Giants vs. Cardinals: Players Who Need to Show Up in Game 4

The St. Louis Cardinals look to grow their NL championship series lead over the San Francisco Giants to 3-1. The Giants won’t give up two consecutive losses without a fight, though. Will Carlos Beltran’s injury prove too much for the Cardinals to overcome?

Beltran, who has 14 home runs and 25 RBI in 31 playoff games throughout his career, strained his left knee in the first inning of Game 3. He is considered day-to-day.

As a veteran and playoff superstar, Beltran’s loss will set back the Cardinals. How much they’re set back is dependent on what players step up to fill the void.

Without even realizing it, rookie Matt Carpenter helped ease the loss of Beltran with his two-run home run in the third inning of Game 3.

''I didn't even realize Carlos had hurt himself, there was really no thought process,” Carpenter told Yahoo Sports.

Carpenter has only stepped up to the plate eight times this postseason. Of those eight at-bats, he has scored a run and has three RBI.

Without Beltran in the lineup, Carpenter will certainly be getting more opportunities at the plate. The Cardinals should pray that his home run in Game 3 wasn’t a one-time thing.

One person who won’t be missing Beltran is Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum. Beltran has a .500 batting average and one home run against Lincecum.

Lincecum has made three appearances for the Giants this postseason but will start his first game of the 2012 playoffs in Game 4. In the eight and one-third innings Linecum has pitched, he’s allowed one run and three hits and has turned away nine batters.

A tight pitching game is vital to the Giants keeping the Cardinals from scoring too many runs on their home field. Lincecum threw two hitless innings in the Giants’ Game 1 loss. Despite losing, Lincecum was instrumental in keeping the score relatively close.

Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright will need to do more than just show up for an important Game 4 on Thursday. He needs to leave his abysmal pitching behind that almost gave the series-deciding Game 5 to the Washington Nationals.

Wainwright has pitched eight innings in his two starts this postseason. He has given up 13 hits and seven earned runs.

The Cardinals should be looking to keep the Giants’ scoring to a minimum like they did in Game 3. Especially with Beltran’s possible absence, the Cardinals may find it hard to catch up if Wainwright gives the Giants too many runs.

Wainwright’s pitching could be the difference maker in Game 4 of the NLCS. The Cardinals are gambling on him but if it works out, the payoff will be a huge 3-1 lead in the seven-game series.

Michael Prunka is a Bleacher Report Featured Columnist and Sportswriting Intern. To stay up to date with his WWE and NHL commentary, you can like his Facebook page, follow him on Twitter and follow him on Tout.

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