The Giants used that classic recipe of pitching and power to move past the Mets in Wednesday night's NL Wild Card Game. Reminding everyone once again why he's the best big game pitcher on the planet, Madison Bumgarner threw a complete game four-hit shutout -- extending his personal post-season scoreless streak to 23 consecutive innings. He kept most of the Mets hitters off stride -- we saw a mix of weak ground balls and pop ups. Yoenis Cespedes went 0 for 5; the man who enters to The Lion King theme, played more like a meercat. Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera was the only Met who appeared to make good contact.
Watching him from just off the field was like being at a concert by a world-class musician. He was so consistently effective. No tailing off in the later innings, no apparent exhaustion -- unlike his Mets rival Noah Syndergaard, who, despite throwing two-hit ball, clearly faded his final inning. "Mad Bum" threw 119 pitches, and was as dominant in the 9th as he was in the 1st.
Then, there's the unlikely batting hero Connor Gillaspie. Filling in for the injured Eduardo Nunez, the onetime White Sock blasted a top of the 9th home run off Jeurys Familia that while not quite (Bobby) Thomson-esque, will make his a beloved name for the orange-and-black faithful for years to come.
Look carefully below (just under the E in WISE), you can see Gillaspie's blast bouncing off the roof of the Mets bullpen, with right fiedler Jay Bruce unable to do anything except watch (and probably cringe).
If you haven't checked lately, it's 2016, an even-numbered year... as San Francisco looks to create its every-other-year dynasty. For the moment, the Giants celebrate before heading to Wrigley Field for a Division Series matchup with the Cubs. And the Mets, for the second straight year, watch a post-season opponent celebrate on their home field.
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