Programming note: Tune in to SportsNet Central's Giants October Quest this morning at 9 a.m. leading up to today's NLDS Game 5 from Cincinnati, only on Comcast SportNet Bay Area!
CINCINNATI - You can buy a ticket for today's decisive Game 5 for 3 on the Internet. Reds manager Dusty Baker has lost his last eight games with an opportunity to clinch a series.
The mood seems right for the Giants to get this done today behind Matt Cain, topple over familiar foe Mat Latos and move on to the NLCS.
But they're only two-thirds of the way there. Mood and spirit only carry you so far. And Matt Cain has allowed 15 runs (and six homers) in his three losses to the Reds this season.
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Cain said he was too amped and was overthrowing in the Game 1 loss at AT&T Park. He plans to stay a bit more grounded, and it would be a good idea if the baseballs did, too, at Great American Ball Park.
I thought Bruce Bochy would go with Joaquin Arias at shortstop, after he hit two doubles after entering on a double-switch in Game 4. Nope. Same lineup as the first three games of this series. (Bochy probably wants to keep Arias' bat off the bench against the Reds' lefty bullpen or double-switch with him again.)
The X-factor today? Buster Posey. He homered off Mat Latos in September, 2010, to break his spell over the team. He homered off Latos in Game 1. And he's Buster Posey.
GIANTS
Angel Pagan CF
Marco Scutaro 2B
Pablo Sandoval 3B
Buster Posey C
Hunter Pence RF
Brandon Belt 1B
Gregor Blanco LF
Brandon Crawford SS
Matt Cain, RHP (16-5, 2.79)
San Francisco Giants
REDS
Brandon Phillips 2B
Zack Cozart SS
Joey Votto 1B
Ryan Ludwick LF
Jay Bruce RF
Scott Rolen 3B
Ryan Hanigan C
Drew Stubbs CF
Mat Latos RHP (14-4, 3.48)