The Cubs are a win away from clinching their second-straight berth in the National League Conference Series. They will look to close out San Francisco later tonight, as the Cubs send ace Jake Arrieta to the mound.
Arrieta, who finished the regular season with an 18-8 record and a 3.10 ERA, had it rough in his last outing. The right-hander allowed seven earned runs on 10 hits across five innings in an 8-4 loss to Pittsburgh on September 28. Arrieta is Arrieta, however, and even with his late season struggles, he remains a dependable asset for Chicago. Arrieta can restore some of his confidence against a light-hitting Giants side that is slashing just .133/.188/.167 this postseason.
The Cubs have yet to hit their stride at the plate with a .200 batting average in the first two games of the series, but with the talent is there for the team to batter even a pitcher of Madison Bumgarner’s caliber.
Among them is Ben Zobrist, who appears to have a solid read of MadBum’s stuff, having gone 6-for-12 (.500) in his career opposite the Giants’ lefty.
The Cubs are 3-1 in Arrieta’s last four road starts.
Can Madison Bumgarner save the Giants? Arguably the greatest postseason pitcher in history, Bumgarner takes the mound at home in Game 3, eager to help his team see another day.
Bumgarner was lights out against the Mets in the wild card game, tossing nine shutout innings and allowing just four hits in a 3-0 victory. As mythical Bumgarner has been in the postseason thus far in his career, the Giants know that having the lefty out there isn’t a guarantee they’ll win. San Francisco’s offense will have to supply Bumgarner some runs, especially early in the game, when the Giants’ miserable bullpen is still out of the equation.
The Giants may be a facing a less-effective version of Arrieta, however. Arrieta was just 2-3 with a 4.60 ERA in five starts since September.
Denard Span has logged the most at-bats against Arrieta among Giants hitters. He is 4-for-20 with a double and a walk off the Cubs’ right-hander. Angel Pagan, meanwhile, is 5-for-11 (.455) against Arrieta.
The Giants are 4-1 in Bumgarner’s last five starts at AT&T Park, where he went 9-4 with a 2.14 ERA in 34 starts back in the regular season.
