Baseball Daily Dose: Dose: Bumgarner Does It All
Do you believe in miracles? Well you don’t have to because the Braves aren’t making the playoffs (they’re projected to win 59 games according to fivethirtyeight.com). That means Thursday was the Giants’ last game ever at Turner Field, which for some reason is closing at the end of the year. Don’t worry, they’re not blowing it to pieces. It will still be used by Georgia State University. But for the purposes of major league baseball, this is it.
As we’ve seen repeatedly over the last half-decade, the Giants are pretty good at going out on top. I’m not sure beating the listless Braves calls for the champagne and goggles treatment but if anyone deserves to celebrate, it’s Madison Bumgarner. The left-hander left no stone unturned in his Turner Field finale. He scattered four hits over 7 2/3 shutout innings while leading the Giants to a stress-free 6-0 win. Bumgarner finished the afternoon with 11 strikeouts and only two walks.
But that wasn’t even the best part. Bumgarner, as he’s known to do, blasted a majestic shot to left field, providing one of San Francisco’s three home runs in the fifth inning. If that was the inning you decided to take a bathroom break or maybe saunter over to the concession stand for a burger (I’m guessing the lines were short, a mere 15,983 fans attended this game), well, shame on you. That single frame accounted for all of the game’s scoring. All six of San Francisco’s runs came on two-run homers—one by Bumgarner, another by Joe Panik and finally one by Bumgarner’s battery mate, Buster Posey. Bumgarner’s was easily the longest—it traveled a whopping 424 feet.
The Cy Young buzz won’t really heat up until late in the year but let’s go ahead and throw Bumgarner’s name in the mix. He owns the majors’ fourth-lowest ERA at 1.91 and his 94 strikeouts are fourth-most behind Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer and Jose Fernandez. It seems like ages ago but Bumgarner actually got off to a bit of a slow start this year. He carried a 3.91 ERA with only one win over his first four outings. Since then, he’s gone 6-0 with a terrific 1.11 ERA and an equally mesmerizing 10.26 K/9. Bumgarner may be a chronic beer-waster but you have to hand it to him—the guy can pitch.
Bumgarner can sure sling a baseball but his dominance at the plate might be even more fascinating. Let’s not get carried away. Bumgarner is still a below average major league hitter. Even after hitting a ball to Saturn on Thursday, Bumgarner is still hitting just .152 this year with 13 strikeouts in 33 at-bats. That won’t win you the Silver Slugger. But Bumgarner’s flair for the long ball (he hit this moonshot off a stunned Clayton Kershaw earlier this year) certainly adds to his mystique. Try this on for size. Over his last 190 plate appearances, Bumgarner has homered 11 times. Care to guess how many times Mike Trout and Bryce Harper have homered over that same span? 11 each. Let thank sink in for a minute.
Bumgarner has now gone deep 13 times in 400 lifetime at-bats. Since the Divisional Era began in 1969 (20 years before Bumgarner first walked this precious Earth), only two pitchers have eclipsed his home run total—Mike Hampton and Carlos Zambrano. Those guys could rake. Bumgarner is only two homers shy of tying the club record for a pitcher—Hal Schumacher and Johnny Antonelli both hit 15. Thursday was the third time Bumgarner has homered and struck out 10 batters in the same game. That’s the second-most in the Modern Era behind Steve Carlton. Are any of these stats impressing you? They should be.
Of course, if you’re judging Bumgarner’s success on the degree of difficulty, I can’t help you there. The Braves are … well they’re not great. Thursday’s matchup featured two teams headed down starkly different paths. Because it’s an even year, the Giants are probably headed for another World Series (I’m only half-joking). The Braves are tied with Minnesota for the worst record in Major League Baseball at 16-37. They’ve been especially bad at home, losing 23 of 29 decisions there. They can’t score (last in the league in runs) and their fielding’s a joke (39 errors, fourth-most in MLB). Closer Arodys Vizcaino could probably get a part-time job somewhere—he’s only been needed seven times this year (6-for-7 on save chances).
Already you can see the Braves gearing up for a total rebuild. Former closer Jason Grilli was shipped to the Blue Jays earlier this week. Last month the Braves acquired a draft pick and Brian Matusz in a trade with Baltimore. Matusz was released a week later. They also beefed up the farm by dealing Andrelton Simmons and Shelby Miller over the winter. Freddie Freeman and Julio Teheran are the only holdovers from the squad that won the NL East in 2013. Craig Kimbrel, Evan Gattis, Jason Heyward, Brian McCann and the Upton brothers have all changed addresses.
The Braves have some lean years ahead but the farm system is overflowing with talent (Aaron Blair, Sean Newcomb and Dansby Swanson are top prospects) and the team is sure to benefit from its high draft position (they pick third in next week’s draft). The Astros used a similar blueprint, emerging from the fog last season after years of obscurity. Even the division-rival Phillies are beginning to resurface after years of being held hostage by aging stars and bad contracts.
Baseball is cyclical. The Braves will rise again, someday in the not-so-distant future. It’s just a shame that Turner Field, the stadium where Chipper Jones, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and so many others dominated for so long, has to go out like this.
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Quick Hits: Well, the Mariners and Padres played the craziest game ever. Down 12-2 in the fifth inning, the Mariners somehow pulled off a 16-13 victory. The 13-run swing was the largest in Mariners’ history … Hunter Pence is headed to the disabled list with a severely strained hamstring. That means two of the Giants’ starting outfielders are out with hamstring injuries. Angel Pagan was placed on the disabled list about a week ago … Xander Bogaerts extended his hitting streak to 26 games with two hits in Thursday’s loss to Baltimore. Xander leads the majors with 79 hits this year … Not a bad day for Jackie Bradley Jr. He was named American League Player of the Month for May and his wife Erin gave birth to the couple’s first daughter. JBJ missed three games but should be back for Friday’s series opener against Toronto … Mark Trumbo contributed two of the Orioles’ seven home runs Thursday against Boston. It was Trumbo’s fourth multi-homer game of the year and the 11th of his career. He’s now tied with Todd Frazier and Nolan Arenado for the major league lead with 17 homers … Carlos Carrasco scattered nine hits and three runs over five innings Thursday in his return from the disabled list. He missed a little over a month with a strained hamstring … Rich Hill, who was playing for the Long Island Ducks in independent ball last year, was named AL Pitcher of the Month for May. In the National League, Clayton Kershaw took home Pitcher of the Month honors for the sixth time in his career … Giancarlo Stanton (side) wasn’t in the Marlins’ original lineup Thursday against the Pirates but manager Don Mattingly added his name after an impressive display at batting practice. He went 1-for-3 with an RBI double … Ichiro Suzuki added two hits to his season total on Thursday. He’s now 35 hits away from 3,000 for his career … Thursday was a rough night for the Pirates. Not only were they no-hit through six innings, but three of their starters left with injuries. Andrew McCutchen hurt his thumb, Francisco Cervelli exited after getting hit in the right foot and Jordy Mercer bowed out with elbow discomfort. The Pirates lost 4-3 in extras … Gregory Polanco (foot) was not in the Pirates’ starting lineup but he did appear as a pinch-hitter, walking in his only plate appearance. Polanco has been struggling with foot discomfort … David Wright is headed for the disabled list and it looks like it’ll be a lengthy stint. He’s dealing with a herniated disc in his neck … Eduardo Nunez delivered an inside-the-park home run in Thursday’s win over Tampa Bay. It was the first inside-the-parker by a Twin since Kurt Suzuki hit one against the Padres on May 20, 2014 … Zack Greinke is quietly rounding into form. He cruised through seven shutout frames Thursday in a win over Houston. Greinke has thrown at least six innings in 11 straight starts. The loss snapped the Astros’ five-game winning streak … Julio Urias struggled in his second career start, allowing eight hits and six runs over five innings in a loss to the Cubs. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts wouldn’t commit to the 19-year-old making another start … A sore hamstring kept Yasiel Puig out of the lineup Thursday against the Cubs. He did appear as a pinch-hitter, striking out in his lone at-bat … Cubs manager Joe Maddon said Hector Rondon was available to pitch Thursday against the Dodgers. Rondon’s back has been acting up but it looks like he’s good to go … Matt Boyd took a no-hitter into the sixth inning Thursday against the Yankees. He was charged with the loss after allowing six hits and four runs over 6 1/3 innings … The Nationals will recall top shortstop prospect Trea Turner on Friday. He’ll replace Ryan Zimmerman, who is going on paternity leave … Tom Brady got a little nostalgic on his Facebook yesterday. Few remember that Brady was an 18th-round pick for the Expos in 1995. It’s fun to ponder how Brady would have done as a left-handed-hitting catcher in MLB, but I think we can all agree football was the right choice.
