San Francisco Giants

Giants' Bumgarner will only pitch against A's this time (Jul 21, 2018)

Published Jul. 21, 2018 1:56 a.m. ET

OAKLAND, Calif. -- History is unlikely to repeat itself when the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics continue their interleague series Saturday night at the American League park.

The last time Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner played in a game in Oakland, he served the dual role of pitcher and designated hitter in San Francisco's 12-6 win on June 30, 2016.

The right-handed-hitting slugger contributed a double to his own cause in becoming the first player ever in the majors to DH on the same night on which he pitched.

Despite the success, Giants manager Bruce Bochy indicated Friday that Bumgarner will concentrate on pitching in Saturday's return to Oakland.

"I feel we've got plenty of guys," Bochy said of his roster of hitters. "We were running a little short at the time (in 2016)."

One candidate to DH on Saturday is Buster Posey, who caught all nine innings of Friday's 5-1 win in the opener of the Oakland portion of the six-game series.

Posey skipped the All-Star Game in order to get a cortisone shot in his ailing right hip. He had an RBI single in Friday's win.

Another option for Bochy could be Ryder Jones, who was called up from Triple-A on Friday when Brandon Belt left the team to be with his wife for the birth of their second child.

Jones played third base, with Pablo Sandoval shifting over to Belt's spot at first. Both smacked solo homers in the game.

The Giants expect Belt back for Saturday's game, which will be the fifth of the six-game, home-and-home series. The clubs have split the first four games.

Bumgarner (3-3, 2.90 ERA) got the Giants off to a winning start in the series on July 13 when he beat the A's 7-1, allowing one run in six innings. It raised his career record against the A's to 4-2 with a 4.62 ERA in six starts.

The staff ace has dominated several key Oakland hitters in their career matchups, holding Khris Davis, Marcus Semien, Mark Canha, Matt Olson and Matt Chapman to a combined 4-for-29 (.138) with eight strikeouts.

After opening the second half with Edwin Jackson on the mound, A's manager Bob Melvin indicated that two other veterans -- right-hander Trevor Cahill and lefty Brett Anderson -- would be part of the starting rotation in the next four games.

Cahill (1-2, 3.10) will go head-to-head with Bumgarner on Saturday, while Anderson is slated to open a series in Texas on Monday.

"We'll see where this five goes right now," Melvin said of a quintet that does not include Daniel Mengden, who will remain in the minor leagues for the time being. "When (Mengden) is pitching well, he's pitched as well as anyone on our staff. My guess is we'll see him at some point, but I'm not really sure when."

Cahill has faced the Giants 18 times in his career, including 15 as a starter, and has gone 7-5 with a 3.97 ERA.

One of those wins came last season while with the San Diego Padres, when he held the Giants to one run in 6 2/3 innings in a 7-1 victory.

The Giants player who has given Cahill the most trouble is Andrew McCutchen, who sports a lifetime .500 batting average (6-for-12) with three doubles, a home run and five RBIs against the 30-year-old.