NEW YORK -- Heading into Thursday afternoon's marquee matchup with Jacob Degrom -- the Giants won, 3-1 -- Madison Bumgarner knew runs would be at a premium. The Giants' ace said he prepared "knowing I probably can't give up a run," the thought being that against deGrom, he may only get one to work with.
When the Giants gave Bumgarner one in the third inning, they basically created one out of thin air. Credit center fielder Steven Duggar with the magic trick.
Batting ninth in the Giants' order behind Bumgarner, Duggar worked a walk against deGrom to begin the frame. He then stole second, sliding in well ahead of Devin Mesoraco's throw, and advanced to third on a ground out. That put Duggar in a prime position to score when Mesoraco could not glove a high fastball deGrom threw to Evan Longoria. The pitch, which Longoria swung through, popped out of Mesoraco's mitt and trickled toward the backstop. It was officially ruled a passed ball and brought Duggar home with the game's first run.
Though the Giants grabbed a 1-0 lead, the run was unearned for deGrom, actually lowering his National League-best ERA to 1.68. Bumgarner then retired the next three batters to end the bottom of the third.