Jul 13, 2019; Milwaukee, WI, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner (40) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. Photo Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Noah Syndergaard and Madison Bumgarner, two names at or near the top of wish lists as the trade deadline approaches, go head-to-head Thursday night when the visiting New York Mets clash with the San Francisco Giants in a duel of streaking teams.
Both teams are coming off double-digit offensive performances, with the Mets having run their winning streak to four with a 14-4 romp at Minnesota, while the Giants were completing a four-game sweep at Colorado with an 11-8 triumph.
As they attempt to cool down each other in a four-game series, the Mets and Giants have all of a sudden played themselves back into wild-card contention in the National League.
Both managers were gushing about their red-hot ball clubs as they prepared to catch evening flights to San Francisco following wins Wednesday.
“That’s what we’re capable of; that’s how we’re gonna win games,” Mets manager Mickey Callaway insisted to reporters after a win in which his hitters and pitchers both contributed. “We’re inching closer (in the wild-card race). It’s not out of the realm of possibility and that’s what we’re focusing our sights on is getting to the postseason this year.”
The Mets’ four-game winning streak matches their season-best.
The Giants have won five straight, their longest run of the year. They’ve won 12 of 14 mostly on the strength of their hitting, having scored 115 runs in the 14 games, including 10 or more six times.
“You can feel to mojo with these guys,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy assured reporters. “They’re having a lot of fun right now, which winning brings, and success. We’ve had a lot of hits with runners in scoring position.”
That was not the case when Syndergaard and Bumgarner went head-to-head last month in a series where the Mets, at home, took two of three.
The lone Giants win came in the game the two former All-Stars clashed, which was a pitchers’ duel — 3-3 through nine innings — before San Francisco exploded for six in the 10th.
Syndergaard has gone 3-2 with a 3.05 ERA in six career starts against the Giants. He is coming off a nine-strikeout effort in a 4-2 win at Miami on Saturday.
Bumgarner, meanwhile, has gone 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA in his last four starts, striking out 28 in 20 innings. He has never lost to the Mets, going 6-0 with a 2.00 ERA in eight starts, including 5-0 with a 1.26 ERA in five starts in New York.
Bumgarner allowed a home run to Pete Alonso in his outing in New York last month.
The rookie earned a piece of baseball history on Wednesday when he crushed a 474-foot homer into the upper deck at Minnesota, the longest homer in the five-year history of Statcast.
The Giants earned a spot of their own in the record book on their just completed trip to Colorado when Brandon Crawford became the first shortstop ever to record five hits and eight RBIs in the same game on Monday.
Crawford totaled three homers and 10 RBIs in the four-game series despite serving only as a pinch hitter in Wednesday’s win.
