PHOENIX (AP) — Madison Bumgarner left an 0-2 pitch up in the zone to the third batter he faced and watched it sail over the wall.
An early 2-0 hole wasn’t exactly what Arizona’s ace had in his mind his first game since being ejected, but the left-hander knew he could bounce back. He’s been that good this season.
Bumgarner pitched effectively into the seventh inning and the Diamondbacks made Torey Lovullo the winningest manager in franchise history Tuesday night with a 9-3 win over the Miami Marlins.
“I actually felt really good early on in the game and they put some really good swings on the ball,” said Bumgarner, whose ERA rose a few points to 1.78. “I was able to adjust and keep moving the ball around, get better as we went.”
Bumgarner (2-1) gave up a two-run homer to Jose Soler in a shaky first inning, but allowed two hits the rest of the way after his strange ejection against Miami last week.
Jordan Luplow hit a two-run homer off Jesus Luzardo (2-3) in the first inning and Arizona shut down Miami after the first for Lovullo’s 354th win, passing Kirk Gibson’s team mark.
Arizona has won seven of eight. Miami has lost nine of 10.
“This is a we over me thing — that’s how I’ve looked at it every single day,” Lovullo said. “These players mean the world to me. I can’t do anything without them.”
Bumgarner had the shortest outing of his career Wednesday against Miami in a bizarre scene that led to an apology by umpire Dan Bellino. Bellino confronted Bumgarner as he came off the mound after the first inning and stared at the left-hander after examining his pitching hand.
Bumgarner said something to Bellino and had to be restrained by teammates after being ejected. Bellino later issued an apology, saying he took full accountability for his actions.
Bumgarner got off to a…
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