Elite pitching battles are the name of the game in the postseason, and on Monday night fans will be treated to a fascinating showdown between two of the best pitchers in the National League as Jake Arrieta and the Chicago Cubs look to finish off Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants.
Arrieta, who had an 18-8 record with a 3.10 ERA this season, hasn’t had quite the amount of control or effectiveness that he did during his historic 2015 season, but he still is a top-flight pitcher with a lethal fastball and a commanding mound presence as he looks to help the Cubs eliminate the Giants from the postseason.
Meanwhile, the Giants will be looking to Bumgarner to stop their slide, and needless to say, the hurler has been one of the best postseason pitchers not just of his era, but in the entirety of baseball history.
During 15 career playoff appearances, Bumgarner has an 8-3 record with a 1.94 ERA in 97 innings pitched, and he has been especially lethal in elimination games. That run continued in last week’s National League wild card game, as he allowed just four hits and struck out six batters in a complete game shutout victory over the New York Mets.
In addition to being an incredible postseason pitcher, Bumgarner has been especially good at the Cubs over the past two seasons. In three starts against the team, Bumgarner has compiled a paltry .145 batting average against and has racked up a staggering 28 strikeouts against the North Siders, including a victory earlier this season at Wrigley Field against Arrieta.
In that game, Bumgarner struck out 10 Cubs in six innings of work, and behind an RBI from Eduardo Nunez, the Giants beat the Cubs 3-2 at Wrigley Field.
Fortunately for the Cubs, they have played effectively against lefties throughout much of the season, and they’ll look to continue that on Monday night in San Francisco. This season the Cubs have batted .267 against left-handed pitchers and have clubbed 59 home runs, both of which were the second-best totals of any team in the National League.
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Kris Bryant has been especially good against lefties, batting .314 and posting a staggering 1.060 OPS against them this season. He also has drilled 14 home runs in just 156 at-bats against southpaws this season.
Ben Zobrist has also been good against lefties, and he’s been especially good against Bumgarner in his big league career, going 6-for-12 against the Giants ace.
For Arrieta, his control will be a question mark on Monday, as his walk rate is nearly double of what it was a season ago, as he’s issuing free passes to 3.5 batters per nine innings. Fortunately for him, his record in games played in California over the past few seasons has been remarkable, as he’s posted a 0.20 ERA in 45 innings pitched during his last six starts in the Golden State.
The two pitchers will square off starting at 8:30 p.m., and the game will be televised on FS1.
