(Story by Marco Stoovelaar)
 Giants win Wild Card Game on 9th inning homerun
Nederlands
 QUEENS, New York City, New York (USA) -
San Francisco Giants won the National League Wild Card Game on Wednesday-evening (October 5) against the New York Mets 3-0.
The team of Curaçao-born Hitting Coach and Manager of the Netherlands Kingdom Team Hensley Meulens won the game thanks to a 3-run homerun in the top of the ninth inning by Conor Gillaspie.
Just as the American League Wild Card Game between the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday, this also was a very exciting and suspenseful game.
With the win, the Giants advanced to the National League Division Series against the Chicago Cubs.
That Series opens on Friday in Chicago.
On the same day, the Washington Nationals open their NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
With the loss, the Mets were elminated.
Last year, the Mets were the National League-champion and advanced to the World Series.
Last years World Series-winner and American League-champion Kansas City Royals already was eliminated in the regular season and didn't made the postseason.
Tonight's game was a pitching-duel between lefthander Madison Bumgarner (Giants) and righthander Noah Syndergaard (Mets).
With two outs in the sixth inning and Denard Span on second base for the Giants, Brandon Belt drove the ball into deep centerfield.
But there, Curtis Granderson made a great running catch before crashing into the wall to prevent the Giants from scoring and ending the inning.
Shortly before the run-saving catch by Granderson, Span had hit a single with two outs to break up Syndergaard's No-Hitter.
In the top of the ninth, off of Mets-closer Jeurys Familia, Brandon Crawford led off for the Giants with a double.
With one out, Joe Panik walked, then Conor Gillaspie followed with his homerun.
Madison Bumgarner returned to the mound in the bottom of the ninth and retired the side to throw a complete game shutout!
Bumgarner struckout six batters, walked two and gave up only four hits.
Syndergaard threw seven strong innings in which he gave up only two basehits and struckout ten batters.
(October 5)
| 
