Bruce Bochy can’t keep riding Madison Bumgarner. Or any other starter, for that matter. This isn’t October. Eventually, the bullpen will need to become reliable.
It wasn’t Tuesday night, and Bumgarner’s anticipated 10th win turned into a gut-wrenching no-decision as the Giants were beaten 7-3 by the Rockies.
Bumgarner threw six scoreless innings, and Bochy pulled him after 96 pitches, hoping the relievers would preserve a 2-0 lead. But George Kontos and Cory Gearrin coughed it up in the seventh inning, and further ugliness followed in the eighth.
It was the Giants’ 17th blown save of the season, tied for the most in the majors with the Reds, whose bullpen is historically bad.