Giants win series against Cubs, but act of self-preservation costs them in 10th inning

SAN FRANCISCO — Bob Melvin anticipated the question if not the exact wording.

Would it be blunt? Why didn’t you use Camilo Doval in the 10th inning? Would it be tactfully matter of fact? Was Doval unavailable? Would it be overdressed with verbiage meant to cushion the blow? Obviously, Luke Jackson has been a good reliever in this league for a long time, but home teams often use their closer in that situation, so could you please talk about your thought process with that decision? Or would it arrive with a ready-made explanation attached? Given that Doval pitched in the previous two games …

It was the question that had to be asked after Jackson served up a two-run home run to Ian Happ in the San Francisco Giants’ 5-3, 10-inning loss to the Chicago Cubs on Thursday. All else being equal, it was a case of prima facie managerial malpractice for Melvin to bypass his closer in a tie game at home and summon a relief pitcher with a 6.12 ERA in 27 appearances.

But all else is not equal. The Giants have played exactly half their games plus one. Tyler Rogers has appeared in a major league-most 42-of-82. Ryan Walker appeared in his 41st on Thursday. Rookie left-hander Erik Miller has pitched in 39. The Giants lead the major leagues in relief innings, which is sort of like leading the UFC in pints of blood spilled. There might not be a column in the standings that represents attrition. But it absolutely impacts the final accounting — and typically comes to bear in the half of the schedule still to be played.

The Giants’ rotation hasn’t been a five-person unit all season. In recent weeks, it’s been more understaffed than a popsicle stand in a heat wave. The Giants are operating with multiple bullpen games in every series. They’ll have two more this weekend after Logan Webb starts Friday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

By any logic, the Giants shouldn’t be within two games of .500 with a rotation that has been worth minus-2.4 Wins Above Average — worse than even the Colorado Rockies and Miami Marlins, the only two teams that fail to meet the minimum standards of contention for a National League wild card that is beginning to resemble a participation ribbon. The Giants are keeping their cleats muddy in this NL quagmire in large part because of the consistency and durability of their bullpen.

It sets up a classic conundrum: The more the Giants ask of that bullpen now, the less they should expect to receive consistent performance when the games will matter most. Then again, if they don’t lean heavily on that bullpen now, those games in September (and potentially beyond) won’t matter at all.

When you are attempting to make dinner out of a vending machine night after night, you have to mind your supply of quarters.

So Melvin said he had Doval earmarked for a save situation only Thursday. He put Rogers behind safety glass. He hoped Jackson, who pitched in a highly-leveraged role in Atlanta and was signed to a multiyear contract to do the same in San Francisco, could thread his way through the 10th. Mostly, Melvin was looking ahead to the next series, or at least, the mid-afternoon moment Friday when he’d sit at his desk, look over his notes and determine which relievers would be available. He wanted to ensure that the answer would be “some of them.”

Bob Melvin explains his decision to bring in Luke Jackson for the 10th inning despite his recent struggles pic.twitter.com/tagCYYrMJI

— KNBR (@KNBR) June 27, 2024

“We’re using everybody every day,” Melvin said. “Over the course of the season it’s unsustainable to continue to pitch them at this rate. There are going to be times when we have to break them up a little bit. That’s why we didn’t pitch Walker yesterday and that’s why we didn’t have Tyler today.”

And that’s why Doval was on active reserve Thursday. The right-hander had appeared in three consecutive games just once this season when he was summoned to protect a two-run lead on April 28 against the Pittsburgh Pirates after throwing 17 and 18 pitches in the previous two games. But the Giants had an off day after that April 28 save appearance. They did not have the luxury of a day off after Thursday’s attempt at a four-game sweep.

So Melvin hoped to avoid using Doval, even though the right-hander had thrown just eight pitches while saving Wednesday’s win and 15 on Tuesday when he’d gotten warmed up for a save situation and then recorded three outs to finish a 5-1 victory. Perhaps this next part didn’t even register in Melvin’s decision-making matrix, but the Giants already had clinched the season series and claimed the potentially important wild-card tiebreaker against the Cubs with Wednesday’s victory. That’s not to suggest Thursday’s game was unimportant.

Suffice it to say that pitching Doval in the 10th would have been the optimal choice. And the Giants as currently situated do not have the luxury of making every optimal choice.

“It was one pitch today,” Melvin said of Jackson’s outing. “I thought he threw the ball well yesterday. I thought he threw the ball well today outside of one pitch that ended up being a homer.”

Giants hitters fouled off several middle-middle pitches in the latter innings and Wilmer Flores popped up to strand two runners in the bottom of the 10th. More than 45 minutes after the final out, Jackson was still sitting at his locker in full uniform.

“Felt great today,” Jackson said, his eyes downcast. “Just one pitch I didn’t locate and threw more middle than down. Wish I could have that back. I haven’t been pitching great all season and it’s been nice knowing that they still have confidence going to me in situations like that. I really enjoy pitching under pressure and in big situations. It’s where I’ve thrived most in my career. I actually love it. It’s my favorite part of the game, coming in when it’s close. I know I haven’t had a great start to my year. The other day I didn’t think I had very good stuff and got four quick outs. Today I made one bad pitch and it cost me. First pitch swinging, that’s on me.

“I felt great coming out of camp and Opening Day I hurt my back and it’s been uphill since then. I’ll get there. And I felt great today. I actually love throwing back-to-back. Ball was coming out better than it has in two months. Just that one pitch … it would’ve been a glorious day today, get that one run in and we’d have a happy locker room instead of a sad one.

“This is one of the best bullpens I’ve ever been a part of. Guys are taking the ball whenever, having unbelievable success. Even the guys coming up, Randy (Rodríguez), Biv (Spencer Bivens), their stuff is absurd. The guys in those roles have earned those roles and you’ve sometimes got to pick them up when they’re down.

“I let the team down there. We played some great baseball in this series and the boys were really rolling. I wish I could have gotten a groundball there and got out of it with nothing. I’ll make better pitches hopefully in the future and we won’t have to deal with this.”

Luke Jackson has allowed six earned runs over his past four appearances. (Darren Yamashita / USA Today)

For as much ire that might be directed at Jackson or the decision to pitch him, it’s hard to gnash teeth when the Giants won three out of four in a series in which their starting pitchers at the outset were TBA followed by TBA followed by TBA followed by Jordan Hicks, a converted reliever who has already exceeded his major-league high for innings in a season.

The Giants gained ground over the series despite fighting a battle that was uphill all the way. They needed Spencer Howard to save them with nearly five innings out of the bullpen Monday. They needed Rodríguez to get them off on a solid footing Tuesday. They needed 22-year-old rookie Hayden Birdsong to overcome any jitters and get through the lineup a couple of times while making his major-league debut Wednesday. They needed Hicks to rebound from the exhaustion of his last start in St. Louis and make it through five innings Thursday. All four pitchers contributed a sufficient piece to save the team. But the reprieves only last until the next day. If any one of those outings had gone haywire, the Giants would have faced a full-blown calamity. The high-wire act will continue this weekend against the Dodgers — and for a week or two beyond that, depending on how long it takes Kyle Harrison, Blake Snell, and eventually, Robbie Ray and Alex Cobb to bolster the staff.

The news on that front is more encouraging than not. Harrison couldn’t put any weight on his right leg after a lateral box jumping drill in the gym went awry and he sprained his ankle on June 15.

“There’s still some soreness, but it’s better every day — better than I thought it’d be,” said Harrison, who is scheduled to throw two simulated innings off a mound Friday and might be cleared to return next week.

“That exercise is supposed to be about being quick,” Harrison said of the drill. “I won’t be doing those again for a while.”

Cobb is scheduled to throw off a mound Friday, as well, and might be nearing a minor-league rehab start. Ray came out of his last rehab appearance Sunday at Triple-A Sacramento with no issues and will pitch Friday at San Jose. Snell was frustrated at how he felt while failing to get out of the second inning in his rehab appearance Sunday at Sacramento but is scheduled to throw again Friday for the River Cats.

They anticipate activating first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. before Friday night’s game, too.

For now, the Giants must keep the faith that within a week or three, they’ll come out on the other side of this chronic innings deficiency. They must continue to believe that they’re due for a bigger second-half boost than any of their NL wild-card competition can hope to create in a July 30 trade deadline market that might be the thinnest in history.

The midpoint of the season is usually a time to take stock. But that’s something of a luxury for Melvin and the Giants, too. There’s no looking back. Not when getting through the next day requires nearly all their bandwidth.

So Melvin listened to the question about the 10th inning. He answered the question. He answered a follow-up or two as well. Then he got up from the podium where a box score printout had been waiting for him. On his way back to the clubhouse, he crumpled up the piece of paper and threw it in a wastebasket.

(Top photo of Matt Chapman: Darren Yamashita / USA Today)