Pirate Galaxy » dge of hitters, belief in himself and

The first two times Clayton Kershaw opposed Madison Bumgarner, it was too early to gauge whether it would be the Los Angeles Dodgers or San Francisco Giants winning the National League West.The left-handed aces opposed each other twice in a span of six days in the first two weeks of the season with the Dodgers winning both meetings. Kershaw went 1-0 with a 2.40 ERA in those games and Bumgarner was 0-1 with a 4.09 ERA.Fast forward six months later, it is Kershaws Dodgers who are in first place over Bumgarners Giants, and the two stars will be on the mound in the opener of a three-game series on Monday night at Dodger Stadium.It will be the 10th regular-season matchup between Kershaw and Bumgarner, who made their major league debuts 15 1/2 months apart in 2008 and 2009. Kershaw has gone 3-4 with a 2.18 ERA and Bumgarner is 4-3 with a 2.88 ERA in those games.Kershaw will be making his third start since returning from a back injury. When he pitched five innings in Wednesdays 2-0 victory at Yankee Stadium, it could not have pleased him and the Dodgers any more.The three-time Cy Young award winner pitched around two rain delays, threw 64 pitches and about 16 more in a simulated game. He retired the first 12 hitters and ended his outing by striking out Yankees catcher Austin Romine with two on in a scoreless game.We felt comfortable with that delay to go back out there for the fifth. I think that just individually for Clayton it couldnt have worked out any better under the circumstances, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. Fastball was good, velocity was really plus. He got the strikeout when he needed to, but to see Clayton go out there and do what he does, it was a huge lift for us.It was pretty much the same (intensity) both times, Kershaw said. I was obviously thankful to be back the first time, but I wasnt thinking about that. Once you start pitching, youre pitching. Youre trying to get guys out, and if youre not doing that effectively you need to look at it. So I did that.Just a little bit was better overall today. Maybe it was back on a normal routine, a normal four days almost -- or whatever my normal is now. Maybe that helped a little bit, I dont know.Kershaw is 7-1 with a 1.31 ERA in eight home starts this season. He has not pitched at home since beating Washington on June 20.Against the Giants, he is 18-7 with a 1.62 ERA in 34 games. He has posted a 0.80 WHIP, held Giants hitters to a .182 average and on June 10 Kershaw struck out 13 without a walk on 108 pitches in a 3-2 victory.The current Giants have a collective .161 average against Kershaw and its a significant drop-off after Buster Posey and Angel Pagan. Posey and Pagan are a combined .250 (37-for-148) against Kershaw. The rest of the team is 29-for-263 (.110).Burmgarner will be seeking his 100th career win. He is 4-5 with a 3.87 ERA in his last 12 starts after he took the loss Wednesday against the San Diego Padres when he allowed three runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings.Tough luck. No other way to describe it, Bumgarner said of the loss. I made some good pitches.He is 13-9 with a 2.78 ERA in 25 appearances against the Dodgers, though he has a 5.63 ERA in his two outings against Los Angeles this season.The current Dodgers have a combined .243 average against Bumgarner and the best average belongs to outfielder Enrique Hernandez .579 (11-for-19) with three home runs. Justin Turner is 11-for-41 and left-handed hitters Adrian Gonzalez and Chase Utley are 10-for-50 and 2-for-12, respectively.The Giants led by 6 1/2 games at the All-Star break but lost the lead to the Dodgers on Aug. 21 after falling 2-0 to the Mets. That loss also put the Giants in a fight for the wild card with the Mets and Cardinals.Since the lead changed hands, the Giants have lost 15 of 26 and the Dodgers have won 17 of 27.The Dodgers missed a chance to extend the lead to six games when Ross Stripling gave up a 10th-inning single to Arizonas Brandon Drury in Sundays 10-9 loss.Weve been waiting for this series for a while, Roberts said. I think were still playing pretty good baseball.The Giants were held to five hits and were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position during Sundays 3-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. The loss dropped San Francisco into the second wild spot, one game behind the Mets and one ahead of St. Louis.We created some chances today; we just couldnt get them in, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. We couldnt get the big hit. Cheap Air Force 1 Shoes Wholesale . The nimble-footed quarterback got his wish, dashing through the snow and a weary defence all the way into the NCAA record book. Air Force 1 Cheap Wholesale . Capitals head coach Adam Oates said Ovechkin was injured in the first period against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday and clarified it was not a head injury. http://www.airforce1outlet.com/ . -- Linebacker Myles Jack ran for four touchdowns, defensive end Cassius Marsh caught a scoring pass, and No. Air Force 1 Cheap Outlet . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. Cheap Air Force 1 China .Y. -- Bills receiver Stevie Johnson has a bone to pick with the NFL schedule maker. CHICAGO -- After giving up three runs on five hits in throwing only 39 pitches Saturday in a 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Chicago Cubs are moving Jason Hammel up one day in the rotation to start Wednesday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates.I didnt even pitch today in my mind, Hammel told the Chicago Sun-Times after the game Saturday. I barely threw 40 pitches. It was a side day for me pretty much.Now Hammel, who is 3-2 in August with two straight losses, will get a chance to make amends.The Cubs made the last-minute rotation switch Tuesday, moving originally scheduled starter Mike Montgomery to Thursday.Montgomery, 27, acquired on July 20 from Seattle, was to make his third start with the Cubs and first against an NL Central foe. He allowed only three runs despite walking four and giving up six hits in a no-decision outing Friday at the Dodgers, a 6-4 Cubs win in extra innings, but threw a season-high 90 pitches.We want to get Hammer back out there a little sooner, and Montgomery, coming off 90 1/8pitches 3/8 in his last outing, gives him an extra day, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said Tuesday, via MLB.com. It makes all the sense in the world to do it.Hammel will face 39-year-old right-hander Ryan Vogelsong in a series finale at Wrigley Field.Hes performed very well, said Pirates manager Clint Hurdle of Vogelsong. (Hes) given us a chance to win every game hes pitched. Hes been pitch-efficient.He reminds me of the generation that I kind of grew up with and played with. Hes still got the coore values.dddddddddddd Hes done what he need to do to improve himself and get better and hes had a very consistent and strong system in his own skill set.Vogelsong (3-3, 3.02 ERA) makes his 18th appearance and eight start of the season in the finale of Pittsburghs seven-game road trip.Wednesdays appearance would be Vogelsongs sixth this month. Hes 2-2 with a 2.48 ERA in that span, including a 5 1/3 inning outing and win against the Brewers last Friday in Milwaukee.Vogelsong rejoined the Pirates in 2016 after five seasons with the San Francisco Giants and three seasons prior to that in Japan.He suffered a left eye injury when he was hit by a pitch from Rockies starter Jordan Lyles on May 23. Vogelsong had surgery in early June to repair damage from facial fractures and was on the disabled list until Aug. 4.I dont think hes the same guy, Hurdle said. Theres probably a little bit of a velocity gap from what he was able to do. However the experience, the makeup on the mound, awareness of the league, knowledge of hitters, belief in himself and his skill set plays up very well.The Cubs remain home following Wednesdays game, hosting another series with a NL Wild card contender. The San Francisco Giants, currently leading the wild card standings, visit Wrigley Fielder a four-game series.The Pirates return home for a three-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers starting Friday. ' ' '