Looking for a Game 4, the San Francisco Giants Turn to Their Atlas
With elimination potentially just one game away, the San Francisco Giants turn to their own personal Atlas, Madison Bumgarner, looking to be lifted once again.
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Facing a two games to none deficit, the San Francisco Giants head home looking to force a game four. They’ve been unable to outplay the Chicago Cubs, losing game one when the offense couldn’t come up with a big hit, and losing game two when the pitching couldn’t keep the Cubs down. Now, their backs are really against the wall.
On the brink of elimination, the Giants turn to their ace. Madison Bumgarner takes on the role of Atlas, looking to lift the weight of the team and the city on to his shoulders. Lucky enough for the Giants, Bumgarner has quite broad shoulders.
Bumgarner was the man to lead the Giants through a win-or-go-home game already. When they found themselves in the one-game playoff against the New York Mets, it was Bumgarner that was on the mound. He delivered another masterful October performance, throwing his third postseason shutout to make Conor Gillaspie‘s ninth-inning, three-run home run stand tall.
The Giants aren’t unfamiliar with their current position. Back in 2012, the fell behind the Cincinnati Reds 2-0 in a best-of-five series, losing a pair of games in San Francisco. They battled back, winning three straight eliminations games to knock off those Reds and advance to the League Championship Series.
But the 2016 Cubs aren’t the 2012 Reds. Those Reds won 97 games and were a great overall team. They finished ninth in the National League in runs, third in the league in ERA, and were fourth in defensive efficiency. The Cubs, flat out, are better. They won 103 games. They were second in runs scored, first in team ERA, and first in defensive efficiency. Their .731 defensive efficiency rating was the best since 1999.
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Every team does have their vulnerabilities, no matter how difficult they are to find. The 2012 Reds hadn’t lost three home games in a row before the Giants steamrolled through a trio of wins at the Great American Ball Park in October. Of course, the formatting of series was weird that year, so there won’t be three straight road games this year. If it goes that far, two will be played in San Francisco before a game five back in Chicago. The Cubs lost three or more straight games thrice, dropping four in a row twice and five in a row once.
The Giants need Bumgarner to lift them once more, as he’s done time and time again. But facing these Cubs, he’ll need to outdo his performance in game four of the 2010 World Series, when he threw eight shutout innings against the Texas Rangers as a fresh-faced, 21-year-old rookie.
He’ll need to outdo his performance in the 2014 Wildcard game, when he threw a shutout against the Pittsburgh Pirates and struck out 10.
He’ll need to outdo his performance in game five of the 2014 World Series, when he shut out the Royals in nine innings to give the Giants a three game to two lead.
He’ll need to outdo his performance in game seven of that series, when he came in from the bullpen on two days rest and threw five shutout innings to preserve a one-run lead and clinch the series.
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And he’ll need to outdo his performance from last Wednesday. Simply put, Bumgarner will need to be as good as he’s ever been to keep the Giants’ hopes alive. Atlas will need to lift the world onto his shoulders one more time just to keep this series alive for a potential game four. Can he do it again, or will the world come crashing down on top of him?