Last year and the last few were a mess. But in 2012 he was a top pitcher. And they won the first game he pitched. And as you said the bullpen messed up also in game five.
Career ERA is 3.69. Not bad.
And his career postseason ERA is 4.78. Bad.
(Also, he was very good in the 2017 regular season - 2.96 - which is why he got yet another chance in the postseason, where he racked up a 6.75.)
You said things go better when he doesn’t pitch. So you implied it at least. Really depends who the replacement is. Looked it up. Zero earned runs in the game four start in 2014!!
Gio tends to be the scapegoat for all the bad things. Good luck to him in the NLCS.
Pardon me for not wanting to give a huge amount of credit to a starter who goes 4 innings in a game his team ends up losing.
And it's only fair to say things go better when he doesn't pitch: he's now been on 5 playoff teams, and the only series any of them won was the series he didn't pitch in. Anyone can dispute Gio's effect on any of this, but that statement is beyond dispute.