AA Update: Bumgarner Lowers ERA to 0.75, Wins Second Start

In a completion of a game suspended in the first inning by fog on Saturday, Madison Bumgarner took the mound for Connecticut yesterday, and showed that his first start at the AA level was not a fluke.

After allowing a lead-off double in the second, it appeared as if Bumgarner would be in for another start of battling hitters with men on base. However, this time there was little drama as Madison proceeded to no-hit the opposition for the next six innings.

While Bumgarner notched only two strikeouts in his last start, on Sunday his dominance was never in doubt. Nine strikeouts helped him cruise, and in four of his six innings, Bumgarner faced only three batters. Two out of the three walks surrendered on the day came in the fifth, but a pick-off and two strikeouts ensured that no runner reached second base.

Bumgarner no doubt felt some pressure throughout the game, since he exited the game leading only one to nothing. But fellow 2007 draftee Joe Paterson relieved Bumgarner in the eighth, pitching into the ninth and maintaining his 0.00 ERA through thirteen appearances. Connecticut's closer then ensured that Bumgarner received the win.

Tim Alderson, the original starter on Saturday, pitching a scoreless first before the suspension of play.

Shortstop Brandon Crawford, who went one-for-four with two strikeouts, has now struck out twice in each of his last four games. Although Crawford is hitting .467 with the bases empty, he is two for eighteen with runners on, and is hitting .091 with runners in scoring position.

Crawford now has only one walk and eleven strikeouts in eight games since his call-up. He has thirteen total bases and one RBI, with three extra-base hits. At single-A San Jose, Crawford's batting average was nearly one hundred points higher (.371 vs. .273), and Brandon tallied six home runs and seventeen RBI's in twenty-five games.