Left-hander Madison Bumgarner was one pitch away from tossing six scoreless innings on Friday night in San Diego, so it might be a stretch to call his diminished fastball velocity a concern for the Diamondbacks.
But it is something Bumgarner himself apparently would like to see improve.
“I think in his mind,” pitching coach Matt Herges said, “it’s very important.”
Bumgarner averaged just 87.9 mph with his fastball, well below the 91.4 mph that both was his average last season and is his average throughout his career.
“He knows that his 89-91 (mph) plays up significantly with the vertical rise he gets on his fastball,” Herges said.