Giants at Brewers
Madison Bumgarner makes his third consecutive Opening Day start when the San Francisco Giants began their pursuit of another title by visiting the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday. San Francisco won the World Series in each of the last three even-numbered seasons while Bumgarner has emerged as one of the top pitchers in the game.
Bumgarner downplays the importance of the Opening Day start as his intensity level is always on high whenever his turn in the rotation arrives. "You can say that for the first one and then the next one comes around and you say the same thing," Bumgarner told reporters. "Say the same thing for the next 30 of them. You can always find a reason to want to go out there and pitch good. It's not very hard to find a reason." Expectations are a lot lower for Milwaukee, which is in rebuilding mode after the departure of several key players since last July. "We're not breaking up a juggernaut team that has gone to the postseason each of the last five years or something," outfielder Ryan Braun told reporters. "I think we're building toward something that we'll be able to have sustained success and have some impact players."
TV: 2:10 p.m. ET, CSN Bay Area (San Francisco), FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants LH Madison Bumgarner (2015: 18-9, 2.93 ERA) vs. Brewers RH Wily Peralta (2015: 5-10, 4.72)
The 26-year-old Bumgarner has won 18 games in each of the past two seasons and has proven to be one of the most durable pitchers in the game with five straight 200-inning campaigns. The three-time All-Star already has 85 career victories and he held batters to a .222 average and compiled a 1.01 WHIP last season. Bumgarner has thrived against the Brewers by going 5-2 with a 1.96 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in eight career starts.
Peralta had a disappointing season last year and a porous 6.30 spring-training ERA but still was tabbed to be the Opening Day starter. The 26-year-old is 3-1 with a 4.85 ERA in five career starts against the Giants and Milwaukee is hoping he can resemble the pitcher who went 17-11 with a 3.53 ERA in 2014. "I think he's more than capable of getting back to the level he was in 2014," Brewers manager Craig Counsell told reporters. "He's really primed and in the sweet spot to get back to that level."
WALK-OFFS
1. Braun is expected to start the opener after undergoing back surgery in the offseason and he made the move from right field to left during spring training.
2. San Francisco C Buster Posey (flu) is questionable and manager Bruce Bochy is closely monitoring his progress.
3. Milwaukee is expecting a bounce-back campaign from 3B Aaron Hill, an offseason acquisition who hit just six homers for the Arizona Diamondbacks last season.