Max Muncy Keeps ‘poking the Bear' Before Rematch With Madison Bumgarner

LOS ANGELES -- Max Muncy will hit cleanup for the Dodgers on Thursday night against Madison Bumgarner, and he made sure to wear a reminder of what that might mean, just in case anyone had forgotten in the last 11 days. 

Muncy took batting practice wearing a "Go Get It Out Of The Ocean" t-shirt, a reference to his post-game quip after his yelling match with Bumgarner. 

(Sidebar: IT'S NOT EVEN AN OCEAN, MAX.)

Muncy took his time getting out of the box on June 9 when he homered off Bumgarner in their last matchup and the pitcher yelled at him to hurry up. Bumgarner was not on the field before the game, but most Giants hitters had started stretching as Muncy finished up. Manager Bruce Bochy didn't appear to be a fan of the t-shirt. He said it would have been best for both sides to just let this go.

"That's poking the bear," Bochy said. "You poke the bear enough and you can't be upset if he bites back."

Bochy would not say what kind of bear Bumgarner is, but he brought up his ace's own post-game comments -- his desire to play his own brand of baseball -- and said he appreciates the way Bumgarner competes.

"They want to let kids play, but he's fiery," Bochy said. "I'll miss that as much as anything, the way this man plays."

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