SAN FRANCISCO
For the second time in three seasons, the Giants will send Madison Bumgarner to the mound in a winner-take-all National League wild-card game Wednesday with their hope of another deep even-year postseason run on the line.
The first turned out pretty well. In 2014, Bumgarner threw a four-hitter with 10 strikeouts in an 8-0 win over the host Pittsburgh Pirates. He received all the support he needed when Brandon Crawford hit a fourth-inning grand slam against Edinson Volquez.
Bumgarner opposed Volquez because the Pirates used their top two starters in the final weekend of the season trying to win the division.