Madison Bumgarner matched his career high with 11 strikeouts, Jeff Keppinger and Pablo Sandoval hit consecutive homers in the fourth inning, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago Cubs 4-0 on Wednesday to snap a three-game skid and avoid a sweep.
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On a day when general manager Brian Sabean began making big changes to the struggling World Series champions, Bumgarner (9-12) was brilliant when his team desperately needed a boost.
Keppinger also drove in a run with a bloop single in the fifth off Rodrigo Lopez (4-6), who lost his third straight outing and dropped to 0-5 in eight career starts against San Francisco.
San Francisco began the day a season-high six games behind NL West-leading Arizona, which was hosting Colorado on Wednesday night.
