San Francisco Giants: Madison Bumgarner shows positive signs despite rocky rehab start
With plenty of work ahead of him, Madison Bumgarner showed positive signs amidst a rocky rehab start for the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats.
In front of a sellout crowd at Raley Field on Friday, Madison Bumgarner moved one step closer to returning to the major leagues with a rehab start for the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats. In route to Sacramento’s 8-7 defeat to the Fresno Grizzlies, Bumgarner received the no decision after allowing four runs and seven hits through 3.2 innings.
“I fell like I’m four innings through spring training,” Bumgarner said (per fresnobee.com). “I felt pretty good today. The results obviously weren’t very good, but that’s not what’s important right now. The important thing to me is being healthy and stamina and arm strength and all that, and I feel pretty good about it.”
As Bumgarner said, these numbers are not exactly what the Giants want to see from their ace. However, his pitch count and excellent command point in the right direction.
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After using 45 pitches to get out of the second inning, Bumgarner threw a total 62 pitches, 41 for strikes. Five days earlier, he topped out at 58 pitches through four scoreless innings for the AZL Giants. He managed to keep his fastball in the low-90s while showing precision with his off-speed pitches.
Although the Giants are uncertain when they will reinstate Bumgarner, he is expected to return early in the second half. In the meantime, he is scheduled to continue his rehab with a start for the Class-A San Jose Giants on July 5. Eager to help his get his team back on track, Bumgarner knows there is still work to be done before returning to the Giants.
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“Definitely ready to but I can’t go up there throwing 65 pitches,” Bumgarner said. “That’s not going to do us much good. I have to make sure that we’re ready to go once we’re finished with this thing.”