Giants vs. Cardinals, 2014 NLCS Game 1 results: 3 things we learned from San Francisco’s 3-0 win
The Giants ran out to a lead early, and Madison Bumgarner shut down the Cardinals long enough to help give his team the 3-0 Game 1 win.
Jamie Squire
Before the final week of this season, Travis Ishikawa had never played left field at the major league level. That his diving catch and bloop single would both happen in that part of Busch Stadium tell you the type of night the Giants had on their way to a 3-0 win over the Cardinals in Game 1 of the NLCS.
After going just 2-for-11 in the first five games of the Giants' postseason, Ishikawa went 2-for-3 with an RBI thanks to a Texas Leaguer that fell just out of the reach of Cardinals' third baseman Matt Carpenter, scoring Pablo Sandoval. That was just one of six hits given up by St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright in only 4 2/3 innings. His counterpart for San Francisco, Madison Bumgarner, fared much better.
Continuing his postseason dominance, he established a record for consecutive shutout playoff innings on the road. He broke the record in the fifth inning, then extended it to 26.2 innings before leaving with two outs in the eighth. He finished the game with seven strikeouts, giving up just four hits in 7 2/3 innings of work.
Lance Lynn will try to even the series for the Cardinals before it heads to San Francisco when he faces off against former Cy Young winner Jake Peavy at 8 p.m. on Fox Sports 1.
The Giants: Aliens who feed on playoff wins
With Bruce Bochy emerging as one of best managers of all-time according to Grantland’s Jonah Keri, and yet another dominant performance by neo-Andy Pettite Madison Bumgarner and Pablo Sandoval, it might be time to reckon with the Giants’ teams of the last few years as a historically good unit in October. In addition to Bumgarner’s aforementioned achievement, Sandoval reached base in his 19th consecutive playoff game, two short of the Giants’ franchise record held by Barry Bonds. Even if they don’t manage to win this series, the only team that would be able to touch their position as the team of the first half of the decade would be the team on the other side of the diamond.
More NLCS
Something seems wrong
Adam Wainwright missed 2011 with Tommy John surgery, so any time that part of his arm isn’t 100%, it’s something to worry about. But before this game, Cardinals fans likely had at least some of their fears assuaged by Wainwright’s assurance that his elbow wasn’t bothering him. As he told reporters, “Here is the positive, I can be very honest about this because I’ve been through it. When I took a game off after my Tampa start earlier this season, I aggravated my elbow, and it’s the backside of my elbow. So the elbow‑fearing world can know it’s not my ligament.”
However, given his stats so far this postseason -- nine innings pitched with eight earned runs on 17 hits and four walks -- it doesn’t look like it matters whether it is his ligament or not.
The ace of aces
On a team with two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, the fact that Madison Bumgarner has been the Giants' best pitcher for so much of their historic recent run is still a bit much to wrap one's head around, but this stat -- coupled with the record he broke tonight -- might show why it's not even a question anymore: 23 strikeouts and three walks in 23⅔ innings this postseason with a 0.76 ERA.
See More:
