The San Francisco Giants became the fourth road team to win the one-game Wild Card playoff since it was introduced in 2012. Madison Bumgarner pitched a complete game shutout as the Giants went on to defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-0 at PNC Park on Wednesday night.
Prior to entering the matchup, many believed the NL Wild Card game would be a pitcher's duel because each team put their ace on the mound in hopes of advancing to the NLDS. But after Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford cranked a grand slam to right field in the fourth inning, that notion was laid to rest. The Giants continued their onslaught with the bats and scored four more runs before the night was over, including three RBIs from Brandon Belt and one from Buster Posey.
Edinson Volquez of Pittsburgh was charged with five earned runs in five innings of work and the Pirates were eliminated from the playoffs for the second consecutive season. In 2013, they got past the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Wild Card game, but fell to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS. The team only managed to scatter four hits and one walk off of Bumgarner, leaving the home crowd silent for a majority of the contest. Volquez is now 0-2 in postseason starts with a 12.15 ERA and 2.10 WHIP.
San Francisco has managed to win a game in each of their last three postseason appearances. Both their 2010 and 2012 campaigns ended with World Series titles with victories over the Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers. The Giants will now travel to Washington for the first two games of the National League Division Series against the NL-best Nationals. It hasn't been announced who will be starting Game 1 for the Giants, but it's likely either Jake Peavy or Tim Hudson will take the mound. And although the Nationals boast the NL's best record (96-66), Giants' manager Bruce Bochy is 8-1 in postseason series, so the experience is on their side.
"We thrive in these situations," said Crawford, who got the Giants off on the right foot last night, in this ESPN article. "I don't know what it is. We just keep fighting no matter what the circumstance."
"We've been through it before, a lot of this team has," Belt added. "We used that experience tonight. We know when we get in these situations we're going to have a good ballclub."
Dating back to 2012, the Giants earned their eight consecutive postseason win, including their seventh straight with the season on the line last night. We'll see if they can carry that momentum into Washington, where they'll likely face Stephen Strasburg in Game 1, followed by any order of Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister and Gio Gonzalez.
But for now, it's a celebration for Bumgarner and the Giants.