Happy They Held Onto Him

The Giants' collective mindset grew with Thursday night's victory over the Phillies. Just nine days after not trading soon-to-be-free agent Madison Bumgarner, their longtime ace authored a vintage performance.

Matched up with the Phillies' best Aaron Nola at Oracle Park, the three-time World Series champ shut the Phils out on one hit over seven innings.

While San Francisco has cooled a bit after a scorching run that put them in the Wild Card chase, outgoing skipper (and fellow future Hall of Famer) Bruce Bochy can feel a rare form of confidence writing Bumgarner's name on a lineup card every five days.

It's true that swapping "MadBum" and his expiring contract might have brought an infusion of badly needed young talent. But when GM Farhan Zaidi reached the intersection of "Go for It Now" and "Cash Him In," he went with the choice that showed that he still believes Madison remains The Man.

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