Nationals turn to Fister to face off with Bumgarner

The Washington Nationals have given the ball to starting pitcher Doug Fister, hoping he can save their season. The Nationals are down 0-2 in the National League Division Series to the San Francisco Giants. This is a must win game for the Nationals and they know that they have to face Giants’ ace Madison Bumgarner.

In MadBum’s last start againt the Pittburgh Pirates in the National League Wild Card game. He’s pitching for the Giants season at this point. He is away from home and with everyone cheering against him.

Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

So how did Bumgarner handle it? He threw a comeplete game shutout. He allowed just four hits and one walk while striking out 10 batters and used just 109 pitches to do it.

The Giants’ offense repaid the favor against Pirates’ starting pitcher Edinson Volquez, scoring eight runs in the game.

I’m not saying that Doug Fister isn’t good. I think he was very overshadowed and unrrated as a member of the Detroit Tigers. He’s good. The game will likely be a close one. Both the Giants and the Nationals should be worried. The Nationals moreso for obvious reasons.

Fister had a great year with the Nationals. He went 16-6 with a 2.41 ERA in 25 games started. He pitched a complete game and it was a shutout. The right-hander has proven he can go the distance and still be sharp. Maybe MadBum should be the one to be a bit worried.

However, taking a look at Bumgarner’s season his statistics, they easliy could be considered to be off the charts. He was 18-10 with a 2.98 ERA in 33 starts. He pitched four complete games, two of which were shutouts.

Even if MadBum is the better of the two, there is also always a chance for error. Take Kershaw’s terrible start for example. Everyone knows he is the best pitcher in the league and he failed. Anything is possible in this game we love. Baseball can be weird.