The rain delay recap—as if the postgame review of the Giants-Cardinals NLCS Game 3 could be started in any other way.

After a 208 minute hiatus between the bottom of the seventh and, well, the bottom of the seventh, St. Louis made quick work of any comeback intentions San Francisco may have harbored. Closer Jason Motte needed just 19 pitches for a six-out save. He threw nothing but fastballs.

So much for diversity in the 21st century.

Before the rather interminable break, both clubs were locked in a good ole fashioned pitching duel for the first six innings. The Giants’ Matt Cain held the Cards to two runs off four hits while striking out two. His one blemish was a fastball that leaked over the inner half of the plate to Matt Carpenter who subsequently hit it out for a two-run home run. He shut down the home team’s lineup before and after that mishap until the rain-soaked seventh.

Kyle Lohse, meanwhile, was much more erratic but continually pitched out of jams. He walked five and allowed seven hits through 5.2 innings, mitigating the damage to one run off a Pablo Sandoval groundout. Trevor Rosenthal, the flame-throwing rookie, came in to finish off the top of the sixth.

The prominent storyline of this game was whether Lohse’s craftiness or the Giants’ inability to hit with runners in scoring position ruled the day. Giants’ hitters went 0-for-7 with RISP and stranded 11. It could also be said, that like a good defense beats a good offense, smart pitching stifles a talented lineup.

For perspective, the Giants went 3-for-6 and 4-for-14 with RISP, respectively, in the first two games. Combine the two and a collective .350 batting average in those situations is well above average.

But take away the timely hits in Game 2 and San Francisco has come up mightily short in crucial moments. Hunter Pence and Brandon Belt had a shot to tie the game in the opening matchup, while the shortcomings in this latest matchup speak for themselves.

Said Pence after his failures with runners on: “This one—I’m the goat today. I didn’t get the job done in big opportunities." 

Then again, if good pitching beats good hitting more often than not, then one must give the tip of the hat to St. Louis.

One way or another, aside from Carpenter’s inspiring two-run shot in a replacement role after Carlos Beltran suddenly went down, pitchers on both staffs took care of business. RBI groundouts simply don’t qualify as “good hitting.” Four and two-thirds innings of shutout relief, on the other hand, certainly makes the grade for quality pitching.

St. Louis now owns a 2-1 series lead over the Giants heading into Game 4 on Thursday. Some would say that’s a huge advantage for the Cardinals with two more games at home.

The Giants, though, would be well served following Pence’s lead. The newly-appointed motivational speaker ended his presser on a positive note as usual.

“I’ll go home and learn and come back and be hungry..." 

It’s up to both teams as to who’ll satiate that hunger the most.