ST. LOUIS–It wasn’t long ago when Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants made quick work of the St. Louis Cardinals, needing just five games to clinch the National League pennant en route to their third World Series in five years.
That series may not be a distant memory for those involved, but with the way the Giants have played over the last two years, it sure feels like one.
Bumgarner returned to the mound Friday at Busch Stadium for the first time since he threw 7 2/3 shutout innings in Game 1 of the 2014 NLCS, but this time the Giants ace was on the losing side of a 5-3 game.