[新聞] Bumgarner fans 11 to snap Giants' skid
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Bumgarner fans 11 to snap Giants' skid
By Adam Berry / MLB.com | 8/31/2011 8:15 PM ET
SAN FRANCISCO -- At the very least, the Giants can say they ended the
dreadful dog days of August on a high note.
It may not have felt that way in the clubhouse Wednesday morning, after the
Giants cut ties with veterans Aaron Rowand and Miguel Tejada by designating
them for assignment, activated Pat Burrell and called up Brett Pill. But for
all general manager Brian Sabean's talk of turning the page and potentially
preparing to develop young players if the National League West crown falls
out of reach, the Giants aren't calling it a season just yet -- something
they proved with a 4-0 win over the Cubs in AT&T Park on Wednesday afternoon.
"It's huge. Obviously we haven't been doing anything well the past week or
so," said catcher Chris Stewart, who drove in the game's final run and caught
a brilliant eight-inning outing by Madison Bumgarner. "We did everything
today. We hit. We played defense. We pitched outstanding. We just need to
keep it up. We had fun out there today. Hopefully we can keep it up and keep
having fun, and let things go where they may."
The Giants are hoping the momentum they gained Wednesday, however small, will
carry into September -- and a critical three-game series against the
division-leading D-backs that starts Friday. And, despite an 11-18 month
during which they scored only 77 runs, there were a few reasons to be
optimistic: another outstanding start, a rare display of power and a
top-of-the-order hitter doing what he does best.
Bumgarner kept the Cubs off the scoreboard for eight innings, holding them to
just two hits and two walks after they combined for 12 runs in the first two
games. The 22-year-old lefty tied his career high with 11 strikeouts and
managed to keep Chicago's hitters inside the walls of AT&T Park, a feat Tim
Lincecum and Ryan Vogelsong couldn't accomplish the two previous nights.
"He's a grinder. He goes out and tries to strike everybody out every time he
goes out. He wants to not only get outs, he wants to embarrass people out
there," Stewart said. "It's just the way he goes about it. It's what makes
him so good. He competes like no other. He came out today with an explosive
fastball. His slider was really good. He got ahead of guys and put them away
when he had to."
While Bumgarner was regarded earlier this season as the quintessential
hard-luck pitcher on a staff full of them, the Giants have now won nine of
his last 13 starts after losing 11 of his first 15.
"I've said it before. I think having these close games has helped me and
helped all of us because you never really relax. You're just up there making
pitches," said Bumgarner, whose record stands at 9-12 after starting off 3-9.
"I think it's better because sometimes if you get a 10-run lead or something,
guys relax and end up not throwing as good, so I think it's helpful."
"He changed speeds, located well, used his cutter very effectively," Cubs
manager Mike Quade said. "We haven't seen a ton of him, but what is he, 22?
He's a young kid with good stuff, and it winds up being about location."
Riding Bumgarner's impressive outing, the Giants took the lead in the fourth
on back-to-back home runs -- their first round-trippers since Carlos
Beltran's solo shot one week ago and their first consecutive homers since
June 2. Jeff Keppinger led off the fourth by bashing the first pitch he saw
from Cubs right-hander Rodrigo Lopez into the left-field stands. Up came
Pablo Sandoval, who smashed the second pitch he saw from Lopez into McCovey
Cove -- the 58th "splash hit" in Giants history.
It might have been one of the longest homers in the history of AT&T Park, and
it very well could have been the longest of the third baseman's career. But
that was of no concern to Sandoval.
"I just know it felt good," he said.
San Francisco stuck to its mantra of keeping the line moving in the fifth,
stretching its lead to 3-0. Stewart led off with a bunt single, moved to
second on Bumgarner's sacrifice bunt and took third on Andres Torres' attempt
to bunt for a base hit. Keppinger then dropped an RBI single in between three
Cubs in shallow center field, scoring Stewart.
While Keppinger's arrival near the non-waiver Trade Deadline wasn't as
heralded as that of Beltran, the second baseman has been hitting well lately,
even when the rest of the lineup doesn't follow suit. Keppinger, who finished
Wednesday 3-for-4 with a double, a homer and two RBIs, has driven in seven of
the Giants' last 12 runs, batting .353 (12-for-34) on the current homestand.
"We created more chances today. That's why you're allowed to do a few more
things when you get a lead," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "I think this
is a game that will hopefully send a lot more confidence throughout the
lineup. Kepp had a great game. It can take one guy to ignite everybody."
And there is no doubt the Giants needed something to ignite their confidence
Wednesday, to keep them from slipping further out of playoff contention. Nor
is there any doubt they will need that to carry past Thursday's off-day, into
the Arizona series, through the rest of September and, maybe, on into
October.
"We needed to win today in the worst way possible," Burrell said. "You've got
to give Bumgarner all the credit. Keppinger had a great game, of course, but
our team's built around pitching. It just goes to show you if we can rattle
off a couple runs every night, we've got a pretty good chance."
Adam Berry is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the
approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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