San Francisco Giants: Madison Bumgarner returns just in nick of time
San Francisco Giants ace Madison Bumgarner returned to the rotation last night, just in the nick of time for a team with playoff aspirations.
Somehow, with a load of injuries, the San Francisco Giants have stayed afloat near the top of the National League West. Their starting rotation has taken a significant blow, with Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija dealing with nagging injuries — and the all-everything pitcher Madison Bumgarner yet to make his 2018 MLB debut.
It’s evident, after a handful of rehab starts, that Madison Bumgarner is more than ready to return from a fractured finger, dominating with the San Francisco Giants minor league system — allowing just two hits and plunking one batter in only over eight innings pitched.
Last night, Madison Bumgarner made his debut for the San Francisco Giants, facing the team they trail in the NL West standings — the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Giants won 10-3. They’ve won five in a row and they’re just 1 1/2 games out of first place in the NL West. Oh, and Madison Bumgarner returns tomorrow.
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) June 5, 2018
Talk about great timing, huh? The San Francisco Giants have been hot and the addition of their superstar every fifth day will pay dividends moving forward.
It wasn’t an elite outing for the lefty, but he was solid.; only allowing two earned runs, three strikeouts, eight hits, and most importantly, didn’t walk a single batter in six innings of work — with a pitch count of 82.
He gave the San Francisco Giants a chance to win the game, but Patrick Corbin‘s efforts were too much for them to handle, pushing them 2.5 games back in the standings — still in within in striking distance, though.
In comparison to the San Francisco Giants staff as a whole, he might as well have thrown a complete game shutout, with the Bay area squad “boasting” a team ERA of 4.59 heading into Tuesday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Madison Bumgarner, if healthy, is the X-factor that could push the San Francisco Giants over the top in the NL West — especially with the inconsistent play of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
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Both the Colorado Rockies and the resurgent Los Angeles Dodgers will be difficult to fend off, also, but with Mad-Bum back, it brings a confident swagger back to the San Francisco Giants. Plus, it is an even year, the team is trending in returning to the MLB postseason, with the even-numbered years being ones of triumph during this decade.
Madison Bumgarner will undoubtedly give them a chance to bring the magic back to the bay area in 2018. And, we know that Joe Buck is itching to rekindle his love affair with this favorite MLB player.