When Madison Bumgarner takes the mound for the San Francisco Giants against Jaime Moyer and the Colorado Rockies Thursday, they'll not only be looking for each of their first victory of 2012 and a series victory for their respective teams, they'll be making history as well.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Thursday's game will be the third-largest age differential between two starting pitchers all-time and the largest since 1965; a difference of 26 years and 256 days. Moyer had gained over 500 innings of experience in the majors before Bumgarner was even born back in 1989, and now all that knowledge will take on the young buck in a battle of contrasting styles between lefties.
Bumgarner got shelled for four runs in four innings in his season debut in Arizona, and wants to get back on track after his stellar spring gave him high hopes for 2012. He is 1-2 with a 3.50 ERA in three career starts at Coors, and will hopefully fare more like to Barry Zito than Tim Lincecum during this three game set.
Thursday will be Moyer's fourth career start at Coors, which is astonishing when you consider how small of a sample that is from his 4,025 1/3 innings pitched in 687 career games at 49 different stadiums. Regardless, he is 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in 11 innings pitched there in his career, hoping to fare better than the four runs in five innings he allowed in his season debut.
The Giants offense certainly hasn't been the issue thus far, scoring 29 runs in five games this season including at least one home run each game. Now they just need a pitcher than can put up some gooseggs (that isn't named Zito).
No one knows what to expect after the two crazy games these teams have played already, but you can rest assured that it will be entertaining. First pitch is set for 12:10 p.m. PT with coverage on CSN Bay Area, KNBR 680 AM in the Bay Area, Root Sports and KOA 850 AM out in Colorado.
For more on the Giants, head over to McCovey Chronicles. For the Rockies side of the story, check out Purple Row.