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Peavy hopes to give Giants commanding lead over Cards in NLCS

Oct 12, 2014 - 1:07 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - San Francisco's Jake Peavy has arguably been the best pitcher in baseball since being acquired from the Boston Red Sox. If he's on point again on Sunday the Giants will be heading back home with a commanding two games to none lead in the National League Championship Series.

Peavy tries to follow up the best postseason start of his career on Sunday when San Francisco plays Game 2 of the NLCS versus the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

"I'll be fiery and I'll be emotional," Peavy said. "But I will be under control."

Peavy was terrific in his NLDS win over the Washington Nationals, as he scattered two hits over 5 2/3 scoreless innings to get the win.

It was more of the same for the former NL Cy Young Award winner, who has been fantastic (2.17 ERA, 1.04 WHIP) since joining the Giants in a July trade from Boston. He has now allowed two earned runs or fewer in 10 consecutive starts.

He had been 1-9 with a 4.72 ERA at the time of the deal.

However, despite the win over Washington, he has not had much success in the postseason, pitching to a ghastly 7.39 ERA in six starts.

"The more you do something, the more comfortable you get in that situation," Peavy said. "And certainly I had a few opportunities early in my career when I really ... had some health injuries, issues there. Up until last year, I had never really gotten an opportunity to pitch with the knowledge that I think I have now. I grew up a lot. So I think that experience, and being in so many different situations and getting your rear end kicked early in your career ... in all those different situations, you learn a little bit about yourself and what it takes to be successful."

Peavy has faced the Cardinals nine times and is 3-4 against them with a 2.97 ERA.

San Francisco wrestled home-field advantage away from St. Louis on Saturday thanks to a dominant effort from Madison Bumgarner in Game 1. Bumgarner struck out seven over 7 2/3 scoreless innings and made some history in the process in leading the Giants to a 3-0 win.

When it was all said and done, Bumgarner (1-0) finished his outing with an MLB record of 26 2/3 scoreless innings in road playoff games. The southpaw also improved to 4-0 with a 0.59 ERA in four career playoff starts as a visitor.

"He was on top of his game," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of Bumgarner. "Really hitting his spots (and) using all of his pitches. He's so good at what he does. This kid, since he has come up here, he's just getting better too."

It's not just Bumgarner who performs well away from home, as San Francisco has won seven in a row on the road in the playoffs.

Pablo Sandoval went 3-for-4 with a walk and a run scored, while Brandon Belt and Travis Ishikawa both knocked in a run for the Giants.

"(Sandoval) is a great player," said Bochy. "He's a guy that we lean on to give us some offense."

The Giants have now won 12 of their past 13 postseason games, 16 of the past 20 and 26 of 35.

Adam Wainwright (0-1) continued to labor for the Cardinals, allowing three runs -- two earned -- on six hits and three walks over 4 2/3 innings. Wainwright, who has reportedly dealt with elbow discomfort over the past couple of months, has allowed nine runs in nine innings this postseason.

"Today I was not great," Wainwright said. "The pitcher that pitched against us was. You have to tip your hat to Madison and those guys over there. My arm, like I said, doesn't feel great, but it certainly should be a lot better results wise than that."

Now the Cardinals turn to right-hander Lance Lynn, who was 15-10 during the season with a 2.74 ERA. Lynn surrendered three or fewer runs in 27 of his 33 regular-season starts in 2014, surrendered the NL's third-fewest home runs per nine innings (0.57, trailing only Clayton Kershaw and Wainwright), and posted a 2.11 ERA over his final 16 starts

"I'll still say he's probably one of the most underrated pitchers in the game with what he's been able to do," Cards manager Mike Matheny said of Lynn.

However, Lynn has never beaten the Giants and is 0-3 in three starts against them with a 7.98 ERA. He was also 0-1 in two starts against them in the 2012 NLCS.

Lynn didn't get a decision in his NLDS start versus the Dodgers, as he allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings of his team's 3-2 loss. He is 5-4 lifetime in the postseason with a 4.57 ERA.

In nine NLCS appearances (3 starts), though, Lynn has posted a 3-1 mark to go along with a 2.70 ERA.

"Now being this is my fourth straight NLCS, I have a little bit of a clue what's going on," Lynn said. "Still don't have it figured out, but I'm looking forward to this one."

The Giants took four of their seven meetings during the season with the Cardinals, outscoring them, 30-20. The teams, though, haven't played since July 3.

San Francisco has played the Cardinals three other times in the playoffs. St. Louis edged the Giants in a thrilling seven-game series in 1987, but San Francisco has beaten the Cards both in 2002 and 2012.