Madison Bumgarner throws gem, gets no-decision as Marlins sweep D-backs

Starter Madison Bumgarner threw an absolute gem in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 3-1 loss to the Miami Marlins on Thursday.

The lefty only allowed one run on two hits and no walks while striking out seven over six innings of work (85 pitches, 58 strikes).

Remarkably, the only run Bumgarner allowed came via a leadoff homer from Marlins shortstop Miguel Rojas.

But from there, the lefty went on to retire 17 batters in a row. The only Miami hitter that seemed to have a beat of Bumgarner was Rojas, who ended the 17 consecutive outs streak with a single in the bottom of the sixth inning.

“Today, that thing, it’s interesting,” Bumgarner said of his changeup. “Some days I might throw it off the backstop and some days like today, it felt pretty good. I don’t know if it’ll be here tomorrow, but it was here today. … I don’t think it’s a great big change, it’s just nice to give guys a different look.”

“Same stuff, just going by my feel and moving the ball around and paying attention to their swings and seeing what they’re trying to do,” he added.

The Arizona starter was also hit by a pitch on his right wrist in his first at-bat in the second inning, but it clearly had little effect as the lefty continued to mow down Marlins hitters.

Manager Torey Lovullo revealed postgame that x-rays on Bumgarner’s wrist came back negative, although the lefty did say that it was swollen and discomforting over the rest of his outing.

Unfortunately for the Diamondbacks, things started to unravel immediately after Lovullo replaced his starter with J.B. Bukauskas in the bottom of the seventh.

The righty gave up a solo homer to Adam Duvall and an RBI sac-fly to Chad Wallach to give Miami a 3-1 lead and Bumgarner the no-decision.

“I think there were some mistakes on the plate,” Lovullo said. “… (Pitching coach) Matt Herges said the slider that Adam Duvall hit out of the ballpark was a little bit of a cement mixture — it didn’t have a lot of depth to it. Those pitches tend to be at a good hitting speed and when they’re in the middle of the plate, a big league hitter is going to get after it.”

Arizona’s lone run came on a Pavin Smith RBI-double that scored Daulton Varsho.

Pavin Smith with the RBI double. pic.twitter.com/zN6kKneoel

— Bally Sports Arizona (@BallySportSAZ) May 6, 2021

But other than that, the D-backs were only able to muster a total of five hits on the night. Asdrubal Cabrera had what would have at least been extra bases taken away by Marlins center fielder Magneuris Sierra. Smith accounted for 60% (three) of his team’s hit total.

Magnificent Sierra. #JuntosMiami pic.twitter.com/hdT7xK0geA

— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) May 7, 2021

“That’s the frustration on this team right now. We have good hitters that understand who they are,” Lovullo said. “I just think we’re trying to do a little too much in certain situations and going out of the zone or maybe offering at a pitch that wasn’t necessarily the pitch we should’ve been looking for.

“Early-count outs — I thought we did a good job off their starting pitcher today by being a little bit more patient, we had him out of the game after the fifth inning. I just feel like we were getting off on the wrong pitch today and getting off on the wrong pitch the last two days. So what does that mean> It means one of two things; early-count outs or swinging at a pitch at the pitch that we aren’t looking for.”

The loss marks the Diamondbacks’ 13th in their last 17 games at Marlins Park and the third series sweep in the last five trips to Miami.

UP NEXT

The D-backs’ East Coast road trip continues on Friday, as Arizona will travel to take on the New York Mets at Citi Field.

Lovullo said pregame that righty Zac Gallen will be on the bump. David Peterson will get the start for the Mets.

First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. Arizona time. Catch all the action on ESPN 620 AM.

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