SAN FRANCISCO -- As expected, Madison Bumgarner won't pitch again this season.
Bruce Bochy decided to shut his ace down after another remarkable season. In his fifth full year, Bumgarner won 18 games, threw a career-high 218 1/3 innings, struck out a career-high 234 batters and posted a 2.93 ERA. The Giants, eliminated Tuesday in Bumgarner's final start, decided he has done enough. In the last 18 months, Bumgarner has thrown 488 1/3 innings.
"I don't want him to start," Bochy said. "I talked to him. He's good with it. We worked him pretty hard the last three starts. There's no point in him starting."
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Bumgarner threw at least 112 pitches in each of his final three starts and set season-highs in back-to-back starts as he tried to keep the Giants in the race. He did not seem particularly inclined to push for one more start after Tuesday's outing, and the staff didn't give much thought to running him back out there. Bumgarner has stayed healthy after throwing 270 innings last year but he did work through a few minor issues during the year, and the Giants were eager to shut him down and let him rest in advance of another Opening Day assignment in 2016.
Bumgarner didn't just contribute on the mound this season. He hit five homers, and Bochy said he joked about using Bumgarner's bat during the final four games.
"I mentioned first base, we talked about that," he said. "He would love to do it."
Bochy said that it's more likely than not that Bumgarner is shut down in all phases of the game. "I don't plan on pinch-hitting him," he said.
San Francisco Giants
With Bumgarner not pitching Sunday, the plan is for Yusmeiro Petit to see action and then turn it over to a deep bullpen. Bochy said Matt Cain remains available as a reliever and Ryan Vogelsong will follow Tim Hudson on the mound later today. Hudson is not expected to go deep in his final big league start and Bochy plans to pull him in the middle of an inning so he can get an ovation.
Chris Heston and Jake Peavy will remain in their rotation spots this weekend.