St. Louis Cardinals

Travis Ishikawa hit a game-winning, three-run homer off Michael Wacha in the bottom of the ninth inning, and the Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-3, in San Francisco on Thursday night to win Game 5 of the National League Championship Series and advance to the World Series for the third time in five years.

The San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals will meet in the National League Championship Series for the second time in three years beginning on Saturday. Here's a recap of Tuesday's action:

It's a little strange to lose a body part. But that's what happened to St. Louis Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter when surgeons removed one of his ribs in an attempt to alleviate pressure that was running up his pitching arm. After the surgery Carpenter was presented with the bone, and he knew just what to do with it: