Giants' Bumgarner overcomes walks
Not Madison Bumgarner.
"It was just one of those nights where I didn't quite have it," the heralded Giants' pitching prospect said Monday after issuing a season-high four walks in the Connecticut Defenders' 1-0 loss to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats at Merchantsauto.com Stadium.
"I just tried to tough it out and stay in there as long as I could."
Bumgarner, who whittled his ERA down to 1.59 through 11 Eastern League outings, entered the contest with a combined record of 9-2 with a 1.66 ERA in 15 appearances between Class A Advanced San Jose and Connecticut this year.
Though he wasn't exactly enamored with his latest performance, San Francisco's first-round pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft has yielded only two earned runs over 28 1/3 frames in his last five outings.
Still, he admitted that he was not at his sharpest against the Fisher Cats, who were baffled by the 19-year-old southpaw until Todd Donovan beat out an infield single leading off the sixth. Bumgarner struck out Darin Mastroianni before Connecticut manager Steve Decker pulled him at approximately 90 pitches.
"A lot of times you want to do more [when you're struggling with your control], but what you really have to do is back off a little bit," the All-Star Futures Game selection said.
"That's probably the toughest thing to learn. Trying not to overthrow."
Bumgarner, who earned MLB.com's Class A Starting Pitcher of the Year award last year after going 15-3 with a 1.46 ERA in 24 starts for Augusta, also uncorked a wild pitch and hit a batter. But he overcame his brief bouts with wildness by inducing a double-play grounder in the second and picking off a baserunner in the fifth.
With San Francisco starters Randy Johnson and Matt Cain sidelined with injuries, Bumgarner's name has surfaced as a possible replacement in the Giants' rotation. But the 6-foot-4, 215-pound North Carolina native isn't letting the rumors affect his approach.
"It would be very easy to," Bumgarner said. "I try not to think about it. Whenever they think I'm ready, I'd love to do my part to help them win. I try not to get distracted by it."
As for working with a limited pitch count, Bumgarner again ceded to the organization's decision-making.
"[The Giants] have my best interests in mind," he said. "Sometimes I'd like to go a little longer, but it doesn't matter what happens here. They're trying to get me ready for the big leagues."
John Torenli is a contributor to MLB.com.