Bumgarner knocks in lone run as Giants blank Cubs

[May 23, 2016]  SAN FRANCISCO -- Madison Bumgarner is at it again.

The Giants left-hander shut out the Cubs for 7 2/3 innings and drove in the only run of the game as San Francisco beat Chicago 1-0 Sunday.

"He's special. We've seen it over the years," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of Bumgarner, the Most Valuable Player of both the 2014 National League Championship Series and the 2014 World Series. "To pitch like that, shut them out, and knock in the only run, that's a pretty good day."

The Giants took two of three in the weekend series between first-place teams. San Francisco won for the 11th time in 12 games, while the Cubs lost back-to-back road games for the first time this season.
 
 "At the end of a game like that, there's nothing to be upset about," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "When your team plays that hard and that well, sometimes you don't win."

 Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner (40) looks towards left field after hitting a RBI double against the Chicago Cubs in the fifth inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Bumgarner (6-2) retired 18 of 19 batters from the third until there were two outs in the seventh, when he walked Chicago first baseman Anthony Rizzo on a full count. The only other Cub to reach between the third and eighth innings was right fielder Matt Szczur with a two-out single to right in the seventh.

Rookie reliever Cory Gearrin induced Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant to line out to short on one pitch in relief of Bumgarner. Santiago Casilla pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to earn his 12th save.

"It was a fun series," said Bumgarner, now 5-0 with a 1.25 ERA in his past six starts. "It was a little bit of the playoff atmosphere, I guess, with all the hype and the talk leading up to these games. You've got to look past that, but it is fun."

The Giants supported their pitchers with solid if not spectacular defense. It started with the initial out of the game, when first baseman Brenden Belt scooped a throw in the dirt by Bumgarner on an otherwise routine grounder to the mound.

In the second inning, shortstop Brandon Crawford saved Bumgarner by gloving an errant throw and beating David Ross to second on a sacrifice attempt. Crawford went into the hole to rob Ben Zobrist in the third.

Third baseman Matt Duffy made a diving stop and throw in the fifth, and catcher Buster Posey bent over the rail in front of the visitors' dugout to catch a Jorge Soler foul pop in the seventh. Center fielder Denard Span reached over his head to make a stumbling catch on the warning track of Zobrist's drive to the warning track in the ninth.

"Good, crisp baseball," Bochy said. "Defensively, everybody seemed like they made a great play. ... Span on that ninth-inning catch. The ball was moving quite a bit on him. Created quite a bit of drama there, but he made the play."

Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks (2-4) and Bumgarner hooked up in a classic pitchers' duel through 4 1/2 innings before the hosts broke through for the only run in the fifth.

Gregor Blanco led off with a walk. Bumgarner failed on a sacrifice bunt attempt, then doubled over the outstretched glove of Chicago left fielder Soler for a double that easily plated Blanco.

"I was really disappointed in myself not to get that bunt down because that's our job," Bumgarner said. "Glad it worked out the other way, but I'll be working on some bunting tomorrow."

Hendricks made a mistake in location on the pitch, leaving a slider above the belt.

"Just a terrible 1-2 pitch to him.," Hendricks said. "It was moving, it was leaking, I was pulling. I couldn't hit my spot, which is something I have to fix for the next one."

After Bumgarner pitched out of a two-out, bases-loaded jam in the first inning, he settled in to throw 50 of his 75 pitches through five innings for strikes. The closest the Cubs came to touching the left-hander was Dexter Fowler's flyout to the fence to end the fifth.

Chicago's aborted rally in the first started with two outs. Bryant was hit on the foot by a two-strike pitch. Zobrist singled through the shortstop hole, and Soler walked.

Addison Russell fouled off a pair of full-count pitches but watched a decisive called third strike sail past on Bumgarner's 28th and final pitch of the frame.

"He had a long first inning, and I don't know if you can make a bigger pitch than he did with the bases loaded and a 3-2 count," Bochy said. "Just a beautiful pitch there to stop things."

NOTES: Chicago 1B Anthony Rizzo was moved to second in the batting order, a change Cubs manager Joe Maddon hoped would get him more pitches to see from Giants LHP Madison Bumgarner than if Rizzo hit behind 3B Kris Bryant. Rizzo went 0-for-3, leaving him 1-for-25 in his past seven games. ... Giants LF Angel Pagan returned to the lineup after missing the Saturday game due to left hamstring tightness. He batted ninth in the order with Bumgarner occupying the No. 8 spot, and he went 0-for-3. ... Giants RHP Sergio Romo is scheduled to throw an inning with Triple-A Sacramento on Monday. Romo was placed on the disabled list on April 15 due to a flexor strain in his pitching arm. ... Sunday was the latest in a season by calendar date since 1947 that the Cubs and Giants were playing each other with both in first place, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

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