Bumgarner blasts home run in wild game with Mets
His two-run homer helps offset allowing an early grand slam
SAN FRANCISCO — Nothing seems to make sense in the Giants’ second half so far, so perhaps it’s par for the course that an anticipated sizzling pitching duel between Madison Bumgarner and the Mets’ Jacob deGrom on Thursday would turn into an almost ridiculous hit parade for both struggling teams.
Bumgarner surrendered a grand slam — his firstever at AT&T Park — but also hit a two-run homer of his own to erase a 4-0 hole he created for himself. DeGrom, meanwhile, gave up 13 hits and had the worst two innings of his career after being staked to that four-run cushion. Neither pitcher made it into the sixth inning, and the game became a battle of the bat racks and bullpens.
Ultimately, the Giants banged out 17 hits of the 30 hits in the game and snapped their four-game losing streak with a 10-7 victory, and it got them back to within a half-game of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who lost at Philadelphia earlier in the evening. Bumgarner (12-7) got a victory despite one of shortest, shakiest outings of the season.
“I didn’t see that kind of game coming — I don’t think anybody did,” said manager Bruce Bochy. “There were two good ones out there, they just weren’t on top of their games.”
The first three innings played to form. Bumgarner allowed a hit and a walk and looked very much on his game. DeGrom was a little unsteady, allowing the leadoff man to get on in each inning but worked out of trouble in all three.
Then it got crazy. The Mets loaded the bases in the top of the fourth on a T.J. Rivera single and one-out walks to Wilmer Flores and Travis d’Arnaud. Bumgarner subsequently thought he had Justin Ruggiano struck out but didn’t get the call from home plate umpire Brian Gorman. The count went to 3-2, and Bumgarner had to come in with a fastball. Ruggiano promptly sent it out over the center field fence to give the Mets a 4-0 lead.
Ruggiano’s last home run? Sept. 29 of last season, when he was a Dodger — and he hit it off Bumgarner.
Behind deGrom, who was 3-0 with an 0.84 ERA against the Giants coming into this series, the Mets appeared to have the game well in hand at that point. But San Francisco not only got back in the game, they took the lead in the bottom half of the inning with five runs against the young Mets right-hander.
Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford and Hunter Pence connected for consecutive singles to bring home the first run, then Eduardo Nunez — previously 1 for 20 with runners in scoring position as a Giant — lined a shot down the right field line to make it 4-3.
But the best was yet to come. After Joe Panik struck out, up stepped Bumgarner. The pitcher fell behind in the count 0-2, but kept battling. He fouled off a couple of pitches and worked the count to 2-2. Finally, on the seventh pitch, he found a pitch in his zone and didn’t miss it, cranking his third home run into the left field seats to put the Giants back up 5-4. Bumgarner had been 0 for 17 with runners in scoring position for the season.
“With the RBI situations I’ve had the last few games, I just wanted to shorten up and try to make contact, see if I could get those runs in,” Bumgarner said.
The Giants continued to pour it on against deGrom in the fifth. With two outs, Crawford, Pence and Nunez singled in succession to make it 6-4, then Panik doubled down the left field line for two more.
“We took a pretty good punch there,” said Bochy. “I thought it was important to punch back, and of course, Bum, just trying to get a run in, hits a home run. Just a great job by these guys fighting back against a very, very tough pitcher. The guys really broke out.”
DeGrom finished the inning, but that was it. He had allowed career highs in hits (13) and earned runs (8).
But no. New York staged athree-run rally against Cory Gearrin and Will Smith in the top of the sixth to cut the lead to one. But the Mets would get no closer during the final three innings. Derek Law weathered his own basesloaded jam in the seventh, Javier Lopez and Sergio Romo combined to pitch a 1-2-3 eighth, and after Posey provided a three-run cushion with a two-run double, Santiago Casilla pitched a scoreless ninth for his 28th save.