Giants beat Cardinals 3
Posted: 10/11/2014 08:36:10 PM PDT
Updated: 10/11/2014 08:37:00 PM PDT
ST. LOUIS -- Their opponents keep lining up reliable starters and the Giants keep knocking them down, one grinding plate appearance at a time.
Adam Wainwright was the latest to get sent out early, recording just 14 outs before hitting the showers. The Giants beat Wainwright and the St. Louis Cardinals 3-0 to grab Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. They have won 12 of their past 13 postseason games dating back to Game 4 of the 2012 NLCS between these two teams.
As Wainwright scuffled, Madison Bumgarner once again starred. He took a shutout into the eighth before giving way to the bullpen, winning for the second time in three postseason starts. Bumgarner was the only one to show up for this ace-off.
Wainwright spent most of his Friday press conference answering questions about his tender elbow, but both he and Cardinals manager Mike Matheny insisted the arm was fine. Wainwright didn't look up to speed, though, repeatedly working himself into jams and throwing 69 pitches in the first three innings.
As off as Wainwright was, he could have escaped those long innings with just one run on the board if not for a couple of mistakes from infielders. The Giants got going in the second when Randal Grichuk dropped Pablo Sandoval's leadoff liner as he crashed into the wall. A walk of Hunter Pence and soft flare by Brandon Belt loaded the bases. Travis Ishikawa put the Giants up 1-0 with a bloop single down the left-field line. Wainwright should have been out of the inning two batters later, but third baseman Matt Carpenter clanked Gregor Blanco's two-out grounder, allowing a second run to score and forcing Wainwright to keep working.
With two on and none out in the third, Pence hit a chopper up the middle that looked like a sure double play. But second baseman Kolten Wong dropped it and the Cardinals would get just one out as Buster Posey reached third. That meant Brandon Belt's ensuing fly to center would score a run, not end the inning.
Wainwright gave up just the three runs, but the Giants wore him down so methodically that he didn't make it through five. With two on and two outs in the fifth, Wainwright was pulled after throwing his 98th pitch. He hasn't been himself this October, throwing giving up 17 hits and eight earned runs in nine innings.
The Giants have made a habit of knocking pitchers out early this October. Edinson Volquez made it through just five innings in the wild-card game and Stephen Strasburg recorded 15 outs in Game 1 of the NLDS. In the Game 4 clincher, the Giants got Gio Gonzalez out of the game after just four innings.
Bumgarner has had no such issues, and he didn't run into any trouble until the seventh inning, when back-to-back singles by Yadier Molina and Jon Jay got a rally going with one out. When Wong hit a grounder to the right side, Bumgarner beat him to the bag, tagged his leg and body-checked him for the second out. He then blew a 93 mph fastball past pinch-hitter tony Cruz to end the inning.
Bochy finally came for Bumgarner with two outs in the seventh. The lefty gave up four his and struck out seven in a shutout performance. In three postseason starts, Bumgarner has allowed just 14 hits in 23 2/3 innings, striking out 23 while posting a 0.76 ERA. He hasn't given up a run in his last 26 2/3 postseason innings on the road, an MLB record.
Game 2 is Sunday at 5 p.m. (Pacific) with Jake Peavy pitching for the Giants against Lance Lynn.
For more on the Giants, see Alex Pavlovic's Giants Extra blog at http://ift.tt/1eY3IDU. Follow him on Twitter at http://ift.tt/Q42sCv.
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