When Cubs manager Joe Maddon looks at the Giants, he sees a team that doesn't have "one scared bone in anybody's body."
That's the kind of swagger a team has when it went 34-14 in its previous six seasons in the playoffs.
The hashtag following all of the Giants' Twitter posts this offseason is [hashtag]BeliEVEN, a nod to the fact that the Giants won World Series titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014. Now it's 2016, another even-numbered year, and the next thing standing in the way of the phenomenon is the Cubs on Friday in the opener of the National League Division Series at Wrigley Field.
"They're probably the most experienced, seasoned team," Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. "They've been there and done it. The whole even-year thing becomes a factor. It's going to be tough to beat them. We're going to do what we do."
As recently as mid-September, the Giants looked like they were on the verge of frittering away a shot to continue the streak _ and their 57-33 first-half record.
But they won five of their last six games, including sweeping the Dodgers at home in the final three-game series, to make the wild-card game. Then Madison Bumgarner pitched a shutout to lift the Giants to a 3-0 victory over the Mets on Wednesday.
Suddenly, the Giants have momentum.
"I do think (momentum) does play a critical role in your team's success, because if they believe, then that's all that matters," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "And if they have any self-doubt, then that will creep in with any struggles you have."
Bochy called it a "nice luxury" to be able to pitch Bumgarner in the wild-card game and then come back with Johnny Cueto in the opener of the NLDS.
Cueto is 18-5 with a 2.79 ERA this season, and he went 4-0 with a 1.78 ERA in September. What's more, Cueto has seven career postseason starts under his belt.
"You look at Johnny and Bum, they're both No. 1s," Bochy said. "We'd be comfortable with them in any game. ... It's nice to have a rotation with this depth. That's our strength."
Cueto also has made 15 career appearances at Wrigley Field, most while with the Reds. He wouldn't go so far as to say he feels comfortable pitching in Chicago, but he admitted he likes the big game.
"The only thing I can say is I like to pitch when it's a sold-out crowd with everybody cheering, for me or against me, and that motivates me," he said through an interpreter.
Cueto had a scare when he left a Sept. 20 game with a strained groin. But he was able to make his final start Sept. 29, allowing two runs in seven innings against the Rockies.
"I'm 100 percent," he said. "I kind of thought it was going to bother me in my last start, but it didn't, so everything's good."
