This is the fourth time that the Giants and Cardinals have met in the NLCS. St. Louis won in 1987; the Giants won in 2012 and 2012. We actually previewed this exact same series two years ago, and now here we are again. As we pointed out today, these two teams have simply dominated in the National League playoffs in recent years. Look at this history:
2010 (St. Louis didn't make the playoffs)
San Francisco beats Atlanta 3-1
San Francisco beats Philadelphia 4-2
San Francisco beats Texas 4-1
2011 (San Francisco didn't make the playoffs)
St. Louis beat Philadelphia 3-2
St. Louis beat Milwaukee 4-2
St. Louis beat Texas 4-3
2012
St. Louis beat Washington 3-2
San Francisco beat Cincinnati 3-2
San Francisco beat St. Louis 4-3
San Francisco beat Detroit 4-0
2013 (San Francisco didn't make the playoffs)
St. Louis beat Pittsburgh 3-2
St. Louis beat Los Angeles 4-2
Boston beat St. Louis 4-2
2014
St. Louis beat Los Angeles 3-1
San Francisco beat Washington 3-1
OK, so over the last five seasons, the Giants have won seven playoff series in a row, with two pennants and two World Titles. They have a record of 25-10 in the post-season, for a winning percentage of .714.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals have reached the NLCS four times in a row. They have won seven of their last nine playoff series. They have a record of 29-22 in the playoffs, for a winning percentage of .569.
This is baseball of an extremely high quality, and it will be interesting to see which of these two teams can prevail this time. In the meantime, here is their record in NLCS play (pennants in bold):
St. Louis (6-5): 1982, 1985, 1987, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2013
San Francisco (4-2): 1971, 1987, 1989, 2002, 2010, 2012
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