Wow, that Bumgarner guy pitches, too!

Madison Bumgarner went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts Sunday against Arizona. He needed to pick up the slack elsewhere to earn his keep. We desperately need a sarcasm font. 

In case you were wondering, this is what an ace looks like. (SF Gate Photo)

The Giants closed the figurative first half of the 2016 campaign in style, riding their ace lefthander for all he was worth in a one-hit complete-game masterpiece pitched before a prime time audience. Two swings of the bat, a fifth-inning error and an eighth-inning single, were the only blemishes on a spectacular night that saw the Giants take a 4-0 win and head into the All-Star Break with the best record in baseball.

At 57-33, the Giants are 6 1/2 games ahead of Los Angeles in the NL West chase and now get four days to enjoy the cushion. Of course, someone will find that killjoy stat that noted the last time the Giants were baseball's best at the break was in 1993 and that didn't turn out so well. At least we know the Rockies can't go 0-18 against Atlanta to wreck it this time around.

It was vintage Bumgarner, who had command of the game from pitch number one. Arizona simply couldn't go anything with him. An assortment of cutters and sliders kept the Diamondbacks guessing, and that was before he unveiled his best working curve of the season as a kill pitch. If there was ever an example of an entire Major League team just looking overmatched, this was it.

It also didn't hurt that he got some run support early.

Span accepts congratulations and Bochy is pictured sans scowl. Who knew? (SF Gate Photo)

Denard Span broke an 0-for-9 skid with a lead-off looper down the left field line that looked eminently catchable but Brandon Drury watched it fall in for a first-inning single. Angel Pagan followed with a wind-blown double off the center field wall; and it seemed the baseball gods were smiling as the Giants put two men in scoring position.

Brandon Belt lined out to second (actually to short right, directly into the shift) but Buster Posey took a curve ball away to right for an RBI single. With runners at the corners Brandon Crawford had a chance to plate a run with an out, and he did just that. His sacrifice fly to deep left made it 2-0 Giants after an inning.

The Giants has an opportunity to lather, rinse, repeat in the second but Bradley wiggled off the hook. Gregor Blanco walked and Ramiro Pena doubled; putting runners at second and third. But Bungarner went down looking, Span grounded out with no advance by the runners, and Pagan  hit a routine bouncer for the third out.

Meanwhile, Bumgarner was mowing down the Snakes. Arizona's first trip through the order resulted in no base runners, and Bumgarner had thrown just 39 pitches, striking out five and not allowing a ball to reach the outfield. That was just the warm-up act as he struck out the side in the fourth, getting the 1-2-3 of Jean Segura, Michael Bourn and Paul Goldschmidt all swinging.

The Giants missed another chance in their half of the inning. San Francisco's lead-off man was aboard for the third time on a Blanco double, and Pena's slow roller to first bought Blanco 90 feet. Bumgarner again couldn't get the man home from third, striking out, and Span's grounder ended the threat. Two singles and a missed cutoff man gave the G-Men another second-and third, two-out chance in the fifth but still no sizzle. Through five the Giants were just 1-for-9 with RISP and had left seven men on base.

Posey enjoyed a three-hit night as the battery enjoyed itself immensely. (SF Gate Photo)

Arizona finally got a runner with two out in the fifth. A Jake Lamb fly ball to right, the first ball hit to an outfielder, got lost in the sun and went off Blanco's glove for a two-base error. That ended a run of five straight strikeouts, but if the miscue bothered the big lefty it didn't show. He struck out Drury for his 11th K to end the frame.

MadBum was otherwise clean through seven, and the heart of the order finally gave him some breathing room in the home half of that frame. Belt and Posey had two-out singles and Crawford chased them home with a double to left of Daniel Hudson. That gave the best defensive shortstop in baseball three RBIs on the night and 61 for the season, but he's not an All-Star. Yeah, and "Batman vs. Superman" wasn't overhyped.

The focus was then squarely on Bumgarner's quest. He got Yasmany Tomas swinging to open the eighth, but Lamb killed the no-hit bid. Of course it was Lamb. It's always Lamb. A two-strike slider got too much of the plate and Lamb lined a clean single to right. Unfazed, Bumgarner rolled a quick 4-6-3 and the shutout stayed intact.

The only remaining drama was whether Bumgarner, 107 pitches deep and due to hit third, would take the hill in the ninth. Uh, would you want to pull him? Go ahead, you break the news. We'll wait in the safety of our bunker.

He walked Rickie Weeks to start ninth but got Nick Ahmed to pop out. On his season-high 117th pitch, Segura hit into a 4-6-3 double play and the crowd went home happy. Well, most did. Bumgarner, Posey, Belt and Johnny Cueto had a flight to San Diego waiting.

Bumgarner's line was impressive. The walk to Weeks was his only freebie of the night, which was mildly acceptable stacked against 14 strikeouts. It ran his record to 10-4 and lowered his ERA to 1.94; and keep in mind this is a guy who has also handed the bullpen four leads it failed to protect. 

Posey went 3-for-4 while Crawford and Span had two hits apiece to spark an 11-hit Giants attack. Pagan, Belt, Blanco and Ramiro Pena joined the party.

The Giants don't hit the field as a unit again until Friday, when it's expected Bumgarner will go again on regular rest. He won't even have to change hotels after the All-Star festivities with San Diego scheduled to be his party date. Andrew Cashner (3-7, 5.40) is the Padres' anticipated starter.

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