SAN FRANCISCO – After the Giants 2-1 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers, Giants ace Madison Bumgarner addressed the media to discuss his performance.
After a rough outing against the New York Yankees in which he gave up five runs in 5 2/3 innings pitched, Bumgarner needed to bounce back, and he did just that. Pitching 6 strong innings, Bumgarner struck out eight batters while only allowing four hits. He talked about what a performance like this means for his confidence.
“Night and day difference from last start,” Bumgarner said, “and really probably any start this year so far.”
A key factor in Bumgarner’s successful outing was the fact that he had more life on his fastball than he’s had this season, and he says that while he’s getting closer to where he wants to be, it’s still a work in progress.
“Maybe (the added speed to the fastball) was a little bit mental,” Bumgarner said. “I’ve been feeling close, but just a touch off. Not enough to make a difference. I’m not going to blame on that for the last game. All year it’s felt like it’s just right there, but not quite what I’m looking for.
“I’ve been studying stuff and trying different things to get where I want to be in my mind to get the perfect delivery. I don’t think it’s there, but it’s definitely better than it has been. Everything felt much better today.”
If Madison Bumgarner is the foremost expert on how his pitches were moving, Buster Posey would have to be a close second.
“The fastball had good life,” Posey said. “It definitely had better life. I mean you could see the velocity was up. The cutter, slider velocity was up as well. It was good to see.”
Later, Bumgarner mentioned how important he thought beating the division leading Dodgers was for the ballclub.
“We always play those guys tough, but that’s a big series win for us,” Bumgarner said of the visiting Dodgers. “They’ve got a good team over there; they’ve won the division six years in a row or whatever it is, so that’s a good win for us.”
