Most Miami Marlins hitters have a terrible track record against Madison Bumgarner.
In fact, most Major League players have struggled in their career against the Giants’ ace, a four-time All-Star who boasts a 2.98 career earned run average.
Unsurprisingly, Giancarlo Stanton is not like most of the Miami Marlins, and most Major League hitters.
If the Giants didn’t know that before this season, they certainly found that out when Stanton hit a home run to right field at AT&T Park, a ridiculous feat for a right-handed hitter. If that wasn’t enough, Stanton’s fifth home run in five days on Monday afternoon, a two-run shot off of Ty Blach, was his 43rd home run of the season. That set a new Miami Marlins’ single-season record, as Stanton surpassed Gary Sheffield’s old mark.
So if you told Giants’ fans that Stanton had some ownage on Bumgarner, it probably would be met with a shrug of the shoulders. Stanton’s offensive exploits know no bounds.
Still, the numbers are remarkable. In 16 career at-bats against Bumgarner, Stanton has eight hits (a .500 average) and six of them have gone for extra bases.
Though only one of Stanton’s at-bats against Bumgarner has resulted in a home run, five have led to doubles.
Eight other Marlins players aside from Stanton have recorded at least one career plate appearance against the southpaw, and the numbers aren’t exactly forgiving. The rest of Miami’s lineup has combined for 14 hits in 86 at-bats against Bumgarner, which is good for a .163 average.
When you include Stanton’s career mark against Bumgarner, Miami’s overall average improves to .215, which represents more than a .50 point increase.
Stanton is the Marlins’ primary offensive catalyst, and Bumgarner offers the Giants the best opportunity they’ll have this series to steal a game. At some point on Tuesday, something will have to give.
There’s no doubt that a growing number of Giants’ fans would love to see Stanton paired in the Giants’ order with Buster Posey come 2018, but on Tuesday, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported that Stanton had cleared waivers. That meant that the Giants had a chance to place a waiver claim on Stanton and work out a potential trade, but that San Francisco ultimately passed.
Though it’s entirely possible Miami will still entertain trade offers for their power-hitting star under new ownership this winter, the fact that San Francisco didn’t place a claim on Stanton this week indicates the Giants will likely pursue other options to boost their lineup.