Giants vs. Cardinals, NLCS Game 6: Ryan Vogelsong leads San Francisco to 6-1 win

The San Francisco Giants never trailed in Game 6 of the 2012 NLCS, scoring early and often on their way to a 6-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. The two clubs will now play a final game on Monday to determine which team represents the National League in the World Series.

Ryan Vogelsong was the story of Sunday night. The veteran right-handed pitcher tossed seven innings of one-run ball, scattering four hits and one walk. Vogelsong set a career high in strikeouts with nine and lowered his postseason ERA to 1.29.

Chris Carpenter did not fare as well. Carpenter lasted just four innings, giving up five runs (two earned) on six hits and two walks.

Buster Posey drove home the first run of the game with an RBI groundout in the first inning. In the second, Vogelsong came to the plate with one out and runners on the corners; he hit a weak grounder to rookie shortstop Peter Kozma, who was unable to field the ball cleanly. A run came in to score and Vogelsong reached first base safely.

Following a strikeout from Angel Pagan, Marco Scutaro hit a two-run double to left field that made the score 4-0. Pablo Sandoval then hit a seeing-eye single just past the glove of second baseman Daniel Descalso to push the Giants' lead to five runs.

The Cardinals' lone run came in the sixth inning. With Carlos Beltran on second, Allen Craig singled through the left side to cut the deficit to 5-1. Unfortunately for St. Louis, that was just about the only scoring chance they had all evening.

Ryan Theriot plated an insurance run in the eighth to give San Francisco a 6-1 lead. Sergio Romo worked a perfect ninth inning to secure a one-game playoff on Monday.

First pitch of Game 7 will come at 5:07 p.m. PT.