the eighth to cap the scoring.

"I'll say this, they played with more heart, more determination than any club I've ever seen," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "They were relentless. They didn't want to go home. They just kept believing and they got it done, and I couldn't be prouder of a group of guys and what they accomplished here."

The San Francisco Giants celebrated their Game 7 NLCS pennant win and their upcoming trip to the World Series. Mark Demsky reports

 

 

Scutaro and Pence Carry Giants to NL Pennant and World Series