Madison Bumgarner outduels Scott Kazmir as Giants top Astros

SAN FRANCISCO – Livestock analogies are nearly irresistible when it comes to Madison Bumgarner, North Carolina rancher four or five months a year and San Francisco Giants pitcher of some renown the rest of the time.

So with the Giants coming off a miserable trip that hit its low point with a four-game sweep at the hands of the Chicago Cubs, manager Bruce Bochy pulled out his riding boots and saddle. As San Francisco nursed a two-run lead going into the ninth inning Tuesday against the Houston Astros, Bochy kept the bullpen quiet and sent out Bumgarner to a rousing ovation from the sellout crowd.


Eight pitches later, the four-game skid was over as the Giants prevailed 3-1 to stay 2 ½ games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers thanks largely to Bumgarner’s 12-strikeout outing.
“He’s a big, strong guy with great stuff and those guys, we call them horses, you can ride them,’’ Bochy said after Bumgarner’s second complete game of the season. “That’s what you need, especially when your ’pen has been used as much as ours.’’

The Giants bullpen showed signs of wear in trying to eat up innings behind a faltering rotation that yielded a 7.94 ERA in the Chicago series, with none of the starters making it past the fifth.
Enter Bumgarner, who had won four of his last five starts and was matched up against Scott Kazmir, proud owner of an 0.44 ERA in his three starts since joining the Astros via a July 23 trade with the Oakland Athletics.
Kazmir didn’t yield much in his 5 2/3 innings – two solo homers by Brandon Belt and an unearned run aided by his own error – but that would prove more than Bumgarner needed. After giving up singles to the game’s first two batters, the lefty ace proceeded to strike out seven in a row, tying a San Francisco-era record he now shares with Hall of Famer Juan Marichal and Jonathan Sanchez.

Bumgarner called the mark a “cool deal’’ but was more interested in going deep into the game. When Bochy checked on him between the eighth and ninth – Bumgarner was at 97 pitches at the time – he got a look that essentially said to leave him alone.

“Tonight everything was working for us,’’ Bumgarner said after his five-hit, no-walk performance. “Got a lot of strikeouts early but was able to still get some quick innings, keep the pitch count down.’’

The Giants are in the early stages of a 26-game stretch against opponents that currently have a winning record, and the first of those teams, the Cubs, manhandled them. Getting Monday off and bouncing back against the AL West-leading Astros provided a much-needed boost.

Catcher Buster Posey noted that Bumgarner is well prepared for all of his starts, but this one brought out the best in him as he improved to 13-6.
“We see now he definitely can sense a big moment and seems to pitch his best in big games,’’ Posey said. “And tonight was a big game for us.’’