The Key to the SF Giants Finishing off a Trip to the 2014 World Series

The San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals again on Wednesday night and hold a commanding 3-1 lead in the NLCS.

Before anyone thinks the series is over, it must be remembered that in 2012, the Giants trailed the Cardinals 3-1. They rallied to take three straight, and the rest is history. The Giants went on to win their second World Series in three years.

The Cardinals have a gritty team and could still possibly win the NLCS. They came from behind in all three of their victories in the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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It will be up to Madison Bumgarner and the Giants to make sure that does not happen.

Giants fans would love it if their team could end the series in five games. That would be in front of the home crowd and send them on their way to meet the Kansas City Royals in the World Series.

There is one primary key to the Giants finishing off the Cardinals. That rests on the performance of their ace, Bumgarner. If Bumgarner is on top of his game, it will be extremely difficult for the Cardinals to win and send the series back to St. Louis.

Obviously, the Giants will need to score some runs and play good defense, but the primary factor will be Bumgarner's performance.

At only 25 years of age, Bumgarner has already earned a reputation as a big-game pitcher. He performed very well in the postseason in both 2010 and 2012.

This year, he is also on top of his game. Bumgarner has started three games and thrown a total of 23.2 innings. He has allowed just 14 hits and three walks while striking out 23. Bumgarner's ERA is a microscopic 0.76 and his WHIP is only 0.718.

Stats are courtesy of baseball-reference.com.

In Bumgarner's first start against the Cardinals in the NLCS, he was dominant. He threw a total of 7.2 innings, allowing only four hits and one walk while striking out seven. Bumgarner did not allow a run, and the Giants went on to win 3-0.

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Manager Bruce Bochy has relied heavily on his bullpen in this series. It would be ideal for Bumgarner to go deep into the game, alleviating some of the stress on the Giants relievers.

The Giants do not want to go back to St. Louis, so it would behoove them to win this series right now.