August is just about in the books, and the Giants managed to survive a brutal schedule and keep themselves within striking distance of a playoff spot. And while we’re supposed to believe baseball is a team game, they basically have one person to thank for keeping them in contention: Madison Bumgarner.
Bumgarner had one of the best months any pitcher could have in August. He started 5 games and went 5-0, putting up a 1.43 ERA. He struck out an incredible 53 batters in 37.2 innings, good for a 12.66 K/9. He had three games with 12+ strikeouts, another with nine, and walked just four batters all month (giving him a 13.2 K/BB ratio). Bumgarner didn’t allow a home run all month and held opponents to a .173/.201/.218 batting line. He was virtually unhittable.
At the plate, Bumgarner was just as good. He hit a home run for the fourth consecutive month, and then hit another one for good measure. He batted .278/.278/.667 in August and that gave him the best OPS on the team for the month. There were times it looked like Bumgarner could hit fifth in the lineup considering the injuries the Giants were dealing with.
To put just how good Bumgarner was in perspective, consider the stats for the rest of the Giants starters: 4-10 with a 5.25 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. They were without trade deadline acquisition Mike Leake for most of the month, Chris Heston seemed to hit a rookie wall, and Matt Cain looked like a shell of his former self. They got decent starts from Jake Peavy and Ryan Vogelsong, but didn’t get nearly enough quality innings from anyone besides Bumgarner.
The Giants find themselves in a tough spot, as they have no immediate rotation help in the minors and time has just about run out to add a starter from another team. They have to rely on what they have, and that’s not much. Leake has been solid in his few starts, and Peavy and Vogelsong are good bets to at least get five or six quality innings. But they don’t have another starter close to the caliber of Bumgarner, and that may be their undoing over the last month.
But even with the prospect of doom looming over the rest of their season, the Giants should still appreciate the performance Bumgarner put on all month long. He won nearly 40% of their games in August and kept them afloat in the division race. With all of the injuries the Giants are playing through, it’s not a surprise to see them struggling; what is surprising, though, is the fact that they’re still in contention for a playoff spot. Bumgarner seems to be doing all he can to make sure that still happens.
He may not win pitcher of the month – Jake Arrieta probably locked that up last night – but Madison Bumgarner’s month of August might be what ends up saving the season for the Giants. That’s probably better than a plaque, anyway.
