NLCS: Giants sweep Bucs to advance to Series

Game 1: SF 6 PIT 5
The Giants opened the NLCS at home, but it was the Pirates who came out firing. A two-run homer from Hebner in the third, a bases-loaded walk by Gaylord Perry to Steve Blass, and an RBI double by Al Oliver gave the Bucs a 5-1 lead by the top of the fifth. But the fifth was when the Giants started to come back, when Willie Mays hit a two-run homer off Blass. Ken Henderson followed up with an RBI single in the sixth cutting the lead to 5-4. The San Francisco bullpen shut down the Pirates past the seventh, and Chris Speier his a two-RBI double in the eight to put San Francisco ahead for good. Don McMahon ended up getting the Giants win.

Game 2: SF 3 PIT 2 (10)
A pitcher's duel in Game 2 saw Juan Marichal, coming off three days rest, give up a two-run shot to Willie Stargell in the 2nd. But that was all he would give up, scattering five hits and striking out seven. The Giants would tie the game in the seventh when Marichal aided his own cause with a home run. From then on both pitchers battened down the hatches, the game went into extra frames, and the question was whose bullpen would blink first. It was Giusti, who faced his first batter in the tenth -- Dick Dietz -- who promptly smacked a solo shot to break the tie and give the Giants a 2-0 series lead going into Pittsburgh

Game 3: SFG 6 PIT 4
The scene shifted to Three Rivers for a pressure-filled game 3. With their backs to the wall, Pittsburgh started Bob Johnson against the Giants' John Cumberland. And for the early part of the game everything was going the way of the Bucs: Stargell and Mazeroski his solo shots and Juan Hernandez followed up a wild pitch with an RBI single. But the roof caved in in the seventh inning when Bobby Bonds hit a three-run blast to cap off a four-run Giants inning. With the game tied at four, the question became who would strike next. It was Willie McCovey, with a two-run shot with nobody out in the top of the ninth to give San Francisco a 6-4 lead. Al Oliver hit a solo shot in the bottom of the inning, but Bob Robertson lined out to Mays and the series was over. --submitted by Michael Hopcroft--