The San Francisco Giants won the World Series in both 2010 and 2012, and now they're one step closer to continuing that trend.
Brandon Crawford hit a fourth-inning grand slam off Edinson Volquez, while Madison Bumgarner struck out 10 and tossed a shutout, leading Bruce Bochy's squad to an 8-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in front of a disappointed crowd at PNC Park on Wednesday night.
Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan summed up Bumgarner's electrifying performance:
The victory sets up an NLDS meeting with the Washington Nationals, owners of the National League's best record who took five out of seven against the Giants during the regular season.
It's an embarrassing end to another fantastic season for the Pirates, who lost to St. Louis Cardinals in five games in the NLDS last year. Volquez, whose only other postseason start was an unmitigated disaster with the Cincinnati Reds in 2010, was looking to continue his 2014 renaissance in the do-or-die setting.
"I've got to pitch my game and be myself," he told reporters prior to the game, per The Associated Press.
That strategy worked out through the first three innings, but he ran into trouble in the fourth. After giving up back-to-back singles to Pablo Sandoval and Hunter Pence, he walked Brandon Belt to set up Crawford's historic moment:
The 27-year-old shortstop had just 10 home runs all season and was hitting .213 against right-handers, but October baseball has a way of producing these kinds of unforgettable moments when you least expect them.
CSN Chicago's Christopher Kamka, Fox Sports' Jon Morosi and the Giants' Twitter feed put the blast into historical perspective:
Volquez retired the next three batters, but the damage was done, and Bumgarner had three more runs of insurance than he needed.
San Francisco's ace continued to steamroll through the Pirates' lineup and didn't allow a runner past second base until the eighth inning, while the Giants, who finished with 11 hits and six walks drawn, continued to push runs across the plate.
Rocked for five runs in four innings during his only other start against Pittsburgh this season, Bumgarner was terrifyingly efficient. He needed just 109 pitches (79 strikes) to get through nine innings, and he gave up only four hits.
ESPN's Kevin Negandhi and ESPN Stats & Info noted his prowess both away from home and in the postseason:
The only downside for San Francisco is that Bumgarner likely won't pitch until Game 3 against the Nats, leaving Jake Peavy and and either Tim Hudson or Ryan Vogelsong—who were both anemic in September—to start Games 1 and 2 at Washington.
If the hitters continue to rake like they did Wednesday night, though, Bumgarner could easily return to the bump with an opportunity to give the Giants a series lead.
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1ps36XF
via IFTTT October 01, 2014 at 08:29PM
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