What you need to know about the Giants, Nats' foe in NLDS

Looking for ways to impress your friends with tidbits about the San Francisco Giants? You've come to the right place.

Here are 10 things to know about the Giants, who play the Nationals in the National League Division Series starting Friday.

* Lefty Madison Bumgarner, who pitched an 8-0 shutout to beat Pittsburgh in the wild card game Wednesday night, is their best pitcher. He's to the Giants what Stephen Strasburg is to the Nationals. Bumgarner is 18-10 with a 2.98 ERA. He's got a 2.22 ERA on the road. But his postseason experience is amazing. He has two World Series rings, pitching 15 scoreless innings for the Giants in 2010 and 2012 as the Giants beat Texas and Detroit. And he just turned 25 in August.

* The Giants, who have eight consecutive wins in the postseason, were the National League's best team in the first half of the season, but then they struggled. They were 48-21 on June 8 with a 10-game lead in the NL West. After that, they lost 18 of 23. They were two games behind the Dodgers on Sept. 17. They won 19 of their final 23 to make the postseason.

* All-Star catcher Buster Posey is the Giants' most recognizable player. He came up as a rookie in 2010 and helped them win the World Series. And after he suffered a leg injury in a vicious collision blocking the plate in 2011, he became the impetus for baseball's new home plate collision rule, implemented this season. The rule states that if a runner veers off a direct path to slam into the catcher without the ball, the runner will be called out.

* Right-fielder Hunter Pence might be the Giants' MVP. Pence played in all 162 games and is the only player in baseball to have at least 20 home runs, 20 doubles and 10 triples. He's also a leader. When the Giants were down in the 2012 Division Series to Cincinnati, he gave his teammates a fiery speech that ignited the team and helped them beat the Reds.

* Think of the Giants in 2010 and 2012, the seasons they beat Texas and Detroit in the World Series, and dominating pitching comes to mind. There were Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito, Jonathan Sanchez and of course, Bumgarner. This year, the rotation isn't as dependable and Giants pitching ranks 10th in the NL in ERA. Bumgarner and Jake Peavy have been their two best pitchers down the stretch. Tim Hudson was fantastic early, but struggled lately. Then, there's Ryan Vogelsong and Yusmeiro Petit, who has gone back and forth from the bullpen to the rotation.

* Hudson, the former Atlanta pitcher, has been a pain for the Nationals over his career. Hudson is 18-5 with a 2.35 ERA in 31 starts against the Nationals. Hudson is 39 and has never pitched beyond the Division Series. He's been to six postseasons - four with Oakland and two with Atlanta - and never advanced to the second round.

* Bruce Bochy, the Giants manager, and his son, Brett, made big league history in September when Bruce became the first manager to call his son out of the bullpen to pitch. It happened in the sixth inning as the Dodgers were slamming the Giants. The younger Bochy walked his first hitter with the bases loaded to give the Dodgers a 15-0 lead. Later, he recorded his first strikeout against the Dodgers' Yasiel Puig.

* The Giants' big-time rookie is second baseman Joe Panik, who has given the lineup depth. Panik helped end the Nationals' 10-game winning streak in August, when he hit his first big league home run against Doug Fister in a 10-3 Giants win. Panik got a chance to play when Marco Scutaro was injured.

* Former Nationals outfielder Michael Morse is likely to play in the Division Series against his former team. Morse, who missed most of September with an oblique strain, was nearly activated for Wednesday's win against Pittsburgh. Morse has 16 home runs for the Giants, 11 during April and May.

* The Giants and Washington have postseason history, but it goes way back to the days when the Giants were in New York. The American League Washington Senators beat the New York Giants in the 1924 World Series and then in 1933, the Giants returned the favor and beat the Senators for the title. This postseason is the Giants' 11th since moving from New York to San Francisco in 1958. Overall, the Giants have 25 postseason appearances, fifth-most behind the Yankees (51), Dodgers (28), Cardinals (27) and Athletics (26).