LOS ANGELES — Madison Bumgarner isn’t fully back to form yet. The fastball velocity remains down a tick and his breaking balls flatten out more often than in the past, but Bumgarner still possesses his greatest traits. He is competitive, and he is durable, and he showed both Saturday night.
Bumgarner threw 112 pitches in his third start back, but it wasn’t enough, not with the way the Giants are hitting right now. Enrique Hernandez hit a two-run shot and the Giants had another quiet night at the plate, losing 3-1. They have not scored more than two runs in any of their last 11 games at Dodger Stadium.
—- Hernandez now has 15 hits in 33 at-bats against Bumgarner, with four homers. He’s slugging .970 in their matchups. Ownage is ownage. Bumgarner was charged with three earned in six innings. He walked four and struck out three.
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—- Bumgarner got tossed as he was walking off the mound in his last start, and there was some more ump-related drama in the fifth inning. With a runner on second, Bumgarner appeared to get an inning-ending strikeout of Matt Kemp, but home plate umpire Dan Bellino ruled that it was a foul tip that hit the dirt. After a conversation with Bumgarner and manager Bruce Bochy, Bellino called ball four on a pitch that was at the top of the strike zone. Bumgarner put both hands out in disbelief, but got Yasiel Puig to ground out to short.
—- The Giants had a shot to get back in the game when Scott Alexander opened the seventh with six straight balls. But he recovered to strike out Hunter Pence and Alen Hanson. Joe Panik was running on the Hanson strikeout and was easily thrown out at second to end the inning.
—- Brandon Belt was hitless the first night back, but had his usual good at-bats and took one to the warning track. He looks like Brandon Belt.
