2 at home for Bumgarner
How about two more home starts for Madison Bumgarner before the July 31 trade deadline? It should happen if the knot on his left arm allows it.
On Sunday, Manager Bruce Bochy laid out his secondhalf rotation plans, which have Shaun Anderson pitching the first of three at Milwaukee on Friday night. Bumgarner would pitch Saturday and Tyler Beede next Sunday.
Bumgarner would pitch a week after taking a Jose Martinez line drive off the top of his elbow in Saturday night’s 84 Giants win over the Cardinals.
“He’s doing all right,” Bochy said before Sunday’s game. “He still has some swelling there, which is to be expected. It’s calming down.”
Bumgarner flew home to North Carolina and is expected to throw there Thursday. If he feels OK, he will start Saturday as planned. He then would miss Colorado and pitch the opener of a sevengame homestand July 18 against the Mets, which would allow him to pitch five days thereafter at Oracle Park against the Cubs.
“If we have to push him back, we can,” Bochy said.
Drew Pomeranz is scheduled to start the opener of a daynight doubleheader in Denver next Monday. The nightcap starter is to be determined, although it could be Dereck Rodriguez, who will pitch for Class A San Jose at Rancho Cucamonga on Wednesday to keep him in line for that game.
Jeff Samardzija would face the Rockies the next night, with Anderson returning to the mound to close that series.
Vogt hurt: Martinez did a lot of damage over the weekend beyond his tapemeasure homer against Pomeranz in the first inning of Friday night's game. He knocked out two Giants players.
A day after his liner forced Bumgarner out after two innings, Martinez slammed a foul tip off catcher Stephen Vogt’s left knee. Vogt did not catch the final two innings and had Xrays, which were negative. But as he hobbled through the clubhouse, he said he was extremely sore. Briefly: The Giants won five of their final eight series of the first half, including a twogamer against San Diego. They lost two and split another. … The Giants lead the majors with eight pinch homers after Austin Slater’s grand slam Saturday night. … President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi termed it extremely doubtful that Class A prospects Heliot Ramos and Joey Bart will make a cameo in the majors this year. Both missed significant time with injuries.