Winless (0-6) trip capped by slam off Bumgarner
MILWAUKEE >> Don’t give in.
It’s the mentality Giants ace Madison Bumgarner took into a sixth inning battle with Brewers cleanup hitter Ryan Braun, and the approach Milwaukee took into a three-game series with San Francisco.
Bumgarner refused to give in to Braun. And the Brewers refused to give into the Giants, finishing off a three-game sweep with a 6-3 win Sunday.
“That’s probably the worst road trip most everybody here has been a part of,” Bumgarner said. “It’s hard to swallow.”
With the Giants ahead 2-1 in the sixth, Braun stepped to the plate with two on, two outs and a chance to swing the game in Milwaukee’s favor.
Bumgarner watched Braun crush a 110-mile per hour double off the wall in the first and a 369-foot flyout in the fourth, so he crafted a careful plan of attack.
After the first two fastballs whizzed by Braun, he felt Bumgarner lacked a plan and simply wanted to attack. As hitters often do, Braun took issue with the high and tight location of the offerings that started the at-bat.
He smiled at Bumgarner, and then wore a 2-0 fastball on his left elbow.
“I don’t know if he thought I was trying to throw at him or what,” Bumgarner said. “The second pitch was right over the middle of the plate, just up too much. But he looked at me, I don’t know what he’s thinking or not thinking. But that didn’t have any kind of effect on what I’m trying to do out there.”
Giants catcher Nick Hundley moved in between his starter and the Brewers’ cleanup hitter to prevent a physical altercation as Braun and Bumgarner exchanged words. Home plate umpire Tom Hallion dealt with verbal altercations, tossing Brewers manager Craig Counsell out of the game and sending pitcher Wade Miley and catcher Jacob Nottingham back to the clubhouse from the dugout, too.
“He’s going to pitch him aggressively inside,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He’s swinging the bat well and that’s part of the game.”
The Brewers grew enraged that Hallion issued warnings and continued to let Bumgarner pitch instead of ejecting him for what they felt was an intentional plunking.
The anger in the Milwaukee dugout didn’t last long, though, as it was soon replaced by elation.
Bumgarner came after the Brewers, and the next hitter came
after Bumgarner.
With the bases loaded and two outs, a 2-1 Giants lead disappeared when second baseman Jonathan Schoop launched a Bumgarner cutter over the left-field fence.
“I was in the same spot mentally that I was the entire game,” Bumgarner said. “It was just a bad pitch. That sucks. Get to two outs there and end up giving up a fourspot in the big inning.”
Brewers players poured out of the dugout, celebrating an emotionally-charged home run that put them well on their way to a sweep of the lowly Giants, who have now lost eight straight games to begin September.
As Schoop rounded the bases, first base umpire Dan Bellino warned Milwaukee players to stay off the field, ushering them back to their dugout.
The Brewers acted as if Schoop had clubbed a walk-off homer to end the game, and it’s hard to blame them. Though the two sides had to play out the final three innings of the series, it was just a formality.
“They’re dangerous,” Bochy said. “Throughout their lineup, they have guys that can beat you with the long ball. He probably didn’t place that quite where he wanted.”
The Giants finished the series with eight runs in three games in a
hitter-friendly Miller Park on their way to the team’s first 0-6 road trip since a swing through Miami and Washington, D.C. from June 30July 5, 2015.
Though San Francisco suffered several deflating defeats on a journey that took them from Coors Field to Miller Park, Sunday’s was particularly brutal as they watched their ace starter fail in the game’s most critical moment.
Had Bumgarner found a way to retire Braun or Schoop in the sixth, he could have exited the game in line for the win or tried to preserve the lead if he returned to the mound for the seventh. Instead, a heated exchange with Braun and a rocket over the left field wall from Schoop crushed the Giants’ chances.
The Giants didn’t just lose the game, they also lost first baseman Ryder Jones to a freak knee injury during a fifth inning plate appearance. After taking a swing against Brewers starter Zach Davies, Jones’ left knee buckled and he collapsed in the batter’s box.
Jones was helped off the field by Giants trainer Dave Groeschner and diagnosed with a dislocated left knee, an injury that will end his season.
“It’s a freak accident and it’s a shame,” Bochy said. “A kid getting a chance to play up here and he takes a swing and does that.”