Brief Thoughts on a 6-1 Giants Victory

• Madison Bumgarner. Just a tremendous outing — the kind where he’s in complete control, mixing all his pitches well and working quickly through each inning. For the second time in his short career, Bumgarner tossed a complete game. The only damage came in the fourth inning, following a Jayson Werth “triple” that realistically could have been prevented. Hunter Pence got to the ball in time, but misplayed it at the last second; he told reporters after the game that he had flinched because he thought he was going to run into Angel Pagan. Oh well. The final line for Bumgarner was still marvelous: 9 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K.
• A testament to how good Bumgarner was: the way he carved up Ryan Zimmerman, one of the better right-handed hitters in baseball. Zimmerman grounded into a double play in the first, and struck out swinging to lead off the ninth inning, but the real treat came on an 1-1 curveball to Zimmerman in the fourth inning. Check out the location on that pitch — right at the very bottom. Beautiful.
• Brandon Crawford made a few great plays at short tonight (the two fifth inning grabs immediately come to mind) and drove in a run in the eighth inning. He’s continued to perform like a decent ballplayer — which is really all we could’ve asked for, right? And if that’s the weak link in the Giants’ starting nine, then I’m feeling very good about this lineup. As far as shortstops go, Crawford really isn’t too shabby.
• Brandon Belt‘s baserunning misadventures tonight were ridiculous, but fortunately, they didn’t end up mattering much. On a positive note, Belt is starting to consistently drive the ball — with two near-homers on the night — and appears to be as confident as ever. As well he should. He’s been among the best hitters in baseball so far this month.