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Madison Bumgarner was not his usual self on Monday in Milwaukee.
But the Giants' offense picked him up and the 2014 World Series MVP got the win.
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"The beauty of having a great lineup is every once in a while you're gonna pick up the starting pitcher who is not gonna have his greatest day, and that was the case with Bumgarner," Duane Kuiper explained to KNBR 680 on Tuesday morning. "I don't think we really realized how sick he was. When it's Bumgarner, we just think that he's a robot. This is what he's gonna do -- he's gonna go out, he's gonna pitch seven-eight innings, maybe a complete game -- he was sick as a dog."
Bumgarner allowed three runs on five hits and five walks over five laborious innings.
[PAVLOVIC: Rewind: Despite flu, Bumgarner has rewarding day]
He allowed two home runs and walked in a run for just the second time in his career.
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“I think, without question, the flu bug caught up to him,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “I was worried about him. It was obvious that it was tough sledding. He’s not going to say anything and still won’t, but he found a way to get through it. He gave us five.”
When Bumgarner was asked after the game to rate his health, he perhaps told a little bit of a lie.
“I don’t know ... 100,” Bumgarner said. “I ain’t going to use that as an excuse.”
Bumgarner did not have a strong spring training. He went 0-1 with a 11.12 ERA over four starts.
His struggles carried over into Opening Day.
“I just never really felt like I could get dialed in," Bumgarner said. "I felt like my finishes weren’t very good, but we still found a way to get through it. It was kind of tough all the way around. Obviously everything wasn’t together and going the way I wanted it to, but sometimes a day like today is more rewarding than when you go out there with your best stuff.”
Bumgarner's next scheduled start is Saturday against the Dodgers at AT&T Park. The opposing pitcher: Clayton Kershaw.
But Kuiper isn't concerned about Bumgarner.
"He is out of whack," Kuiper acknowledged. "He's having a hard time throwing his fastball for a strike, but that's all fixable. And I know that he's already thinking about Saturday."