Giants’ Bumgarner shines in Cactus League debut
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. >> Madison Bumgarner struck out five of the nine hitters he faced on Sunday, but a strict pitch count prevented the Giants’ ace from finishing two innings against the Cubs.
After Bumgarner allowed back-to-back singles with two outs in the second, Giants’ bench coach Hensley Meulens jogged from the dugout to the mound to pull the left-hander out in the eventual 12-10 loss.
“I felt good physically, and that’s really all I’m looking for,” Bumgarner said. “The first time out there, the command was, every time I would try to get on it in game speed I would just miss. I was a touch off on that, which was to be expected, I guess, at this time of year. The stuff felt fine besides that. Just command, that’s it. Was just a little off and getting that dialed in, that’s why we’re here.”
Bumgarner’s introduction to Cactus League play against Chicago set the stage for a long buildup to his fifth career Opening Day start, which will take place on March 29 at Dodger Stadium. Forty-five minutes down the road from Scottsdale Stadium, three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw also made his first appearance of the spring, pitching in Peoria against the Mariners.
The left-handers will duel on the first day of the regular season, but a schedule that includes a pair of early off days allows the Giants to use Bumgarner on normal rest in the club’s first three series of the season if they choose to do so. The calendar sets up for the Giants to skip their fifth starter and throw Bumgarner against the Mariners in their home opener on April 3, and then turn to him again on April 8 in a series finale against the Dodgers.
“He’s obviously our
horse,” catcher Buster Posey said. “He brings us a certain amount of fire every time he’s out there and that’s what the leader of the staff has got to do.”
As other franchises work to lessen the load on their starters, the Giants could — and should — begin the year by leaning on a pitcher who always wants the ball.
“I’m old school I guess, but it just depends on the guy,” Bumgarner said. “To me, I don’t know, it’ll be interesting to see how all of these bullpens hold up. More than one year. I know good arms are not really disposable like that so you want to keep them out there. I don’t know, as long as a guy is getting outs,
let him get outs. If he’s not, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to try to win the game.”
Chicago’s leadoff hitter, Ian Happ, smashed an opposite field home run to open Sunday’s game, but Bumgarner responded by striking out the side in the first inning. Though he opened the second with a pair of punchouts, Bumgarner couldn’t escape the inning unscathed.
“I thought the ball came out, okay,” Posey said. “Obviously command was a little bit of an issue for (Bumgarner), he just looked like he was a little amped up. Overthrew the breaking ball some, but everything was coming out fine as far
as the crispness of the fastball. Just location-wise, it wasn’t what you expect out of him, but the first outing of the spring, that’s going to happen.”
Sunday’s contest offered Bumgarner his first chance to take the field with some of the club’s new additions — Evan Longoria and Andrew McCutchen — and he echoed the chorus of optimism that’s flowed through Giants’ camp.
“It’s been really good, they’ve kind of rejuvenated everybody with the guys they’ve brought in and everybody is really upbeat and excited to get started it seems like,” Bumgarner said. “On paper, we’re pretty damn good. But
that’s on paper. You’ve got to go out and do it.”
If the Giants have visions of beating teams on the field instead of on paper, they would be well-served by preparing Bumgarner to pitch in three of the first nine games of the year.
In an analytics-driven industry, clubs optimize every opportunity for success, down to what pitch should be thrown to which location in different counts. In a micro sense, an eighthinning sinker from southpaw Tony Watson might be effective against Dodgers’ star Cody Bellinger. But in a macro sense, that sinker and that reliever might not be needed if Bumgarner is on top of his game.
• With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Giants’ center field prospect Steven Duggar drilled his first home run of the spring. Duggar lifted a two-strike fastball over the right field wall, impressing Meulens and the rest of the Giants’ coaching staff.
“That shows you the desire of (Duggar) trying to make this team,” Meulens said. “He focused and he didn’t give the at-bat away and that’s what you want to see young players do no matter what time it is. Everybody is tired, it’s been a long day but he showed some determination there to bear down with two strikes and hit that ball out.”