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SAN FRANCISCO — Madison Bumgarner had the look of a pitcher ready for a playoff push Tuesday night.
Coming off a poor start against the Dodgers, Bumgarnner (4-7) gave up two earned runs in six innings with three walks and 11 strikeouts in a 4-2 win over the Colorado Rockies at Oracle Park.
Whatever scouts that were in attendance to help their teams prepare trade offers before the July 31 deadline got an eyeful, as did a home crowd of 31,458.
Looking for some help in a pennant race or the post-season? Bumgarner was about as locked in as he could be, with the freak incidents of dirt bikes and liners back to the box in his rear-view mirror.
“He’s shown that ability so many times to come off a bad start and wash it off and bounce back,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He did that tonight. What a great game he threw.”
Bumgarner helped himself with the second of two, two-out run scoring singles in the fourth inning — second baseman Donovan Solano had the other — against starter and loser Chi Chi Gonzalez (0-1).
#MadBum at the plate. 🔥💪 pic.twitter.com/h3CA2tIPtC
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) June 26, 2019
“I try and guess along with the guy,” Bumgarner said. “I shortened up with two strikes, I’m just trying to look for anything but have an idea what you think is coming.”
The Giants also scored on a sacrifice fly by newly anointed leadoff hitter Brandon Belt in the third inning and got an insurance run on Tyler Austin’s solo home run leading off the seventh against Bryan Shaw.
Three takeaways as the Giants improved to 34-44 with the Rockies falling to 41-38:
1. Rediscovering home plate
Turns out Bumgarner, particularly in a 9-8 loss to the Dodgers on June 20 in which he gave up 10 hits and six earned runs in 3 2/3 innings, had fallen into a rut.
“I’ve been getting caught pitching just to one side, pretty much every pitch,” Bumgarner said. “Guys are too good to do that to, and the plate’s small enough as it is, so better use the whole thing.”
After Bumgarner retired the first 10 batters, Ian Desmond hit his 11th homer of the season to left field for Colorado’s first run. The other came when Alex Dickerson lost a fly ball off the bat of David Dahl after it passed the rim of the stadium and fell for a run-scoring bloop double with two out in the sixth.
Other than that, there wasn’t a lot to discern from the Bumgarner who helped the Giants to three championships and the one who is out there now, win-loss record be damned.
Asked if he has finally been able to put the freak accidents behind him and get in a groove, Bumgarner said, “I mean it looks that way obviously, and you can roll with that, but I haven’t thought about it that way.”
2. Bullpen perfection
One reason Bochy felt comfortable taking Bumgarner out after 97 pitches — 64 of them strikes — was the presence of Sam Dyson, Tony Watson and closer Will Smith.
They’ve been good all year — especially Smith — and they were perfect against the Rockies. Dyson had a 1-2-3 seventh, Watson was perfect in the eighth, and Smith retired the side in order in the ninth. The Giants top All-Star candidate has 21 saves in 21 opportunities and his earned run average has sunk to 1.95.
The trio were well rested, helped by a scoreless three-inning effort by Derek Holland in Monday night’s 2-0 loss. And all three, like Bumgarner, could be popular trade pieces when contenders look to stock bullpens for a stretch run and possible postseason.
“It does help when you give Bum a break with the bullpen when guys are ready to go,” Bochy said. “Watson and Smitty had three days off. Dyson was good to go. I told (Bumgarner), that was enough work, he did his job. And they did a terrific job.”
3. Dickerson’s eventful night
The newest Giant was 2-for-3 with a pure hustle double. He also walked, scored a run and lined out in his last at-bat. Bochy said he was even impressed with the swings Dickerson had off Jon Gray the night before.
“No matter where you pencil me in at, I’m just looking for four quality at-bats out there,” Dickerson said. “That’s all I’m thinking about. I’m not thinking about the grand scheme of things.”
Dickerson will remember the horror of Dahl’s bloop double, which ordinarily would have been a fly out to shallow left.
“Once it gets above the stadium, I did not see it at all,” Dickerson said. “It’s a very lonely feeling.”
Bochy said it could happen to anyone, especially with a 6:45 p.m. starting time. And he’s perfectly comfortable to keep putting Dickerson in the lineup.
“I think he gives you quality at-bat after quality at-bat,” Bochy said. “He’s hit in the heart of the order and done it in the big leagues.”
NOTES
— Belt went to the plate for his first leadoff appearance this season and took three straight pitches for strikes.
“I told him, `You’re supposed to make me look good when I make a move like this,’ ” Bochy said.
Belt will bat leadoff again Wednesday, Bochy said.
— Bumgarner’s 11 strikeouts were his first in double figures since April of 2017 and his 1,695 are the third most in the San Francisco era behind Tim Lincecum (1,704) and Juan Marichal (2,281).
— Austin’s pinch home run was his second of the season and seventh for the Giants, who are tied with Arizona for most in the majors.
— Gonzalez, the Rockies’ starter, was making his first major league performance since 2016 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
