The San Francisco Giants lost big yesterday, with a final score of 10-5. They came into the series finale one win away from taking their first series against the Los Angeles Dodgers in a long time. That was just the start of the Giants rough week.
FINAL: Dodgers 10, #SFGiants 5
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) April 13, 2023
Giants Rough Week
They Went to Their Bullpen Early
Due to starter Alex Cobb’s good previous outing, his presence on the mound made things look promising enough. It’s likely that he would have made it through six innings without allowing any more runs had he remained in the game. But the Giants have been going with an aggressive bullpen approach. Their starting depth gives them the ability to do this. When organizational starters come in and pitch multiple innings in relief, it not only takes care of that game but also allows the bullpen to be fresh for future games.
But, where unconventional strategies can be strengths, there is always the potential for weakness. The Giants have a good pitching corps, and their unique strategic approach will continue to be highly beneficial to them this season. Against the Dodgers on Wednesday, though, it backfired. Taylor Rogers allowed four walks that turned into earned runs, and ultimately the Giants lost.
Taylor Rogers’ Inexplicably Poor Pitching is Concerning
The bullpen’s bad performance is why the Giants lost. When you remember that Rogers was signed to a three-year, $33 million contract, it feels all the more disturbing that he allowed four earned runs without recording an out. As it was only his fifth appearance of the year, it might be best not to blame Gabe Kapler too much for leaning on him. But he’s been ugly. And that is not at all what the Giants expected when they signed him.
It’s definitely true that the Giants were down to the wire as far as free agency went during the final two months of the offseason. But the report on Rogers’ signing was highly positive. They thought he would help the bullpen. Were it not for the stupid three-batter-minimum rule, he could certainly be leveraged better. However, he wasn’t supposed to pitch this disastrously as it is.
The home run that John Brebbia allowed to Max Muncy was what brought all the damage in. Having Brebbia look ineffective is no joke. But he’s not being paid as highly as Rogers. He doesn’t represent as big of an investment from the Giants’ organizational resources. If Rogers cannot get it together, the Giants have made a big miss. (Indeed, if he goes on the IL in the next week, it will beg the question: does he have a legitimate injury, or are the Giants “finding” something to help them kick a bad pitcher off the team?)
The Giants’ Start Hasn’t Been Great
Out of the four series’ that they played, the Giants lost three of them. This isn’t crippling, and it’s certain that several championship teams of the past have had starts like that to their seasons. But things have to turn around. They can score runs, but the timeliness of their ability is sketchy. And the importance of the timely ability to grab the clutch wins will likely come down to the season’s final week (who knows, maybe the final day?).
Team coordination has to be critical in the minds of the Giants. They may have the potential to do wonders and lose because somebody messes up. If the pitching is a gem but the offense doesn’t get going one day, and then they score runs but drop the game the next, what have they achieved? The result in both is that the Giants lost the game.
It’s Still Early
That said, it hasn’t been a full month yet. The conclusion is that we need to wait and see. There is still time to bounce back from the Giants rough week.
Main photo credits:
John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
Players mentioned:
