DETROIT – The pitcher win might be an outmoded statistic, as relevant as ‘70s platform heels and ‘80s skinny jeans and wait … are either one of those relevant again?
The pitcher win is less likely to boomerang into fashion again because the definition is often arbitrary and there are so many better numbers to demonstrate a player’s value on the mound.
But wins still resonate on some level to pitchers, which means they are still important to managers. Goodwill among your subordinates never goes out of style.
There is something timeless about the 20-win mark, though. It’s the little black dress of benchmarks. You cannot win 20 games without being durable, without pitching deep into games, without receiving support in the form of runs or solid defense and without a dash of luck at times.
There’s one other skill that’s as vital as any: to win 20 games, you have to learn how to compete when your stuff is flat or ordinary.
Madison Bumgarner’s ball was partially deflated Saturday afternoon at Comerica Park. He entered with 199 strikeouts and exited with 199 strikeouts – the first time in 148 career appearances (145 starts) that he didn’t hang one K on the board.
He was facing a Detroit Tigers lineup studded with threats, and squaring off against former Cy Young winner David Price.
He won anyway, holding the Tigers to three runs in six innings as the Giants took a 5-4 victory here.
[RECAP: Posey powers Giants to victory in Detroit]
He won without his best stuff, and it was his 17th victory of the season – matching the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw for the most wins in the majors. With four starts remaining, Bumgarner must win three of them to become the Giants’ first 20-game winner since John Burkett and Bill Swift in 1993.
“It’s a gratifying one to win when it’s a battle and you’re grinding it out,” said Bumgarner, who changed gears from there to credit his offense and defense.
“I was having a hard time keeping balls off the middle of the plate there for awhile. They were hitting them, which they’re supposed to do. They’re a good hitting team. I was just trying to mix up the speeds and find a way to get guys out, really.”
Bumgarner was handed a 4-0 lead in the first inning and gave half of it back when Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run shot. The Tigers strung together four consecutive hits in the bottom of the first, and that brought first baseman Buster Posey to the mound along with rookie catcher Andrew Susac.
Was Posey offering some advice?
“Maybe a little bit there,” said Posey, who might have been a bit guarded in his response so as not to infringe on Susac’s space. “Those guys had a game plan going in. Both did a nice job.”
Said Susac: “They were hacking early. We had to change up the game plan.”
Bumgarner started using his secondary pitches more and was able to get into favorable counts. He lacked his put-away stuff but allowed just one more run, when Victor Martinez hit a home run in the third.
He became the first Giants pitcher to complete six innings with no walks and no strikeouts since Kirk Rueter in 2003.
“It was a gutty effort,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “That’s part of the growth of a pitcher, learning how to pitch when you aren’t quite as sharp. That’ll happen. You’ll have your good stuff maybe half the time and the other half, you’ll have to pitch and get through it."
Bumgarner just turned 25 in August and is in that sweet spot that so few pitchers get to enjoy for long, if ever: still at the height of his physical powers, with the mentality and wisdom to use it to its maximum benefit. Those are the pitchers that are capable of winning Cy Young Awards at their peak, and remaining effective long afterward.
Tim Lincecum hasn’t figured out how to make that transition. Even at his most dominant, he was a pure stuff guy. So as much as the Giants face a scary rebuild to their creaky rotation next year, at least Bumgarner is as load bearing a pillar as you’ll find in baseball.
It still took a hot offense ripping Price for four runs in the first inning, or it would’ve gone down as a 3-2 or 3-1 loss. Posey was 3 for 3 with a walk and is now hitting .310, third in the NL in the batting race. Susac, who might be as confident as Posey was as a rookie, hit the big two-run double in that inning.
Susac was talking to his father the other day and reflecting on life in the major leagues thus far, including getting the chance to face Cy Young winners like Price.
“I said, `You know what? Everybody is good at this level and can do something great,’” the kid from Sacramento Jesuit High said. “So to be scared up there … I’ll give a pitcher credit when it’s due, but I have to be confident no matter who I’m facing.”
Bumgarner said he’s confident throwing to either Posey or Susac.
“Both of us are still trying to get to know each other, but he looks great back there,” Bumgarner said. “It’s not a whole lot of an adjustment for us as a pitching staff to throw to him because he studies and he tries hard and he’s ready when he gets a chance.”
Maybe Susac will get the chance to catch a 20-game winner. Now that would be something.
