Bumgarner finds way back to winner’s circle
SAN FRANCISCO » It was a familiar sight that conjured up memories of the glory days.
It was an event that even on a chilly evening brought backwarm recollections, and it was the type of scene that’s become all too infrequent over the last two years as far as the Giants are concerned.
When Madison Bumgarner straps up his boots and lifts the Giants on his back, they’ll go along for the ride. They went for a long one in Thursday’s 3- 0 win over the Padres, and it was a sight to behold.
“It was the Madison we know,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He really hit his spots, had great focus out there and had all of his pitches going.”
The left-hander turned in his best outing since he blanked the Mets in the 2016 wild-card game, hurling eight innings of shutout ball and driving in the Giants’ first run of the game.
“It feels like everything is improving,” Bumgarner said. “Kind of getting back in the swing of things, command was the biggest jump for me so that’s good that’s coming along.”
Before rejoining the rotation at the beginning of June, Bumgarner missed the first twomonths of the season with a fractured pinky, an injury that robbed the Giants of their best pitcher and prevented
the left-hander from carrying over the impressive form he showcased throughout spring training.
His presence was so desperately missed that the Giants trashed a plan for three-to-four rehab starts and instead brought Bumgarner back after two outings against minor leaguers. While the Giants benefitted from having an established veteran back in the rotation, his first three starts did little to quell concerns that Bumgarner might not be the same. That changed against San Diego.
“He’s as hard on himself as anybody and that’s whatmakes him so good because he never stops trying to get better,” Bochy said.
Bumgarner had eight strikeouts, including a first inning punchout of Padres first baseman Eric Hosmer in their firstmeeting since Bumgarner sent Hosmer packing with a strikeout to lead off the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 2014 World Series. Before he took the mound in the first, Bumgarner was convinced he was destined for a strong night. He recognized his offerings were sharper during warmups and strolled to the mound with confidence.
“He’s so regimented andmethodical in the bullpen that sometimes it’s hard for me to know,” catcher Buster Posey said. “But he mentioned it to me before the game after he threw in the pen. He has as good of body awareness as anybody, so I took that as a good sign.”
Though Bumgarner’s performance was a clear improvement from his first three starts, the Giants’ offense performed much like it did in the lefty’s earlier outings. After failing to support their starter in a 3-2 loss to Arizona on June 5, the Giants managed just one run in a 3-1 defeat in Los Angeles on June 16.
Against San Diego, Bumgarner took matters into his own hands with a sacrifice fly to drive in Pablo Sandoval in the bottom of the fifth inning to put the Giants ahead 1- 0.
“At minimumI’ve got to get one guy in right there in that spot,” Bumgarner said. “That was good for me and us, so I’m happy to do that.”
The Padres’ best opportunity against Bumgarner came in the top of the fifth when Freddy Galvis followed a José Pírela single with an opposite field double to the right field wall.
Galvis cruised into second base, but Pírela sprinted right past third base coach Glenn Hoffman’s stop sign. Instead of safely reaching his destination, Pírela was run off the road by Posey who collected a relay throw from Joe Panik and lunged to sideswipe the Padres second baseman.
“It all starts with the first throw, and Cutch threw it right on the money,” Panik said. “It made my job a lot easier.”
Pírela’s gamble wound up aiding Bumgarner, who intentionally walked A. J. Ellis before fanning pitcher Tyson Ross to end the inning.
Though the Giants scored just one run in their first seven innings, left fielder Alen Hanson launched a leadoff triple into the right field corner in the eighth inning and scored on a Posey single. Posey added to the edge later in the framewhen Pírela dropped a Pablo Sandoval popup that led to the Giants’ third and final run.
Bumgarner’s night ended with exactly 100 pitches through eight innings of three-hit ball as the Giants turned to Mark Melancon to finish off a shutout. Exactly 366 days after recording his last save for San Francisco, the right-hander who received a four-year, $62 million deal to serve as the Giants closer after the 2016 season got the final three outs to pick up his first save of the season.