2012 World Series: Bumgarner Deals in San Francisco Giants’ Game 2 Victory

The greatest offense the MLB had to offer in 2012 has been completely shut down through the first two games of the World Series.

            They’ve been shut down not by the top pitching staff in all of baseball, but by a team whose biggest weakness heading into the World Series was arguably their starting pitching.

            A left-for-dead Barry Zito and a struggling Madison Bumgarner have sent the favored Detroit Tigers into a 2-0 hole to start the World Series.

            Bumgarner did the damage in Game 2 on Thursday night.

            After a start against the Cardinals that left many wondering whether or not he would be given the nod in the World Series, Bumgarner torched the very lethal Tigers lineup for just two hits allowed in seven innings.

            It turned out Bumgarner’s recent woes were simply mechanical, and not because of the tired and over-worked arm of a 23-year-old.

            However, with Bumgarner locked in, the Giants’ offense still needed to get to Tigers’ starter Doug Fister -- something easier said than done on Thursday night.

            Even after a line drive taken off the head, Fister did not miss a step, battling Bumgarner inning for inning and creating an old-fashioned pitchers’ duel in the World Series.

            It took a managerial misstep, in hindsight, for the either team to score their first runs of the game.

            After a Hunter Pence single off Fister to lead-off the seventh inning, Fister and his 114 pitches were relieved by Drew Smyly, who walked Brandon Belt right away to put runners at first and second base.

            Gregor Blanco’s near perfect bunt down the third base line, intended to move the runners over, stayed fair despite Miguel Cabrera, Alex Avila and Smyly’s baffled glares.

            So with the bases loaded and no outs, Tigers’ manager Jim Leyland decided to push the infield back and play for the double play -- a move that was rather American League-esque in afterthought.

            Brandon Crawford gave them what they wanted, a 4-6-3 tailor-made double play that scored Pence and gave the Giants a 1-0 lead.

            Was Leyland playing his cards right on that one?

            The defensive set-up suggested Leyland had more faith in the Tigers scoring a run in the final two innings off San Francisco’s shut-down bullpen than getting out of the seventh inning with limited damage.

            It turned out Detroit never got those runs off the Giants’ bullpen, and San Francisco’s one run was all they needed on Thursday night to secure the win, 2-0.

            The Giants did add another run of insurance in the eighth inning off a Pence sacrifice fly to score Angel Pagan, but Leyland seemed to miss the importance of every pitch and every run in the World Series with that play in the seventh inning -- a play the Tigers may look back on and regret wholeheartedly.

            And so the Giants head on the road to Detroit with a 2-0 series lead and a rather high success rate on the road.

Their most recent roadtrip supplied them with a Zito gem and all the momentum in the world to sweep the Cardinals at home in the NLCS.

            The roadtrip before that supplied them with three straight wins over the Reds to advance to the NLCS.

            The Giants thrive on the road, based on the fact any ballpark is bigger than AT&T Park, and the simple peace and calm they get from being on their own at the home team’s venue.

            Even more, the Giants’ undoubted best pitcher Ryan Vogelsong will be on the mound, coming off a two-win performance in the NLCS.

            Detroit has their hands full with the Giants in the World Series at the moment, and it will take all the body mass in their lineup to stop the Giants’ freight train in their tracks the rest of this series.

Read More

NLCS: Giants announce Bumgarner, Vogelsong Starters in Games 1 and 2

 It was not long after the St. Louis Cardinals came from well behind the Washington Nationals to win Game 5 of the NLDS that Bruce Bochy and the San Francisco Giants announced their first two starters of the NLCS.

            The Giants were presumably docked in Cincinnati waiting to know where they would be playing in the NLCS.

            They found out they would be heading home to start the series on Sunday.

            As expected, Madison Bumgarner will pitch Game 1 and Ryan Vogelsong will pitch Game 2 for the Giants.

            For now, we know that Lance Lynn will be pitching in Sunday’s Game 1 for the Cardinals.

            With Bumgarner and Vogelsong starting the first two games of the series, we can expect Matt Cain to pitch Game 3, as well as Tim Lincecum to pitch Game 4, although the decision of Lincecum or Zito is sure to be discussed throughout the next few days.

The seven-game NLCS series, which will start at AT&T Park on Sunday, will feature the last two teams to win the World Series.

The Giants won it all in 2010, while the Cardinals defied all odds by winning it last season and hope to repeat this season sans Albert Pujols.

Read More

San Francisco Giants: Taking A Look at the Starting Rotation in NLCS

The San Francisco Giants became the first team in MLB history to claim victory in a five-game series by winning three straight games on the road, and now the waiting begins.

            If the Nationals take down the Cardinals at home in Game 5 Friday night, then the Giants will travel to Washington D.C. to play the first two games of the series.

            If St. Louis takes down the Nationals, then the Giants start at AT&T Park in front of a home crowd ready to welcome home a team they never saw win in the 2012 NLDS.

            However, Bruce Bochy and the Giants also have some decisions to make iwht a starting rotation that was key in their three straight victories over Cincinnati.

            Ace Matt Cain is out of the equation until at least Game 3

            Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday will give him five days rest and primed to start Game 3 (Tuesday would be a travel day either on the road or heading home).

            With that said, we can fully expect Madison Bumgarner to earn a Game 1 start.

            He started Game 2 at home in the NLDS vs. the Reds and only lasted 4.1 innings, while giving up four runs on seven hits.

            Game 2 is where it gets dicey for Bochy.

            He had this to say about Lincecum starting in the NLCS on Wednesday:

            “Oh, I think you have to,” Bochy said. “He stepped up and did a terrific job. He had a great look about him and …  he really came through for us. When you’re on this stage you’re hoping somebody steps up and Timmy has that ability. He did tonight.”

            There is a very likely chance Lincecum could start Game 2 for the Giants, as he would have a total of four days off after only pitching a total of 6.1 innings in the entire NLDS series.

            Then again, Ryan Vogelsong is also available.

            Vogelsong has not pitched since Tuesday’s Game 3, and he would have a total of six days off between starts.

            Although Lincecum is available and was pitching impressively in relief in the NLDS, we should be seeing Vogelsong on six days rest in Game 2.

            With Game 3 taken care of with Cain, that would leave Lincecum to lay claim to Game 4, a start that would better suit him at home with the pitcher’s ball park and a crowd that was very much behind him out of the bullpen in the NLDS.

            Game 5 starts the cycle once again with Bumgarner, but expect Vogelsong in Game 6 only if the Giants lead the series.

            If the Giants trail 3-2 in the series, then Cain will be called upon on three days rest to try to force a Game 7.

            That would leave either Vogelsong (on six days rest) or Lincecum (depending on how he throws in Game 4, on three days rest) to start Game 7.

            One decision to watch would be if the Giants include Barry Zito on the NLCS roster.

            It is obvious at this point the Giants will be going with a four-man starting rotation that will exclude Zito in the NLCS.

            Zito cannot come of the bullpen for several reasons, and there may not be a reason to carry him on the roster at all, with an addition of another arm in the bullpen being something Bochy would love to have.

            It is a roster decision Bochy and his staff will ultimately have to make, but there is a possibility Zito could start either Game 6 or 7 if the team is desperate and either Vogelsong or Lincecum have had rough starts earlier in the series.

Read More