Madison Bumgarner is back. Well, almost.
The Giants ace will return to the mound next Thursday at AT&T Park to take on the Arizona Diamondbacks, according to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. Bumgarner is scheduled to throw 70-75 pitches for the Single-A San Jose Giants on Thursday.
Bumgarner will throw 70-75 pitches for San Jose on Thursday and then pitch for Giants next Tuesday at AT&T Park.
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) May 29, 2018
It will be Bumgarner’s first start of the season, since he broke the pinkie on his throwing hand during the final spring training game. Bumgarner looked dominant in his first rehab start last week with the Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento, striking out eight without giving up a run in 3.2 innings.
After that performance, Bumgarner projected he’d be ready to return to the major league club ASAP.
“I obviously didn’t know before today, but judging off the way I felt out there, I think so, for sure,” Bumgarner told the Associated Press. “I wouldn’t say I’d be back and be in midseason form, but I feel definitely good enough to get some outs.
“I feel pretty good about how everything was working. My command was good. My breaking balls were doing pretty good also, so that’s what I was looking for, everything headed in the right direction.
“The breaking stuff was moving right, the command of it was good. The fastball command was good. Pretty much everything I was looking for. It’s not perfect, but it was definitely something to feel good about for the first time out there.”
Bumgarner will join a 25-29 Giants team that has done a decent job treading water in his absence, but seem to be fading, losing five of their last six and eight of their last 11. The club has also been without Johnny Cueto since May 1, after the right-hander sustained a right elbow issue. Cueto had the best ERA among major league starters — 0.84 — at the time of his injury. He isn’t expected to return until July.
Bumgarner went 4-9 with a 3.32 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 101 strikeouts in 17 starts and 111 innings in 2017, playing a shortened season due to a shoulder injury sustained in a dirt-biking accident. The Giants ERA without Bumgarner is 4.55, 23rd in baseball this season.