NLDS Prediction: It’s Do Or Die For Giants Tonight

The Giants performed as expected last night, surrendering a tough game 1 of their NLDS against Chicago. And while Game 2 of such a series might not usually be a must win before a team heads back to their own stadium, The Giants can not allow the dominating Cubs Pitching, Hitting, and Fielding to go up 2 games and expect to compete.

Enter Jeff Samardzija. Of the Giants pitchers, he has the 2nd best 1st pitch strike percentage, which most experts agree is the Cubs achillies heel. He's also spent a lot of time in Wrigley, so it would seem a solid management decision to start him here with pretty much everything at stake. If he can establish the strike zone early with an unhittable strike, he may keep the Cubs' offense out of double digits.

Problem for the Giants is the Cubs won't need double digits to win this one.

Kyle Hendricks doesn't have the best record on the Cubs roster, and while he's been great in the last half of the season, he has just enough inconsistency to let a team get a few before he settles down. The Giants will need to score early and force Hendricks to play from behind. At Wrigley? Not likely.

Cubs put the nail in this series tonight 4-2. They shouldn't even have to travel to SF.