Bochy's rotation reflecting one game at a time
Giants skipper planning for long haul, while Dodgers aligned for this weekend's set
PHILADELPHIA -- Rivalry isn't all that makes the Giants and Dodgers polar opposites. Their respective pitching rotations also reflect the clubs' philosophical differences.
The Dodgers aligned their post-All-Star-break rotation so their top three starters -- Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu -- would face San Francisco in this weekend's series at AT&T Park. By contrast, Giants manager Bruce Bochy's top priority was the first series after the break, which happened to be at Miami. He arranged the starters by pecking order, with All-Stars Madison Bumgarner and Tim Hudson receiving the first two starts.
Bochy reasoned that this ultimately might provide Bumgarner (12-7), the team's wins leader, with an extra start later in the season.
This reflects Bochy's belief that, with some exceptions, no single game is bigger than another. He follows the notion that games won in April are just as important as games won in September.
"I don't know what's not a big game," Bochy said.