San Francisco Giants Morning Minute: What Pitcher’s Duel?

On this edition of the San Francisco Giants Morning Minute, we discuss the “pitcher’s duel” that didn’t go quite as advertised.

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Good morning, San Francisco Giants’ fans, and welcome to another edition of the Giants Morning Minute. On Thursday, the Giants opened their series with the New York Mets with a 10-7 win, collecting just their second win in a series opener since the break. Madison Bumgarner (12-7) fought his way to a win, while Jacob deGrom (7-6) was stuck with the loss. Santiago Casilla finished the ninth for his 28th save.

The Los Angeles Dodgers lost to the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday, dropping a 5-4 decision. The Giants gained ground for the first time since August 8th, cutting the Dodgers’ lead in the National League West to just a half game. The Giants also moved a bit more ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals in the wildcard, pushing their lead to 2.5 games.

Here’s what went on Thursday.

1 – Pitcher’s Duel? Yeah, Right

Madison Bumgarner (2.11 ERA, 0.996 WHIP, 10 strikeouts per nine innings) against Jacob deGrom (2.30 ERA, 1.050 WHIP, 8.7 K/9) had the makings of one of those classic pitching duels. Two of the NL’s leading Cy Young contenders matching up looked like a 1-0 or 2-1 game that would go down to the wire. While it did go down to the wire, there was no duel to be had on Thursday.

The fourth inning started the offensive showcase, when the Mets got to Bumgarner in the top half of the inning. A single and two walks loaded the bases with one out, and journeyman outfielder Justin Ruggiano made it hurt. On a full count, the former Dodger lofted one to center field. It looked like a pop-up to the naked eye, but it just kept traveling, and traveling, and traveling, finally settling on the screen over the garden in center field (once a Dodger, always a Dodger, right?). That spotted deGrom a 4-0 lead, and those familiar thoughts of “oh no, here we go again” that are always around the corner came back.

But that wasn’t it, and the offense fought back, landing body blow after body blow. Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford, and Hunter Pence led off the bottom with consecutive singles, erasing the zero from their side of the scoreboard. Then it was Eduardo Nunez, still finding his footing in a new uniform, who delivered a big blow. He shot deGrom’s offering down the right field line, just to the left of the chalk line, scoring a pair of runs and making it a one-run game.

It was left to Bumgarner, the angry pitcher that had just given up a devastating grand slam not 20 minutes earlier. He had his own personal battle with deGrom, fouling off pitches and fighting to a 2-2 count, but when the Mets’ righty put a 95-mile-per-hour fastball on a tee, Bumgarner unleashed that fury. He crushed his third home run of the season, and 14th of his career, completing the rally and putting the Giants in front.

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The offense didn’t stop there. With deGrom reeling, they added three runs in the fifth as part of a two-out rally. Nunez picked up another RBI, and Joe Panik slashed a double down the line to score a couple more. deGrom allowed 13 hits and eight runs, setting career highs in both categories.

And when the Mets fought back themselves to make it a one-run game, Posey provided some insurance. With two outs in the eighth, Posey smoked a double off the wall in right field to bring home two more, padding that lead just a bit more.

It was hearty effort from the entire lineup. Denard Span picked up three hits, and is hitting a cool .315 since the All-Star break. Angel Pagan extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a sixth-inning single. Nunez had four total hits. Crawford had three, while Pence and Posey both had a pair.

2 – Bullpen Shuts It Down After Shaky Beginning

Things didn’t start very well for the bullpen. Newly-reinstated Cory Gearrin and newly-acquired Will Smith combined to allow three runs, and Derek Law loaded the bases in the seventh, but Law, as well as the guys behind him, soothed the troubled waters.

Law got out of his jam in the seventh, and Javier Lopez and Sergio Romo combined for a clean eighth. It was up to the much-maligned Santiago Casilla in the ninth, tasked with holding the three-run lead. Jay Bruce led off the inning with a squibber that beat the shift, but James Loney, Travis d’Arnaud, and Ruggiano went down in order, sealing the win for San Francisco. A much-needed win, one might say.

Next: Giants Morning Minute: Another Day, Another Hard Loss

And that will do it for this edition of the Giants Morning Minute. On Friday, the Giants send Johnny Cueto to the mound to face the Mets’ Seth Lugo (in placed of the injured Steven Matz) in game two. As for the teams around the Giants:

-Dodgers (Bud Norris) face the Cincinnati Reds (Tim Adleman) in their series opener.
-St. Louis Cardinals (Adam Wainwright), 2.5 games back in the wildcard, start a series with the Philadelphia Phillies (Adam Morgan).
-Pittsburgh Pirates (Gerrit Cole), 3.5 games back of the Giants, start a series with the Miami Marlins (Tom Koehler), five games back of the Giants.