Bumgarner wins his 3rd start in a row
Given the circumstances, Diamondbacks left-hander Madison Bumgarner was concerned. He was feeling under the weather on Friday, and while he had every intention of taking the ball for his scheduled start, he admitted to some nerves about how things might go.
As it turned out, he had no reason to be nervous. Bumgarner fired five strong innings against the Colorado Rockies, helping the Diamondbacks to a 7-2 win at Chase Field, their ninth win in their past 11 games.
“I was pretty happy with the way it went,” Bumgarner said. He added, “I’ve been kind of beat up and a lot of guys in the clubhouse have been, too. I don’t know what, if it’s allergy stuff or whatever going around, but it’s kind of took its toll.”
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said he didn’t want to ask too much of Bumgarner given the way he was feeling, removing him from the game after just 81 pitches. Bumgarner said he “emptied the tank” in the fifth inning, striking out the side.
“He gave us what he could and he got to that point, I just felt like it was time to maneuver and go to the bullpen,” Lovullo said. “He’s doing fine and he is going to be fine. I just think he was a little under the weather and not at 100 percent, but he gave us everything he could and threw a really good ballgame.”
Said Bumgarner: “We thought it was a good time to try to not completely tax myself. Just looking down the road for future stuff more than anything, really.”
Asdrubal Cabrera reached base four times and delivered perhaps the game’s biggest hit, a chopper over the first baseman’s head with two out in the third, the first of four consecutive hits in what turned out to be a four-run inning.
Josh Rojas added a two-run homer late and the Diamondbacks’ bullpen turned in a strong performance for the second consecutive night.
Lovullo said the club was “100 percent certain” Bumgarner’s illness was not COVID-related, saying players have to pass through protocols in order to enter the stadium. Bumgarner said that thought didn’t concern him, but he would not go into detail about why he wasn’t concerned or what he was feeling.
“Are we going to have a doctor’s appointment here?” he said when asked about his symptoms. “I already had my doctor’s appointment with the actual doctor. I think that’s good enough.”