Boy, was it ever a classic in Seattle, Washington last night as two of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball went head to head. Neither man disappointed either, as San Francisco Giants’ ace and World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner pitched a complete game giving up just 4 hits, 2 earned runs, walked just one and struck out nine. The 25 year old left hander was excellent, but it’s just too bad that his offense couldn’t get anything going in the loss.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Seattle Mariners’ ace “King” Felix Hernandez was on his A game after struggling so mightily in his most recent start. On the 12th of this month, on the road against the first place Houston Astros, Hernandez was blasted for 8 runs on 5 hits and lasted just one third of an inning. That was by far the worst start of his Major League career. Going into last night, there was very little doubt that he would return to form no matter who he was going up against because, well, he’s arguably the best pitcher in all of baseball for a reason. He is the ultimate stopper and he proved it once again last night. In the 2-0 victory, he pitched 8 scoreless innings, gave up just 4 hits, struck out five and walked two. Taking him out after eight scoreless was smart in my opinion because he had thrown 106 pitches and there really was no need to push him in a regular season game in the middle of June.
Both Hernandez and Bumgarner were on cruise control through this one until the bottom of the 6th inning when center fielder Austin Jackson drove in catcher Mike Zunino and then struggling second baseman Robinson Cano drove Jackson in with a double to make the game 2-0 in the Mariners’ favor. Those were three of the four hits the Mariners would scratch out all game, but it ended up being enough with Hernandez on the bump.
Hernandez moved to a record of 10-3 on the season, becoming the second fastest pitcher in the big leagues, behind the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Gerrit Cole, to get to double digits in wins. Bumgarner fell to 7-4 with the loss.
