SAN FRANCISCO -- Kirk Rueter is not known as a pitcher who works deep into ballgames, but he needs to in Game 4 for the Giants to prevent even more hemorrhaging against an aggressive, run-producing Angels offense.

So far the Giants have gotten 5 2/3 innings from Jason Schmidt, 1 2/3 from Russ Ortiz and 3 1/3 from Livan Hernandez, putting a tremendous amount of strain on their bullpen. Meanwhile, the Angels have generated seven multi-run innings in three games -- a five-run inning, two four-run innings, a three-run inning and three two-run innings.

Angels shortstop David Eckstein led off four innings in Game 3 and has been on base six times with five hits and a walk in the last two games. When he gets on base, the Angels have scored 15 times in those innings.

Before Game 3, I was kidding Giants manager Dusty Baker, reminding him about a great series Rafael Furcal had against them last year. After one game in Atlanta, Barry Bonds said, "Little Pee Wee Herman is killing us." And that is what Eckstein is doing. Baker said Tuesday that every team needs a Pee Wee, and Eckstein has been in the middle of everything.

Here are the keys for each team going into Game 4 on Wednesday night:

Anaheim Angels
Loose Lackey: John Lackey had a tremendous start against Minnesota in the ALCS, but I wasn't too impressed with him during his relief appearance in Game 2. But he told pitching coach Bud Black that he wasn't loose until he had worked 1 2/3 innings. The Angels had to rush him to get loose, and I don't think the Giants saw him at his best.

If Lackey is on, the Angels are in a good situation with their bullpen. When Bonds hit the home run to make it an 8-4 game Tuesday, I knew the wheels were turning in Scioscia's head. But now he has a rested Francisco Rodriguez and Troy Percival ready to go behind Lackey if needed in Game 4.

Keep the pressure on: Rueter will negate the running game a bit because he has a quick move to home plate. But Scioscia will still be aggressive. Every time Scioscia started a runner in Game 3, something good happened.

Still, the Angels left a Series-record 15 runners on base and still did some things wrong despite how well they played. Garret Anderson twice failed to advance runners off second base with no one out. Adam Kennedy struck out with a man at third and less than two outs. They could have had at least three more runs early in the game. The Angels need to keep pressuring the Giants with their baserunning and execution at the plate.

San Francisco Giants
First-pitch strikes: Rueter has to throw strike one to the Angels hitters. Russ Ortiz threw only two of 14 first-pitch strikes, and Hernandez was 9-for-22. If the Angels are able to dictate the count, Scioscia will have his team running wild and putting together more multi-run innings.

The Giants' most effective pitcher so far has been left-hander Chad Zerbe, who changed speeds and recorded 11 of 12 outs on ground balls in Game 2. If Rueter is on his game, he will need to do the same thing and enable the Giants' defense to make plays behind him.

Home-plate umpire Tim Tschida did not call low strikes for Hernandez. Coming up with his pitches didn't bode well for the Giants because the Angels, who were selective and made him throw 92 pitches, are a high-ball hitting team. Rueter has to keep the ball down and hope the umpire calls a low strike.

Do some damage: The Giants will have to score runs because I don't think Rueter will shut the Angels down. The bottom of the Giants' lineup – the No. 6, 7 and 8 hitters -- had been carrying them, going 9-for-22 with four home runs and 10 RBI before Game 3.

One bright spot for the Giants in Game 3 was Rich Aurilia and Jeff Kent each getting two hits. The front part of the lineup needs to get on base and allow Bonds to wreak havoc. It's obvious that Scioscia will walk Bonds with an open base at first and a runner on second. It worked in Game 3; Ramon Ortiz allowed one run, but it was better than Bonds knocking in three with one swing.

Bonds is so locked in every time he gets a pitch to hit. It doesn't matter how hard the pitcher is throwing; the ball seems to stop as it gets to home plate, as if it's on a tee. Every ball Bonds hits seems to be in the same spot -- and he doesn't miss it.

Dave Campbell, who was an infielder for eight seasons in the major leagues (1967-74), is an analyst for Baseball Tonight and ESPN Radio.