Madison Bumgarner Pitches Giants to 2-0 World Series Lead
Fitzgerald Cecilio
San Francisco, CA
Madison Bumgarner bounced back from two postseason starts, pitching seven scoreless innings as the San Francisco Giants grabbed a commanding 2-0 lead in the World Series with a 2-0 win over the Detroit Tigers Thursday at AT&T Park.
After two forgettable playoff stints that earned him an ERA of 11.25, Bumgarner (1-0) allowed two hits and struck out eight in just 86 pitches to help the Giants clinch a two-game lead before the series shifts to Detroit for the next three outings, starting with Saturday's Game 3.
The last eight teams that grabbed a 2-0 World Series lead have gone on to win it. The 1996 Yankees were the last to overcome that kind of deficit, winning four straight after dropping the first two games to the Atlanta Braves at Yankee Stadium.
"It definitely feels a whole lot better that having our backs against the wall," Bumgarner said. "They were stressful series, both the series we played there [were] tough. It's nice, but we can't relax. We got to keep pushing."
"This is a team that you're not going to be able to mess with, and the ball was working tonight," the left-hander added. "I was making pitches, mixing it up, and they hit some balls hard, but luckily we were in the right spot."
Tigers starter Doug Fister went toe-to-toe with Bumgarner, holding the Giants scoreless until his stint ended when he gave up a leadoff single to Hunter Pence in the seventh.
Reliever Drew Smyly loaded the bases after walking Brandon Belt and giving up a sacrifice bunt to Gregor Blanco. Brandon Crawford grounded into a double play but Pence dashed home for the first run of the game.
Pence added a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the eighth that gave the Giants a 2-0 lead that was protected by relievers Santiago Casilla and Sergio Romo with scoreless stints in the eighth and ninth frames.
"We played good small ball today," Pence said. "We played a good game of baseball, had outstanding pitching and great defense, and we found a way to get it done."
Fister was hit by a line drive by Blanco off the right side of his head but stayed in the game, retiring 12 consecutive Giants from the second inning into the sixth. He finished with an earned run on four hits with three strikeouts in six innings.
"I was scared to death when it happened. I didn't really realize exactly how it hit him. It kind of grazed, I want to say, the side of his head, the back of his head. It was a scary moment, obviously, but he was fine," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said.
The San Francisco Giants lead the Detroit Tigers two games to zero after Thursday night's 2-0 victory
Giants Beat Tigers, Lead World Series 2-0
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