Bumgarner (5-2) beat the Dodgers with both his arm and his bat Thursday, tossing 6.1 shutout innings -- seven hits, two walks, six strikeouts -- and homering off opposing starter Clayton Kershaw. And all of a sudden, after a bit of a slow start to the year statistically, Bumgarner is sitting on what would be a career-best 2.84 ERA through nine starts. Those two rough outings in the early going were the exception; Bumgarner is a horse of a pitcher right in the middle of his prime. He should once again be among the top few pitchers in the National League when all's said and done.