Bumgarner gets his 7th win as Giants defeat Phillies
PHILADELPHIA -- Madison Bumgarner did it all Saturday, supplementing his eight-inning performance with a pair of key singles as the San Francisco Giants fended off the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-5 at Citizens Bank Park.
Bumgarner (7-2) maintained remarkable precision, throwing 78 strikes and 20 balls as he struck out 11 batters. He didn't throw his 10th ball until he faced Darin Ruf in the sixth inning en route to striking him out. Bumgarner's lone lapses occurred in the fourth inning, when Philadelphia's Jeff Francoeur hit his second career grand slam to wipe out most of San Francisco's 6-0 lead, and in the eighth, when Andres Blanco delivered a pinch-hit homer.
Bumgarner was unfazed by the homers. ""We were still winning the game," he said. "If not, it might be tougher."
Video: SF@PHI: Bumgarner pads the lead with an RBI single
Bumgarner's offensive contributions almost offset the runs he allowed. His third-inning hit set up a run-scoring single by Nori Aoki, who went 3-for-3. Bumgarner added an RBI single in the seventh to conclude the scoring for the Giants, who won for the 10th time in their last 12 road games and improved to 9-2 in their last 11 games against Philadelphia.
"You put the ball in play, good things are going to happen," Bumgarner said.
Video: SF@PHI: Pagan singles in Aoki to open the scoring
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Welcome back: After missing Friday's series opener with the flu, Aoki looked extremely healthy as he returned to San Francisco's lineup. The left fielder reached base safely on all five of his plate appearances, going 3-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs. More >
Video: SF@PHI: Aoki grounds a two-run single in the 3rd
Francoeur, McGowan keep Phillies afloat: With the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth inning, Francoeur trimmed the Giants' lead from 6-0 to 6-4 with a one-out grand slam over the left-field wall. That grand slam came in the middle of what proved to be a dominant return to the big leagues for relief pitcher Dustin McGowan. Just two days after being recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, McGowan had 3 1/3 innings of shutout relief, allowing just two hits and striking out three.
"He has that kind of an arm and he bounces back real well," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "So he was the guy to go in there and give us some length. I thought he had real good life on his ball and he even said he felt like he got better the longer he was out there. He's got that type of an arm so he's good to have in the bullpen." More >
Video: SF@PHI: McGowan induces groundout to end the threat
Lefties put a licking on Gonzalez: Phillies starting pitcher Severino Gonzalez entered his start Saturday having allowed 18 of the 31 lefties he'd faced to reach base this year. Right from the start, Gonzalez continued that trend as the first three batters he faced all swung left-handed and all reached base. Two of them eventually came around to score. In all, seven of the 11 lefties he faced reached base via hit, walk or hit-by-pitch and a 12th plate appearance resulted in an RBI sacrifice fly.
Video: SF@PHI: Gonzalez hit by comebacker, stays in game
Short-circuited surge: The Giants' four-run rally in the third inning could have been more fruitful, but Joe Panik's bid for extra bases died in Ben Revere's glove in deep center field with two on and two out.
Video: SF@PHI: Revere chases down a liner to end the frame
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
After yet another 0-for-4 day, Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis is on a 0-for-29 streak. Galvis' batting average has dropped from .355 to .265 in 16 games since May 15. Over that span, Galvis has seven hits, two walks -- none of which have come in the last 15 games -- and 16 strikeouts and has grounded into four double plays.
"Freddy's just a little jumpy at home plate," Sandberg said. "He's getting out on his front foot and he's a little off-balance. He's been working at that for a few days now just trying to stay back on the ball and stay short with his swing but he's getting out on his front foot. Not only is he making contact too far out in front of home plate when he does he's off of the breaking pitches and going into the fastballs."
RAIN DELAYS START
A brief shower delayed the game's start for 29 minutes. The rest of the game proceeded without interruption.
WHAT'S NEXT
Giants: Ryan Vogelsong never has trouble psyching himself up for a game. But if he needed extra incentive for his start in Sunday's series finale against Philadelphia at 1:35 p.m. ET/10:35 a.m. PT, he could summon the memory of being released from the Phils' Triple-A club in July, 2010. A year later, Vogelsong was named to the National League All-Star team.
Phillies: Sean O'Sullivan starts for the Phillies. The Phillies are 2-5 in games O'Sullivan has started this year, largely due to the large volume of hits he allows. O'Sullivan has allowed an average of 7.87 hits per nine innings this season, nine of which being home runs. If there is one saving grace, at least O'Sullivan has a strong track record career versus the Giants, against whom he has a 2.25 ERA in 12 innings.
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