San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy confirmed Madison Bumgarner as San Francisco's starting pitcher in Game 2 of the National League Division Series against the Cincinnati Reds.
While the Giants' postseason rotation still has plenty of question marks, the Game 2 starter was never one of them. Matt Cain was the obvious choice to start the series opener, but Bumgarner has been penciled into the second slot for a while.
He finished the regular season with a 16-11 record and 3.37 ERA, and if he is able to replicate the postseason success he had in 2010, the Giants could have a major advantage heading into the playoffs. Bumgarner made four postseason appearances in 2010, allowing just five runs over 20 ⅔ innings while striking out 18. That included eight shutout innings against the Texas Rangers in Game 4 of the World Series.
While the first two spots in the rotation are set, Bochy chose not to announce the rest of the rotation. Instead, he said Barry Zito, Ryan Vogelsong and Tim Lincecum will be available out of the bullpen for the weekend games.