SAN FRANCISCO — Giants right-hander Ryan Vogelsong is off to a historic start in his postseason career, yet he remains last in line when it comes to the club’s four-man rotation in the National League Championship Series.
And that’s exactly where he wants to be.
Vogelsong, who started the Giants’ series-clinching Game 4 in the N.L. Division Series against the Washington Nationals last week, will get the ball for Game 4 of the NLCS on Wednesday against the St. Louis Cardinals.
He’ll take a 3-0 career playoff record and 1.19 ERA with him, as well as the distinction of being the only pitcher in major league history to have allowed one or fewer runs in five or more innings in each of his first five postseason starts.
But more important in his mind, he also will have the knowledge of having examined the performances of fellow veteran right-handers Jake Peavy and Tim Hudson as he maps out a plan of attack against the potent St. Louis lineup.
“I’m kind of in between both of them,” Vogelsong said in comparing his stuff to that of Peavy and Hudson. “So it definitely helps me that they are going in front of me in this series so I can watch both of their games and obviously be able to pick their brain when they are done.”
Vogelsong faced the Cardinals twice in the 2012 NLCS and won both games, allowing one run on four hits over seven innings each time. On both occasions — Games 2 and 6 — the Giants were one game down in a series they eventually won in seven.