Bumgarner feeling ‘completely normal’ after first bullpen

Madison Bumgarner threw a bullpen session Monday, his first since undergoing surgery to repair a fractured left pinkie knuckle sustained in his last start of Spring Training.

He threw 20 fastballs off a mound and the Giants were very pleased with his progress.

Manager Bruce Bochy said his ace looked good:

“He was letting it go, so he’s on his way. I think at this point throwing off the mound, he’ll throw again on Wednesday and then he’ll go again on Saturday. After Saturday, he’s going to throw to hitters in Houston, and then we’ll see him down pitching in the minor leagues.”

Bumgarner said everything feels right and he’s looking forward to getting back out there to help the team:

“I feel good, the only thing now is building arm strength and getting the pitch count up. … Everything feels completely normal now.”

Because the injury was to Bumgarner’s hand and not to his arm, he said he’s struggled a little bit with trying to maintain moderation in recovery:

“I’ve been feeling good the whole time so it’s hard to kind of find a happy medium and not try to ramp it up too fast and then cause a set back in my arm.”

He describes the rehab as, “Definitely aggressive, but not too aggressive.” 

After his bullpen session Monday the big lefty could be seen helping pitchers practice bunting and generally seeming pleased to be back on the field in any capacity. 

Julie Parker is SFBay’s San Francisco Giants beat writer. Follow @SFBay and @insidethepark3r on Twitter and at SFBay.ca for full coverage of Giants baseball.