|
 He got the response he fully expected.
"He said, 'Why are you asking?'" Bochy recalled.
So the veteran manager left his ace in the game, and Bumgarner
proceeded to finish off a 12-strikeout, complete-game effort that
lifted the Giants to a 3-1 victory over the Houston Astros in the
opener of a two-game interleague series.
First baseman Brandon Belt smacked two home runs off Astros ace
Scott Kazmir, helping the Giants record the 10th win in their last
12 meeting with the Astros in a matchup of the teams with the two
best records in interleague play this season.
"He's just a big, strong guy with great stuff," Bochy said of
Bumgarner, who pitched the eighth complete game of his career. "We
call them horses. You ride them."
Bumgarner outpitched Kazmir, who not only surrendered both of Belt's
homers but also hurt his own cause with two errors, one of which led
to an unearned run.
"We ran into one of the better pitchers in the bigs," Astros manager
A.J. Hinch said of Bumgarner. "We had a chance to score early, but
when he needed (a clutch hit), he pitched tough. We didn't get a lot
of good swings against him."
In winning for the fifth time in his last six starts, Bumgarner
(13-6) went the distance for the second time this season, allowing
one run on five hits. He did not walk a batter.
"That's a starter's goal," the reigning World Series Most Valuable
Player said of a complete game. "It's not all that easy to do."
It's not easy to strike out seven opponents in a row, either, but
Bumgarner did that as well, bridging the first, second and third
innings. The streak tied a San Francisco-era franchise record, set
initially by Juan Marichal in 1964 and matched by Jonathan Sanchez
in 2010.
"I wasn't even aware of it," Bumgarner said of the streak. "I don't
really care about that strikeouts that much. Winning is the
important thing.
"But that's pretty cool."
The 12 strikeouts came Bumgarner four double-digit outings this
season and 23 in his career.
Belt's homers, both solo shots, came in the fourth and sixth
innings, producing the Giants' first two runs of the game.
The win was San Francisco's ninth in its last 10 home games.
Belt's second home run, which came with one out in the sixth, was
his 17th of the season, matching his career-best set previously in
2013.
It came one pitch after Kazmir buzzed the left-handed hitter with a
high-and-tight fastball.
"I don't know if he was trying to do that," Belt said
diplomatically. "But when they do, they usually go back away with
the next pitch."
The homer, which went to left field, came on a pitch down and away.
Belt, who also had a two-homer game on Aug. 1 at Texas, now has
three multiple-homer games in his career. He now has seven homers
among his last 10 hits.
"That's more me," Belt said of the fact his homers went to center
and left fields. "I know I can hit the ball all over the field."
[to top of second column] |
The Giants, who snapped a four-game losing streak, added a second
run in the sixth inning, making it 3-0, thanks to two misplays by
Kazmir.
First, the pitcher took too much time after fielding a topper in
front of the plate hit by left fielder Justin Maxwell and threw late
to first base. Maxwell was credited with a two-out hit.
Second baseman Ehire Adrianza followed with a similar grounder in
front of the mound. This time, Kazmir pounced on it quickly but
threw wildly past first baseman Chris Carter.
When the ball also eluded right fielder Jake Marisnick, who was
backing up on the play, Maxwell was able to come all the way around
to score the unearned run, making it 3-0.
"That last run should never have happened," Kazmir lamented. "I took
my time on the first one, and should have held onto the second one.
It was frustrating."
That ended the night for Kazmir (6-7), who gave up three runs on
seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out three.
The Astros, who lost their fourth straight and fell to 1-7 on their
current trip, ended Bumgarner's shutout bid in the seventh after a
one-out triple by left fielder Evan Gattis.
Bumgarner struck out third baseman Jed Lowrie for the second out,
but Carter followed with an RBI single, plating Gattis and pulling
the Astros within 3-1.
Belt and Astros shortstop Jose Altuve, who had a pair of singles,
were the only players in the game with multiple hits.
NOTES: Despite the loss, the Astros (10-3) retained baseball's best
record in interleague play. The Giants improved to 11-5. ... LHP
Madison Bumgarner's streak of strikeouts began after he'd allowed
singles to the Astros' first two batters of the game -- second
baseman Jose Altuve and center fielder Carlos Gomez. ... Astros LHP
Scott Kazmir became just the second Astros pitchers ever to commit
two errors in one game. LHP Fernando Abad also was charged with two
errors in a game in 2011. ... Before the game, the Giants placed CF
Angel Pagan (patella tendinitis in right knee) on the 15-day
disabled list and recalled OF Juan Perez from Triple-A Sacramento.
... Giants LF Nori Aoki passed a concussion test Tuesday and was
eligible to play, but was nonetheless held out. Aoki got hit in the
head by a pitch Sunday in Chicago. ... Giants C Andrew Susac
(sprained right thumb) began an injury-rehab stint at Class A San
Jose on Tuesday night, going 1-for-4. ... The Astros announced a
minor league trade before the game. They dealt former two-time minor
league All-Star RHP Jason Stoffel to the Baltimore Orioles for cash
considerations. The reliever had been 4-2 in 35 games at Triple-A
Fresno.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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