Bumgarner dominates Phillies in return
SAN FRANCISCO — When Madison Bumgarner walked off the mound at Oracle Park after the top of the seventh inning on July 23, many San Francisco Giants fans wondered if it was the last time they’d see him pitch on the shores of McCovey Cove.
With the trade deadline in the rearview mirror, Bumgarner returned home to face the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.
Another dominant outing from the team’s ace reminded fans why they hope he never leaves.
Bumgarner tossed seven innings of one-hit ball and played a leading role in ending the Giants’ four-game losing streak in the team’s 5-0 win over the Phillies.
Right fielder Mike Yastrzemski served as the catalyst for the Giants’ offense on Thursday, lining a two-run double off the left field wall in the third before launching a 403-foot home run above the brick wall in right center field in the seventh.
Expected to be one of the top starting pitchers available on the trade market this summer, Bumgarner instead remained with the only franchise he’s ever known. The Giants (57-59) entertained conversations involving Bumgarner toward the end of July, but the team’s ascension in the National League Wild Card standings helped convince the front office to keep him in orange and black.
Despite drawing interest from contending clubs in the hours leading up to the July 31 deadline, Bumgarner said he never envisioned pitching elsewhere. It’s not hard to see why he enjoys himself in San Francisco, considering no pitcher has ever posted better career numbers inside the ballpark at China Basin.
Bumgarner had the look of a player ready to write another chapter in the Giants history books on Thursday, but Phillies pinch-hitter Cesar Hernandez had other plans.
After the lefty recorded 16 outs without allowing a hit, Hernandez lined a single to center in the top of the sixth that drew a cheer from the home
fans who recognized the significance of Hernandez’s achievement. Philadelphia’s first hit prevented Bumgarner from joining the likes of Jonathan Sanchez, Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum and Chris Heston, but the Giants’ starter erased the runner by inducing a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
Bumgarner returned to the mound and finished the night with a 1-2-3 seventh inning, exiting the game after allowing just two base runners. The Giants ace actually reached base three times on his own, recording a single in his first at-bat before drawing a pair of walks in his next two plate appearances.
Manager Bruce Bochy removed Bumgarner after the lefty had tossed just 85 pitches, but by turning the game over to the bullpen, Bochy ensured Bumgarner recorded his first scoreless start of the year.
A season after Dereck Rodriguez, the son of catcher Ivan Rodriguez, emerged as a force in the Giants’ rotation, another relative of a Hall of Famer has been one of the team’s biggest bright spots. Although Carl Yastrzemski has yet to attend one of Mike’s big league games, the grandfather of the Giants outfielder has plenty of reason to be proud.
Mike’s seventh inning solo shot off reliever Nick Pivetta marked his 11th home run of the season, matching the total Carl racked up during his rookie year in 1961 with the Red Sox. Carl was 21 as a rookie while Mike will turn 29 at the end of the month, but the grandson’s winding journey to the big leagues has paid off in an impressive year with the Giants.
If Yastrzemski is able to avoid the struggles that have sidetracked Rodriguez in his second season, Giants fans hope he’ll do so with Bumgarner as his teammate.