Madison Bumgarner gets rocked in what could have been rivalry finale

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LOS ANGELES -- The night was always going to end in deafening boos. 

That was clear when Max Muncy took batting practice in a shirt mocking Madison Bumgarner's anger over a home run celebration. It was clear when the Dodgers' in-house organist played "Under the Sea" for Muncy's first at-bat and followed that up with a series of water-themed songs. Or when the scoreboard noted that Muncy's last home run against Bumgarner was currently 25 feet under water and showed a video graphic of Lou Seal surrounded by sharks. 

They don't like Bumgarner around here, never have, and it was ramped up with the noise and drama surrounding every matchup with Muncy, Bumgarner's latest target in blue.

The night did end in boos, but this was never what Bumgarner imagined. He walked off in the fourth, the bases loaded and the Dodgers leading 6-0. Bumgarner briefly looked up at the hatred before ducking his head and disappearing inside the dugout. 

On a night when the Giants twice rallied late, Bumgarner dug too deep a hole. The Giants lost 9-8 in what likely was their ace's final appearance in the rivalry.

"I know it could be," Bumgarner said. "Not that that had anything to do with the result. Mentally I was in the same place I always am. It's not my first bad game I've had against these guys or anyone else. It never gets any easier to swallow."

This was Bumgarner's 35th start against the Dodgers and certainly qualified as his worst. He had never before given up six runs against the rival, but the Dodgers got one in the first on Muncy's single -- after Kiké Hernandez had stolen second and third -- and then poured it on with five runs in a loud fourth inning that ended up being Bumgarner's last.

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Kyle Garlick and Austin Barnes, little-known right-handed batters, hit two-run blasts. Bumgarner then gave up three straight singles to the top of the order to load the bases for Muncy. There was no drama -- just a fly ball to left -- but Chris Taylor followed with a hit that made it 6-0 and chased Bumgarner. 

"I just thought balls were up and over the plate," catcher Buster Posey said. "That was the main thing."

The boos cascaded from all directions at Dodger Stadium as the Giants made a change, but that was the least of Bumgarner's concerns. He allowed eight hits in an inning for the first time since June 21, 2011, a start against the Twins that remains the worst of his career. 

This was just the third time that Bumgarner pitched fewer than four innings, gave up double-digit hits and allowed six runs. He had never before allowed double-digit hits to the Dodgers. Asked what happened, Bumgarner paused.

"I don't know," he said. "I wish I had an answer, but I don't. It's frustrating, extremely frustrating, especially with the way our guys played tonight."

The lineup did not break out until Bumgarner had departed, adding a bit more drama to a night full of it. The Dodgers, at every turn, tweaked the left-hander with gimmicks usually reserved for Double-A. They seemed one inning away from introducing a beer batter, and the Giants noticed. If they greet the Dodgers in September with a video montage of Clayton Kershaw postseason games, you will know why. But Bumgarner said he didn't notice the extracurriculars. 

"Come on. Come on," he said. "No."

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He was not concerned about scoreboard videos or an organist. In what likely was his final time here in orange and black, the Giants scored eight runs. Bumgarner still took the loss.

"We should have won that game," he said. "As bad as it was, we should've won the game."

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