Cubs keep Giants bats silent through first two games of NLDS
For opposing teams, Madison Bumgarner is pure terror in the postseason.
But Bumgarner is a revered starting pitcher - not so much a feared hitter - and that's a big reason why the San Francisco Giants are in big, big trouble against the Chicago Cubs in the National League division series.
After helping the Giants reach the NLDS with a complete-game shutout against the Mets Wednesday night in the wild-card game, Bumgarner's next start comes Monday night in Game 3 of the NLDS against the Cubs at AT&T Park.
Odds are good Bumgarner is going to pitch great, considering the big lefty has not allowed a run in his last 23 postseason innings.
But will Bumgarner hit?
While dropping the first two games of the NLDS to the Cubs, San Francisco has scored 2 runs total.
The Giants' offense is in such a funk, Bumgarner was summoned to pinch-hit Saturday night at Wrigley Field. He actually did better than most of San Francisco's regular lineup, reaching second base in the fifth inning after third baseman Kris Bryant made 2 errors on the same play.
The Cubs, on the other hand, got a 2-run single from starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks in the second inning before he exited in the fourth after being hit on the right forearm by a line drive from Angel Pagan.
His replacement, Travis Wood, also made the Giants' offense look bad with a home run in the bottom of the fourth inning. It was the first time a relief pitcher cleared the fences in the playoffs since Rosy Ryan in 1924.
So Hendricks and Wood have combined for 3 RBI for the Cubs in the NLDS and San Francisco has 2 as a team.
"You got to win three now," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "You're hoping at least split here and that didn't happen, so now we have our work cut out. We're going home, and hopefully we can get things rolling. But we do need to get this offense going a little bit. I do think we had some good at-bats early. Guys were doing a pretty good job there, but Jeff (Samardzija) was just off a little bit tonight."
Samardzija, who pitched for the Cubs from 2008-14 and the White Sox last season, made the first playoff start of his career for the Giants and truth be told, he was way off.
In the shortest start of his major-league career, Samardzija lasted just 2 innings and allowed 4 runs on 6 hits and 1 walk.
"Your job is to get outs and pitch deep into the game and get into a rhythm," Samardzija said. "It never took place tonight. It wasn't my night."
So far, it's been the Cubs' year, and the starting rotation continues to lead the way.
"They have a really incredible rotation with incredible numbers," Bochy said. "That's why you win over 100 games when you can pitch the way they pitch. A lot of teams are going to have their issues trying to score runs and get hits, and if you look at the numbers that their pitchers have against opposing hitters, it's not just against us, it's against the league and that's a credit to how good they are."
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