Game Wrap 2016 NLDS Game 3: Giants 6 Cubs 5 in 13 Innings

Apparently "torture" is alive and well this postseason as the Giants repeatedly came back from the brink of elimination to win in extra innings.  Key Lines:

Denard Span- 2 for 6, 2B, 3B.  BA= .200.  Span looked pretty fast out there legging out the triple.  He added a nice catch in the OF for good measure.  Again, I think Span benefits from the rest he gets in a platoon with Gorkys Hernandez.  He scored 2 of the Giants runs in this one.

Brandon Belt- 1 for 4, BB, SF.  BA= .200.  Belt drove in 1 run with a long sac fly to cut the Cubs lead to 3-2.

Buster Posey- 3 for 5, BB.  BA= .385.  Posey seems to realize the power is not there and is content to hit the ball where it's pitched and keep the line moving.  He drove in Span from 2B for the first Giants run, then scored on Gillaspie's triple in the 8'th when the Giants took a temporary lead.

Conor Gillaspie- 1 for 6, 3B.  BA= .182.  Gillaspie strikes again!  He was robbed earlier on a blown call by the ump that was inexplicably upheld on replay when Anthony Rizzo clearly pulled his foot off the bag on a spectacular play by Javier Baez.  On the other hand, if Gillaspie had been safe there, maybe the chain of events in the 8'th inning would not have played out?  And what about the left-handed hitting Gillispie getting it done against Aroldis Chapman after Hunter Pence struck out? Chapman seemed to completely fall apart after that and so far the Giants have hit him pretty well.  He might have given up the tying run in Game 1 had it not been for a very bad call on a check swing strikeout by Gorkys Hernandez.

Brandon Crawford- 2 for 6, 2B, SB(1).  BA= .231.  Crawford drove in Conor Gillaspie with a much needed insurance run in the 8'th and later started the winning rally with a double.

Joe Panik- 3 for 4, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .571.  Panik's bat came to life just in time.  Despite getting on base 5 of 6 PA's, he was not involved in any of the scoring until he drove in the winning run with a double in the 13'th.

Madison Bumgarner- 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 5.40.  Bumgarner struggled through the 2'nd inning throwing 37 of his 101 pitches in that inning alone.  Ironically, it was a terrible pitch to his pitching counterpart, Jake Arrieta tagged him for a 3 run dinger, that put the Giants in a hole they almost didn't dig out of.  Credit Bumgarner for hanging in there and not allowing any more runs through 5 innings.

Derek Law- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.  A fired up Law was sensational, giving the Giants 2 innings of shutdown ball.  His emotion seemed to be contagious on the dugout.

Hunter Strickland- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.  Strickland was a dour as Law was enthusiastic, but he got the job done in the 8'th with several FB's that hit triple digits on the TV radar gun.

Sergio Romo- 2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 9.00.  Just when you think the closer role is stabilized, Romo shows why he lost it after 2012.  He walks the left-handed hitting Dexter Fowler to lead off the inning, then hangs a slider to Kris Bryant of all people.  You know those cars on the LF wall that Jeff Kent threatened to saw off if they cost him a dinger?  They almost saved Romo here, but the ball bounced on the top of the wall and skipped into the stands for a 2-run, game-tying HR.  Interestingly, Bochy left Romo out there for 2 innings and he retired the next 6 batters he faced.

Will Smith- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.  Will Smith was thought to be the Brewers closer coming into this season before he hurt his knee.  He's really settled down his game since coming to the Giants.  Is he a consideration for next season, or even the rest of this postseason?

Ty Blach- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.  The Kid was sensational again and earned himself a postseason win for his already growing resume'.  Kid's gotta be the favorite for the 6'th starter/long relief role next season if not the 5'th starter!

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The Win kept the Giants from being eliminated from the postseason in a series sweep.  They now trail the Cubs in the NLDS 2 games to 1.

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Matt Moore gets the call in another elimination game today facing another tough customer in John Lackey.  Again, Moore's job is to not get behind early and give the Giants a chance to get on the board first.  He runs hot and cold but is certainly capable of giving an ace level start.

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In other news, it was not a good day for closers as the Nationals bombed Kenta Maeda and Kenley Jansen to take a 2-1 lead over the Dodgers in the other NLDS series.