Bumgarner inspires Belt as Giants end home run drought

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SAN FRANCISCO -- Baseball men dont smile very often,especially in front of the media. Even after a win, the act like youve beenthere before attitude takes over and stoicism is the norm.But Bruce Bochy, Madison Bumgarner and Brandon Belt did nothing to hide theirunbridled joy after the Giants 6-3 win over the Houston Astros Tuesday atAT&T Park.The Giants entered the game with a San Francisco-era recordof 16 straight contests on the shores of McCovey Cove without a home run.Bumgarner put an end to that streak with a game-tying shot to deep left in thethird inning, the first of his career, and Belt added some insurance runs inthe eighth with a shot off the arcade in right, the first of his season.How about that? Bochy asked with a wry smile. I thinkBumgarner put a little pressure on Brandon.Bumgarner was given the silent treatment when he returned to the dugout, butwhen his teammates finally broke character and started mobbing him, Belt wasnot the most jubilant Giant.It inspired me a lot, Belt said of Bumgarners bomb. Kind of made me mad alittle bit that he beat me to it, but it was good to see him go out there andmake solid contact and finally get that one out of the way.While Belt got career home run No. 1 out of the way lastseason, he said his homerless start to the 2012 campaign was starting to wearon him.I was trying to keep it out of the back of my mind, but youhave quite a few people on the team that like to remind you pretty much everyday, Belt said. I got to the field today and hitting coach Hensley Meulenslet me know I was on pace for zero home runs this year, so I guess I figuredId do something about it.Bumgarner echoed Belts statement that the men he shares a clubhouse witharent very sensitive to homerless streaks.Theyve been giving me crap since the first day here since I havent hit one,Bumgarner said. I was just about to give up on it, but ran into one finally. Ijust swing hard in case I accidentally hit something.Bumgarner may think his home run was a fluke, but his power potential has beenon display in batting practice for some time now. Bochy called his youngstarters power incredible.Hes got one thing on his mind, and thats to air it out,Bochy said of Bumgarners home run hack.Jim Kozimor asked Ryan Vogelsong on Chronicle Live beforeTuesdays game which of his rotation mates was the best hitter."Atfour in the afternoon Madison Bumgarner is by far the best, Vogelsong said. Hehits the hardest balls, the furthest home runs, but that's at four. At seven,he doesn't hit."Maybe Bumgarner was watching the interview as he prepared for Tuesday nightsstart, because there was some motivation and anger behind the powerful swing thatended a string of 517 at-bats at AT&T Park without a home run.Were not a club thats going to hit a lot of homers, weknow it, Bochy said. But I do think well hit more than what we have beenhitting.A more confident and powerful Belt could give the Giants theproduction theyve been looking for from a first baseman since Aubrey Huffsresurgent 2010 season.Hopefully he can relax a little bit, Bochy said of Belt. Wedont want this kid trying to hit em, just get good swings off.With the Astros sending two left-handed starters to the mound to close out theseries and Brett Pill no longer around to take playing time, Bochy said Beltmay continue to start at first during this three-game set. And after Beltshome run came off left-hander Wesley Wright, his manager is more confidentpenciling him in against southpaws. Belt is also constantly conversing with Meulens and J.T. Snow as he tries tofix the holes in his swing that have been exploited at the Major League level.Just opening up, stand up a little bit more, Belt said ofhis recent adjustments. Its finding that middle ground that makes youcomfortable every time you go up there and feel confident that youre going tobe able to put the bat on the ball. Im definitely getting to that point. Idont know if Im quite there yet, but Im moving in the right direction. Werejust going to keep working on it.Only on a pitching-rich and power-starved team like theGiants will two home runs overshadow a dominant outing like the one Bumgarnerput together against the Astros.While the home run was his first, Bumgarner has racked up a number of stellarstarts, especially this season.Bumgarner worked 7.2 innings and allowed just two runs, one earned, as he pickedup his eighth win of the season and lowered his ERA to 3.08. He also struck out12 Astros for his third double-digit striekout game in 2012 and the seventh ofhis young career. Despite the high number of punchouts, Bumgarner was efficientwith his pitches, needing just 98, 70 of which were strikes, to make it intothe eighth inning.Great command of all his pitches, Bochy said. He poundedthe strike zone and when you do that, youre probably going to pitchefficiently.While Bumgarner claimed luck on his home run, he took a little more credit forhis work on the mound.I feel like I did a good job of keeping it down and goingup when we wanted to, he said. Buster did a great job and the defense did agreat job behind me. In addition to the home run and the win, Bumgarner joins a familiar name in thefranchise record books. The last Giants pitcher to record 10 or more strikeoutsand hit a home run? None other than broadcaster Mike Krukow, who performed thefeat on Aug. 13, 1985. Krukows 1985 Giants lost 100 games. Bumgarners 2012Giants look like they will easily avoid that notoriously round number in theloss column.