Giants vs. Cardinals: 3 Biggest Matchups in Game 5 of NLCS

The San Francisco Giants are on the brink of elimination, while the St. Louis Cardinals are on the verge of representing the National League in the World Series for the second consecutive season.

The Giants will send Barry Zito to the mound in Game 5, and the Cardinals will counter with Lance Lynn, two pitchers that are on opposite sides of the spectrum in terms of age, pitching style, throwing arm and just about everything baseball related. 

However, one thing to keep in mind is that Zito had a solid start against the Cardinals during the regular season, so this pitching matchup might not be as lopsided as you might think.

Here are the five biggest matchups to watch in Game 5 of the NLCS.

Lance Lynn vs. Buster Posey

Outside of the two home runs he has off of Mat Latos this postseason, Buster Posey has virtually been nonexistent for the Giants in the middle of the lineup. 

Posey currently owns a .182 batting average through nine postseason games thus far. Some of the blame can be attributed to the lack of protection batting behind Posey, but he simply hasn't looked like the MVP candidate that he is.

Buster does have one career home run off of Lynn, as well as three RBI, and the Giants will need him to to show up on Friday and drive in runs like he did all season long.

Barry Zito vs. Yadier Molina

Yadier Molina, just like Buster Posey, is the other offensive catcher in this series that hasn't done much with the bat. After batting .315 during the regular season, Molina has only collected seven hits in 37 at-bats with one extra base hit.

The Cardinals are waiting for Molina's bat to show up this series, and it could happen on Friday considering his history against Barry Zito.

He has six career hits in 16 at-bats versus Zito, and you know he's due for at least one big hit in this series.

Madison Bumgarner vs. Cardinals Lineup

Even though Madison Bumgarner has been relegated to the bullpen for the rest of this series, he could play a crucial role in Game 5 for the Giants.

If Zito happens to get the quick hook—much like he did in his previous start against the Cincinnati Reds—Bumgarner will likely be called upon for a long relief appearance. However, Bumgarner has looked fatigued this postseason, as well as at the end of the regular season. His slider doesn't have a lot of bite and he isn't able to blow his cutter by anyone anymore.

Jon Jay is really the only Cardinal who has had any sort of career success against Bumgarner, going 4-of-6 against him (although in Game 1, several Cardinals swung the bat well against him).

If it becomes a bullpen game for the Giants and Bumgarner is called upon, he could be the key to extending the series and bringing it back to San Francisco.