Did you know? Key facts from the NL Wild Card Game

Very seldom does a postseason pitching matchup between aces live up to the hype as well as the one between Noah Syndergaard and Madison Bumgarner did on Wednesday night in the National League Wild Card Game. The pair traded punches inning after inning at Citi Field before the Giants finally prevailed, 3-0, on a clutch three-run homer in the ninth inning by Conor Gillaspie.

The game solidified reputations for both starting pitchers — Bumgarner in his continuing quest to become perhaps the greatest postseason pitcher of all time, and Syndergaard as one of the premier aces in the game today. Before the Giants head to Chicago to face the Cubs in Game 1 of the NL Division Series on Friday night, live on FS1 at 9 ET/6 PT, here are a few things you should know about Wednesday’s instant classic:

Date Matchup Highlights Oct. 5 SF 3, NYM 0 Shop for postseason gear: Giants | Mets • Complete NL Wild Card coverage • Wednesday’s duel was only the second winner-take-all game in the postseason to go scoreless through the first eight innings, joining the legendary duel between the Braves’ John Smoltz and the Twins’ Jack Morris in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series. That game, won by the Twins in the 10th, went scoreless through the first nine innings.

• The NL Wild Card Game was just the seventh postseason game in which both starting pitchers finished with at least seven scoreless innings, and the first since Game 2 of the 2013 American League Division Series between the Tigers (Justin Verlander) and A’s (Sonny Gray). The only other such matchup in a winner-take-all game was the Smoltz-Morris duel in the 1991 Fall Classic.

• Bumgarner has pitched in two NL Wild Card Games, and he has thrown shutouts in both. He also threw a four-hitter against the Pirates in the 2014 NL Wild Card Game.

• Bumgarner pitched his third career postseason shutout on Wednesday, tying him for second all time with Mordecai Brown, Whitey Ford and Josh Beckett. Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson holds the record with four.

It was also Bumgarner’s sixth postseason start in which he did not allow a run, joining Hall of Famer Tom Glavine as the only pitcher with that many scoreless postseason outings.

And talk about clutch: The Giants ace is the only pitcher to have thrown multiple shutouts in winner-take-all postseason games.

• Bumgarner’s postseason scoreless streak sits at 23 innings, within sight of Mariano Rivera’s postseason-record 33 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings.

• With an unpredictable mix of fastballs, cutters, sliders and slow curves, Bumgarner kept the Mets off balance all night. New York only put three balls in play with an exit velocity of 100 mph or faster, according to Statcast™.

• Bumgarner fended off the Mets’ few scoring chances, extending an amazing personal streak in the process. He has still not …

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