GameDay: Could Giants Postseason Pitching Be Better Than 2010, 2014?
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) -- Pitching wins championships, or so the saying goes, right?
The Giants rode their arms to two World Series Titles in 2010 and 2012. But it was widely believed that 2014 would be the year of the offense.
Ryan Vogelsong and Tim Lincecum were coming off a shaky 2013. Matt Cain didn't look like, well, Matt Cain. Tim Hudson was coming off a season-ending ankle injury and was 38 when the season began. In short, it was a rotation loaded with question marks.
As the season progressed, the fears became reality. Matt Cain's season ended on the disabled list. Tim Lincecum lost his spot in the rotation, Tim Hudson faltered down the stretch, the Giants traded for Jake Peavy who was 1-9 with the Boston Red Sox, and Ryan Vogelsong had a horrid September with a 5.53 ERA. There was only one Madison Bumgarner in the rotation. The Giants starters finished the regular season with a 3.74 ERA, 10th best in the National League.
But then came Orange October and, as Led Zeppelin once sang, "The Song Remains the Same." Check out the starting rotation's postseason numbers during the World Series years to the present
2010: 2.18
2012: 2.72
2014: 1.03
One-point-oh-three? Seriously? Bumgarner is just being Bumgarner. But Peavy, Hudson, and Vogelsong were downright brilliant in the Wild Card game and NLDS. They held the heavily-favored Nationals to a .164 batting average.
How do you explain it? You don't. It's Orange October. And if pitching does indeed win championships, get ready for a third.
See you on TV.
