Brandon Crawford's grand slam was the difference maker and Madison Bumgarner was magnificent in the Giants' win over the Pirates.
Brandon Crawford hit a majestic grand slam in the top of the fourth inning, entering the record books and helping the Giants to an 8-0 win over the Pirates in the National League Wild Card Game on Wednesday night at PNC Park. The home run broke a scoreless tie.
Edinson Volquez, the subject of much attention due to both his resurgent season and that he was pitching in the game at all, was cruising through three before running into trouble in the fourth. First, he gave up hits to Sandoval and Pence before walking Belt. Then, with the bases loaded and no one out, Crawford launched a curveball into the stands, giving the Giants a 4-0 lead.
Volquez's counterpart, Madison Bumgarner was cruising through three innings and did not take the detour that Volquez did. Bumgarner was magnificent, allowing merely a single hit through the first five innings. The Brandons did damage on offense, and Belt added RBI base-knocks in the sixth and seventh innings. Bumgarner finished with 10 strikeouts in a complete game shutout, allowing just four hits and one walk. He stifled the Pirates at every turn, giving them no chance to mount the comeback that the Royals managed the night before.
The Pirates' offense was stymied, but Josh Harrison continued his improbable run, rapping two hits off of Bumgarner, with Starling Marte and free-agent-to-be Russell Martin adding one apiece.
The Pirates bullpen, a consistent strong point throughout the season, couldn't keep the Giants at bay. Jared Hughes, holder of a 1.96 regular season ERA, allowed two runs to score on three hits and a walk, and John Holdzkom allowed a run of his own.
The Giants will head to Washington, DC to take on the Nationals. That series begins Friday.