SAN DIEGO — Madison Bumgarner continues to claim after starts that his mechanics aren’t locked in. His work on the field tells a different story.
Bumgarner struck out 11 and needed just 108 pitches for his 11th career complete game. Brandon Crawford took care of the offense, driving in all the runs in a 5-1 win that extended the Giants’ winning streak to six games.
Early on, Bumgarner had a “something special might happen tonight” look on the mound. Denard Span’s spectacular catch in center helped Bumgarner have a six-pitch first inning, and he struck out the side in the second. Jose Pirela hit a leadoff double in the third, but Bumgarner retired the next nine, getting four outs on strikeouts.
One of them, a whiff of Wil Myers, came with drama. Bumgarner stared Myers down after the strikeout that ended the third, and Myers looked back with a confused look on his face and asked, “What the (bleep) are you looking at man? Come on.” That emptied the benches, with Jake Peavy and Roberto Kelly flying in to make sure Bumgarner didn’t escalate things.
Cooler heads prevailed, and the Giants kept cruising. They led 3-0 at the time on Crawford’s three-run blast, and Crawford hit a sacrifice fly to tack on another run in the top of the sixth. His double in the eighth made it 5-0.
