Bumgarner likely out until June
Bochy ‘sick’ about loss of his ace, but teammates say they must pick up slack
SACRAMENTO >> For six weeks of spring training, Madison Bumgarner threw the ball as well as Bruce Bochy has ever seen.
“Which is saying something,” the Giants manager said. “That’s what makes me sick about this.”
Bochy felt that pit in his stomach Saturday when he projected that his ace would be out until early June. Earlier in the day, Bumgarner underwent an operation to insert three pins into his left hand.
Dr. Donald Sheridan performed the procedure in Arizona, successfully stabilizing a displaced fracture of the fifth metacarpal. Bumgarner suffered the injury Friday when his throwing hand was struck by a line drive in his last start of the spring.
“You’re not going to be able to replace him. He’s one of the best in the world,” Giants outfielder Hunter Pence said before Triple-A Sacramento beat the Giants 6-5 at Raley Field. “It’s going to be tough, but we just have to go out there and play our best with what we’ve got.”
With a fifth consecutive opening-day start out of the question for Bumgarner, all indications are that Ty Blach will get the nod Thursday against Clayton Kershaw at Dodger Stadium.
Nothing was made official, but the pitching plans line up the 27-year-old lefthander for the role. The Giants will roll out Johnny Cueto (Sunday), Derek Holland (Monday) and Chris Stratton (Tuesday) in the Bay Bridge series.
That sets the stage for Blach in the seasonopener. The last time the Giants’ opening day starter was someone other than Bumgarner, Matt Cain or Tim Lincecum was in 2008, when Barry Zito had the honors.
Bochy held back on making Blach official, instead focusing on the big picture of how the Giants will cope without Bumgarner.
“It’s as disappointing for him as it is for us,” the manager said. “He was really locked in with his delivery. He was throwing the ball beautifully.”
The four-time All-Star sustained the fracture Friday when Whit Merrifield of the Kansas City Royals hit a line drive up the middle third inning. From the start, it was clear something was wrong.
“I didn’t even want to go out there. I just said, ‘Please don’t let it be his hand.’ I was hoping it hit the glove,” Bochy said.
The Giants are already without Jeff Samardzija, who has a strained pectoral muscle and will be out 3-4 weeks. Bochy said that off days allow the Giants to go until April 10 without needing a fifth starter. As it stands, Tyler Beede or Andrew Suarez are the candidates for that role.
In the clubhouse Saturday, the Giants weren’t kidding themselves.
“It’s tough. Bum’s irreplaceable,” shortstop Brandon Crawford said.
But there was also talk about starting the season with a sense of resolve.
“You have to be that way,” outfielder Andrew McCutchen said. “Nobody is going to feel bad for you. You still have to go out there and get the job done.”
Pence said the Giants are better equipped to handle Bumgarner’s absence than they were a year ago, when the season unraveled after the left-hander injured his shoulder riding trail bikes in the Colorado mountains.
Pence pointed to the improved defense, with the additions such as McCutchen and third baseman Evan Longoria.
“Without question, we’re better equipped than last year to deal with this,” Pence said. “But that’s something we’ll find out here real soon. I feel good about this club and our ability to handle something like this.”