The Giants persevered at Citi Field on Wednesday to beat the Mets 3-0 in the National League wild-card game.
Madison Bumgarner tossed a complete-game shutout to help his team earn a trip to the NL Division Series against the Cubs. Bumgarner was cool, calm and collected most of the game, but he was fired up by the umpires a couple times and tossed the ball into the crowd after getting out of the eighth inning.
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Conor Gillaspie gave Bumgarner the support he needed with a three-run home run off Mets closer Jeurys Familia in the top of the ninth.
Three takeaways from San Francisco's win:
1. The legend of Madison Bumgarner continues to grow. The Giants almost missed the playoffs after a brutal second half of the season, but they won four straight games to end the regular season. Bumgarner made sure they kept the momentum going by tossing a four-hit shutout with six strikeouts.
Wednesday night's stunning performance marked Bumgarner's sixth career postseason start without allowing a run, tying Tom Glavine for most all time. Opposing batters hitting at home are now 0 for 24 against him with runners in scoring position. Bumgarner has a 0.50 road ERA in the postseason, best in MLB history.
Bumgarner, who displayed unmatched command and location on his fastball and secondary pitches all game long, told ESPN after the game he just wants to be known as a "winner." We think he's got that in the bag.
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2. Conor Gillaspie shows unlikely heroes do exist. When Gillapsie came to the plate rubbing dirt on his assumedly sweaty palms, then doing it after each pitch, he didn't look like an imposing figure.
Gillapsie entered his at-bat with a strikeout and a walk in two career at-bats against Familia, but he sent one over the right-center field fence and set the stage for another dramatic Giants playoff victory.
Gillapsie wasn't even a lock to make the roster. His chances improved when regular third baseman Eduardo Nunez was ruled out with an injury, and he took advantage of his opportunity in a big way. San Francisco knows it's an even-numbered year. Its World Series streak in those years may just live on.
3. Terry Collins made the right call by using Familia in the ninth inning. Familia just didn't execute. It's usually easy to question Collins' decisions when it comes to managing pitchers, but in this case he did the right thing.
Yes, Noah Syndergaard was on fire, striking out 10 batters over seven scoreless innings, but he had tossed 108 pitches while allowing five baserunners, all in the latter innings. There were signs Syndergaard was going to give up a run soon, so he exited in favor of Addison Reed, who tossed a scoreless eighth inning.
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Familia is Collins' ninth-inning man, period. Despite blowing three saves in the World Series last year (not all of them were exactly his fault), Familia was excellent during the regular season, saving an MLB-best 51 games. He didn't come through for the Queens faithful this time, but it was not wrong to send him out there.
Highlight
Mets center fielder Curtis Granderson saved a run in the top of the sixth inning with a spectacular catch against the wall.
👀 Curtis Granderson's catch. pic.twitter.com/cR0WatJuHI
— Joe Giglio (@JoeGiglioSports) October 6, 2016
What's next
ALDS Game 1, Blue Jays (89-73) at Rangers (95-67) 4:30 p.m. ET — Cole Hamels takes the mound for Texas after a shaky September. He was in the AL Cy Young race most of the year, however, and should be ready to go in the playoffs. Marco Estrada will pitch for Toronto. It's important he gives the Blue Jays at least five innings to help out the bullpen.
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ALDS Game 1, Red Sox (93-69) at Indians (94-67) 8 p.m. ET — Possible AL Cy Young winner Rick Porcello faces off against Trevor Bauer, who displayed electric stuff this season but was inconsistent after the All-Star break. Led by the ageless David Ortiz and energetic outfielder Mookie Betts, the Red Sox led the majors with 878 runs during the regular season. Expect more scoring in the playoffs.