SAN FRANCISCO PITCHER Madison Bumgarner bounced back in a big way last night as the Giants stretched their World Series lead over the Detroit Tigers with a 2-0 victory.
The triumph gives the Giants a 2-0 lead in baseball’s best-of-seven championship series as it shifts to Detroit for game three on Saturday.
The cushion is an unfamiliar comfort for the Giants, who had to rally to beat both Cincinnati and St. Louis in the previous rounds of this post-season by capturing the final three games in each series.
“It’s a lot less stressful for sure,” Bumgarner said of the lead. “But at the same time I don’t think we can stop pushing or we’re going to find ourselves in the same spot we’ve been in in the last two series.”
After Pablo Sandoval’s record-equalling three home runs highlighted the Giants’ 8-3 game one win on Wednesday, pitching dominated game two.
Two rough playoff outings for Bumgarner had seen him relegated to the bullpen.
But he showed that some work on his mechanics had done the trick as he pitched seven sterling innings, striking out eight, walking two and giving up just two hits in a game that was scoreless until the seventh frame.
“What a job he did,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “He had great poise out there with great delivery and he stayed right on for seven innings.”
Hunter Pence scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning and Gregor Blanco added a run-scoring sacrifice fly in the eighth.
On Saturday, the Tigers will try to reverse their fortunes at home, where they will send Anibal Sanchez to the mound. Ryan Vogelsong will get the ball for the Giants.
“Hopefully, we can get our offense going when we get back to Motown,” Tigers’ manager Jim Leyland said.
Bochy, meanwhile, promised his Giants would not be complacent with their lead.
“It’s great to get off to a good start,” Bochy said. “You go out to win every game. You can’t get caught up in 2-0 or 0-2, you just play hard.
“You keep pushing. That’s what you do at this point. We don’t, believe me, take anything for granted.”
