Giants Rout A’s, Avoid Sweep in Bay Bridge Series

OAKLAND — The best part of Bruce Bochy's decision to let Madison Bumgarner hit in an American League Park on Thursday was the fact that Bochy, with a straight face, insisted that he asked Bumgarner if he actually wanted to do it.Of course Bumgarner wanted to hit. This is a guy who strapped his elbow guard and batting gloves back on in the second inning when his turn in the order was still four batters away. Bumgarner might like to hit even more than he likes to pitch, and his night as his own DH turned out to be a resounding success.Bumgarner's first at-bat produced a double that ignited a six-run Giants rally. They cruised to a 12-6 win over the A's behind their ace/DH, who gave up four runs in 6 1/3 innings and finished 1-for-4 in place of the DH, with the double and a run.Bumgarner became the first pitcher to intentionally start in an AL park and get a base hit since Ferguson Jenkins in 1974. He strolled to the plate in a scoreless game in the third and lashed a liner to center that ticked off Billy Burns' glove for a double. The rest of the Giants lined up behind their ace, with the next five hitters reaching base.Brandon Belt made it 2-0 with a bases-loaded double and...