The San Francisco Giants, down 2-1 in the NLCS, are going with Tim Lincecum in Game 4 and Barry Zito in Game 5.
In other words, no Madison Bumgarner.
In his previous postseason, Bumgarner, at 20, threw eight scoreless innings in Game 4 of the 2010 World Series.
This postseason, he appears fatigued and out of whack mechanically.
So manager Bruce Bochy demoted him to the bullpen and made the announcement after Wednesday’s 3-1 loss in St. Louis.
“He’s on the staff,” Bochy said of Bumgarner’s status. “He had a hiccup in his first start, actually the last couple. He’s getting out of sync with his mechanics a little bit. He knows that. So that’s why he took a bullpen.”
Bumgarner tossed a light bullpen session during Tuesday’s workout. He has given up 10 runs and 15 hits in eight innings in the postseason.
“It’s time to give Madison a little break,” Bochy said. “He’s a young kid who has been pitching a lot of innings, and we feel at this point that we’re better off giving him a little break and going with (Zito), who’s done a nice job for us.”