The confrontation started when Bumgarner fielded a ground ball by Yasiel Puig and fired to first for the third out in the seventh inning of the Dodgers’ 2-1 win in Los Angeles. That was a double by Yasiel Puig in the second inning, a drive that did not improve his relationship with Bumgarner.
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Four straight hits to open the ninth inning, off three different San Francisco pitchers, erased a 1-0 deficit and ended the Giants’ night with another stunning September save blown. Adrian Gonzalez delivered the game-winning hit against Hunter Strickland, a fly ball that caromed off the glove of right fielder Hunter Pence as he leaped on the warning track. “Every time I face him it seems like we have those problems”. “You never want to come out of the game”, he said, “but you gotta be smart about it”.
Nuñez, who missed three games last week with a sore oblique, appeared to be shaken up, but he stole second and then dashed for third when Yasmani Grandal’s throw sailed into center field. However, the San Francisco manager remains confident the Giants can reverse their fortunes and play their way into the postseason. Giants C Buster Posey is hitting.305 (35-for-115) over his last 15 games.3.
And I would assume, again with Bumgarner under 100 pitches and looking great, the incident nearly certainly had to be one of the reasons Bochy took Bumgarner-or Bumgarner asked-out of the game.
“I’ve never done that before”, said manager Joe Maddon, who won 97 in 2008 with Tampa and a year ago with Chicago.
Bumgarner allowed one hit over seven scoreless innings. At the All-Star break they led the NL West by six-and-a-half games and had the best record in the league, even better than the Cubs’. “I just got him out and he tried to stare me down or something”. They’re going to handle it.
Atlanta Braves’ Freddie Freeman hits a seventh-inning infield single in a baseball game against the New York Mets, Monday, Sept. 19, 2016, in New York.
“I don’t know what happened there”. He struck out 10, walked none and retired his final 10 batters. Javier Lopez entered and Corey Seager drilled a two-strike single just out of the reach of a diving Joe Panik. Bumgarner dressed quickly. He became tired of the Puig conversation just as quickly.
And Bumgarner was the most valuable player in the game at that moment, until he was done.
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Nunez’ seven pitch at bat in the in sixth inning likely had an effect on Kershaw getting pulled in the sixth inning, with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts not wanting to take any chances with his ace in his third start after a stint on the 60-day disabled list. LHP Julio Urias will pitch out of the bullpen during the Giants series.
