Madison Bumgarner of the San Francisco Giants voted National League Pitcher of the Month for May
San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner has been voted the National League Pitcher of the Month for May.
In six outings during the month of May, Bumgarner led the N.L. with five wins (5-0) and 48 strikeouts while compiling a 2.08 ERA (9 ER/39.0 IP). The southpaw ranked third among qualifying N.L. hurlers in ERA and had the fifthlowest opponents' batting average (.203), allowing just 28 hits. The Hickory, North Carolina native issued just five free passes in his May outings, giving him the second-best strikeout-to-walk ratio in the league (9.60). Bumgarner joined Jason Schmidt (5-0, 54 SO in May 2004), Ray Sadecki (6-0, 48 SO in September 1987) and Juan Marichal (6-0, 60 SO in September 1963) as the only modern-era Giants hurlers to record at least five wins in a month without a loss while fanning at least 48 (Elias Sports Bureau). The 24-year-old's performance helped the league-leading Giants go 19-8 (.704) last month. Bumgarner improved his record to 7-3 this season, tossing 7.0 shutout innings with 10 strikeouts in a 9-4 win at St. Louis, outdueling Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright in the process. The performance came on the heels of a 10-strikeout effort in his May 25th start, marking the first consecutive double-digit strikeout games for Bumgarner since 2011 (11 SO on 8/31 vs. CHI and 13 SO on 9/5 at SD). Bumgarner allowed just a single earned run across 7.0 innings of work in his May 25th outing, earning the win in an 8-1 decision over the Minnesota Twins. On May 9th, he allowed just one run on four hits in 8.0 innings, helping the Giants edge the N.L. West-rival Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-1. With the victory, Bumgarner ran his record to 10-4 lifetime with a 2.54 ERA against Los Angeles. On May 4th, the 2013 N.L. All-Star fanned nine Braves in 6.0 innings of work while allowing one unearned run on three hits in a 4-1 win at Turner Field. This is the first career Pitcher of the Month Award for Bumgarner, who was San Francisco's first round selection (10th overall) in the 2007 MLB Draft. He becomes the first Giants pitcher to win the award since Tim Lincecum, who won for the month of June 2009.
Other pitchers receiving votes included Jeff Samardzija (1-1, 1.32 ERA, 33 SO, 34.0 IP) of the Chicago Cubs; Colorado's Jorge De La Rosa (4-0, 1.93 ERA, 20 SO, 28.0 IP); Zack Greinke (3-1, 2.35 ERA, 30 SO, 30.2 IP) of the Los Angeles Dodgers; and San Diego's Tyson Ross (3-1, 2.08 ERA, 38 SO, 39.0 IP).
The National League Pitcher of the Month for May, Madison Bumgarner, will receive a specially designed trophy, suitably engraved, to commemorate his performance.