Dodgers series will feature matchup of aces
Top lefties Kershaw, Bumgarner will duel Wednesday night
SAN FRANCISCO — Three Cy Young Awards or three World Series rings? Clearly, there’s no debate about which is better, but it does create one dandy of a pitching matchup.
The streaking Los Angeles Dodgers arrive at AT& T Park on Tuesday for a threegame series with the Giants, and it’s nearly impossible not to look ahead to Wednesday’s game. That’s when Giants ace Madison Bumgarner is slated to square off with the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw for just the fourth time in their careers.
The matchup is good enough that if Bumgarner could be just a fan for the day, he’d enjoy tuning in. “If I was watching the game, I would sit back and say, ‘ Man that’s pretty cool,’ ” the Giants left- hander said.
It may only be the third week of the season, but these three games have added importance for the Giants ( 4- 10). The Dodgers ( 9- 3)
Madison Bumgarner, right, is 2- 1 in three career matchups against Clayton Kershaw. have won seven straight and already own a six- game advantage over their rivals in the N. L. West.
“It’s going to be a big series,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “The last thing you want is to get too far back here early until we get our mojo or whatever going. It’s early, but at the same time, I think we all know it’s time we pick things up.”
Tim Lincecum will face Brett Anderson in the series opener before giving way to as good a matchup as you can find in baseball, even if Kershaw ( 4.42 ERA) and Bumgarner ( 5.29) are off to rocky starts.
The two lefties last squared off on Sept. 13, 2013, when the Giants beat the Dodgers 4- 2. Bumgarner was the winning pitcher and improved to 2- 1 in the three matchups.
Since then, Bumgarner has elevated his status with his World Series MVP performance against the Kansas City Royals last fall. He had two wins, a Series- clinching five- inning save in Game 7 on two days’ rest and allowed one run in 21 innings.
Kershaw’s legend has grown since then, too. He added an MVP award to go with his third Cy Young in 2014. He’ll be seeking his 100th career win on Wednesday as well.
Bumgarner’s been no slouch in the regular season, winning at least 13 games each of his four full seasons and never having an ERA above 3.37.
But it’s the postseason— and particularly the World Series — where he’s dazzled. He’s 4- 0 with one save in fiveWorld Series appearances, and has allowed just one run in 36 innings for an 0.25 ERA. Overall, in 14 postseason games, Bumgarner is 7- 3 with a 2.14 ERA.
As dominant as Kershaw has been in the regular season, he’s 1- 5 with a 5.12 ERA in the playoffs. The bulk of that damage has come at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals, who have handed him four postseason defeats and tagged him for 18
2 earned runs in 22 ⁄ innings.
3 Even Bumgarner can’t wrap his head around the reasons for Kershaw’s October struggles: “That’s tough to say. Everybody’s had games like that, it’s just more magnified because of the reputation that he has.”
Giants reliever Jeremy Affeldt, another October star with a career postseason ERA of 0.86 over 33 games, said there’s a different attitude when in the playoffs.
“We’re always competitive, but in the playoffs, you don’t have that, ‘ We’ve got 162 games, we can’t win ’ em all’ scenario in your head,” Affeldt said. “You have that feeling of our backs are against the wall every time. That tends to naturally just
GIANTS VS. L. A. DODGERS
Tuesday: Giants’Tim Lincecum ( 0- 1, 2.25) vs. Dodgers’Brett Anderson ( 1- 0, 3.27), 7: 15 p. m. CSNBA Wednesday: Madison Bumgarner ( 1- 1, 5.29) vs. Clayton Kershaw ( 1- 1, 4.42), 7: 15 p. m. NBCBA Thursday: TBD vs. Zack Greinke ( 2- 0, 1.83), 12; 45 p. m. CSNBA elevate athletes.”
That’s where, to this point in their still young careers, the 25- year- old Bumgarner has the edge on the 27- year- old Kershaw. And that’s why he wouldn’t trade any moment of his career for Kershaw’s.
“Oh no, no doubt about it,” Bumgarner said. “I play this game to win championships, and that’s what kind of team we have. That’s what our goals are, and that’s it. I wouldn’t trade any of that for any individual stuff.
“But it’s a pretty unbelievable career that he has had. At the young age that he is, there’s no telling what he can do. But I wouldn’t trade anything that I’ve been through, good or bad, for anything. It’s part of molding everyone into who they are.”