SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Madison Bumgarner was mostly pleased with his latest gem, and his eyes seemed to light up when the Giants’ lefty was told he leads the National League in innings pitched.
Bumgarner’s batting was completely different and had San Francisco’s ace often muttering at the plate.
He allowed one run over seven innings to tie Matt Cain for the most pitching wins at Oracle Park, and the Giants beat the San Diego Padres 8-3 on Friday night.
At the plate Bumgarner struck out three time, twice swinging. Both times Bumgarner appeared to say something to home plate umpire Manny Gonzalez, but he later said he was more frustrated at himself.
“I was upset with myself swinging through fastballs that I felt like I should hit,” Bumgarner said.
Bumgarner (9-8) struck out nine, walked two and gave up four hits while beating San Diego for the second time in four starts this season. The big lefty got the Padres to hit into three doubles plays and retired 10 of the final 11, including back-to-back strikeouts of Eric Hosmer and Ty France to end his night.
Over his last 13 starts dating to June 25, Bumgarner is 6-1 with a 2.81 ERA.
“He was his normal self,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “Early he was logging some pitches but started getting some quicker outs. That’s what he does. He’s approaching that 200-inning mark again and that’s what makes him so valuable. Not just how good he is but the workload that he carries.”
Bumgarner leads the NL with 176 2/3 innings pitched after the four-time All-Star missed chunks of the past two seasons with injuries.
“If I had to pick the most important thing to me, I would say innings is it,” Bumgarner said. “If you’re throwing a lot of innings and you’re out there, everything else will usually take care of itself.”
Brandon Belt had three hits, including homering for the second consecutive day, as fading San Francisco won for the third time in 10 games. Mike Yastrzemski also went deep with his 18th home run, the most by a Giants rookie since Buster Posey’s 18 in 2010.
Manny Machado hit his 28th home run and scored twice for the Padres.
Yastrzemski reached on a three-base error by Padres first baseman Eric Hosmer in the first inning. Right fielder Hunter Renfroe slipped and fell while retrieving the ball, allowing Yastrzemski to easily make it to third. Belt followed with his 16th home run, a towering drive into the right field stands.
After Machado’s solo shot leading off the fourth made it 2-1, Yastrzemski hit an opposite field homer off Dinelson Lamet (2-3) in the fifth.
“The Belt home run and Yastrzemski home run are the type you see in today’s game and didn’t see five or six years ago,” Padres manager Andy Green said. “The second home run looked like a routine fly out to left but it cleared the fence pretty easily. Those used to be outs.”
San Francisco broke the game open with three runs in the seventh and two in the eighth.
Lamet allowed three runs and three hits with 10 strikeouts in five innings. The right-hander has had at least five strikeouts in all 10 of his starts.
BUSTER BREAKS OUT
Posey broke out of a 10-for-56 funk with three singles and a walk. It’s his first multi-hit game in nearly two weeks and his first three-hit game since July 28.
LIMITING FREE PASSES
Bumgarner extended his streak to 34 games without walking more than three batters.
ROAD MUSCLE
The Padres have hit 100 home runs on the road this season, third-most in franchise history. The club record is 104 in 1970.
TRAINERS ROOM
Padres: Francisco Mejia was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain. Austin Allen was called up from Triple-A El Paso to take Mejia’s spot.
Giants: Kevin Pillar was shaken up after getting hit by a 97 mph fastball from Lamet in the first inning. The ball appeared to ricochet off Pillar’s shoulder and hit him in the chin, although he remained in the game. . Pablo Sandoval took swings in the cage before the game and is hopeful of being activated off the injured list for a final at-bat with Bochy as his manager. “I don’t know about a couple,” Sandoval said. “Maybe one.”
UP NEXT
San Diego lefty Joey Lucchesi (9-7, 4.11 ERA) takes a two-game winning streak into Saturday’s game. Lucchesi has never won three straight. San Francisco right-hander Logan Webb (1-0, 4.66) has not made it past the fifth inning in either of his previous two starts.
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