San Francisco pitcher Madison Bumgarner bounced back in a big way on Thursday as the Giants stretched their World Series lead over the Detroit Tigers with a 2-0 victory.
The triumph gives the Giants a two-games-to-none lead in Major League Baseball's best-of-seven championship series as it shifts to Detroit for game three on Saturday.
The cushion is an unfamiliar comfort for the Giants, who had to rally to beat both Cincinnati and St. Louis in the previous rounds of this post-season by capturing the final three games in each series.
"It's a lot less stressful for sure," Bumgarner said of the lead. "But at the same time I don't think we can stop pushing or we're going to find ourselves in the same spot we've been in in the last two series."
After Pablo Sandoval's record-equalling three home runs highlighted the Giants' 8-3 game one win on Wednesday, pitching dominated game two.
Two rough playoff outings for Bumgarner had seen him relegated to the bullpen.
But he showed that some work on his mechanics had done the trick as he pitched seven sterling innings, striking out eight, walking two and giving up just two hits in a game that was scoreless until the seventh frame.
"What a job he did," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He had great poise out there with great delivery and he stayed right on for seven innings."
Hunter Pence scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning and Gregor Blanco added a run-scoring sacrifice fly in the eighth.
Blanco went 2-for-3, including a key bunt that advanced Pence to third base in the seventh, from where he scored the first run.
Blanco's bunt was intended to advance runners to second and third. But it became a base hit as it rolled weakly down the third-base line with the Tigers infielders watching -- and stayed fair.
That loaded the bases with one out and the Giants scored on a double play ball by Brandon Crawford off of reliever Drew Smyly.
Pence called it "one of the most beautiful bunts you'll ever see."
"Blanco, you can't say enough about him," Pence said. "He's just the definition of a ballplayer: defense, speed, can bunt, can swing it. And he showed another reason why he's so valuable."
In the eighth, the Giants drew three walks, including an intentional walk to Sandoval, and scored on Pence's bases-loaded sacrifice.
Giants relievers Santiago Casilla and Sergio Romo finished off the two-hit shutout with a scoreless inning apiece.
Bumgarner outdueled Doug Fister, the Detroit starter who was charged with the loss although he allowed only four hits and a walk over 6-plus innings.
He allowed the first run to reach base by walking Pence to lead off the bottom of the seventh.
It was a gutsy performance by Fister, who shook off a scary moment in the second inning when he was hit in the head by a drive off the bat of Blanco.
Bumgarner faced his biggest threat in the second inning, which he opened by hitting Prince Fielder to send the Tigers first baseman to first.
Delmon Young then lined a double to left field. Fielder raced for home -- with Detroit third base coach Gene Lamont waving him on -- but the throw from Marco Scutaro reached Giants catcher Buster Posey in time to tag out Fielder.
"That was huge," Bumgarner said. "I think that might have been a momentum shifter for me because I had some trouble in the second, third, fourth innings the last couple starts, and defense bailed me out there.
"It was a huge play, got me excited, and happy we were able to get out of it unscathed."
On Saturday, the Tigers will try to reverse their fortunes at home, where they will send Anibal Sanchez to the mound. Ryan Vogelsong will get the ball for the Giants.
"Hopefully, we can get our offense going when we get back to Motown," Tigers' manager Jim Leyland said.
Bochy, meanwhile, promised his Giants would not be complacent with their lead.
"It's great to get off to a good start," Bochy said. "You go out to win every game. You can't get caught up in 2-0 or 0-2, you just play hard.
"You keep pushing. That's what you do at this point. We don't, believe me, take anything for granted."