Madison with a masterpiece

When last we left the Giants, they seemed like a cramped swimmer going down for the third time. Last night, Madison Bumgarner threw the team a much-needed life preserver.

Later in the evening, just when the good fans of the city of Metropolis and the artist known as Bummer needed him most, Buster Posey found a phone booth and changed from old reliable Clark Kent into the Man of Steel providing run support just in the nick of time to save the artists prized work.

from CSN Bay Area:

Rewind: Bumgarner gets everything but 'Buster Hug' in win | CSN Bay Area:

Bumgarner had a 5.17 ERA at AT&T Park and nobody could understand it. Buster Posey was hitting .239 with an out-of-character .278 on-base percentage at AT&T Park and nobody could understand it. The Giants had lost their edge at home for more than two months and … well, maybe the shortcomings of their best all-around pitcher and hitter might explain some of it, right?

But this time, Bumgarner took charge and Posey provided all the offense with a pair of home runs. The two-run shot came in the sixth inning. The solo shot followed in the eighth.

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To put what Bummer did into historical perspective, only three left-handed pitchers in the last 50 years have twirled a game with 13K's, 0 BB's while allowing 1 hit or less:

1. Sandy Koufax
2. Randy Johnson
3. Clayton Kershaw

Twenty-four first pitch strikes led to fifteen 0-2 counts. Anyone who knows anything about the importance of the count to the equilibrium of the pitcher - hitter confrontation will realize that this is a recipe for a low batting average for the opposition hitters. 

Bumgarner stood out there and defended the motherland with a toxic mixture of high velocity snot rockets and fastballs rendering the Rockies bats impotent under the withering barrage. Just what the doctor ordered for a team that had been withering in the dogs days of August. We shall see if this performance provides an adrenaline shot to a moribund group of rag tag fighters or if it is just a one-off distraction. 

For one night, Bumgarner was both magnificent and masterful. Buster Posey once again came to the rescue just in the nick of time like a good hero should. The Giants will need all of this and more to get their mojo back, but you have to start somewhere. 

These two sounded a clarion call for the rest of the team last night. All aboard, the train is about to leave the station. We'll see how many of their teammates board the train. 

Bummer has been nails for the Giants since he was a precocious twenty-one year old staring down playoff and World Series pressures to win games. Buster Posey has been the hero more times than I can count. It's good to see both returning to form.