After Barry Zito and Ryan Vogelsong did it, it only made sense that San Francisco Giants ace Matt Cain shut out the St. Louis Cardinals in the first frame of Game 7 of the NLCS. The Cardinals looked a little more on point than they have since Game 4, but it wasn't enough to push a run across in the first.
Cain was sharp from the start, striking out Jon Jay with some big fastballs, but Carlos Beltran put the Cardinals on the board a little earlier than they managed in Game 6—and with fewer than two outs, for once—with a Texas Leaguer single. Matt Holliday worked the count full before flying out deep to center, and Allen Craig popped out to Pablo Sandoval, stranding Beltran—who stole his 11th postseason base—at second.
Now Kyle Lohse comes to the mound. If the Cardinals lose here it's almost certain to be the last start of the free agent's five-year tenure with the club; win or lose it's almost certainly the biggest game of his St. Louis career. After the Cardinals' last two starters were undone by fastball command, it at least seems likely that he'll have another tragic flaw.