SAN FRANCISCO —The Giants are playoff proof there is a different way to go about your baseball business, and, in one way, the Giants offer a glimmer of hope for the Mets.
The Giants don’t hit home runs and have practically an entire different lineup from the one that won the 2010 World Series. Yet, with a win tonight in Game 7 of the NLCS against the Cardinals, they will be heading to their second World Series in three years.
Their success is based on pitching and clutch players who play for one another. That was on display once again last night as the Giants roughed up the Cardinals 6-1 at a wild AT&T Park. When the Cards scored in the sixth against a masterful Ryan Vogelsong, that marked their first run against San Francisco pitching since the seventh inning of Game 4.
In the Giants clubhouse, center fielder Angel Pagan was asked: Who is going to win Game 7?
The ex-Met did not hold back. “Us,’’ he said defiantly. He then offered this exclamation point: “Believe it.’’
Don’t Stop Believing is a way of life here. Three years ago, Vogelsong was pitching in Japan.
In every way, baseball is different out here. Before the game, Metallica’s James Hetfield egged on the 43,070 fans by screaming “Are you ready to kick some Cardinals [butt]’’
Then the Giants did just that.
The Giants, like the Mets, had their trouble at home during the regular season. San Francisco averaged only 3.80 runs per game at AT&T Park. However, on the road the Giants averaged 5.06 runs per game.
In the playoffs, they lost their first two games at home against the Reds, then won three straight NLDS games in Cincinnati. They split the first two games at home against the Cardinals, lost two straight at Busch Stadium, before winning 5-0 Friday night.
Can they win three in a row for the second straight series?
Their offense is being carried by journeyman second baseman Marco Scutaro, who is a free agent after the season and would be a neat fit with the Mets. Since getting plowed over by Matt Holliday in Game 1, Scutaro is 9-for-19, including a two-run double in the Giants’ four-run second off Chris Carpenter. Holliday, meanwhile, was scratched with a sore back. If the Giants find a way to win tonight, with Matt Cain going agains
t Kyle Lohse, Scutaro will be MVP.
Scutaro is one of those key pickups by general manager Brian Sabean, who once worked for George Steinbrenner and focuses only on winning. Scutaro, 36, came over from the Rockies July 27 for young second baseman Charlie Culberson.
“I got a little fame from being hit by Holliday,’’ Scutaro said. “I’m just trying my best to help my team play another game.’’
This is the beauty of baseball: A well-traveled veteran like Scutaro, who was a Met a decade ago, stars in the postseason, while a superstar like Robinson Cano collapses.
Sabean has turned over just about the entire roster since 2010. The only remaining starter from that World Series lineup is catcher Buster Posey. The Giants won their fifth straight elimination game last night; this is a team that prospers on the edge. In 2010, they didn’t face any elimination games.
“More than anything,’’ Giants manager Bruce Bochy said, “this says a lot about the character of this club and that ‘never say die’ attitude and you know what’s at stake. It’s all about going out there and playing like there is no tomorrow. And that’s how they play.’’
Bochy has said all along he has so much respect for this team, no matter the outcome, because his Giants leave it all on the field.
“These guys have just done a tremendous job of going out there and fighting and doing all they can do to keep playing and not go home,’’ he said. “You want to be in this situation and competing at this time of year and these guys are having fun with it.’’
Imagine that, fun in the postseason.