Friday 29th March 2024

It was a gem by Madison Bumgarner, a blast by Conor Gillaspie and a wild-card victory by the San Francisco Giants.

Bumgarner went the distance on a four-hitter and Gillaspie launched a three-run homer in the ninth inning off Jeurys Familia  to send the Giants to a 3-0 shutout win over the New York Mets. The outcome puts San Francisco in the National League Division Series against the Chicago Cubs.

Bumgarner ran his consecutive postseason scoreless streak to 23 innings by silencing a ballclub that won 27 of its final 40 regular-season games. The lefty’s only trouble came in the bottom of the fifth, when T.J. Rivera led off with a double before Bumgarner worked out of a first-and-second jam.

Bumgarner also has a 23-inning scoreless streak in winner-take-all postseason games, having worked five shutout innings of relief in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series, and a complete-game blanking of the Pirates in the wild-card game that year.

Bumgarner is 8-3 with three complete games and a 1.94 ERA over 97 1/3 innings in his 15 career postseason appearances.

The Giants teed off on Familia after leaving the bases loaded in the eighth inning against Addison Reed. Brandon Crawford greeted the Mets’ closer with a leadoff double in the ninth and Joe Panik worked out a walk that was followed by Gillaspie’s blast. Gillaspie had two of the Giants’ five hits in his first major league postseason game.

Familia now has one loss and three blown saves in his last five postseason appearances. He led the majors with 51 saves during the regular season.

The Mets wasted a terrific outing by Noah Syndergaard (SIHN’-dur-gahrd), who was struck out 10 and held the Giants to two hits over seven shutout innings. Syndergaard was working on a no-hitter until Denard (deh-NAHRD’) Span poked a two-out single in the sixth.

The Giants’ division series gets underway Friday at Wrigley Field. Johnny Cueto (KWAY’-toh) is expected to take the mound for Game 1 against Cubs hurler Jon Lester.

The kernals

 

 

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