SAN FRANCISCO — Madison Bumgarner laughed off a question about feeling as comfortable in the batter’s box as he does on the mound. He sees first-hand how tough a hitter’s craft is, and has his own share of struggles when he’s not served fastball over the plate. But the spotlight shines on Bumgarner when he steps in the box, and a home run derby controversy has only brightened it.
There’s no secret about his reputation. Whether or not Bumgarner likes it, or even if he thinks its merited, his mere presence at the plate it changing the outcomes of games. He disagreed, at least at first.
“(But) if you want to look at it that way,” Bumgarner quipped, “sounds good to me.”
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He made the difference Tuesday night, strolling to the plate in the seventh inning with the go-ahead run on second base. Doing everything to avoid grooving one to Bumgarner, Will Smith did the opposite. He spiked consecutive breaking pitches to the backstop, letting Bumgarner watch the go-ahead run score without lifting the bat off his shoulder.
That allowed the Giants (40-26) to squeak past the Brewers (30-35), 3-2, and win Bumgarner (8-2, 1.91 ERA) his seventh straight game. It was also his 11th consecutive start allowing two runs or less, tying Juan Marichal’s mark from 1965-66. His eight strong innings were plenty good enough to win, but in a game that the Giants’ offense left 12 on base and went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position, it was only fitting that he was up when the eventual winning run scored.
“That’s what a threat does for you,” Bochy said of Bumgarner’s hitting. “Makes the pitcher be a little careful, and sometimes that can bring some good things.”
The trepidation surrounding Bumgarner didn’t just rear itself in the seventh, but also in his first two at-bats. He worked a six-pitch walk with a runner on second base and two out, passing on a couple two-strike sliders to reach base.
In the fourth inning, Bumgarner pulled a fastball ticketed for left field, but shortstop Jonathan Villar smothered it on a dive. He came up with a strong throw that stunningly beat Bumgarner to the bag, but pulled Chris Carter’s foot off first base.
But the Giants left-hander was finally set down in the fifth inning, swinging through an off-speed pitch with runners on second and third. Bumgarner barked at himself after striking out, punctuating a plate appearance that was emblematic of the Giants’ struggled with men on base.
“I didn’t feel like (the game) was getting away,” Bochy said, “but you’re getting frustrated.
“…. You’re still thinking, ‘I hope this doesn’t haunt us.’”
Bumgarner made sure it didn’t, retiring the first nine hitters he faced, and six of the last eight. Sandwiched in the middle was a slider that Jonathan Lucroy stayed in on to hammer into the left-field seats, and a pair of two-out hits in the sixth inning that tied the game at two.
But Bumgarner got stronger from there, unfurling his 100th pitch to close the seventh inning on a strikeout. His final inning ended a bit stranger, standing alone on the field with home plate umpire Andy Fletcher to see if the Brewers would review Bumgarner’s inning-ending pickoff.
They didn’t, but it allowed his evening to end in a very fitting way. He exited the field alone, to his own standing ovation while Journey’s “Lights” blared throughout AT&T Park.
All eyes locked on Bumgarner, and every pair of hands clapping for him. Just how it should’ve been on Tuesday night.
“It’s really fun to watch a really good, elite pitcher do his thing,” Bochy said. “…He competes in every aspect of the game. That’s what makes him so special.”
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Brandon Belt left Tuesday’s game in the eighth inning after being hit on the right ankle in the sixth inning. He came out to play first base in the seventh, and descended into the clubhouse with head trainer Dave Groeschner afterward. X-Rays on his right foot came back negative, and he exited the clubhouse with his right knee crutched on a black scooter.