Tale of the Tape: Aces battle in NL Wild Card Game

The Mets host the Giants in the National League Wild Card Game on Wednesday, and all eyes will be on the two pitchers toeing the Citi Field rubber.

The Mets start Noah Syndergaard, their flamethrowing ace; the Giants counter with Madison Bumgarner, one of the best postseason pitchers in the history of the game. Both pitchers are frontrunners for the NL Cy Young Award, and now they clash in a winner-take-all game. In anticipation of the matchup, here’s the only tale of the tape you will need.

Season statsBumgarner: 15-9, 2.74 ERA, 226 2/3 IP, 251 KSyndergaard: 14-9, 2.60 ERA, 183 2/3 IP, 218 K

Date Time Matchup TV Oct. 5 8 p.m. ET SF @ NYM ESPN Shop for postseason gear: Giants | Mets • Complete Postseason coverage

Cases for the NL Cy Young Award: Bumgarner ranked fourth in the NL in ERA, just behind Syndergaard, and third in strikeouts, one spot ahead of the Mets’ ace. And Bumgarner was also a workhorse, finishing second in the league in innings pitched and complete games (four). Syndergaard ranked third in the NL in ERA and fourth in strikeouts.

Bumgarner against the Mets: 5-0, 1.80 ERA, 40 IP, 46 KLoves to face: Jay Bruce, 3-for-21 (.143), 6 K, 1 HRHates to face: Kelly Johnson, 7-for-20 (.350)

Syndergaard against the Giants: 1-2, 3.66 ERA, 19 2/3 IP, 14 KLoves to face: Brandon Belt, 0-for-6, 3 KHates to face: Buster Posey, 3-for-6

In the postseason

Bumgarner: 7-3, 2.14 ERA, 88 1/3 IP, 77 KSignature moment: Bumgarner has been a key member of San Francisco’s 2010, ’12 and ’14 title teams, and his postseason feats are already inscribed in the annals of baseball history. But for all his success as a postseason starter, Bumgarner’s crowning moment came in relief — Game 7 of the ’14 World Series against the Royals. Having already pitched (and won) twice in the Series, including a shutout in Game 5, Bumgarner returned in the fifth inning of Game 7 on two days’ rest. With everything on the line, Bumgarner closed out the series with five scoreless innings.

Syndergaard: 2-1, 3.32 ERA, 19 IP, 26 KSignature moment: After the Mets took a 3-2 lead on Daniel Murphy’s home run off Zack Greinke in Game 5 of the 2015 NL Division Series, they sent the rookie Syndergaard to the mound as a bridge to Jeurys Familia. Touching triple digits on the radar gun, Syndergaard pitched a scoreless seventh inning, striking out Corey Seager and Justin Turner.

On the mound

Bumgarner’s repertoire: Fastball (average velocity 91.02 mph), slider/cutter (87.06 mph), curveball (75.1 mph), changeup (83.67 mph)Best pitch: Whether you call it a slider or a cutter, it’s probably Bumgarner’s toughest offering, and he uses it often — more than 30 percent of the time. Bumgarner said he calls the pitch a cutter, but thinks it’s …

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