CHICAGO _ The Giants arrived here as the battle-tested wizards of October, owners of three championships in a five-year span from 2010-14 and a mystique seemingly tied to even-numbered years. They have traveled this road before.
Now, after a 5-2 loss to the Cubs in Game 2 of the NLDS on Saturday night, they must lean upon their pedigree to preserve their hopes for another World Series championship.
The Cubs took a 2-0 lead in this best-of-five series despite losing brilliant right-hander Kyle Hendricks in the fourth inning when he was struck on the right forearm by Angel Pagan's liner.
By then, the Cubs already had positioned themselves to take a stranglehold of this series. Giants starter Jeff Samardzija was chased after two brutal innings in which he allowed six hits and spotted the Cubs a 4-0 lead, an advantage that proved too much to overcome on a crisp night at a packed Wrigley Field.
The Giants have won nine straight elimination games. But beginning with Game 3 on Monday, when postseason ace Madison Bumgarner will take the mound, they must run that streak to 12 games to advance. Meanwhile, the Cubs stand one victory away from returning to the National League Championship Series.
Giants manager Bruce Bochy has thrived in the postseason, his decisions rarely inviting added scrutiny. But the Cubs made sure that starting Samardzija instead of lefthander Matt Moore in Game 2 would become a talking point.
"He's pitched well. He's earned this," Bochy said before the game.
Samardzija posted a 2.45 ERA in his last 10 regular-season starts, showing the best closing kick on the starting staff. It was enough to overlook his last outing at Wrigley Field on Sept. 1, when he gave up three runs in four innings.
Experience also played a factor, Bochy said. Samardzija spent nearly seven seasons with the Cubs and later declined overtures for a reunion.
Said Samardzija: "I'm going to take it as he has confidence in me and I'm not going to let him down."
But by the time his turn in the order came up in the third, Samardzija was pulled for a pinch hitter. He threw only 47 pitches.
In the first, Dexter Fowler ripped a double to right and scored two batters later on Ben Zobrist's single. Matters got even worse for the Giants in the second, when the Cubs pushed across three runs.
Jason Heyward doesn't hit for extra bases (he slugged .325), Javier Baez doesn't walk (he drew only 15 this year) and Hendricks doesn't hit, period (.099 lifetime batting average). But in the third, the Cubs rallied because Heyward doubled, Baez walked and Hendricks fought off a 95-mph fastball to dunk a two-run single into center field. Two batters later, Kris Bryant made it 4-0 with an RBI single.
Hendricks, whose 2.13 ERA was the lowest in baseball this season, allowed back-to-back doubles in the third, including pinch hitter Gregor Blanco's RBI hit. Brandon Belt's sacrifice fly cut the Cubs' lead to 4-2.
The Cubs hoped that Hendricks could assert control from there, using his arsenal of off-speed pitches to keep the Giants off balance. But it was Hendricks who found himself reeling, struck by a liner off the bat of Pagan in the fourth that was clocked at 94 mph.
The ball hit Hendricks in his right forearm and then his midsection. He insisted upon staying in the game, even throwing a few warm-up pitches before he was escorted off the mound by a trainer. X-rays were negative, as he emerged with nothing but a bruise.
Even then, the Cubs pressed on. Travis Wood, entering in relief, belted a solo shot to become the third Cubs pitcher to homer in a postseason game. He joined Rick Sutcliffe and Kerry Wood.
Hendricks lasted only 32/3 innings, but five relievers combined to blank the Giants the rest of the way.
