Baseball Daily Dose: Daily Dose: Ace Bumgarner
Madison Bumgarner became a household name with his electrifying playoff performance last year, and his performance on Sunday was just another feather in his cap.
The Giants ace improved to 14-6 with a shutout of the Nationals, allowing only three hits, one walk, and fanning 14 batters. He also launched his fourth home run of the season. The start pushed his ERA below 3.00 for the first time since early July, and marked his third consecutive win.
MadBum now has double-digit strikeouts in consecutive starts, and has tallied double-digit strikeouts five times this season. His K/9 now stands at a career-best 9.6 after the stellar performance, and he ranks sixth in strikeouts among all major leaguers.
Bumgarner now has a share of the NL wins lead, though his 20th ranked ERA is probably too much ground for him to garner serious Cy Young consideration this season. Still, fantasy owners have to be pleased, especially with what Bumgarner has accomplished since the break, going 5-1 with a 2.03 ERA and 53/4 K/BB ratio in 44.1 innings. He has a tough matchup at Pittsburgh in his next start.
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Jones Powers Orioles
Baltimore completed their sweep of Oakland on Sunday by scoring 18 runs on 26 hits. They hit four long balls, led by Adam Jones’ pair of home runs.
Jones went 3-for-4 with three RBI and three runs for the day, and now has five home runs and 10 RBI since August 10. After a brutal slump in May, Jones is on pace for his usual numbers. He’s currently hitting .286-22-63 with 62 runs scored. The ever-reliable Jones hit in the .280’s in five consecutive seasons leading up to 2015, and hit 25-plus homers over his last four campaigns.
The 30-year-old’s base stealing numbers have continued to decline, from 14 in 2013 to seven last season to only three so far this year. Still, it’s a small complaint for one of the few extremely reliable hitters in baseball with injuries seemingly on the uptick around baseball each year.
Among the other huge producers on the day for Baltimore were Gerardo Parra (5-for-6 with one home run, three RBI, and three runs), Steve Clevenger (4-for-6), and Caleb Joseph (3-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and three runs).
Shelby Loses No-No in Eighth Inning
Shelby Miller continues to have a tremendous year as Atlanta’s ace, bringing a no-hitter into the eighth inning of Sunday’s game. He finished with a no-decision, allowing one run on two hits, four walks, and fanning 10 batters in seven-plus innings.
Miller improved his ERA to 2.43, but is still just 5-9 with Atlanta’s anemic offense providing him with less than three runs of support per game. Despite the lack of wins, Miller has remained relatively consistent after a terrific start to his season, showing a sub-3.00 ERA since the break.
He continues to do a tremendous job keeping the ball down, with opposing hitters producing a .330 slugging percentage coming into Sunday’s start. After allowing 20-plus homers in each of the last two seasons, Miller has allowed only eight long balls this season.
Miller is slated to face the Cubs at Wrigley Field in his next start, which is another tough matchup for him to add a tally to his win total.
American League Quick Hits: Chris Sale dominated the Cubs on Sunday, allowing one hit and two hits in seven scoreless innings and fanning 15 batters. He’s now on pace for 293 strikeouts … Derek Holland (shoulder) is expected to rejoin the Rangers rotation on Wednesday … Jason Kipnis (shoulder) is expected to be activated from the DL on Tuesday … Sonny Gray has been cleared to start on Monday after missing his last start due to back spasms … George Springer (wrist) is making slow progress, but is expected to resume swing a bat soon … Lance McCullers could rejoin Houston’s rotation next week. He was demoted to the minors after a poor performance two weeks ago … Hanley Ramirez (foot) won return to the lineup until at least Tuesday … Michael Pineda (elbow) allowed two runs in three runs during a rehab start for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He could rejoin the Yankees rotation as early as next week … Matt Shoemaker was demoted to Triple-A Salt Lake after a very rough outing vs. Kansas City … The White Sox designated Emilio Bonifacio for assignment … The Angels placed Cory Rasmus on the 15-day DL with a right forearm strain … Taylor Featherston was placed on the 15-day DL by the Angels with an upper back strain … Alex Gordon (groin) will begin a minor league rehab assignment next weekend … The Mariners beat up on Boston with Franklin Gutierrez hitting a pair of home runs and Robinson Cano going 5-for-7 … Chris Johnson was unavailable to play on Sunday due to a spider bite on his left hand … The Royals signed Joba Chamberlain to a minor league contract … Robinson Chirinos (shoulder) won’t swing a bat again Tuesday after feeling soreness … Carlos Corporan will need surgery this offseason for a sprained left thumb.
National League Quick Hits: David Phelps was hit around in Sunday’s start against the Cardinals and was placed on the 15-day DL after the game with right elbow discomfort … A.J. Burnett (elbow) will resume throwing off a mound this week … Jason Heyward hit a pair of home runs on Sunday, giving him 11 for the season … Randal Grichuk left Sunday’s game with a right elbow injury, and will undergo an MRI on Monday. However, the Cardinals said Grichuk’s removal from Sunday’s game was precautionary … Corey Dickerson (ribs) is working out in a pool and hopeful of returning this season … Jake Eickhoff will replace David Buchanan in Philadelphia’s starting rotation … Adam Wainwright (Achilles) is on track to resume throwing in September … Pirates GM Neal Huntington said he’s interested signing Travis Snider after he was released by Baltimore … Chris Rusin threw a complete game shutout at Coors Field on Sunday … Rafael Montero (shoulder) allowed one run in three runnings during a rehab start for High-A St. Lucie on Sunday … Denard Span (back) felt good after his first minor league rehab game at High-A Potomac.
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