SAN FRANCISCO — For five-plus innings, Madison Bumgarner was nearly perfect. He just couldn’t stay away from the long ball.
After retiring the first 11 batters he faced at AT&T Park Sunday, Bumgarner coughed up back-to-back home runs in the fourth and then he surrendered another big fly in the fifth that cemented the Giants fate in a 7-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Rookie shortstop Paul DeJong spoiled Bumgarner’s bid for a perfect game with two outs in the fourth, launching a cutter to left field, tying the game at 1-1. The next batter, Jose Martinez, followed suit, sending an inside changeup into the bleachers in left-center field to give the Red Birds the lead.