Despite being named to his fourth All-Star team to be one of four players to represent the San Francisco Giants, Madison Bumgarner's trip to San Diego was a glorified vacation.
Along with his ineligibility to pitch in the All-Star Game because he did not have adequate rest, people working behind the scenes snubbed the lefty from participating in the more sought after Home Run Derby.
The Derby snub wasn't an easy one to shake off for the slugger, especially considering a Japanese pitching phenom by the name of Shohei Otani, who has been raising the bar for the hitting abilities of pitchers, won the NPB's Home Run Derby.
Nonetheless, while All-Stars from the other 28 teams were flying out of San Diego, Bumgarner had his chance to pitch on the field which had just been graced with some of the best talents in the world.
Unfortunately for Bumgarner, the Padres weren't going to lie down for the Giants once again.
The Padres and the Giants came into the first game following the All-Star break on different ends of the divisional standings, with the orange and black being one of the best of the best while the Padres were only slightly above the .400 mark.
Yesterday, the teams looked like the opposite version of themselves, as the Padres powered past Madison Bumgarner behind a pair of home runs from Adam Rosales and Wil Myers to win their first game against San Francisco in ten games this season.
In a bit of twisted fate, Myers participated in the Home Run Derby, representing the Padres, and Bumgarner got an up close look as to why that was the case.
Bumgarner isn't the type of player to let things which tick him off pass him by, and so was the case on a particularly frustrating night on the mound.
In the third inning, the Padres reviewed a close play when Bumgarner fielded a bunt off the bat of San Diego's center fielder Travis Jankowski.
While New York reviewed the call, Bumgarner shouted in the direction of first base, but it is unknown as to whether he was yelling at Jankowski or Tarrik Brock, the Padres' first base coach.
Bumgarner had a few staredowns as well, eyeballing Andrew Cashner after striking out on a 0-2 pitch out of the zone, then looking at Myers following the first baseman's home run.
The frustration did not stop with Bumgarner, as Brandon Belt was ejected for the first time in his career after arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire Mike Estabrook in the ninth inning.
For Belt, Bumgarner and everyone else in the Giants' dugout, the game as a whole was one that they'd like to forget.
This outing for the San Francisco outing was ways away from his previous start against the Arizona Diamondbacks, in which he struck out a 14, which tied a career-high while taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning.
He did strike out nine batters, but it did come with the four earned runs. These runs have been the only ones Bumgarner has allowed in his three starts in the month of July.
The San Francisco offense wasted chances early against Cashner as well, totaling four hits in the first two innings, but only squeezing out one for the rest of the game.
Cashner finished his day by striking out nine Giants while allowing only one run, a RBI double from Conor Gillaspie, in his six innings of work.
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