SAN FRANCISCO — If we knew Hunter Strickland better, if he were a name-brand, battle-tested relief pitcher, the conversation would probably be amplified. People might be giving him the Detroit Tigers bullpen treatment. Strickland, a 26-year-old rookie who spent seven seasons in the minors, has pitched four times for the San Francisco Giants in the postseason and has given up four homers. The fourth one came Sunday night in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series , a go-ahead eighth-inning homer that nearly gave the St. Louis Cardinals the game (another homer, not allowed by Strickland eventually would ). As far as we know, no one has lit Strickland's jersey on fire yet in the streets of San Francisco, so that's a positive. Strickland threw three off-speed pitches to Matt Adams in the eighth inning with the score tied 3-3. Adams didn't raise his bat off his shoulder. Then Strickland came with a fastball — a 97 mph heater he didn't locate like he'd hoped — and Adams crushed it into the right-field stands to give the Cardinals another lead. "He didn't even offer at the sliders or anything," Strickland said 18 hours later. "He was waiting on a fastball. He...