Pregame notes: Bumgarner denies demanding Game 4 start

SAN FRANCISCO - Friday night, veteran baseball writer Peter Gammons tweeted that Madison Bumgarner had told teammates he would insist on starting Game 4 on short rest, which would allow him to return to the mound for a potential Game 7 start. Saturday, Bumgarner vehemently denied the report.

“We knew that might be an option, but at the same time, everybody in that clubhouse has all the confidence in the world in Vogey (Ryan Vogelsong),” Bumgarner said. “And again, that comment, that was out of nowhere. I never said anything remotely like that, so I don’t know where it came from.”

Pressed on the issue, Bumgarner voiced his displeasure with the tweet, showing the same orneriness that has made him MLB’s premier postseason pitcher.

“It sounds like I’m trying to run the team, which I’m certainly not,” he said. “That’s no good that that got out there somehow. It don’t make any sense to me why that would happen. I never said anything to anyone about anything.”

LINEUP TWEAKAGE

Nothing dramatic on the scorecards today. In fact, the Royals lineup is the same as it was the previous night. Bruce Bochy did a little fine-tuning, though. The right-handed-hitting Juan Perez gets the start in left field in place of left-handed Travis Ishikawa. And Bochy moved Hunter Pence to the cleanup spot and moved Pablo Sandoval, who is not hitting with a lot of pop, to the No. 5 spot.

METEOROLOGY

Early weather report from China Basin: Mix of clouds and sun, sky not too threatening at the moment, but a stiff breeze blowing from right field to left -another reason Bochy went with Perez over Ishikawa or Michael Morse in left field. Perez is a better fielder.

PREGAME CELEBS

Little League sensation Mo’Ne Davis to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Bryan Stow, the paramedic seriously injured in an attack outside of Dodger Stadium in 2011, to yell “Play Ball!”

Rock guitar icon Carlos Santana to perform the National Anthem with his son, Salvador.