San Francisco Giants name Madison Bumgarner starter for Wild Card game

It’s not a surprising move, but the San Francisco Giants have announced left-hander Madison Bumgarner will be held back from his scheduled Sunday start in favor of the team’s ace starting in the do-or-die Wild Card game next Wednesday.

It’s expected that the Giants will face the Pittsburgh Pirates, but there’s a chance the St. Louis Cardinals lose their one-game lead in the NL Central before the season ends. The Giants will face whichever team doesn’t win the Central.

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For the winner-take all Wild Card game, Bumgarner is as solid a choice as any pitcher in the league. The 25-year old has a 2.95 ERA, 18 wins and has been worth 3.6 fWAR this season, establishing himself as the Giants’ ace. Bumgarner’s 217 innings pitched is a career-high for him, and he’s struck out 219 hitters while posting a 3.05 Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP).

And it doesn’t look like Bumgarner, who has postseason experience and two World Series rings to his name already, will be intimidated by the pressure:

No replacement starter has been scheduled for Sunday’s game as of yet, but it’s possible Tim Lincecum will get one more start, after being demoted to the bullpen in August.

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