Scutaro gives Giants more than defense, offense too

• Giants traded for Marco Scutaro in July to fill in for then-injured Pablo Sandoval
• He bounced back from hip and knee injuries and converted early outs in NLCS Game 3
• Manager Bruce Bochy says he had to make room for Scutaro's offensive production in lineup

ST. LOUIS -- Marco Scutaro said he was "good enough'' to play. That was an important assessment, because as a veteran he's quite familiar with the old baseball maxim that the ball always finds you.

And sure enough, after bouncing back from hip and knee injuries sustained in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series, the San Francisco Giants second baseman got the first two grounders of Game 3 hit his way.

Scutaro turned the first into a 4-6-3 double play and the second, off the bat of the St. Louis Cardinals' Matt Holliday, into a routine out.

It was Holliday who precipitated the most talked about moment of this series when he barreled into Scutaro while breaking up a double play Monday. Scutaro stayed in the game and delivered a two-RBI single that sparked San Francisco's 7-1 winbut had to leave after the fifth inning with a strained hip.

His availability for future games was in doubt, but Scutaro tested the leg during Tuesday's workout and at batting practice Wednesday, then declared himself ready.

He had an impact at the plate as well, hitting a third-inning double that contributed to a run and singling in the fifth. The Cardinals led 3-1 in the seventh when a rainstorm forced a delay of more than two hours.

After watching a replay of the controversial play — Holliday has acknowledged he slid too late but said he meant no harm — Scutaro said he was amazed he didn't incur a major injury.

"I'm just happy nothing worse happened,'' he said. "I don't know why my ankle is not hurting, with the way it bent. Maybe it will act up tomorrow.''

The Giants downplayed the notion of seeking retribution, and even though manager Bruce Bochy called the play "an illegal slide,'' he also emphasized his team's focus was on winning. "That's over,'' Bochy said. "You have to move on.''

Scutaro, 36, joined the Giants in an under-the-radar trade with the Colorado Rockies on July 27, at a time when San Francisco was looking for a stopgap replacement for injured third baseman Pablo Sandoval.

The club intended to use Scutaro as a utilityman once Sandoval returned, since Ryan Theriot had done a solid job at second base. But Scutaro wouldn't stop hitting, producing a .362 average with 44 RBI in 61 games with the Giants.

When Sandoval rejoined the lineup Aug. 13, Scutaro shifted to second base and made it his.

"Initially I thought I'd rotate them and give them all playing time and keep them going,'' Bochy said. "But Marco forced the issue with his play and how he was swinging the bat, so I had to play him every day.''

His performance doesn't surprise former Rockies manager Jim Tracy, who swears Scutaro would have led the league in hitting if half the liners he hit fell in instead of finding opponents' gloves. As it was, he had the third-most hits in the NL with 190 and finished with a .306 average.

Scutaro was the hardest hitter to strike out in the majors, fanning in 7.2% of his plate appearances, and his contact rate of 95.2% led all of baseball.

"Marco Scutaro has been a lynchpin for them that has been tremendous,'' Tracy said.