Bumgarner hurls one-hit shutout vs. D-backs

SAN FRANCISCO -- Just putting the ball in played seemed like a near-impossible task for the D-backs on Sunday, as San Francisco ace Madison Bumgarner struck out 14 batters and pitched a one-hit complete game in a 4-0 Giants win at AT&T Park.
Bumgarner took his latest no-hitter attempt into the eighth inning. But D-backs third baseman Jake Lamb ended the pursuit with a one-out single. Bumgarner walked Rickie Weeks Jr. to open the ninth, but after Nick Ahmed popped out, Bumgarner, whose 14 K's tied his career best, induced a double play to give the Giants their Majors-best 57th victory heading into the All-Star break.
"When you get through seven and you go up there and got six more outs to go, you feel like you got a pretty good chance," said Bumgarner, who has now recorded four one-hitters in his career. "It hasn't worked out for me, I'll take the complete game shutout any time."

Bumgarner enters the All-Star break with 10 wins and 146 strikeouts on his 2016 resume.
"This guy has just amazed us with what he's done," said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. "Nothing surprises us with what he does and how he elevates his game and gets even better."
Sunday was the first time Lamb had faced Bumgarner in his career.
"After that first AB, I was able to make adjustments," Lamb said. "I kind of saw where the ball needs to start in order for it to be a strike. His angle, it's tough on lefties -- well, it's tough on everybody, but being my first time seeing him."
• Lamb solves lefty Bumgarner to break up no-no
The D-backs have now lost 12 of their last 14 and nine of their last 10 contests against the Giants. They enter the All-Star break at the bottom of the National League West standings with their offense scuffling. The team averaged 1.3 runs per game in its three-game series at San Francisco.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
SF bats go to work early: The Giants offense provided an early cushion for Bumgarner in the bottom of the first, after Denard Span and Angel Pagan opened the inning with back-to-back base hits. Buster Posey hit an RBI single a couple of at-bats later, and Brandon Crawford tacked on one more with a sacrifice fly to score Pagan. With that lead in hand, Bumgarner then cruised through the D-backs' lineup for the rest of the night.

Early misplays: The D-backs defense was not stellar in the opening inning. Left fielder Brandon Drury did not seem to get a great read on Span's fly ball to lead off the first, and it fell for a single. Pagan then followed with a deep fly ball to center that Michael Bourn got turned around on, and the ball fell just behind him for a double. Both Span and Pagan scored.

Bumgarner keeps his focus: Lamb ended Bumgarner's no-hit bid in the top of the eighth after lining a cutter to right field. But Bumgarner said nothing changed about his approach after pitching out of the stretch for just the second time all night. Bumgarner didn't let a runner get into scoring position.
"After the base hit, he never lost focus," said Bochy. "He didn't let that one hit bother him, which you see a lot with pitchers that get that close."

Lost in the shuffle: Bumgarner was the story of the night, but D-backs starter Archie Bradley pitched well, too. The two runs in the first could have been avoided with better defense, and Bradley kept the Giants off the board for the rest of his outing, which lasted through the sixth.
"You kind of know going into a game facing a guy like that, runs are going to be tough to come by, so you try to make them tough to come off you as well," Bradley said. "I was able to make pitches when I needed to and will definitely use this as a learning point and something to grow from. Really, from the third on, I felt really good. So it's just about trying to find a way to get that feeling sooner."

QUOTABLE
"I thought he was going to get a no-hitter, his stuff was that good tonight." -- Crawford on Bumgarner's performance
WHAT'S NEXT
D-backs: The D-backs open the second half of the season Friday night against the Dodgers at Chase Field with a 6:40 p.m. MST start. The D-backs are 2-4 against the Dodgers this year. The game is the beginning of a five-game homestand, which also includes a visit by the Blue Jays.
Giants: Bumgarner and the Giants open the second half of their season at Petco Park against the San Diego Padres on Friday at 7:40 p.m. PT. The Giants are 9-0 against the Padres this season. Bumgarner pitched a complete game in his lone outing at San Diego this season.
Watch every out-of-market regular-season game live on MLB.TV.