Preview: Cubs at Giants

[October 10, 2016]  Madison Bumgarner looks to continue his impressive postseason success and keep the San Francisco Giants alive when they host the Chicago Cubs on Monday in Game 3 of their National League Division Series. The left-hander is 5-1 with one save and a 0.88 ERA in eight contests over his last two postseasons (2014 and 2016) after shutting out the New York Mets 3-0 in the Wild-Card Game on Wednesday.

“We’ve got a lot of confidence with him on the mound,” San Francisco catcher Buster Posey told reporters of his batterymate, who won both regular-season starts against the Cubs this year. “We’ll try to go out and win that one and go from there.” The Giants, who face elimination after winning 11 straight postseason series, scored just two runs over the first two games while Chicago’s pitchers have driven in three with their bats. Javier Baez is 3-for-6 with a homer in the series and the Cubs received a run-scoring single in the first inning of Saturday's 5-2 win from Ben Zobrist, who is 6-for-12 lifetime against Bumgarner. Chicago turns to Jake Arrieta, who went 11-3 on the road this season and split a pair of starts against San Francisco while posting a 2.08 ERA.

TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, FS1

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cubs RH Jake Arrieta (18-8, 3.10 ERA) vs. Giants LH Madison Bumgarner (2016 playoffs: 1-0, 0.00)

Arrieta posted a 12-2 record and 2.10 ERA through June but split his final 12 decisions, going 2-3 with a 4.60 ERA in September. The 30-year-old TCU product, who has 40 wins and a Cy Young Award (2015) to his credit over the last two seasons, owns a 4-2 mark with a 1.82 ERA in six career starts versus the Cubs. Arrieta has held Posey, Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt to a combined 2-for-38, but Angel Pagan is 5-for-11 against him.

Bumgarner baffled the Mets with a four-hitter, striking out six and walking a pair in improving his career postseason numbers to 8-3 with a 1.94 ERA and 0.86 WHIP. The 27-year-old cooled off in the second half of the regular season as well, going 5-5 with a 3.80 ERA after posting a 10-4 record and 1.94 ERA before the All-Star break. Bumgarner went 9-4 with a 2.14 ERA at home this year and has fared well against the Cubs in his career (8-2, 2.25).

WALK-OFFS

1. Cubs 1B Anthony Rizzo, who belted 32 homers and knocked in 109 runs during the regular season, went 0-for-7 in the first two games.

2. The Giants have won nine straight elimination games, the longest such streak in major-league history.

3. Chicago has gone 2-4 in six games at San Francisco over the last two years and went 46-34 on the road during the regular season.

PREDICTION: Giants 4, Cubs 1

[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.