At this point, the Cardinals are just padding their stats. In the top of the eighth inning, Matt Holliday chopped a ball to third, and he and his stiff back wheeled out an infield single. Yadier Molina followed that with his fourth hit of the night, a solid single to center.

That put two on with no one out, and the only Giants fans who weren't a little nervous were fools. The Cardinals have made a cottage industry of humiliating teams expecting to celebrate, and the Giants had Santiago Casilla on the mound -- a good reliever with a flair for the dramatic ka-boom.

But the padding of the stats came with the Cardinals not getting a hit with runners in scoring position. They were 2-for-18 in their last three games before the eighth; they were 2-for-21 after the eighth.

And in the bottom of the eighth, the Giants made the score 9-0 on a booming home run from Brandon Belt. That's kind of how Game 7 has gone for both teams.