Even though Tommy Hunter kept the Giants off the board in the fourth, he was replaced by righty reliever Alexi Ogando for the top of the fifth, as Ron Washington didn't want to give up any more hard-hit balls than he had to. And Ogando was able to do the job, needing just ten pitches to set the Giants down 1-2-3. Andres Torres started off with a weak fly out. Freddy Sanchez followed with a fly out of his own. And Aubrey Huff wrapped it up by swinging and missing at a 96mph 2-2 fastball.
World Series Game 4, Giants Vs. Rangers: Madison Bumgarner Preserves Shutout
That took us to the halfway point of the game, and in the bottom of the fifth, Madison Bumgarner returned to the mound still working on a shutout. And like Ogando, he, too, was able to retire his adversary 1-2-3.
Bumgarner even one-upped Ogando by throwing just eight pitches. Nelson Cruz popped out to short. Ian Kinsler made solid contact and pulled a low liner to left, but Cody Ross ranged over to make a shoestring catch. Jeff Francoeur then came up, and he grounded an easy roller to short for the third out.
Through five innings, it's still 2-0 San Francisco, and Bumgarner's thrown just 61 innings. If he's able to keep this up, Bruce Bochy may be able to hand the ball directly to Brian Wilson and skip over any potentially troubling middle relief.
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