Following his out-of-this-world postseason performance last fall, Giants ace Madison Bumgarner has come back to earth in 2015—so far. In two starts this year, the reigning World Series MVP has posted a 1–1 record with a more human-like 5.40 ERA, while allowing six earned runs and a league-worst 16 hits in 10 innings.
That includes his performance in Saturday’s loss to the Padres, where the big lefty allowed five earned runs and 10 hits in three innings.
Compare that to last October when the 6-foot-5 ace allowed a total of six earned runs in 52.7 innings (good for an ERA of 1.03), spread over seven games and four series while nearly single-handedly winning the World Series for San Francisco.
Naturally his numbers in two 2015 starts are a drop in the bucket compared to a full season, as he'll likely start more than 30 games this year, but it’s still surprising to see the once-untouchable, touchable again.
But he should be fine.
