Third baseman Connor Gillaspie came up with a pair of runners on base and one out in a scoreless game during the ninth inning of the National League Wild Card Game on Wednesday night. With a 1-1 count, Gillaspie hits one out for his 31st career homerun, giving Bumgarner all he needed.
“I couldn’t tell you why it happened or how it happened but it happened so…” says Gillaspie. “I was trying to get something elevated, that was pretty much the only chance I had with him. Pretty much the whole game I was spinning off balls, so I was telling myself to stay in there as much as I could, and trust I could get there.”
The Mets had turned to Jeurys Familia, the pitcher whom he had hit off of, to close the game, while the Giants stuck with Bumgarner, who also pitched a shutout against Pittsburgh in the 2014 Wild Card Game.
“It’s hard to have any more confidence than what we have in Bum,” said Giants manager Bruce Bochy, especially in a game like this.”
“These are fun games, but they’re pretty stressful at the same time,” said Bumgarner who has a 1.94 ERA in the postseason. “But it’s all in how you prepare and look at it.”
Familia, blew three saves in the 2015 World Series. Pitching was not the only problem and found defensive problems behind him. Familia has a 2.30 ERA in the postseason.
Both Bumgarner and Syndergaard were dominant from the start. Bumgarner had retired the first 9 batters he faced in only 21 pitches, and Syndergaard had finished with 10 strikeouts in 7 innings. It was when Familia allowed a 3-run HR when the crowd of almost 50,000 went silent.
