NLWC 2016: Giants beat Mets 3-0, Bumgarner has complete game shutout
The National League Wild Card game was a lesson in pitching at its finest level as the Giants rallied in the 9th to win 3-0 against the Mets.
The San Francisco Giants hung on to win 3-0 against the New York Mets in the National League Wild Card game. With the win, the Giants hop on a plane to head to Chicago for the National League Division Series against the Cubs. Madison Bumgarner threw a complete game shutout, repeating his dominant shutout performance from the 2014 NLWC against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Without question, the San Francisco Giants’ Madison Bumgarner and the Mets’ Noah Syndergaard are two of the best active pitchers in the MLB. Tonight’s NLWC game was evenly matched, inning for inning, until Syndergaard got pulled after the seventh inning and was replaced by Addison Reed. Bumgarner remained calm and focused, sitting on top of a shutout.
Mets closer Jeurys Familia came in at the top of the ninth inning to replace Reed with a 2.55 ERA and 51 saves under his belt. The biggest issue with Familia is his 31 walks in just over 77 innings of work, always dangerous with a team like the Giants.
First up was Brandon Crawford, who went 0-2 with a walk on the night. Familia’s first pitch, a 96 mph sinker, went through the gap all the way to left-center field, making its way to the wall and netting Crawford a lead-off double.
Crawford was followed by Angel Pagan, who was supposed to lay down a bunt but ended up striking out.
Joe Panik came up next. It was at that moment that Sergio Romo started warming up in the Giants bullpen. Panik reached a 3-2 count and got a walk, putting runners on first and second base.
That cleared the way for Conor Gillaspie. Familia served up a strike on the first pitch, down and away. After getting to a 1-1 count, Gillaspie knocked a huge go-ahead three-run homer into right field, driving putting the Giants up 3-0. Bumgarner came in to hit after Gillaspie, indicating that he’d be staying in to finish the game. Bumgarner threw a total of 119 pitches for the win.
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Three outs later, the Giants secured their spot in the National League Division Series.
The Giants will meet the Cubs in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Friday, October 7, at 9:15 p.m. on FS1.