San Francisco Giants shut out, eliminated in Clayton Kershaw’s dominant outing

Sep 29, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner (40) on the mound against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco Giants had our three time world championship winning ace, Madison Bumgarner, on the mound going head-to-head with the Dodgers three time Cy Young award winning ace, Clayton Kershaw. Ironically, this was the one game in this storied rivalry series match-up that I was not worried about.

But I should have been.

For whatever reason, our ace wasn’t his usual almost-impossible-to-hit self. By the time manager Bruce Bochy asked for the ball, four Dodgers had already crossed the plate.

The Dodgers cobbled together a run in the first, hit a solo home run in the third and hit back-to-back jacks in the sixth. Bumgarner left the game having pitched five and ⅔ innings, allowing four runs (three were home runs) on five hits and one walk. He struck out six and his pitch count reached 112.

The bullpen took over and gave up four more runs on six hits. The Giants didn’t score at all. Kershaw pitched a one hit shut-out and struck out 13. The final score was:
Giants 0, Dodgers 8

Here’s what I have to say about the Giants. They did an amazing job this season. These guys persevered through injury after injury. Losing key player after key player. Rookies were called up on a moment’s notice and some of the guys played where they had never played before. I am so proud of our Giants, they kept fighting through it all. They stayed with it until the end of September. We couldn’t have asked for more.

Our rookies were phenomenal, the veterans were impressive. They were warriors. They had a never give up, never say die attitude. Our rookies have battitude or rookie pop, or whatever you want to call it. Our future is so bright, it’s downright brilliant. We’re really going to need our sunglasses.

They worked hard, they played with a lot of heart and they gave us a good show‒the good news is, it isn’t over yet. We still have five games to watch and I plan to watch them all. Tomorrow night at game time you know where to find me…I’ll be in my usual spot watching the Giants play and keeping score. Because the only thing that has changed is how many more games I get to see the Giants play. I plan on seeing every one.

So, for Giants and Giants fans, the road to the post season has ended. It was fun to travel along it while it lasted. All we have left is the pure enjoyment of watching our guys play baseball for the love of the game. I can live with that. And you know what? I still believe, I just don’t believe we’ll play any more baseball for this season after Sunday.

Am I disappointed? Sure. Upset? A little…but only because I wanted to watch them play until there was no baseball left.

What’s next? After Sunday, like Rogers Hornsby I’m going to “stare out the window and wait for spring.”