Giants Bullpen Fails Once Again

The San Francisco Giants’ bullpen meltdowns that marked the second half of the season proved to be an omen.

Three outs from forcing a fifth game in the National League Divisional Series, playing at home in front of a fevered crowd and with a three-run lead, the Giants let it all get away in a collapse defying description (though we’ll try).

Five relievers combined to give up four runs in the ninth inning after starter Matt Moore worked the first eight innings brilliantly. Manager Bruce Bochy should get frequent flier miles for the distance he covered walking back and forth from the dugout to the mound. It was fruitless. The Cubs scored four times before the Giants recorded an out and the Cubs won 6-5 to advance to the NL Championship Series.

“I did not want it to go five (games),” said Cubs manager Joe Maddon. No worries there, as the Cubs win it in four.

The Cubs will play the winner of Thursday’s Game 5 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals. Poor relief pitching almost knocked the Dodgers out after Clayton Kershaw, working on just three days left, went into the seventh inning with a 5-2 lead and saw three relievers let three runs cross the plate before the rally ended with runners on first and third.

“When you have an opportunity to take the lead and you don’t, most of the time something bad happens,’’ Washington manager Dusty Baker said.
Indeed. The Dodgers’ Chase Utley singled in Andrew Toles in the bottom of the eighth for a 6-5 win. The series now wraps up in DC.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman