I expected last night’s Giants/Mets game to go something like this: Madison Bumgarner would give up a run or two early, as he often does when settling into a game, and that would have been the difference as Noah Syndergaard pitched another shutout. I would have done better to note Bumgarner’s 0.60 ERA at Citi Field and hear the comments of New York’s baseball writers, who thought that the difference would be that Syndergaard would pitch seven innings and MadBum would pitch nine. The game was excruciating for me to watch—I kept thinking of each of the Giants’ failures to score, especially when Hunter Pence struck out with the bases loaded in the eighth inning, as evidence that their October magic had finally deserted them. Even after all of this time, faith that good things will happen doesn’t come easily to me.
I feel more optimistic about the Giants’ chances with the Cubs, if only because the Cubs don’t throw 98-mph BBs quite as much as Syndergaard. Johnny Cueto and Jon Lester go on Friday. MadBum is tentatively scheduled for Monday in San Francisco. I have circled that date on my calendar.
