The Giants are looking to come back from an 0-2 series hole and advance to the NLCS.
The Giants are looking to come back from an 0-2 series hole and advance to the NLCS. Reuters

The San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds are set to play Game Five of their 2012 MLB playoff series.

The National League Championship Series matchup will get underway at the Great American Ball Park at 1:07 p.m. ET on Thursday afternoon. It will air nationally on TBS. If you can’t get to a TV, you can watch a live stream online at mlb.com for $4.99. The package allows you to watch all the ALDS, NLDS and ALCS games online.

A few days ago, the Reds were in a perfect position to win their series and advance to the NLCS. After stealing the first two games of the NLDS in San Francisco, they headed back to Cincinnati, where they won 50 games in the regular season. After two straight losses, they are forced to play a deciding Game Five.

The Giants bats finally came alive on Wednesday. They scored eight runs en route to their Game Four victory. In their previous three games in the series, they had only scored a combined four runs.

San Francisco will send their best starter to the mound on Thursday afternoon. Matt Cain looks to make up for his poor outing in Game One, when allowed three runs in five innings in a loss.

Cain has been one of the more consistent starters in the MLB over the past few years. With and earned run average of 2.79 in 2012, he’s finished the last three out of four years with an ERA under 3.00.

The hero for the Reds in Game One, Matt Latos, will get the ball for Cincinnati. He came in to relieve Johnny Cueto, who left the game with an injury, after recording just one out. Latos pitched four innings, allowing just one run.

While Saturday was Latos’ first ever postseason appearance, Cain has proven to be a great playoff pitcher. Before this series, he had thrown 21 1/3 career playoff innings without giving up an earned run.

Betting Line: Cincinnati -123, San Francisco +113

Prediction: The Giants have really turned things around in the past two games. Their offense finally broke out on Wednesday, and they head into the contest with a lot of confidence. Cain has proven that he can be great in the postseason, and has more of a track record that Latos. Look for him to shut down the Reds offense.

Predicted Score: San Francisco 3, Cincinnati 2

Major league baseball