The 25-year-old left-hander worked five scoreless innings and allowed just two hits Wednesday night to log a save in the Giants' 3-2, championship-clinching victory over the Kansas City Royals in Game 7 of the World Series.. John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The San Francisco Giants were not the dominant team in the regular season, winning only 88 games, failing to win their division and sneaking into the postseason with the National League’s second wild card.
However, they had the dominant pitcher in the playoffs and World Series, Madison Bumgarner.
The 25-year-old left-hander worked five scoreless innings and allowed just two hits Wednesday night to log a save in the Giants’ 3-2, championship-clinching victory over the Kansas City Royals in Game 7 of the World Series.
Bumgarner, who went 2-0 with a save and a 0.43 ERA, was an easy choice as World Series MVP. He pitched 21 of the Giants’ 61 innings in the seven games, and San Francisco’s other starting pitchers posted a combined 9.92 ERA.
Wednesday’s effort was stunning considering Bumgarner was working on two days’ rest. He threw 117 pitches Sunday while shutting out the Royals in Game 5.
“I can’t lie to you anymore, I’m a little tired now,” Bumgarner said with a laugh after Game 7.
Giants manager Bruce Bochy kept his distance from Bumgarner in the dugout during the game, as the lefty retired 14 consecutive batters at one point.
“I was staying away from him every inning because I was hoping he wouldn’t go, ‘I’m starting to get tired,'” Bochy said. “Because there’s no way I would have taken him out unless he would have told me that. We just got on his horse and rode it.
“Truly amazing, incredible what he did through all this postseason … historic.”
Bumgarner was making his first relief appearance since the 2010 NL Championship Series.
“It doesn’t matter which way you come from (starting or relieving), when you get out there, it’s the same thing,” Bumgarner said. “I was just thinking about getting on the mound and trying to get some innings for our team and get some outs, and fortunately we were able to do that.”
The Giants have three championships in a five-year span, and Bumgarner is a large reason why. His 0.25 career World Series ERA is the best ever among pitchers who threw at least 20 innings in the Fall Classic. Over six starts and one relief appearance in this year’s postseason, Bumgarner went 4-1 with a save and a 1.65 ERA.
