Price vs. Bumgarner — an elite pitching matchup buried in title chases and time zone denial
COMMENTARY
You can forgive Bay Area sports fans for maybe only peripherally noticing the San Francisco Giants this week.
After all, the Golden State Warriors are only two wins away from completing their humiliation of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers for their second-straight NBA title, while the San Jose Sharks hope to push the Pittsburgh Penguins to a Game 6 when they hit the ice Thursday night in Game 5 of the NHL’s Stanley Cup Final.
But Wednesday night’s pitching matchup at AT&T Park bears notice, even as Stephen Curry and the…sigh…Dubs…simultaneously go and wreck the Cavs — again — in Game 3 of the NBA Finals in Cleveland.
Ideally, Wednesday night’s showdown between Red Sox ace David Price and Giants postseason hero Madison Bumgarner would take place in primetime of Game 1 of the World Series. Instead, it’s a June 8, 10:15 p.m. ET start time, which means most employed Boston fans will have to hope Friday’s Steven Wright-Kyle Gibson tilt in Minnesota will be able to soak up as much anticipation. It won’t though.
Bumgarner is the guy the Red Sox want Price to be, a regular season stud who can carry his mastery over to the postseason.
The Giants lefty is a sparkling 7-3 with a 2.14 ERA in the playoffs, including 4-0, 0.25 in the World Series.
Price’s numbers aren’t as good: 2-7, 5.12 ERA.
As far as 2016 is concerned, both guys are 7-2 heading into Wednesday’s game in San Francisco. Price has cut his ERA to 4.88. Bumgarner lowered his to 1.91 after a four-hit shutout of the Atlanta Braves last Thursday.
Since May 1, Bumgarner is 5-0 with a 0.80 ERA. Price is 4-2 with a 4.30 ERA.
Boston’s lefty ace has been better since Dustin Pedroia proved he could do Red Sox pitching coach Carl Willis’ job better than Carl Willis, going 3-1 with a 2.62 ERA after the second baseman noticed a mechanical flaw in the lefty’s delivery. But he wasn’t great in his last start Friday against the Blue Jays, taking only his second loss of the season despite beginning his Red Sox career with a 6.75 ERA over his first seven starts. That left Boston fans wondering if they were ever going to see the dominant presence Price became with the Blue Jays (9-1, 2.30 ERA) in 2015.
“If our fans have paid attention over the last couple of years, they know what I’m capable of doing,” Price told the Boston Herald. “That’s the reason why I’m here, it’s the resume that I’ve built up over the course of my career.”
So here is the first game of its kind for Price this season, a marquee matchup against one of the other handful of pitchers considered to be the best in the game. (Apologies to R.A. Dickey and Jorge De La Rosa.) Price will even have to deal with the offensive presence that Bumgarner represents, he having jolted 13 career home runs, including two this season, a talent that has led the pitcher to openly campaign for inclusion in this year’s Home Run Derby.
Make it happen, Terry Collins. If only for the final showdown between Bumgarner and Yoenis Cespedes.
“Those games are always fun, but I definitely don’t put more significance on any other game, especially right now,” Price said. “He’s throwing the ball extremely well. I want to go out there and throw better.”
Bumgarner also downplayed the significance of the matchup. Then again, he’s already faced Clayton Kershaw twice this season.
“You’re pitching to those other guys,” Bumgarner said. “On paper it will be fun, but it doesn’t change my mind-set.”
Maybe on that side, it doesn’t need to.
But Price’s mind-set is a bit more murky.
For every valid reason the Red Sox had in committing $217 million to Price over the winter, there would always be the stigma that the pitcher shrivels in October, a place the team should vie for despite a pitching staff that desperately needs reinforcements. That’s not to necessarily suggest that Price-Bumgarner should have any extra tinge of importance to it, but an interesting note to witness how Price bears down against he caliber of opponent he’ll face later on down the road.
“It’s getting there, absolutely. I feel like it’s pretty close,” Price said. “I want to throw more strikes. I haven’t filled up the zone the way I know I can. I have that ability to fill up the strike zone the way that I do. That’s when I start pitching really deep into baseball games. Pitching is never easy, but throwing strikes . . . whenever I’m going really well, that part of it is easy.”
It’s not that Price has been a bust so far, but we’ve yet to see great, something even he understands despite his recent return to effectiveness.
“Oh yeah, there’s definitely room for more,” Price told the Herald. “If I had had one of these five starts whenever I was on one of my really good streaks, I wouldn’t be too happy about the games that I’ve had because I know there’s a lot more in there. It’s going to come out. And I just want to ride that streak as long as I can. It’s going to happen.”
Wednesday against Bumgarner is the perfect place to start it.
Just don’t expect San Franciscans to notice. They’ll all be too busy laughing at the Cavaliers.
Red Sox artifacts in the Baseball Hall of Fame
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