The San Francisco Giants made it into the postseason thanks to a strong push in the final week at home. Now down 0-2 in the best-of-five National League Division Series, they find themselves needing more of the same, starting with a must-win Game 3 on Monday night at AT&T Park in San Francisco.
Game 3 starts at 9:38 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Sports 1, with Matt Vasgersian on play-by-play along with analyst John Smoltz and reporter Ken Rosenthal.
Game 1 on Friday was a wonderful pitching duel between Jon Lester and Johnny Cueto, with the only run coming on a solo home run by Javier Baez in the eighth inning for a 1-0 Cubs victory. On Saturday, Chicago scored early and often, knocking out starter Jeff Samardzija in the third inning in a 5-2 Cubs triumph.
The game on Monday night in San Francisco features another spectacular pitching matchup, with Jake Arrieta starting for the Cubs against Madison Bumgarner for the Giants.
Arrieta followed up his 2015 Cy Young Award with another solid year in 2016, going 18-8 with a 3.10 ERA in 31 starts for the Cubs. The Chicago ace had 190 strikeouts in 197⅓ innings.
Bumgarner was 15-9 with a 2.74 ERA and a career-best 251 strikeouts in 226⅔ innings, but with the calendar shifting to October, he has entered another, albeit expected higher level.
The Giants ace left-hander pitched a shutout to beat the New York Mets last Wednesday in New York in the National League Wild Card Game. That extended Bumgarner’s postseason scoreless streak to 23 consecutive innings, dating back to 2014. He has allowed one run in his last 34 postseason innings, and his career postseason ERA is now a minuscule 1.94 in 97⅓ innings.
San Francisco won its final four games of the regular season, part of a 5-1 homestand to end the year that allowed it to capture the second Wild Card spot by a game. The Giants were 45-36 at home this season.
NLDS Game 3 info
When: 9:38 p.m. ET
Where: AT&T Park, San Francisco
TV: Fox Sports 1
Streaming: Fox Sports Go app or Postseason.tv
Radio: ESPN Radio