Bumgarner will look to get Giants in win column vs. Padres (Apr 08, 2017)
SAN DIEGO -- Will Giants ace Madison Bumgarner move up in the order when San Francisco plays the San Diego Padres on Saturday?
"Well, he's not leading off," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said with a smile.
Bumgarner made as much noise with his bat as his left arm on the Giants' Opening Day. He slugged his way into the record books as he hit two home runs in his first two at-bats of the season.
"He's such a competitor," Bochy said.
Bumgarner was also the first pitcher in MLB history to hit two home runs in his team's first game.
"You talk about what he does at the plate, but he's a smart hitter, too," Bochy said. "It's not just about hitting home runs. He goes up and always gets good at-bats."
Usually he's known for missing them. In Sunday's opener, Bumgarner didn't receive a decision after allowing three runs on six hits in seven innings, while striking out 11. The four-time All Star was perfect through the first 5 1/3 innings before Jeff Mathis' triple.
"It's about taking pride in everything you do and he does," Bochy said of Bumgarner's two-way game. "Whether it's hitting or pitching."
Bumgarner is usually a hit when facing the Padres and the Giants could use a winning performance after losing the season opener and dropping four of their first five.
Bumgarner owns a 10-7 career mark, pitching to a 3.41 ERA. Last year, Bumgarner split four decisions against San Diego.
Bumgarner will face righty Jhoulys Chacin as he tries to rebound from a rocky opening day outing. Chacin, in his Padres' debut, allowed a career-high nine runs on eight hits in 3 1/3 innings.
"It wasn't his sharpest outing," Padres manager Andy Green said. "He knows he's better than that."
Chacin has been, and recently at Petco Park. When pitching for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic, Chacin surrendered but one run and three hits in 4 1/3 innings in a loss to the powerful Dominican Republic squad.
The difference between getting tagged by the Dodgers and taking it to the Dominican Republic? The only way to spin it is to look at his offspeed offerings.
"He struggled to command the offspeed pitches and that is usually his forte," Green said. "So without the command of his offspeed, he had to go to his fastball in hitters' counts. And that is not the way you want to pitch to the Dodgers."
Or to any team for that matter.
Against the Giants, he has had a degree of success. Chacin has a lifetime mark of 5-6 with a 3.47 ERA. His appearance against them on Saturday is his first since 2014.
"I expect him to bounce back," Green said.
But he admits it depends on Chacin's ability to harness his slower pitches.
"The plan is command your offspeed, get ahead with the fastball and finish with the offspeed when necessary," Green said.
Chacin would like to start anew after his opening-day stinker and Green is confident he can.
But Chacin needs to tiptoe through a Giants lineup that has a surprising slugger on every fifth day.
