Madison Bumgarner: San Francisco Giants Pitcher the Best 2-8 Starter in Baseball

If you told Madison Bumgarner that through his first 13 starts in 2011, he'd have a 3.23 ERA, 59 strikeouts compared to just 23 walks and a 1.31 WHIP, he would probably be a little surprised that his win-loss record would stand at 2-8.

But that's the reality for the San Francisco Giants' tall, lanky left-hander.

In his last 10 starts, Bumgarner has a 2.27 ERA with 52 strikeouts to just 15 walks. In his last nine outings, he's never lasted fewer than six innings, once going 8.2 against the Dodgers in a 3-1 victory in Los Angeles on May 19.

Yet he's become the Giants' hard-luck loser in 2011, suffering from minuscule run support despite several stellar pitching performances.

Bumgarner takes the hill tonight against the Arizona Diamondbacks a day after San Francisco scored six runs in Pablo Sandoval's first game back from the disabled list.

Sandoval had an RBI single in the first inning of last night's contest and made loud, solid contact in his at-bats, a good sign for the offensively challenged Giants and a great sign for Madison Bumgarner.

There is perhaps no better 2-8 starting pitcher in all of baseball than the Giants' fourth starter. He's proven his mettle in the most pressure-packed of baseball environments: In Game 4 of last year's World Series, he showed uncanny composure for a 21-year-old by defeating the Texas Rangers in a masterpiece that brought San Francisco to within a single victory of the title.

With Bumgarner's pedigree and past performance in what has been a brilliant, albeit very short, career thus far, we can expect him to have an excellent second half for the Giants.

In fact, it shouldn't come as a surprise if Bumgarner still reaches double digits in the win column despite having just two victories thus far.

While it's true that run support has been severely lacking for Bumgarner in his first 13 starts, San Francisco is a streaky team when it comes to hitting, and that could result in improved offensive numbers when Bumgarner takes the hill in the future.

San Francisco's fourth starter might be 2-8, but he gives the Giants just as good of a chance at winning when he's on the mound, as if he were 8-2.