Posey, Pence Ignite Offense in San Francisco Giants’ 9-0 Win
Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants continued their success on the road today in their 9-0 win over the New York Mets.
It’s been a tale of two pitchers this season for Bumgarner. On the road this season, he’s been absolutely dominant. Entering today’s game, he had an 8-2 record on the road, a 1.75 ERA, he’s allowed just 16 earned runs in 82 innings, he’s struck out 80 and walked just 15, and he’s allowing opponents to bat just .216 against him.
At home this season, Bumgarner has a 4-6 record, a 5.60 ERA, has given up 39 earned runs in 62 innings, he’s struck out 63 and walked 21, and he’s allowing opponents to bat .309 off of him.
At Citi Field today, Bumgarner continued to excel on the road. He threw a complete game shutout, and he needed only 94 pitches to do it. Bumgarner struck out 10, walked just one, and gave up only two hits.
Second career shutout for Madison Bumgarner. Only 19 of his 94 pitches were balls.
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) August 3, 2014
This was the second complete game from a Giants’ pitcher this series, as Ryan Vogelsong threw a complete game in the first game of this series.
In addition to his strong start, Bumgarner brought it offensively today too. He got a hit, took a walk, and scored two runs.
As a team, the Giants have also had more success on the road than at home, which is odd given the fact that AT&T Park is known as one of the best stadiums and home crowds in MLB. It’s also a pitcher-friendly park, so it should favor the home team. The Giants now have a 31-21 road record, which is quite impressive. At home, their record is just 29-30.
After going 1-5 on their last homestand, the Giants need to win this series against the Mets, and they certainly looked determined to do just that in today’s game. The Giants hadn’t hit a home run in this series, but that all changed today.
Buster Posey and Hunter Pence led the way for the Giants offensively today. Posey went 4-for-5 today with a double, a two-run home run, and he collected three RBI.
Also, second time this year #sfgiants have had at least four homers in a game. Had six in extra-inning affair at Colorado.
— Henry Schulman BLUE CHECK MARK (@hankschulman) August 3, 2014
Pence also helped ignite the offense today. He went 3-for-5 today with a double, two home runs, and he scored three runs and collected four RBI.
First multi homer game of the year for Pence. Also first four RBI day. #SFGiants
— Henry Schulman BLUE CHECK MARK (@hankschulman) August 3, 2014
That's the 15th homer for Pence, ties Morse for team lead. His 10th career multi-homer game.
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) August 3, 2014
Brandon Belt provided the Giants with a fourth home run too. Belt had four more solid at-bats today after a great game yesterday, and it looks like his timing is back, as he continues to look more comfortable at the plate.
The Giants hope that their explosive offense from today carries over tomorrow in the series finale against the Mets tomorrow at 9:10 AM PT.