Here's a stat for you: this is the highest strike% Bumgarner has ever had in a start, as he threw 89 of 121 pitches for strikes. (Here are the other instances in which his strike% has exceeded 70%).
One other really encouraging thing is that he maintained his velocity throughout the start:
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Buster Posey's really starting to turn things around at the plate. He reached base a couple of times (including a double, his first XBH in a while...). And apparently he's riding an eight-game hitting streak -- though I was completely unaware of this coming into tonight.
Lastly, Nate Schierholtz is just awesome.
Oh yeah, and there's one last thing I must point out though, because it's something that's been bothering me.
This:
One day after Sergio Romo screamed into his glove after facing just one hitter, Bochy called the right-hander into his office for a chat. In 17 appearances entering Thursday, Romo had thrown just 101/3 innings -- by far the lightest workload among Giants relievers.
I don't know exactly how to interpret that, but it bothers me.
I'll just note that Sergio Romo is one of the best relievers in baseball, and perhaps the most underrated reliever in baseball. His SIERA ranks first among all major-leaguers with 10+ IP, at 0.48...the next highest mark? Brad Ziegler at 1.59...that's right, Romo has the best SIERA in baseball, and it's not even close.
I like Bruce Bochy. I like the way he handled the bullpen, for the most part, in 2010. His management of the bullpen in Game Six of the NLCS was especially phenomenal, as he somehow managed to piece together inning after inning of nearly-flawless relief work. Perhaps luck was on his side, and it was -- to an extent -- but he kind of knew what he was doing.
Right now, I don't know if I can say the same. Because he's got Romo, that exceptionally talented reliever, and he's barely used him for ten innings of work this season. It's terribly frustrating.
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