The St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants will meet up in Game 7 of the 2012 National League Championship Series on Monday night at AT&T Park, with the first pitch scheduled for 8:07 p.m. ET on FOX

St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Francisco Giants 

St. Louis dropped a 6-1 decision to San Francisco in Game 6 on Sunday night, which led to the club suffering back-to-back losses for the first time since Sept. 14-15.  “You’ve seen us the last couple years,” commented Cardinals pitcher Kyle Lohse.  “We’ve got one game to play.”  The Cardinals are set to play their seventh elimination game since the start of the 2011 MLB postseason, as they look to remain perfect in that situation during that span.  St. Louis is 5-2 in its last seven games as an underdog.

Cardinals starting pitcher Kyle Lohse (16-3, 2.86 ERA) earned a 3-1 home win over the Giants earlier in this series, allowing one run and seven hits over 5.2 innings of work.  The right-hander went 8-2 with a 3.41 ERA in 17 road outings during the regular season, with opposing hitters batting .251 against him.  In five career regular-season starts against the Giants, Lohse has tallied a 3-2 record and 3.78 ERA.

San Francisco is focused on trying to become just the 12th team out of 77 to capture a best-of-seven playoff series after trailing by a 3-1 deficit.  The Giants have been on the brink of elimination before during the playoffs, coming back from a 2-0 disadvantage to advance past the Cincinnati Reds in five games of their NLDS series.  “We really don’t want to go home,” stated Giants reliever Sergio Romo.  The franchise will look to snap a three-game losing streak when playing in a Game 7 situation.  San Francisco is 11-4 in its last 15 tries as a home favorite.

Giants starting pitcher Matt Cain (16-5, 2.79 ERA) ended up on the losing end of a 3-1 decision against Lohse on Oct. 17, giving up three runs and six hits over 6.2 innings.  The right-hander went 8-3 with a 2.03 ERA in 15 home starts during the regular season, issuing just 19 walks and striking out 101 batters in 110.2 combined frames.  In eight regular-season outings versus the Cardinals, Cain has compiled a 2-3 record and 4.94 ERA.

Sports bettors will likely back the Giants due to their 9-4 record in Cain’s last 13 starts, while the Cardinals are 1-4 in Lohse’s last five starts as an underdog of +110 to +150.

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