Bumgarner, Crawford make Padres cry

It was a rare occurrence, like seeing a lunar eclipse or hearing a coherent thought from Donald Trump. The Giants projected regular lineup actually appeared on the field Tuesday night, but in the end it was Madison Bumgarner and Brandon Crawford stealing the show.

MadBum threw a five-hit complete game and Crawford drove in all five San Francisco runs as the Giants thumped San Diego 5-1 to notch their sixth straight victory and keep the current NL West road trip perfect at 5-0. The win lifted San Francisco to a season-high five games over .500 at 23-18, leading Colorado and Los Angeles by 1 1/2 games.

Do not make this man angry. (AP Photo)

Bumgarner was stellar, striking out 11 without a walk and going the route on just 108 pitches. It was bay far his best outing of the season as he lifted his record to 5-2 and lowered his ERA to a paltry 2.45. The win was the 90th of his career, and the sustained success sometimes makes it hard to remember he's still just 26. The best may yet be to come.

Crawford provided the punch, getting two hits and a sac fly to lead a 10-hit attack. His three-run blast in the second set the Giants up for success and they never looked back.

There were loud outs and great plays on both sides in the first: the stadium giveaway could have been gloves and masks for all the thievery that took place. But the Giants lit up Padres starter Colin Rea in the second. 

Brandon Belt doubled and Hunter Pence singled before Crawford slammed a 3-0 offering 423 feet to right center for a 3-0 lead. Ah, the symmetry (we couldn't find a way to work it being his fifth homer of the year into the "3-0" repetition, so just ignore it.)

It looked gloomy for San Diego, which  came into the night with a 3-21 mark in games where the opposition scored first; like having to face Bumgarner wasn't already enough of a challenge. As if to emphasize the point, MadBum handed out the proverbial shutdown frame while fanning the side in the San Diego second.

In fact, the biggest noise San Diego made in the early going came during a break. Bumgarner whiffed Wil Myers to end the third, and the two exchanged snarls. Typical baseball fight: benches emptied but no 'Odors' thrown. 

BTW, if the bullpens are gonna empty can't they just rumble in center field and save themselves the trip?

B-Craw makes ball B-gone. (AP Photo)

Crawford got his fourth RBI of the night in the sixth as the Giants greeted reliever Carlos Villanueva rudely. Buster Posey opened up with a double, took third on a Pence single and scored on B-Craw's fly ball.

To that point, the Padres had managed just one solitary hit. That changed quickly as Brett Wallace led off with a seeing-eye single and Myers got a measure of revenge with a one-out double. Bumgarner wiggled free, striking out Derek Norris and getting Mart Kemp courtesy Belt's over-the-shoulder grab of a pop foul.

San Diego was done but Crawford wasn't; RBI number five came on an eighth-inning double. He was gunned down trying for three, but the shot chased home Pence, who had singled, for a 5-0 edge.

Bumgarner was finally dented in the ninth when Kemp launched a solo shot to the West Metal Supply Company, but the competitive portion of the contest had long since concluded.

The Giants will try to stay perfect on the road swing Wednesday evening, sending sending Johnny Cueto (5-1, 2.97 ERA) out to battle San Diego's Drew Pomeranz (4-3, 1.80 ERA). It's the second look at each team for the startrs. Cueto threw a complete game with 11 strikeouts when the clubs met three week ago at AT&T Park. Pomeranz didn't fare as well, giving up three runs on seven hits and three walks in 4 2/3 innings.

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