SF Giants Press Clips Wednesday, August 29, 2018

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1 SF Giants Press Clips Wednesday, August 29, 2018 San Francisco Chronicle Giants beat Arizona 1-0 on Gorkys Hernandez s pinch-hit single in 9 th John Shea Madison Bumgarner and Buster Posey have been inseparable since 2010, one of baseball s premier pitcher-catcher tandems and locker mates at the far end of the Giants clubhouse. On Tuesday night, Bumgarner took the mound to Fire on the Mountain, as usual, but with a new twist. He was the only player in uniform who had been part of all three of the Giants World Series championships. With Posey in Vail, Colo., recovering from Monday s hip surgery, Bumgarner teamed with catcher Nick Hundley and pitched seven scoreless innings, repeatedly pitching in and out of trouble, in one of the most intense and memorable games of the season. The Giants beat the Diamondbacks 1-0 on Gorkys Hernandez s sharp, pinch-hit single in the ninth inning that scored Steven Duggar from second base. Duggar was hurting with a left shoulder bruise after diving into second base moments earlier, but it didn t prevent him from scoring with ease. There was this feeling around the dugout we were going to win this game, Duggar said. I got the vibe from everybody, the way guys were carrying themselves. There was just this sense we d put something together and get out of here. Duggar had been heading first to third on Hundley s single, then changed his mind and returned to second. He said his shoulder momentarily popped out when second baseman Ketel Marte applied a tag. 1

2 When I felt it come out, I couldn t feel like I could move, said Duggar, who ll be re-evaluated Wednesday, but when I started to roll over, I felt it go in. When I was sitting there, I started moving it around, and it felt all right. So there was no way I was coming out of this game. Bumgarner did a splendid job of run prevention, getting big outs in traffic, especially in his final three innings when he faced a whopping 11 batters with runners in scoring position. In the fifth, the Diamondbacks had a runner on third with one out and didn t score. In the sixth, they loaded the bases with one out. Third baseman Evan Longoria fielded Marte s grounder and got the force at home, and Brandon Belt dived for Hundley s off-line throw to first, saving a run. Bumgarner retired Jeff Mathis on a fly to end the inning. In the seventh, Jon Jay was at third base with one out, thanks to left fielder Austin Slater, who dropped a routine fly, then slipped and literally kicked the ball toward the wall. Bumgarner got Paul Goldschmidt to pop up and Eduardo Escobar to ground out. That left Bumgarner at 107 pitches, more than half of which (58) came in his final three innings. It was enough for manager Bruce Bochy to summon Sam Dyson for the eighth, another inning that wasn t easy for the Giants. With two outs, Ahmed tried scoring from first on David Peralta s single, and it backfired. Showing athleticism not seen from other Giants center fielders of late, Duggar cut off the ball in the gap and quickly got it to shortstop Brandon Crawford, whose throw home was high but in plenty of time for Hundley to tag Ahmed for the final out. I ve got to play with him enough where I m starting to expect that kind of stuff out of him, Bumgarner said of Duggar. I definitely love having him out there. Me, personally, I don t care if he ever gets a hit I love him in center field. Anything else he does is a positive. The Giants had far fewer scoring chances 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position compared with Arizona s 1-for-10 but shut out the first-place Diamondbacks in the first two games of the series, and Bochy rejected a question about whether the Giants have become spoilers. I hope we re not being called that right now, said Bochy, whose team has won five of six games, two started by Bumgarner. I don t know if we are or not, but I don t like it. it just means it hasn t gone very well for you. San Francisco Chronicle Bruce Bochy s 9th-inning plans for Giants relievers, and where Mark Melancon fits in John Shea Mark Melancon is pitching more often and more effectively, and manager Bruce Bochy said he sees the right-hander becoming a full-time closer again. 2

3 I do, Bochy said. I think Mark s getting a lot stronger with how he s being able to bounce back and go back-to-back days. He s got a lot of confidence with where his arm s at now. Sometimes you have to get over that part of it when you have an arm injury. It looks like he s over that now. He s letting it go. I like where he s at with his stuff. Melancon had pronator surgery last fall, got a stem-cell injection in April and didn t make his 2018 debut until June 3. He appeared in each of the three games against the Rangers, earning saves Saturday and Sunday the first time he appeared three straight days and earned saves in back-to-back days since his surgery. Winding down the second year in his four-year, $62 million contract, Melancon has a 2.83 ERA but isn t about to regain his closer s role. Bochy said it still belongs to Will Smith, though Melancon could get an opportunity here and there. In the Giants past five wins, three relievers have earned saves: Smith, Melancon and Hunter Strickland. Bochy said he wouldn t be afraid to use Sam Dyson, Reyes Moronta or Tony Watson in the ninth inning as well. We re going to try to break the record, Bochy quipped. I don t know what it is. As soon as y all look it up, let me know, and we ll go for it. Well, the record for most pitchers on one team to earn saves is 12 by the 1973 Rangers, five years after the save became an official stat. The Giants are halfway there. In fact, this is the third straight year they ve had six relievers earning saves. Their team record is nine, reached in both 1986 and Briefly: Bochy communicated with Buster Posey via a text a day after the catcher s surgery and said He s doing great. He s coming along just fine. Posey, who had a torn labrum repaired and bone spurs removed from his hip, is due to return from Colorado on Thursday to begin his rehab.... Jeff Samardzija (shoulder inflammation) will get a second opinion Wednesday with orthopedic surgeon Dr. Tim McAdams at Stanford. San Francisco Chronicle Giants should retire 22, not for just one Clark John Shea In 1972, the Yankees retired No. 8 not only for Yogi Berra but Bill Dickey, making it OK to retire a number belonging to two franchise legends. The late, great Expos did the same with No. 10, retiring it for Rusty Staub in 1993 and Andre Dawson in 1997, and the Cubs retired 31 in 2009 for both Fergie Jenkins and Greg Maddux. 3

4 It s time the Giants follow suit, and they d benefit by keeping the same name on the back of both jerseys. Will Clark, the face of the late- 80s teams that won two division titles and reached a World Series, wore 22. So did Jack Clark, the face of the team until he was dealt to St. Louis a year before the other Clark broke into the majors. Jack the Ripper (with the Giants from 1975 to 1984) hit 163 homers with an.836 OPS in 1,044 games, Will the Thrill ( ) 176 homers with an.872 OPS in 1,160 games. For many Giants fans, Jack was every bit as significant as Will, though without the playoff moments, breaking into the majors at 19 as a right fielder with a big bat and big arm and becoming an All-Star at 22. He was the first Willie Mac Award winner (in 1980) and holds the San Francisco-era record for longest hit streak, 26 games. The Giants erred in cutting ties with both players, each of whom had a higher OPS post-san Francisco. When Will Clark was a free agent, the Giants didn t ante up for the first baseman (offering nothing close to the five-year guarantee he got in Texas) and were awful the next three seasons. It was erroneously suggested amid the Aug. 11 Barry Bonds number retirement that he was the first non-hall of Famer to have his Giants number retired. Willie Mays had his retired seven years before his induction. Juan Marichal, eight years. Willie McCovey, six years. Eventually, the Giants must acknowledge their championship era by retiring multiple numbers starting with Buster Posey (28) and Madison Bumgarner (40), who contributed the most to all three titles, even if they re not enshrined in Cooperstown. Tim Lincecum (55) and Matt Cain (18) would be considered, too. But first, the Clarks. San Jose Mercury News Duggar earns Bumgarner s respect, Giants walk off on Hernández s single Kerry Crowley SAN FRANCISCO Madison Bumgarner s respect isn t easily earned. It could take months and in some cases, it might take years for a player to prove he s the type of competitor Bumgarner wants to have by his side. Steven Duggar could have earned it after jamming his left shoulder, staying in the game and scoring the game-winner in the Giants 1-0 victory over the Diamondbacks Tuesday. 4

5 But Duggar passed Bumgarner s test long ago. Even though Duggar is just seven weeks into his major league career, he s commanded Bumgarner s respect with the way he cleans up behind him in center field. Get San Francisco Giants news in your inbox. Sign up now for the free Giants HQ newsletter. Me personally, I don t care if he ever gets a hit, Bumgarner said of the Giants rookie. I love him in center field and anything else he does is a positive. So that s how I feel about it. Duggar didn t need to provide Bumgarner much help as the left-hander tossed seven shutout innings against the first-place D backs, but he aided the Giants cause with a tremendous play immediately following Bumgarner s exit. With one out in the eighth, reliever Sam Dyson allowed a line drive into the gap by D backs pinch hitter David Peralta. Duggar raced over to cut the ball off on a hop and then fired a relay throw to shortstop Brandon Crawford. As Arizona shortstop Nick Ahmed ran through a stop sign at third base, Crawford threw a strike to catcher Nick Hundley to preserve a scoreless tie. When he first hit it, I knew it was going to be trouble, Duggar said. So I just put my head down and ran as hard as I could. In his next plate appearance, Duggar drew a ninth inning walk and thought about taking third on a Hundley single. Instead, after a sharp turn around second, he turned back for the base and went into a headfirst dive to avoid a tag. The center fielder felt his left shoulder pop out and experienced immediate pain. But as he rolled over, Duggar said he felt the shoulder shift back into place. I couldn t feel like I could move, Duggar said. But when I started to roll over, I felt it go back in. When I was sitting there, I started moving it around and it felt alright. So I said there s no way I m coming out of this game. Duggar didn t have to remain on the field much longer. After Giants manager Bruce Bochy sent Alen Hanson up to pinch hit for closer Will Smith, D backs skipper Torey Lovullo countered by bringing in left-hander Jake Diekman. Hanson never stepped into the batter s box as Bochy replaced Hanson with Gorkys Hernández. Hernández was sitting on a slider and Diekman played to the scouting report. On the first pitch of the at-bat, Hernández lined a single into left field to bring home Duggar and send the Giants to their fourth straight win. You have to be ready all the time, Hernández said. I was sitting for nine innings but I was 5

6 ready in the cage to try to get the opportunity to be in the game. With their second straight shutout, the Giants fought back to.500 and closed the gap to 6.0 games in the National League West while the D backs fell into a tie for first-place with the Rockies. The D backs sent a brigade of runners into scoring position during a tie game Tuesday, but Bumgarner brought out his eraser when the Giants needed it most. Doubt crept into the minds of players on both sides of the diamond, but Bumgarner wiped it all away. Just trying to grind it out and find a way to get out of it, Bumgarner said of his approach. At the very least just minimize damage but fortunately tonight we were able to get out of it. The D backs finished 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position against Bumgarner and have now been blanked by Giants pitchers on back-to-back nights. I think that s what your elite pitchers are so good at, what makes them special, manager Bruce Bochy said. If they have to make a pitch, they have that ability. They slow the game down and keep their focus and that s what separates the good from the average or the great pitchers from the good ones. San Jose Mercury News Giants have no desire to play spoiler in National League West race Kerry Crowley SAN FRANCISCO With the first-place Diamondbacks in town this week, the Giants are in position to deliver a significant blow to Arizona s chances to win the National League West. Taking the next two games from the D backs would give the Dodgers and Rockies an opportunity to gain ground in the division heading into the final month of the year, but that s not what s driving the Giants in the last days of August. They re not interested in serving as a spoiler. They re still determined to climb back into the race and make their own late push for a division crown. I hope we re not being called (spoiler) right now, manager Bruce Bochy said. I don t know if we are or not, but I don t like it. It just means it hasn t gone very well for you. The season hasn t gone according to plan for the Giants, who lost No. 2 starter Johnny Cueto and catcher Buster Posey to season-ending surgeries this month. Though their ranks have thinned due to untimely injuries, Bochy and Giants players haven t given up on their slim playoff hopes just yet. If we can keep rattling off some wins here, we might surprise some people, center fielder 6

7 Steven Duggar said. Sneak up on somebody. You never really know. With 29 games to play, the Giants are and haven t been more than three games above.500 since the first day following the All-Star break. A miracle playoff push would likely require the club to win at least 22-to-24 of their remaining games, but their are no white flags waving from the home dugout at AT&T Park. If we just keep showing up to the field and keep playing, we ll see what happens, Duggar said. The 2010 Giants overcame a 6.5 game deficit in the NL West with 34 games to play as they stunned the first-place Padres. That club needed just 14 games to close the gap and pull into a tie for the division lead, but the Giants only had one team to chase that year. This season, the Giants have three teams at least 5.0 games ahead of them in the division standings and an offense that has ranked as one of the worst in baseball since the All-Star break. While no club has compiled a better ERA than the Giants 3.35 mark since June 1, San Francisco won t make the race interesting unless its hitters step up. Perhaps the biggest hurdle the Giants must overcome is their remaining schedule, as they ll play just 14 of their final 29 against teams in their division. Their next two games are their last two chances to defeat the D backs before the end of the year while the Giants have just three head-to-head matchups left with both the Rockies and Dodgers. Because they don t have many chances left to beat up on the clubs ahead of them, the Giants will need plenty of outside help. Without hope, you don t have anything, Bochy said. So I d rather have that. Crazier things have happened. The Giants are positioned well to gain ground in the division over the next two days as they ll send Madison Bumgarner and Dereck Rodríguez to the mound against the D backs, who will counter with Clay Buchholz and Zack Godley. Though trading assets like Andrew McCutchen and Derek Holland becomes increasingly unlikely with each passing day, sweeping the D backs would likely compel the Giants to ride out the season with their current group intact. Regardless of whether the Giants can fight their way back into the hunt, the final month of the season is a pivotal evaluation period for a front office that must decide how it wants to add to and subtract from its core group this offseason. MLB.com Gorkys' walk-off hit ends SF's duel with D-backs Chris Haft SAN FRANCISCO -- Against all logic, Steven Duggar sensed victory Tuesday night. There were the 7

8 Giants, occupants of fourth place in the National League West, facing the division-leading D- backs. There were the Giants, who won their previous two games despite collecting four hits in each, matching zeros with the D-backs on the scoreboard. The Giants indeed prevailed, 1-0, on pinch-hitter Gorkys Hernandez's RBI single in the ninth inning. San Francisco's fourth consecutive victory came as no surprise to Duggar, who converted his hunch into reality by scoring the lone run. "There was just this feeling in the dugout that we were going to win this game," said Duggar, who bruised his left shoulder while sliding into second in the ninth. "I got the vibe from everybody. It wasn't vocally said, but I just got the vibe from everybody, the way guys were carrying themselves, the at-bats that we put together late, there was just this sense that we were going to put something together and get out of here." Trailing Arizona and Colorado by six games with 28 to play, the Giants might run out of time to capitalize fully upon this winning feeling. However, ace Madison Bumgarner emphasized that considering the big picture isn't their business. "All we can do right now is put our head down and try to win today," said Bumgarner, who tossed seven four-hit innings. "Tomorrow we'll come in and we'll do everything we can do to win the game. We're not going to look behind; we're not going to look ahead. We're going to stay focused on that day and see where we are at the end." Bumgarner embodied the Giants' effort. Escaping the jams he created, the left-hander limited the D-backs to one hit in 10 at-bats with runners in scoring position. Bumgarner saved his best for last. Paul Goldschmidt opened the sixth with a line drive that caromed so forcefully off the left-field wall that he managed only a single. Bumgarner then walked Eduardo Escobar. One out later, Nick Ahmed singled to load the bases. Then, Giants third baseman Evan Longoria cleanly fielded Ketel Marte's grounder and threw home to force out Goldschmidt. Jeff Mathis' lineout to center ended the inning. With one out in the seventh, Giants left fielder Austin Slater muffed Jon Jay's unchallenging fly ball for a three-base error. After walking A.J. Pollock, Bumgarner recovered by coaxing Goldschmidt to pop out to second base and getting Escobar to ground out to second. One inning later, Duggar proved his ability to learn from a mistake. With two outs, Ahmed on second base and Sam Dyson pitching, David Peralta singled solidly to center. Duggar, who cost the Giants a run by neglecting to relay the ball to the cutoff man during a recent game in Cincinnati, raced to catch up with Peralta's hit before flinging a strike to shortstop Brandon Crawford. Crawford's throw forced catcher Nick Hundley to leap for the ball, but Hundley grabbed it and tagged out Ahmed as he slid home. 8

9 "I don't care if he ever gets a hit," Bumgarner said of Duggar. "I love him in center field." The Giants needed offense to avoid squandering their defense. They began their winning rally in modest fashion as Duggar drew a one-out walk against Brad Ziegler. Hundley singled sharply to left field, prompting the D-backs to replace Ziegler with left-hander Jake Diekman. Up came Hernandez, who batted for would-be pinch-hitter Alen Hanson. Hernandez singled cleanly to left on the first pitch, scoring Duggar easily. Hernandez's playing time has decreased sharply in recent weeks, while Slater and Duggar have received increased opportunities to prove themselves. But the inactivity hasn't dulled Hernandez's common sense as a hitter. "I was thinking, 'You have to look for a pitch in the [strike] zone," Hernandez said. "When he threw the ball, I saw that it was coming into the zone." The Giants, who climbed back to.500 (67-67), will seek a sweep of the three-game series Wednesday night. San Francisco leads the season series, "I think we play good baseball against them early, and then they seem to have our number," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said of the Giants' success against his club. "They came into Chase [Field] and swept us. Certain teams match up with other teams and there's a certain comfort level that works and sometimes it doesn't. This is a tough venue to come into and score runs. It's a pitcher-friendly ballpark most of the time, even though the right field is very short. I can't explain it. I know that we like the way we match up. We just haven't won baseball games." SOUND SMART The Giants recorded their 12th shutout win of the season, and their sixth at home. They posted consecutive shutouts for the third time. They blanked the Dodgers in the season's first two games on March 29-30, then throttled the Phillies on June 1-2. The Giants' last three shutouts have come against the D-backs. UP NEXT Dereck Rodriguez (6-1, 2.30 ERA) will attempt to strengthen his NL Rookie of the Year Award candidacy when he faces the D-backs in Wednesday's 7:15 p.m. PT series finale at AT&T Park. The right-hander has allowed no more than two runs in each of his last nine starts. His 2.30 ERA leads all rookie pitchers, and his opponents' batting average of.204 ranks second among firstyear hurlers. Rodriguez will oppose D-backs right-hander Zack Godley (13-7, 4.59) who's 5-0 in his last seven road starts. 9

10 MLB.com During winning rally, Duggar bruises left shoulder Chris Haft SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants center fielder Steven Duggar bruised his left shoulder while diving back into second base in the ninth inning of Tuesday night's 1-0 win over the D-backs at AT&T Park. Duggar remained in the game and scored the winning run on Gorkys Hernandez's pinch-hit single. The extent of Duggar's injury will be determined when he is re-evaluated Wednesday. After drawing a ninth-inning walk, Duggar put himself in a precarious position on the basepaths when he took a wide turn around second base on Nick Hundley's single. Duggar then dove back into second to avoid being thrown out. He said that he felt his shoulder pop out of its joint when he was tagged. But he added that he then felt his shoulder settle back into its socket. MLB.com Bochy: Smith will remain Giants' primary closer Chris Haft SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants manager Bruce Bochy reaffirmed Tuesday that Will Smith remains the club's primary closer, though three different relievers have recorded saves in San Francisco's last four victories. "We're going to try to break the record [for most pitchers with at least one save in a single season]," Bochy jokingly said. "I don't know what it is yet. As soon as you all look it up, let me know and I'll go for it." Smith saved last Thursday's finale of the Giants' series against the Mets in New York. He appeared in each of San Francisco's next two games, throwing 47 total pitches. So Bochy rested Smith and turned to Mark Melancon, who preserved Giants wins Saturday and Sunday against the Rangers. On Monday, Tony Watson notched the first two outs in the ninth before Hunter Strickland entered to secure the final out and the save in San Francisco's 2-0 win over Arizona. Bochy said that having nearly every reliever being capable of preserving ninth-inning leads is a "luxury." Bochy would struggle to steer the Giants toward the single-season mark for most pitchers with a save. Six different San Francisco pitchers have recorded saves, led by Strickland's 14 entering Tuesday. Smith has

11 The 1973 Rangers and 1961 Kansas City A's share the record, having 12 different pitchers record a save in the same season. Another 11 teams have had 11 pitchers do it, most recently the 2017 Nationals. Included in this group is the 1964 Giants, though the save didn't become an official statistic until Worth noting Bochy mentioned that he exchanged text messages with catcher Buster Posey, who underwent hip surgery on Monday. NBC Sports Bay Area Giants rookie Steven Duggar shakes off shoulder injury on big night Alex Pavlovic SAN FRANCISCO Steven Duggar lined a game-winning triple on Sunday and hit a big homer on Monday. On Tuesday night, the rookie showed off two more important traits. First, there was toughness. Duggar drew a one-out walk in the ninth inning of a scoreless game but injured his left shoulder when he reached for second base after taking a wide turn on a single. Duggar felt his shoulder pop out on the tag but it popped back in as he rolled over. As Duggar sat in the dirt, the pain clear on his face, he pleaded with his manager. He was in pain. He said, I m staying in the game. He kept saying that, manager Bruce Bochy said. Eric (Ortega), our trainer, made him raise his arm, which he did. It showed the toughness of the kid. Duggar was allowed to stay in, and Gorkys Hernandez made sure there were no decisions to be made about Duggar s ability to play center. Hernandez lined a single to left and Duggar raced home, giving the Giants a 1-0 win, their second straight shutout and fourth straight victory. That's when Duggar showed some savvy. As 23 other Giants rushed Hernandez, Duggar stayed back, making sure he didn't take any more shots to a sore shoulder. Once the crowd cleared, he offered his congratulations. "I'm pumped for Gork, man," he said after the win. "That was awesome. There was just this feeling in the dugout, I couldn't describe it, that we were going to win the game." The feeling made sense given how many times Madison Bumgarner bowed his neck. He gave up four hits and walked four, but threw seven shutout innings, lowering his ERA to 2.08 in six August starts. Bumgarner left the bases loaded in the sixth and picked up a teammate in the seventh. Austin Slater's fielding error put a runner on third with one out, but Bumgarner got Paul Goldschmidt to pop out and ended the inning by retiring Eduardo Escobar. 11

12 Duggar said that gave a little extra juice to the dugout, and an inning after Bumgarner departed, he made sure the effort wasn't wasted. Nick Ahmed singled with one out in the eighth and tried to score when David Peralta hit a ball that looked like a sure double or triple in the gap. Duggar was shaded over towards left, but took off on a dead sprint as the ball left the bat, using knowledge acquired during batting practice. The outfield is split into two sections because of a concert held during the road trip, and when Duggar took early fly balls the last five days, he noticed that balls that hit the new, discolored grass "checked up" on impact. Duggar felt that if he could get to Peralta's ball as it hit the new grass, he would stop it before it could roll to the wall. "I knew that if I could get over there in the general area I could turn and hit Craw," he said. "It worked out." Duggar cut the ball off, hit Brandon Crawford with a perfect throw, and watched as the shortstop cut Ahmed down at the plate. The play was one that few, if any, Giants center fielders over the past decade could have made so seamlessly. But it did not surprise the man who helped set the stage for Duggar's late heroics. "I've gotten to play with him enough now where I start to expect that of him," Bumgarner said. "I definitely love having him out there. That's a big deal for us. Me, personally, I don't care if he ever gets a hit. I love him in center field, and anything else he does is a positive." NBC Sports Bay Area Gorkys Hernandez walks off D'backs for fourth straight Giants win Alex Pavlovic SAN FRANCISCO A day after their franchise player had season-ending surgery, the Giants are threatening to sneak back into the race. Gorkys Hernandez walked it off in the bottom of the ninth inning Tuesday night, giving the Giants a 1-0 win over the Diamondbacks. They have shut out the division leaders on back-toback nights. Steven Duggar drew a one-out walk in the ninth and took second on Nick Hundley's single, injuring his shoulder in the process. But you don't need a shoulder to race home, and Duggar scored easily on Hernandez's single to left. The game was full of zeros through eight, with Madison Bumgarner getting out of several jams in seven innings and Duggar and Brandon Crawford teaming up to keep the Diamondbacks off the board in the eighth. The Giants are still far behind three teams in the NL West, but they've picked up two games on first place in two days. They're six behind the Diamondbacks and Rockies. 12

13 Here's what else you need to know... - Duggar started one of the plays of the year by cutting off a ball in the gap with two outs in the seventh. With Nick Ahmed on first, David Peralta smoked a liner to right-center that looked like an RBI triple, but Duggar got to the ball before it could roll to the wall and made a strong throw to Crawford. Ahmed tested Crawford s arm and was out at the plate. - In the sixth, Bumgarner actually benefitted from the Diamondbacks hitting the ball *too* hard. Paul Goldschmidt hit a 111-mph liner to left that was hit so hard off the top of the wall that he was held to a single. With two on, Ahmed hit a sharp single to left and Austin Slater got to it fast enough that Goldschmidt couldn t round third. Bumgarner left the bases loaded. - Slater dropped a flyball with one out in the seventh and then kicked the ball as he tried to retrieve it. That put Jon Jay on third, but Bumgarner got Goldschmidt to pop up and Eduardo Escobar to ground out. - Bumgarner threw seven shutout innings, working around four hits and four walks while striking out five. In six August starts, he had a 2.08 ERA. NBC Sports Bay Area The Giants' September call-up list will be small Alex Pavlovic SAN FRANCISCO The Giants have spent the entire season dealing with injuries, so it should come as no surprise that their September call-up list will be defined in part by early-season bumps and bruises and their current health. The list of call-ups is expected to be small, and injuries play a part in two different ways. All the early blows put many of the team s best Triple-A players in the majors early, and guys like Dereck Rodriguez, Andrew Suarez, Steven Duggar, Alen Hanson and Austin Slater have stuck. After the rookies locked up roles, the Giants actually got relatively healthy, at least in terms of position players. That will have an impact on the September 1 call-ups, as well. Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval are the only position players currently on the DL, and Aramis Garcia was going to be here in September as the third catcher anyway. This could leave Chris Shaw on the outside, despite 23 homers in Triple-A this season. The Giants are said to be currently leaning against a Shaw promotion, although a final decision hasn t been made. The outfield is crowded. Unless Andrew McCutchen is traded, there s no playing time in right. The other corner spot will be filled by Slater, Gorkys Hernandez and Hunter Pence, who should get plenty of time in late September as a send-off in San Francisco. Shaw is not on the 40-man roster, which hurts his cause, although he will have to be added 13

14 over the offseason. Kelby Tomlinson, Miguel Gomez, Ryder Jones and Mac Williamson are the remaining position players on the 40-man. Williamson is in Arizona rehabbing after his concussion symptoms returned, and the Giants do not expect to add many bats. We have coverage in the outfield and infield, manager Bruce Bochy said. There are guys that are going to be here. I don t want them to read this and think we re not bringing guys up we are, of course. We need help on the pitching side but the numbers won t be what they ve been in the past. The Giants do not plan to add a third catcher. Bochy said one minor league catcher will keep working out just in case he s needed, and that figures to be Ronnie Freeman, who was chosen over Trevor Brown as the taxi squad catcher when the Giants needed one earlier this month. Most of the additions will be on the pitching side and should be familiar names. Casey Kelly, Pierce Johnson and Derek Law are likely candidates to add pitching depth, which could be necessary as Rodriguez and Suarez approach innings limits and Bochy watches the workloads of relievers like Reyes Moronta and Will Smith. Ray Black is expected to return for a second shot at big league hitters. The Giants have spent the entire season worrying about the tax line, but general manager Bobby Evans said they can operate freely in September without having to worry about going over, thanks to the Cory Gearrin-Austin Jackson salary dump. The 40-man is currently full, but Posey can be put on the 60-day DL to clear a spot, which leads us, finally, to intrigue. Shaw is not expected to be here, but another Triple-A standout could finally get his shot. The staff has had plenty of discussions about reliever Tyler Rogers, a side-arming right-hander who has a 2.22 ERA this year and 2.28 ERA in his minor league career. Some in the organization are eager to get a look at him, which could lead to an audition in September. The Athletic Madison Bumgarner and Steven Duggar refuse to yield as Giants shut out Diamondbacks Andrew Baggarly The Giants have yielded so much in the past 2 1/2 seasons. Their perch atop the NL West. Their position as one of the game s preeminent winning franchises. Their sellout streak. Their stars to the disabled list. Their swagger. At times, their dignity. But there came a moment in the seventh inning Tuesday night when the Giants refused to yield, and it will not surprise you to know that the moment arrived with Madison Bumgarner on the mound. It can be a wild-card elimination game, the deciding game of a World Series or a midweek game 14

15 in late August while pitching for a team that has a 0.4 percent chance of making the playoffs. When there is no score, and they are about to cut off beer sales, it is not in Bumgarner s nature to give way. He faced the ultimate predicament after a three-base error from left fielder Austin Slater with one out it s always unfortunate when you kick the ball after you ve clanked it and it did not matter that Arizona s Paul Goldschmidt was on deck. Bumgarner was not going to give A.J. Pollock anything over the plate. So he issued a five-pitch walk and decided to take his chances with one of the game s most dangerous threats. You try not to let a hitter like Goldschmidt beat you. But sometimes, circumstances warrant otherwise. You just have to rise to meet the occasion. Some pitchers make a career out of doing just that. Bumgarner has made himself into a legend for it. It s just a classic matchup, said Giants manager Bruce Bochy, and Bum came out ahead this time. Goldschmidt swung at a cutter on his hands and popped up, and Bumgarner followed by getting a ground out from Eduardo Escobar on his 107th and final pitch of the night. The left-hander s reaction was understated. He tapped his glove twice as he walked off the mound. That s what makes him special, Bochy said. He finds a way to make pitches when he has to. I think that s what your elite pitchers are good at. When they have to make a pitch, they have the ability to slow the game down. You ve seen him. I m sure he was tired there, and he found a way to get through it. Bumgarner already had pitched through traffic in three earlier innings an error from shortstop Brandon Crawford in the second, a leadoff double from Ketel Marte in the fifth and then a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the sixth that Bumgarner resolved with a force out at the plate followed by a fly out to center. It was shaping up to be one of those starts like the 2014 wild-card game at Pittsburgh, or the 2016 wild-card game at New York, or those final five innings to clinch a title in Kansas City. It did not matter what threatened to crawl out of the can. You just knew Bumgarner was going to slam a lid on it. Rookie Steven Duggar did not have a center field view of Bumgarner in the hottest of those playoff cauldrons. He has only been in the big leagues for 41 games. But he has played behind the Giants left-handed ace long enough to understand that he is capable of willing his way to a victory. And if their ace can exercise his force of will, then maybe so can the team. That s the mental toughness that was missing every fifth day while Bumgarner rehabbed his broken hand for three months. That s what was missing most of last season after he wiped out on a dirt bike. 15

16 It is the kind of mental toughness that this team must reestablish. So as the Giants attempt to dust themselves off in this final month and beyond, there is no minimizing the importance of having Bumgarner back at full strength and full resolve. It s just who he is, Duggar said. Our bulldog, man, our horse. There s just this feeling man, he can get out of jams. And there s this feeling in the dugout that we were going to win this game. I just got the vibe from everybody the way guys were carrying themselves, the at-bats we were putting together. I got the sense we were going to come through. The Giants did come through in a 1-0 victory, and Duggar not only scored the winning run on Gorkys Hernandez s pinch single in the ninth inning, but he sprinted home moments after demonstrating his own refusal to yield. Duggar had drawn a one-out walk and took an aggressive turn around second base on Nick Hundley s single to left field. It was just aggressive enough to draw the throw, but not too reckless to make it back to the base. He dived back safely but said he felt his left shoulder pop out of its socket when Arizona s Ketel Marte applied a tag. Duggar lay motionless in the dirt as the ballpark fell silent. After a few moments, he rolled over. That s when he felt his shoulder pop back in on its own. When I felt it come out, it just kind of couldn t feel like I could move, he said. When I started to roll over, I felt it go back in. I m sitting there and I m moving it around and it felt all right. So I m thinking, There s no way I m coming out of this game. Bochy jogged onto the field with trainer Eric Ortega. They made Duggar raise his arm over his head, shake it out, make some circular motions to show that he had a range of motion. He was in pain and he said I m staying in this game, Bochy said. He kept saying it. It shows you the toughness of this kid. Duggar showed he has street smarts, too. After sprinting home on Hernandez s hit, he immediately ran away from his teammates as they streamed onto the field. He didn t want anyone, in their exuberance, to do anything that would cause him to miss any time. No, Duggar said, he didn t beg to stay in because he represented the winning run. Truth be told, he said, he would ve done the same thing in the third inning. That s just what I m about, he said. Right now, we re knocking on wood that he ll show up tomorrow and be good, Bochy said. It is one degree of encouragement to witness Bumgarner imbuing his team with confidence and 16

17 moxie. It is another to see one of their least experienced players demonstrate those same qualities. I love having him out there, Bumgarner said. It s a big deal for us. Me personally, I don t care if he ever gets a hit. I love him in center field, and anything else he does is a positive. In addition to Duggar s toughness, he also showed the value of anticipation and attention to detail while making the defensive play of the game to bail out Sam Dyson in the eighth inning. David Peralta hit a drive to the deepest part of left-center, and with two outs, Nick Ahmed was running on contact from first base. Duggar not only had the physical speed to cut off the drive, but he knew from experimenting in batting practice that the ball would react differently when it bounced off the fresh sod that the grounds crew had planted following an Ed Sheeran concert at the ballpark a week earlier. When it hits that grass, it kind of checks up, he said. I know if I got over there, I could catch it on one hop and turn around and hit Craw. I anticipated the hop and it worked out that way. Duggar got rid of the ball so quickly and made such a strong throw that Crawford had time to set himself before he delivered to the plate. His throw was high and catcher Hundley still had time to come down with it and apply the tag. As a result, the Giants won their fourth in a row, returned to.500 and kept alive the faintest of hopes while cutting their NL West deficit to six games. Maybe those playoff odds are up to 0.8 percent now. But in all honesty, it doesn t matter to Bumgarner or Duggar. When there is any chance, there is no sense in yielding. Santa Rosa Press Democrat Giants win pitching duel against Diamondbacks 1-0 Janie McCauley, Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO Pinch-hitter Gorkys Hernandez singled home the winning run with one out in the ninth inning, lifting the San Francisco Giants to a 1-0 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night. Steven Duggar scored the deciding run moments after what looked like a potentially serious injury. Duggar stayed in the game after making a headfirst slide back into second on Nick Hundley s single after he initially rounded second. Duggar was seen testing his bruised left shoulder, which will be re-evaluated Wednesday. Arizona fell into a first-place tie with Colorado atop the NL West. Going back to Sunday s 5-2 win against Seattle, the Diamondbacks have gone 23 innings without scoring shut out by the Giants for a second consecutive game and for the seventh time in all this year. 17

18 San Francisco earned its 12th shutout and extended its winning streak to four games. Brad Ziegler (1-6) walked Duggar with one out, taking the loss for his first decision since returning to the Diamondbacks in a trade from Miami before the deadline. Will Smith (2-2) pitched a ninth for the win. Arizona s Nick Ahmed was thrown out at home to end the eighth as he tried to score from first on pinch-hitter David Peralta s single to deep center. Diamondbacks reliever Archie Bradley allowed consecutive one-out walks in the eighth, then manager Torey Lovullo turned to Andrew Chafin one out later and he retired Brandon Crawford on a groundout with runners on second and third. Arizona failed to take advantage of a break in the seventh when Giants left fielder Austin Slater flubbed a lazy fly ball by Jon Jay, then slid on his backside trying to retrieve the ball for a threebase error. Giants lefty ace Madison Bumgarner and Arizona righty Clay Buchholz each pitched seven scoreless innings with nothing to show for it another pitcher s duel a day after San Francisco s Chris Stratton and Patrick Corbin. Bumgarner allowed four hits, five strikeouts and four walks. Bumgarner has surrendered three or fewer runs in 13 of his 16 starts, but had nothing to show for this one. He was coming off eight strong innings in which he gave up one earned run to beat the Mets last Thursday. Buchholz has allowed only one run over his last three starts and 23 innings. Ketel Marte doubled to start the fifth but the D-backs couldn t convert, then Arizona loaded the bases in the sixth and Paul Goldschmidt was thrown out at home by third baseman Evan Longoria. San Francisco has played at least one one-run game in each of its last nine series. San Francisco Examiner After Duggar scare in ninth, San Francisco Giants win 1-0 over Arizona Diamondbacks Ryan Gorcey AT&T PARK As Steven Duggar dove back into second base the consequence of taking a 18

19 wide turn on a ninth-inning single by Nick Hundley he felt his left shoulder pop out of its socket. The tag by second baseman Ketel Marte displaced the joint, and as the San Francisco Giants rookie center fielder rolled over, he felt it snap back into place. When I felt it came out, I couldn t feel like I could move, said Duggar, the Giants No. 3 prospect headed into this season. When I started to roll over, it went back in, and when I was sitting there, I started moving it around, and it felt alright. I was like, There s no way I m coming out of this game.' After hitting the decisive home run on Monday, and cutting a ball off in center for a gamesaving throw in the eighth inning on Tuesday, Duggar said he wouldn t have come out, even if it were the third inning. One pitch later, he would score on a Gorkys Hernandez pinch-hit single, as San Francisco won its fourth game in a row, its second against the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks and its ninth this season in walk-off fashion, 1-0. It was a big spot. I m pumped for Gork, man, Duggar said. That was awesome. There was just this feeling in the dugout I can t really describe it but there was this feeling that we were going to win the game. Duggar who was diagnosed with a bruised shoulder went on to say that it wasn t just him, but the entire dugout that shared some non-verbal feeling that what was a scoreless battle for eight and a half innings would turn in their favor. Madison Bumgarner walked four over his seven innings and struck out five, throwing 107 pitches and scattering four hits. Despite walking four men for the third time in 16 starts, Bumgarner was as artful as he s been all season, deftly dancing in and out of trouble as the Diamondbacks stranded 11 and went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. That s what makes him special, Bochy said. He just finds a way to make pitches when he has to, and really, what a gutty effort he gave us tonight. Bumgarner got out of a two-on jam in the second, worked around a leadoff walk in the fourth and with men at the corners, down 3-1 to A.J. Pollock in the fifth, came back to get Pollock to fly out meekly to center, avoiding the powerful Paul Goldschmidt. I think that s what your elite pitchers are so good at, that makes them special: When they have to make a pitch, they have that ability to slow the game down, to keep their focus, said manager Bruce Bochy. That separates the good from the average pitcher, or great pitchers from the good ones. In the sixth, Bumgarner loaded the bases with one out, but again wriggled off the hook. He got a Ketel Marte grounder to third that Evan Longoria threw home for the second out, and though Nick Hundley made a try for first, his throw was late. Brandon Belt was able to corral a wide throw and save at least one, maybe two runs. Bumgarner then got a fly out to center by Jeff 19

20 Mathis to strand three. It s what I ve seen since two big league camps ago, when I first was able to be behind him, Duggar said. It s what I expect. It s what our team expects. That s just who he is. He s a bulldog, man. He s our horse. After Slater dropped a can-of-corn fly ball in left off the bat of Jon Jay to start the seventh, Bumgarner again pulled a David Copperfield. He stranded men at the corners by getting Goldschmidt pop out to Joe Panik, and then a grounder up the middle by Escobar, which Panik fielded behind the bag and threw to first for the final out. Goldschmidt s had some decent numbers off him too, but he made a nice pitch, threw a cutter in, a slider in, and got the pop-up, Bochy said. That s the pitch that probably won the game for us. He had some tough innings there, stressful innings, threw over 100 pitches, and here he is, facing the heart of the order, and got through it. It says a lot about Madison and what he s about. Though Duggar flashed his easy power on Monday and again on Tuesday, with a ball he smoked to Triples Alley that wound up as a humble F-9 it was his glove that saved the game for San Francisco. With two outs in the eighth, pinch hitter David Peralta sent a rocket to center, with Nick Ahmed aboard on a leadoff single. I was way over, Duggar said. We were just taking a gamble based on how we felt we were going to attack him. When he first hit it, I knew it was going to be trouble, so I just put my head down and ran as hard as I could. Duggar, shaded far over towards left, had recognized that the thinner cut of grass, planted in center field in the wake of an Aug. 21 Ed Sheeran concert, had a bit more bounce to it. As he tracked the ball, he realized he d get a perfectly checked hop. I knew if I got over there, in that general area, just based on the flight of the ball, that I could catch it on a one-hop, and turn around and hit Craw, Duggar said. Sure enough, the ball popped up off the turf and into his throwing pocket, and he uncorked a strike to Crawford. As Ahmed rounded third, Crawford threw home. The throw was high, but catcher Nick Hundley leaped up to make the catch and the tag, preserving the scoreless tie. That saved the game for us, Bochy said. I ve played with him enough now that I m starting to expect that kind of stuff out of him, 20

21 Bumgarner said. I definitely love having him out there Me, personally, I don t care if he never gets a hit. I love him in center field, and anything else he does is a positive. Though Duggar feels fine after his base running mishap, he will not start on Wednesday, and will be re-evaluated. Hernandez, after his game-winner, was scheduled to start anyway. Knocking on wood right now, that tomorrow he s going to show up and go get it, Bochy said. KNBR 680 Bochy, Bumgarner praise Duggar for toughness, defense Jacob Hutchinson Steven Duggar just continues to remind the Giants why they drafted him. On Tuesday, Duggar played arguably the most crucial role in a 1-0 victory over the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks despite failing to pick up a single hit. In the eighth inning, Duggar made an absurd relay with Brandon Crawford to get a potential game-saving out. It was a play that only Bruce Bochy can do justice to. That saved the game for us, Bochy said. He cut that ball off. I don t know if Craw knew he was going, but once he realized it with his arm, we got a huge out there. Madison Bumgarner said it almost doesn t surprise him anymore when Duggar marauds around center field making eye-catching defensive plays. The offense? Well, Bumgarner isn t too concerned with that. I ve gotten to play with him enough now where I m starting to expect that stuff out of him, Bumgarner said. Me, personally, I don t care if he ever gets a hit, I love him in center field and anything else he does is a positive, so that s how I feel about him. Duggar showed a gritty part of his game in the ninth. After he reached on a walk, Nick Hundley singled to left field and Duggar had to stop short after second base and shift his momentum to dive back to the bag. When he reached for the bag, he pushed his head into the dirt, looking to be in clear pain. Bochy and assistant athletic trainer Eric Ortega hustled out to examine Duggar, who refused to entertain suggestions of being removed. On the next play, he scored the game-winning run on a pinch-hit single from Gorkys Hernandez, who will start for Duggar as scheduled tomorrow. I was out there and he was in pain, Bochy said. He said, I m staying in this game. Eric, our trainer made him raise his arm up and show that he was OK, which he did. Shows you the toughness of this kid. Knocking on wood right now that tomorrow he s going to show up and feel good. 21