The Giants’ starter in that game, Jake Peavy, couldn’t escape the second inning. With the Giants struggling at the plate, he drove in the night’s only run.
Advertisement
Giants manager Bruce Bochy summoned Cory Gearrin to face Kris Bryant after Bumgarner gave up a two-out walk to Anthony Rizzo in the top of the eighth. “And we’ve seen it over the years”. Bumgarner dominated the box score, but in this case a piece of paper doesn’t tell the whole story.
The Giants have won five straight games started by Bumgarner, and over his last six starts the lefty has posted a minuscule 1.69 ERA.
“I ain’t gonna complain, I felt good”, Bumgarner said. In the NL West, the “bad” teams employ guys like Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt, players so good you wouldn’t be surprised if they won the MVP award this season.
That’s because just about everybody did.
Lester had already thrown 50 pitches by the time he struck out Denard Span to close the second. After Joe Panik snaked a double down the right-field line, Hendricks retired Matt Duffy and Brandon Belt to end the opening threat. “We come to play every night”.
The rest of the commentary I have about this one has to do with the Giants’ uniforms and the Fox broadcast team.
“Throughout the season you’re going to see that time from time”, shortstop Addison Russell said after the game.
The Giants have always won with strong pitching, too, and nobody is throwing better than Bumgarner in recent weeks. They’re 4-1 in Bumgarner’s last five home starts versus the Cubs and are 5-2 in his last seven starts overall versus Chicago. Wood walked Seth Smith to force in a run, and Tony Cingrani came on and hit Robinson Cano with his first pitch to tie it. Lee’s pinch-hit single with two outs knocked in the go-ahead runs. Bumgarner then froze him in place with a 92 miles per hour fastball. However, the 31-year-old has has used his last three starts to stake a claim to the legitimacy of his return – leading up to Saturday, Cain previously went eight innings, allowing just two runs during his start against the Jays on May 10 and allowed just one run over seven innings against the Diamondbacks in the following game. Bumgarner credited the Russell pitch with locking him into a groove that led to 15 consecutive outs.
After Wil Myers hit a bloop single to shallow center to lead off the ninth against Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen, Upton went the opposite way beyond the right-center field fence for the comeback victory. “So I had to kind of do a little shimmy, a little karaoke, and try to get my body back to the other side”. “I don’t want to say it was just another day at the ball park, but I think we’re satisfied”. “It turns out he got it for himself”. He took his anger out on a two-strike Kyle Hendricks sinker, lashing it to left for a double that easily brought Blanco across the plate.
“It’s a fun series”, Bumgarner said. “I was really disappointed in not getting the bunt down because that’s our job”.
Rangers 9, Astros 2 • Cole Hamels fanned a season-high 11 in eight innings and Texas jumped on Dallas Keuchel early, cruising to an easy win at Houston for a three-game sweep. Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon, left, argues with first base umpire Dana DeMuth after Javier Baez was called out at first base on batter’s interference during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the San Francis…
Bumgarner took the drama out of most of the night, but it stormed back in the ninth. Crawford went into the hole to rob Ben Zobrist in the third. When he turned to backpedal, the wind shifted the ball to another spot.
Gregor Blanco led off with a walk.
And an end to one of the most impressive streaks in baseball. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out in 6 1/3 innings. They’re playing as well as they have in a couple of years, and they made a bit of a statement over three games at AT&T Park.
Advertisement
But when the Cubs and Giants hook up for a three-gamer by the Bay, the mind can’t help projecting.
