Despite imperfect outings, Lovullo says Bumgarner is Diamondbacks’ guy

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Madison Bumgarner gets the start as the team looks to take the series against the San Diego Padres.

The D-backs ace struggled in his last outing Tuesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers where he pitched just 4.1 innings (83 pitches/56 strikes). In that game, Bumgarner allowed seven earned runs on seven hits.

Prior to Sunday’s game, manager Torey Lovullo expressed his confidence in Bumgarner.

“Bum is our guy,” Lovullo told reporters on a Zoom call. “He’s going to be counted on a little bit differently as our number one and we know that.

“He hasn’t had perfect outings but the best part about what he has given us is we’re working deep into the games and he’s keeping us in the ball games.”

This season, Bumgarner (0-2) has pitched 15.1 innings for the D-backs in 3 games, allowing 15 hits and 13 runs.

A win Sunday would mean the team has won two straight series, and the team’s hoping their ace can get them there.

“I think he’s in a good spot,” Lovullo said. “He’s hopefully ready to go out and win us a ball game today. I know that he’s been working hard for that.”

Bumgarner, who reached 10 years of major league service time on Saturday, is looking for his first win since Aug. 30, 2019, when the San Francisco Giants defeated the Padres. If he wins Sunday, it would also mark his first road win since July 28, 2019.

“He’s not going to back down and that’s something that we love about him,” Lovullo said.

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