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In today’s series finale, the Dodgers will have Walker Buehler on the mound against the Giants. Buehler will be making his third career start against the Giants as he looks to add on to hopefully many seasons of facing the long-time Dodger foe.
Against Buehler will be a familiar face to Dodger players and fans. Madison Bumgarner will be making his 34th career start against the Dodgers. Today’s start will put Bumgarner in sole second place behind Hall-of-Famer Juan Marichal.
It is arguable that like Clayton Kershaw’s record against the Giants, Bumgarner has been at his best against the Dodgers. His 2.57 ERA in 213⅔ innings pitched in his prior 33 starts is only approached by Bumgarner’s success against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
It might seem surprising that Bumgarner is only 29, he will turn 30 on August 1st. Being a part of the Dodger/Giant rivalry for nearly a decade, it only seems like he should be older.
Bumgarner and Kershaw have had 11 games when they started each other and Bumgarner is 4-3 (Kershaw is 3-4) with four no-decisions each.
Most Starts by SF Giants against LA Dodgers
| Rank | Player | GS | W | L | ERA | IP | H | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Player | GS | W | L | ERA | IP | H | BB | SO |
| 1 | Juan Marichal | 63 | 36 | 18 | 2.37 | 474.2 | 390 | 92 | 303 |
| 2 | Madison Bumgarner | 33 | 15 | 12 | 2.57 | 213.2 | 184 | 45 | 208 |
| Matt Cain | 33 | 7 | 11 | 3.30 | 202 | 195 | 69 | 144 | |
| 4 | Mike McCormick | 31 | 12 | 13 | 3.36 | 198 | 174 | 46 | 110 |
| 5 | Jim Barr | 29 | 6 | 12 | 4.90 | 172.2 | 205 | 45 | 57 |
| Kirk Rueter | 29 | 10 | 12 | 3.90 | 166 | 171 | 51 | 51 | |
| Jack Sanford | 29 | 10 | 8 | 3.43 | 178.1 | 167 | 75 | 88 | |
| 8 | Tim Lincecum | 28 | 10 | 9 | 3.37 | 165.2 | 158 | 69 | 160 |
| 9 | John Montefusco | 25 | 7 | 8 | 3.29 | 169.2 | 174 | 48 | 127 |
| Gaylord Perry | 25 | 11 | 6 | 2.64 | 194.2 | 183 | 50 | 128 | |
| Barry Zito | 25 | 9 | 10 | 3.56 | 151.2 | 133 | 56 | 104 |
Madison Bumgarner is in the last season of his contract with the Giants and some think he will be traded by the July 31st trade deadline. His $12M contract (which would be pro-rated) won’t be an issue either by the acquiring team or more likely, the Giants will send money to cover in order to receive better prospects.
However, Bumgarner has not pitched more than 129⅔ innings in a season since 2016. He is on pace to pitch more this season, today will be his 14th start and he already has logged 80 innings pitched. Bumgarner’s FIP for the last three seasons are 3.95, 3.99 and 3.87. His HR rate is 1.35 per nine innings pitched.
If the team that trades for Bumgarner cites his postseason success as a reason, that acquiring team would have to balance Bumgarner’s recent performance and the fact that he has not pitched in the postseason since 2015 versus the image of his dominance back in 2014.
In any case, today’s game could be the last time Bumgarner walks out in a Giant uniform and pitches against the Dodgers. If the Giants don’t change their rotation schedule, Bumgarner could miss the upcoming four-game series at Dodger Stadium.
After that series, these teams won’t face each other until September. While the Dodger roster will likely be similar to today’s team, the Giants could be different given their rebuilding status.
There’s no question Bumgarner will be part of that rebuild, will it be by the July 31st trade deadline or leaving as a free agent is an open question.
What isn’t open for debate is that Madison Bumgarner will always be a big part of the Dodger/Giant rivalry and he’ll be remembered as one of the faces of that rivalry for the past decade.