The Giants scored in the fourth with the help of a passed ball and added a run in the sixth on Arrieta’s second wild pitch. They’ve won eight of nine and scored at least 10 runs in each of their past three games.
Advertisement
Madison Bumgarner facing Jake Arrieta had an October feel to it, and the Giants performed like they belong in the postseason.
He struck out 10 in six innings to outduel defending NL Cy Young Award victor Jake Arrieta, the Giants hustled to support him, and their bullpen made the pitches under duress to protect a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Saturday.
Bumgarner (14-8) needed the insurance run, even on a masterful afternoon when he struck out 10 and didn’t walk a batter in six innings. San Francisco rebounded from a pair of one-run losses in the first two games of the four-game set.
“That’s the one play of the whole game I’d like to have back, where we just let Crawford go to third base”, Maddon said. “And we plan on being there. So it’s a playoff-type of matchup”.
The Giants had a major league-best 57-33 record at the All-Star break.
The Marlins (68-66) moved within three games of the idle St. Louis Cardinals in the race for the second wild-card spot in the National League.
The Giants would get to Arrieta again in the fourth.
Arrieta pitched 6 innings against the Giants on Saturday while allowing 3 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks. The surging Cubs had won five in a row before the offense cooled off in Saturday’s defeat to visiting San Francisco. Dexter Fowler would bunt over Rizzo, but he was stealing at the same time.
“You’re going to have days, a couple of starts, when you’re not going to be quite as sharp, but you find a way to win”, Giants manager Bruce Bochy told reporters this week. Stuck in no man’s land, Rizzo was tagged out attempting to get back to second.
The game ended moments later on Kris Bryant’s popout. Addison Russell was hit by a pitch and Willson Contreras singled, loading the bases.
Washington Nationals hurler Max Scherzer and Cubs breakout star Kyle Hendricks – who leads Major League Baseball in ERA – are among the favorites right now, while some still feel Clayton Kershaw deserves consideration, despite missing two months with a herniated disk in his back, for his historic start to the season.
“We got to two strikes and he didn’t bite at the curveball, he took it really easy”, Ross said.
Toronto’s lead in the division was trimmed to one-half game over Boston, which played later Saturday. Arrieta punched out seven while walking two on the day. Angel Pagan doubled in the first and scored on Tommy La Stella’s two-out throwing error.
Dodgers 5, Padres 1 • Rich Hill allowed one hit over six scoreless innings and Josh Reddick had a homer among three hits for host Los Angeles.
The Cubs got within 2-1 in the fifth thanks to Javier Baez’s hustle. Zobrist was stranded at first base.NOTE: Cubs RF Jorge Soler (ingrown toenail) was a late scratch from the lineup but struck out as a pinch hitter in the fifth. He struck out seven in six innings.
Mark Trumbo hit his major league-leading 41st homer to cap a six-run second inning, and the Baltimore Orioles peppered the New York Yankees with four long balls in an 8-0 victory Friday night. Green said he doesn’t think he will need surgery. “You don’t expect to see those things often”. “We had opportunities regardless”. Rondon could be activated Monday.
“Whether they know my story or not, just seeing them smile “,” Rizzo said.
BREWERS 7, PIRATES 4: Struggling rookie Orlando Arcia had three hits, including a tiebreaking single in Milwaukee’s four-run eighth inning, to extend Pittsburgh’s losing streak to five games.
Advertisement
(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel). Detroit Tigers’ Justin Upton (8) celebrates with third base coach Dave Clark after hitting a solo home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals on Friday, Sept. 2, 2016, in Kansas City, Mo.
