So far, so good for Madison Bumgarner, who's trying to make his first good start in quite some time. I did see this on Twitter ...
Bumgarner clearly doesn't have near his best stuff right now. Way too many missed opportunities for the Tigers.
— Ben Badler (@BenBadler) October 26, 2012
... and I'm not saying Badler's wrong. But in three innings, he's struck out five Tigers and thrown only 39 pitches. Maybe he doesn't have great stuff tonight, but he's got better stuff than Barry Zito and look what he's been doing lately.
Seriously, maybe Badler's right and Bumgarner's just been lucky or the Tigers have been really bad. But considering Bumgarner's recent history, everyone associated with the San Francisco Giants must be pleased and encouraged.
Meanwhile, Doug Fister seems perfectly fine after taking that liner off the noggin in the third inning. In the fourth, the sinker-balling righty set down Ángel Pagán, Marco Scutaro and Pablo Sandoval in order, all on ground balls.
So after less than hour, they're still scoreless and heading to the fourth inning in San Francisco.