Zito, Giants Beat Cards, Close NLCS Deficit to 3-2 The big curveball was back, and Barry Zito mixed in some well-placed fastballs, too. It was just like the good old days. Zito was at his best Friday night, pitching San Francisco back into the NL championship series with a 5-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals that narrowed its deficit to 3-2. "All things considered, you know, there's definitely some playoff memories there, but they were in a different uniform," the soft-tossing lefty said after his first playoff win in six years sent the series back to San Francisco. This was probably the biggest one for me. Game 6 will begin Sunday in the twilight at AT&T Park, with Ryan Vogelsong pitching against the Cardinals' Chris Carpenter. "I'm sure Carpenter is going to be on top of his game, as always," Vogelsong said. I'm going to have to be sharp because with him on the mound one run can lose a game for you. Zito looked like the same guy who won 23 games and the 2002 AL Cy Young Award with the Athletics. He retired 11 batters in a row in one stretch while scattering six hits with six strikeouts in 7 2-3 innings. Giants catcher Buster Posey twice tapped Zito on the chest when he was pulled in the eighth. It was Zito's fifth postseason win but first since 2006, shortly before he left the A's and signed a $126 million, seven-year contract with San Francisco. San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Barry Zito throws during the first inning of Game 5 of baseball's National League championship series against the St. Louis Cardinals, Friday, Oct. 19, 2012, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Elsa, Pool) Close "This is definitely it for me," Zito said. Coming here, especially doing it in a Giants uniform. A lot of people were saying stuff about A's days. And for me, the most important thing is doing everything for San Francisco right now. Zito was left off the postseason roster when the Giants won the 2010 World Series because he had pitched so poorly. Zito's 15-8 record this year was his first winning season since joining the Giants. He started Game 4 of the division series against the Reds and lasted only 2 2-3 innings. "I couldn't be happier for him," manager Bruce Bochy said. He had it all going. He put on quite a show. The defending champion Cardinals might have thrown away a chance to clinch a second straight World Series trip. Pitcher Lance Lynn's toss on a possible forceout deflected off the second-base bag, paving the way for the Giants' four-run fourth. Lynn was trying to turn the front end of a double play. "I turned to throw it and I just threw it in the ground," he said. Just a bad play. You make a good throw there and we are out of the inning. It was one of those times where I just short-armed it a little bit. Pablo Sandoval homered for the second straight night and Zito made an extremely rare offensive contribution with a perfectly executed bunt for an RBI single. The Giants also made several nice plays behind Zito, including a juggling catch in right by Hunter Pence and a spectacular sliding stop by second baseman Marco Scutaro to rob pinch-hitter Shane Robinson on consecutive at-bats. Once again this postseason, the Giants benefited from a big error. Needing three straight wins at Cincinnati to avoid elimination in the division series, San Francisco began its comeback on a bobble by third baseman Scott Rolen in the 10th inning that gave the Giants the go-ahead run in Game 3. The Giants improved to 4-2 on the road this postseason and have won Zito's last 13 starts, with the last setback on Aug. 2. They're averaging more than six runs a game during the streak, although the left-hander didn't need much help in this one.