OAKLAND, Calif. -- Bruce Bochy all but had his mind made up days ago: Madison Bumgarner would hit in an AL ballpark for interleague rather than using a designated hitter.All the San Francisco Giants manager had to do was ask the ace pitcher himself, knowing full well the big left-hander would want to swing the bat. At first, MadBum thought Bochy was joking, then quickly said: No, Id love to. Id rather hit.Bumgarner doubled leading off the third inning of the finale of a four-game series against lefty Dillon Overton and the Oakland Athletics on Thursday night as San Francisco tried to avoid a sweep. The Giants batted around and he also ended the inning with an infield popup.This wasnt a tough call for me, the way he swings the bat, the numbers, facing a left-hander, Bochy said. All of these things came into play. Its nothing against our guys, but hes a pretty good hitter and its a pretty good matchup. ... It keeps him in the game, the flow of his normal game being in the National League. He was all for it. And he would have been fine the other way. He didnt come to me, he didnt push for it. I went to him and said, `Hey, Im thinking about letting you hit for yourself and not use the DH.It will be the first time a team intentionally used a pitcher to hit instead of a DH since the Chicago White Sox allowed Ken Brett to do it in 1976 -- the Rays were forced to bat pitcher Andy Sonnanstine in 2009 because of a lineup card mixup.Thats a long time, As manager Bob Melvin said. I would love to have someone like that you could plug into the lineup depending on what your roster looked like. Not too many guys like him. I dont know what that feels like. Theyre a little banged up, too. Hes got some power, swings the bat well. Hes a real hitter, so hes not the kind of guy that youre consistently looking to try to get to the bottom of the order so you can walk somebody to get to him.Bumgarner began the day batting .175 with two homers and five RBI in 40 at-bats. He even made a public plea to enter into the All-Star Home Run Derby, but Bochy said that idea is now off the table.The players union didnt want a Derby slot being taken by a pitcher, Bochy said, but the plan is to review the idea again of having a pitchers derby.There is no Home Run Derby for Madison, Bochy said. Its been nixed.Yankees manager Joe Girardi said letting a pitcher hit in the Derby could be devastating, so he wouldnt do it.I would like to, but, again, theyre not used to taking swings year-round, he said. If youre the San Francisco Giants, and hes a great hitter, Madison Bumgarner, he pulls a ribcage muscle, whos going to deal with that? Jake Arrieta pulls a ribcage muscle, whos going to deal with that? To me, its different if its a position player that plays every day, and youd love to reward the guy and say, `Go have fun. But a lot of times theres a lot on the line, and I would hate to see one of those guys go down because of the home run derby.---AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum in New York contributed to this report. Cheap College Jerseys 2020 .ca. Hey Kerry, big fan of yours, just finished reading your book. I think that we all saw the Canucks/Flames line brawl just after puck drop. It was obvious that something was about to happen, even to the referees because the fourth lines were on to start. Cheap NCAA Jerseys Authentic . Louis Blues. Shane Hnidy joins Brian Munz for the broadcast on TSN 1290 Radio at 7pm ct. https://www.ncaajerseys2020.com/ . McCarthy, a player who played some games in the second tier for Wigan at the start of this season, would go on to shine inside Evertons midfield, outplaying the man he was brought in to replace, on one of the grandest stages in English football. On Saturday, it was fitting that Manchester Uniteds most recent dagger into the chest was delivered by Frenchman Yohan Cabaye, a wonderfully gifted central midfielder who put on an outstanding effort for Newcastle at Old Trafford. NCAA Jerseys From China . Michell Burger, a woman who lives on an estate next to Pistorius gated community, said she and her husband were awoken by the screams in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14 last year, when Pistorius killed Reeva Steenkamp by shooting four times through a door in his bathroom. Fake College Jerseys . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end. Kongdoo Monster has joined fellow South Korean team Samsung Galaxy in the IEM Gyeonggi League of Legends finals as it beat Immortals in a 2-1 showdown on Saturday in Gyeonggi, South Korea. Immortals fared better than Team Liquid did against Samsung, as it contended for two games and seemed poised to win the match before the third game started. As a finalist, Kongdoo will win at least $20,000 and stands to win $30,000 more than that if it defeats Samsung for the Gyeonggi crown.Kongdoo Monster was shaky early in Game 1, and Immortals reacted well to its mistakes, at least before the 28-minute mark. Joshua Dardoch Hartnett secured several advantages throughout the game, but Seo SSol Jin-sol and Kim GuGer Do-yeop (on Ezreal and Karma) outmatched Cody Sun and Kim Olleh Joo-sung (on Ashe and Bard) during the laning phase. KDM leveraged the lane advantage and Immortals slow pace, turning the game around on the 29-minute mark as it flanked their opponents flanking attempt on an isolated Lee Edge Ho-seong (on Cassiopeia). The victory swiftly followed at 34 minutes.Immortals bounced back with a vengeance on Game 2, in what could be described as the Dardoch show. Within 10 minutes of the games start, the jungler had ganked an overextending bottom lane twice, and once in each solo lane. The teams ability to convert takedowns into objectives (Dragons and turrets) came in handy, and Cody Sun greatly helped on Ezreal with 21,406 damage dealt to champions, a game-high that dwarfed Flames 16,048 (second-highest mark).However, the American squad only lasted for so long before Kongdoo Monster attacked its strongest link (Dardoch) and capitalized on three missed Smites on jungle camps early in the game, nullifying his impact throughout Game 3.dddddddddddd With Dardoch farming the jungle to recover from the experience deficit he suffered, KDM secured vision and farm leads. KDMs method paid dividends when Immortals became more desperate by the minute, losing seven skirmishes starting at minute 11, until its final stand at the 31:40 mark.Performance HighlightsThe two AD carries had different experiences throughout the series. SSol abused Cody Suns inability to position correctly and play with confidence on low-mobility picks such as Ashe (Game 1) and Jhin (Game 3), and Immortals attempt at neutralizing his fleet-footed Ezreal proved fruitless.Dardoch showcased his prowess in the first two games, guiding his teammates to contention as long as his early-game leveling went smoothly. When he played Hecarim in Game 2, he totaled four ganks in the first ten minutes, ending with a 3/3/13 KDA (for a 88.8 percent kill participation ratio).Ezreal defined the series, as teams picked the champion on the winning side. His poking ability, repositioning tools and teamfight presence was noticeable as his summoners tallied an overall 19/0/17 KDA over three games (5.33/0/4.66 per game on average).Up NextKongdoo Monster tests its mettle against Samsung Galaxy on Sunday at 12 a.m. ET. The winner will earn the IEM Gyeonggi crown and automatically qualify for the IEM Season XI championship at Katowice in February. ' ' '
