SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants hot streak can reach its apex on Saturday evening. The Cubs lost to the Marlins earlier this afternoon, meaning a Giants win over the Phillies will give them a major-league leading 49 victories.
Seems like an appropriate claim for a team that’s lost one series in the last six weeks. The Giants (48-27) can clinch another one tonight, and Madison Bumgarner (8-3, 1.85 ERA) is put up to the task on his bobblehead night. He faces a Phillies (31-44) team that’s lost eight of its last nine games to the Giants, and right-hander Jeremy Hellickson (4-6, 4.41 ERA) will try to buck that trend.
Bumgarner’s made life easy for the Giants, allowing only two earned runs or less in his last 12 starts. That’s lifted pressure off the Giants’ bats, and Bruce Bochy’s bullpen carousel. The left-hander’s thrown eight innings in his last two starts, and has combined with Johnny Cueto to throw 45 percent of the team’s starting pitcher innings.
But even with knowledge of when his aces are pitching, Bochy said he doesn’t waver in his bullpen strategy. He’s going to play the matchups when he can, regardless of who’s pitching and when.
“You’re still going to do what you can do win the game,” Bochy said, “whether it be the game before (Cueto and Bumgarner) or the game they’re in.
“I’ve always taken the philosophy for the most part: let’s worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.”
–Tomorrow is when Sergio Romo is scheduled to make his next minor league appearance, throwing for Single-A San Jose. Bochy said they’ll reevaluate Romo afterward, but it appears he’s close to a return.
–Bochy elevated his matchup games to a new level on Friday, swapping Josh Osich for Cory Gearrin in the middle of a plate appearance. Gearrin said he couldn’t recall ever entering a game under such circumstances, and proceeded to walk Tyler Goedell on two balls after entering with a 2-1 count. As for Osich, Bochy said he didn’t feel the need to talk with the young left-hander after removing him. Sounds like Bochy expects his pitchers to understand how he manages them at this point, but “they know my door’s always open.”
–With 799 wins in his 10 years managing the Giants, Bochy is on the doorstep of a milestone. He could join Bill Terry, Dusty Baker and John McGraw as the club’s only 800-win managers. But reaching for McGraw’s 2,583 wins as Giants manager … “not gonna happen,” Bochy smirked.
Giants lineup and history vs. Jeremy Hellickson
CF – Denard Span (3-for-11)
2B – Joe Panik (1-for-3)
1B – Brandon Belt (0-for-1, SO)
C – Buster Posey (0-for-7)
SS – Brandon Crawford (1-for-1)
LF – Angel Pagan (1-for-2)
3B – Ramiro Peña (Never faced Hellickson)
LHP – Madison Bumgarner (1-for-2)
RF – Gregor Blanco (0-for-1, SO)
Phillies lineup vs. Madison Bumgarner
CF – Peter Bourjos
SS – Freddy Galvis (S)
1B – Tommy Jospeh
3B – Maikel Franco
2B – Andres Blanco (S)
C – Cameron Rupp
LF – Jimmy Paredes (S)
RF – Tyler Goedell
RHP – Jeremy Hellickson