Giants vs. Cardinals: Game 1 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2014 MLB Playoffs

Pitching on the road in the postseason is one of the most challenging tasks in baseball, but it also just so happens to be when Madison Bumgarner thrives.

The 25-year-old All-Star tossed 7.2 scoreless innings against the St. Louis Cardinals Saturday night, leading the San Francisco Giants to a 3-0 win and a 1-0 lead in the National League Championship Series.

You have to go back to Game 4 of the 2010 NLDS to find the last time Bumgarner gave up a run on the road in the playoffs, a streak that now spans 27.2 innings. That's a major league record, per Comcast SportsNet Bay Area's Andrew Baggarly:

In 32.2 postseason road innings, Bumgarner now holds a 0.55 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and has struck out 29. He is 4-0 in four starts and one relief appearance.

Fox Sports' Jon Morosi offered unbelievably high praise, while adding a telling stat:

Of course, Bumgarner's gem was only part of the equation for San Francisco's Game 1 victory. Pablo Sandoval went 3-for-4, Travis Ishikawa had a pair of hits and an RBI, and the Giants finished with eight hits total.

Most of that production came off Adam Wainwright. The Cardinals' ace finished the regular season with 20 wins and a 2.38 ERA, but dealing with soreness in his right elbow, he hasn't been the same pitcher in the playoffs.

He missed a start in June because of arm soreness, and he said he aggravated it in Game 1 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Still, he continued to reiterate that he wouldn't be limited, per ESPN's Buster Olney:

That didn't appear to be the case, though. The Cards' ace labored through 4.2 innings, giving up six hits, three walks and three runs (two earned). He struck out just two batters, and as KSDK-TV's Mike Bush and Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal noted, he was lacking velocity on his fastball:

By comparison, according to FanGraphs, Wainwright averaged 90.5 miles per hour on his fastball during the regular season. 

Of course, it wasn't all his fault. Three defensive miscues—a drop in right field after Randal Grichuk crashed into the wall, an error at third by Matt Carpenter and a missed double-play opportunity by Kolten Wong at second—either indirectly or directly led to all three of San Francisco's runs. And that was a Mount Kilimanjaro-sized lead with Bumgarner on the mound for the Giants.

Fortunately for the Cards, they won't likely see Bumgarner until Game 5, which is in San Francisco.

Still, a series deficit is a series deficit, and if they aren't able to get to Jake Peavy in Game 2 on Sunday, they will be leaving home in a major hole against a team that has won its last seven series in October.