OAKLAND — Bruce Bochy genuinely believed Madison Bumgarner bettered the Giants’ lineup more than any other hitter on the bench. As Bochy’s 10-year reign with the Giants would indicate, he’s been right more than he’s been wrong. Bumgarner as the catalyst to a six-run inning, and helped the Giants (50-31) salvage an 12-4 win against the A’s (35-44). At the midway point in the season, the Giants have won 50 games.
I think if you told them that in spring training, they’d happily take it. I think if you told them it would happen with 13 stints on the disabled list, they’d call you a liar. Here’s the truth about Wednesday night in Oakland.
The big moment
There’s a reason no pitcher has intentionally been used in place of a designated hitter in 40 years. There’s a reason Madison Bumgarner is the exception to 40 years of Major League Baseball.
At the plate
You knew Bumgarner wasn’t going to change his approach at the plate, despite the unique circumstances surrounding his plate appearances Thursday night. That’s why he fiercely swung through the first pitch out of Dillon Overton’s left hand. That’s why he crushed a 3-1 fastball over the plate, shooting it just off Billy Burns’ glove for a leadoff double. Bumgarner began and ended the Giants’ third inning, popping out to end the frame after six runs came across to score.
The Giants swatted four extra-base hits, highlighted by back-to-back home runs from Buster Posey and Brandon Crawford. Posey’s came with two runners on base to open up a 5-1 lead, and Crawford’s rocketed the next pitch off his bat at 107 mph. The shortstop coupled his homer with an RBI single in the fifth inning, giving the Giants an 8-1 lead and Crawford his 52nd RBI of the season. That’s more than any other shortstop in the major leagues.
Bumgarner finished his night 1-for-4, popping out, striking out and hitting into a double play after his third-inning double. Grant Green collected a pair of hits in his first game as a Giant. He also beat out a triple play attempt in the ninth inning, and came around to score because the Giants walked five times in the ninth inning.
On the mound
After the Giants combined to score three runs in Bumgarner’s last two starts (both losses), the 6-foot-5 left-hander made good on the team’s eight runs. He pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on two home runs.
The first came from Marcus Semien, pouncing on Bumgarner’s 10th pitch and banging it off the staircase behind the centerfield wall. The second ended Bumgarner’s night, when Yonder Alonso tucked a challenge fastball into the right field corner to draw the A’s within four runs. It was the 12th homer allowed by Bumgarner this season, but just the second to a left-handed hitter.
Almost every hitter in between Semien and Alonso was set down through the game’s first six innings. Bumgarner retired the side in the second and third innings on 22 pitches. Billy Butler and Jake Smolinski slashed consecutive hits in the fourth inning to score a run, but the Giants’ left-hander escaped the inning on a double play.
He threw only 13 pitches in the seventh inning before exiting with one out, just after Alonso finished rounding the bases.
In the ‘pen
Bochy called on Hunter Strickland to hold a four-run lead. All three hitters he faced worked a full count, and Strickland needed 21 pitches to strikeout Burns, walk Coco Crisp and retire Semien to end the seventh inning. Cory Gearrin pitched for the first time since allowing three runs a getting no outs on Tuesday. He carved through the heart of the A’s order on 13 pitches, striking out Valencia and Butler.
After the press box elevator broke and fireworks went off outside the Coliseum, Derek Law pitched the ninth inning. He allowed a couple of two-out runs on a two-run double by Crisp. Then, the game ended.
On deck
The Giants depart Oakland to play a struggling Diamondbacks team that’s lost five straight, and just got swept by the Phillies. Johnny Cueto (11-1, 2.42 ERA) gets the start on Friday night, coming off a six-run outing that unraveled after he beaned Maikel Franco. Shelby Miller’s (2-7, 6.79 ERA) opposes Cueto, and is coming off a seven-run start of his own. Get ready for the 1-0 final. First pitch at 6:40 p.m. on KNBR 680.