SAN FRANCISCO — The stars couldn’t be aligned much better above the Bay Bridge for the Giants in this NL Division Series.
Two victories in Washington to start the series were big enough, but considering the crushing manner in which the second one was delivered, added to the fact their ace Madison Bumgarner is fully rested and ready for Game 3 on Monday, has given the Giants every possible bit of momentum.
“We need to be able to get up on our feet,” said Nationals pitcher Doug Fister, who is set to oppose Bumgarner at AT&T Park.
The Nationals were within an out of tying the series on Saturday, when manager Matt Williams removed Jordan Zimmermann, whose streak of consecutive batters retired ended at 20 with a walk to Joe Panik. Drew Storen replaced Zimmermann, and allowed two straight hits, including an RBI double to Pablo Sandoval to make it 1-1.
The score didn’t change until the 18th inning, when Brandon Belt hit a solo homer to give the Giants their margin of victory in the longest postseason game — 6 hours and 23 minutes — in MLB history. The 18 innings matched the previous postseason longest, Game 4 of the 2005 NLDS between the Braves and Astros.
“We can’t afford to lose any focus, because we’ve been in their spot, and we have come through the other side,” Bumgarner said.
He was referring to 2012, when the Giants rallied from an 0-2 deficit against the Reds in the NLDS. The Giants were also down 3-1 against the Cardinals in the NLCS that year before rallying to win the pennant and the World Series.
The 25-year-old Bumgarner might be the National League’s best left-hander not named Clayton Kershaw. Bumgarner went 18-10 with a 2.98 ERA for the Giants this season and followed that with a four-hit shutout against the Pirates in the NL wild-card game.
Bumgarner, a member of the 2010 and 2012 World Series winning teams, is certainly accustomed to the pressure that comes with these games.
“It’s been special and it’s been a lot of fun to play for,” Bumgarner said. “We’re in a good spot now, but we’ve got to stay pressing forward and we can’t lose any focus. Hopefully we can keep it going.”
Giants manager Bruce Bochy gave his team the day off Sunday — the Nationals held an optional workout at AT&T Park — mostly because he wanted his players rested after Saturday’s marathon.
“I certainly hope there’s not going to be a letdown with what’s at stake here,” Bochy said. “I don’t see that with this group. This is a tough group. They will come out and be ready to go, and you can’t let down. It wasn’t the best-of-three; it’s the best-of-five, and we know that.”
Williams indicated it was a long flight here for the Nationals, especially in the aftermath of the Zimmermann-Storen decision that may have cost his team the game.
“Any time you make a decision on something and it doesn’t work, you kick yourself,” Williams said. “I kicked myself on that. That’s human nature.
“Beyond that, we had nine more innings to win it. What can you do about it except adjust from there and go on?”
Williams has seen the Nationals accomplish too much this season to believe anything other than his team will rebound.
“It can be done,” Williams said. “But you have to start with the first oneYou have to be ready for that and make sure that we’re doing things out there on the field that would give us a chance to win.”
