Bumgarner’s power is typically at the expense of fastballs left in the middle of the plate, although he does have two career home runs off sliders and one off a sinker and another off the change-up. Bochy said prior to the game that the idea has been nixed and cited the Players Association for doing the most to veto the notion of Bumgarner participating or having a scaled down contest in which pitchers could compete against each other. “A lot of people had a lot to say about what we did today, and I’m just glad it worked out for us”. At first, MadBum thought Bochy was joking, then quickly said: “No, I’d love to”. While this might sound kind of insane, it is actually not a bad move by the Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy.
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In fact, the bigger question may be: How come Bochy doesn’t use Bumgarner more as a pinch-hitter?
Bumgarner pitched into the seventh to snap a two-start skid and also batted in an AL ballpark, and the Giants avoided a four-game sweep by beating the Oakland Athletics 12-6 on Thursday night.
“There’s no Home Run Derby with Madison”, Bochy said.
Marcus Semien hit his 16th homer, establishing a new career high, in the first off Bumgarner. I want to be as good a baseball player as I can be, not just a pitcher. Now the A’s aren’t quite sure how long they will be without Doolittle, who missed five months a year ago with a different shoulder problem.
That s convenient for the Giants – even if it makes the derby slightly less compelling.
The Giants were less concerned about the injury risk of forfeiting the designated hitter to bat Bumgarner on Thursday against the A s at the Coliseum. His numbers are down a bit this season, as he is hitting.175/.261/.350 on the season, but he has hit two home runs in only 40 at-bats. The alternative to Bumgarner would be Jarrett Parker, whose left-handed bat has struggled against left-handed pitchers throughout 2016.
Bumgarner’s double was the first hit by a pitcher who was intentionally in the starting lineup in an American League park since Ferguson Jenkins, in 1974.
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Giants starting second baseman Joe Panik (concussion) went on the seven-day disabled list Wednesday, joining starting third baseman Matt Duffy (left Achilles strain) and backup infielders Kelby Tomlinson (left thumb sprain) and Ehire Adrianza (fractured left foot). Grant Green collected a pair of hits in his first game as a Giant.
