ANTONIO GONZALEZ
AP Sports Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Madison Bumgarner couldn’t outlast Doug Fister on the mound the way he did the last time they started opposite each other in the 2012 World Series.
The rest of the San Francisco Giants couldn’t figure out Fister, either.
Fister flipped the script from his previous start in San Francisco, tossing seven scoreless innings to help the Washington Nationals beat Bumgarner and the Giants 2-1 on Tuesday night.
“They’ve got a well-rounded team,” Bumgarner said. “It comes down to whether they execute or not, but they’ve definitely got the talent over there.”
Bumgarner and the Giants foiled Fister and the Detroit Tigers 2-0 in Game 2 of their World Series sweep. The rematch, albeit on a regular-season stage with a different team, played out in Fister’s favor.
Jayson Werth and Denard Span each drove in a run during a two-run fifth to snap Bumgarner’s career-best, six-game winning streak. Werth also threw out a runner at the plate from right field in the sixth.
Fister (5-1) allowed eight hits, struck out three and walked one for his fifth straight win. He said he never thought about what played out his last time in San Francisco once he took the mound again at AT&T Park, except for how to approach the familiar foes at the plate.
“It’s still part of how I attack a hitter or two,” Fister said. “There are some of the same guys that are over there now. Some of that experience came through and determined what I chose to throw.”
Brandon Crawford tripled leading off the ninth and scored on Brandon Hicks’ groundout for San Francisco’s only run.
Tyler Clippard escaped a jam in the eighth and Rafael Soriano rebounded in the ninth for his 13th save. Washington has won three in a row and nine of 11.
“We’ve had so many timely hits from everybody that you think it’s going to happen again,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “Came up short, didn’t happen.”
The Nationals stopped San Francisco’s five-game winning streak with a 9-2 victory in Monday’s series opener. And they continued to slow down the team with the best record in baseball by beating its hottest pitcher on a windy, chilly night in San Francisco’s waterfront ballpark.
Span drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and Werth singled home another against Bumgarner in the fifth. It was all Washington needed to end Bumgarner’s winning streak.
Bumgarner (8-4) allowed eight hits in seven innings. He struck out five and walked one intentionally.
The tall left-hander with the deceptive fastball was selected NL player of the month for May after going 5-0 with a 2.08 ERA. He hadn’t lost since April 28 against San Diego.
It was a far better feeling for Fister than his last start in San Francisco, which came on a warm October evening in 2012. He was struck squarely in the head by Gregor Blanco’s line drive in the World Series, a ball hit so hard it caromed into shallow center field, though the 6-foot-8 pitcher appeared unhurt and stayed in the game.
Every time the Giants put together a few hits this time, Fister flexed his best stuff — and so did his new club.
In the third, San Francisco put two runners on before Buster Posey struck out. Pablo Sandoval, who finished with three hits and a walk, and Michael Morse singled to start the fourth before Fister induced three consecutive flyouts.
In the sixth, Sandoval doubled and tried to score on Crawford’s two-out single to right. Instead, Werth charged in to field the hard-hit ball and easily threw out the portly Sandoval at the plate.
Clippard allowed two baserunners with one out in the eighth before completing his 20th consecutive scoreless inning.
NOTES: Giants reliever Santiago Casilla, on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring, is scheduled to toss one inning at Class-A San Jose on Thursday and two innings Saturday. … Matt Cain (1-3, 3.52 ERA) starts for San Francisco against Washington’s Tanner Roark (4-4, 2.91) on Wednesday night.
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