San Francisco Giants Midseason Grades: Offense, Defense and Pitching

Bullpen

June 30, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Sergio Romo (54) delivers a pitch in the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. The Giants defeated the Rockies 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The Giants’ bullpen has been fairly consistent this season. The bullpen has a collective 3.22 ERA, which ranks fourth in the NL.

2013 NL All-Star Sergio Romo has been stellar all season and has a 2.86 ERA with 38 strikeouts in 34.2 innings. He also has a 1.04 WHIP and 21 saves so far.

Some other consistent relief pitchers for the Giants so far are Javier Lopez, Jose Mijares, and, surprisingly, Sandy Rosario. With Santiago Casilla being sidlelined because of a knee injury, Rosario has stepped up as the late-inning setup man for Romo and has done a great job since his demotion to AAA Fresno after his first call-up.

Jeremy Affeldt, usually a steady force in the bullpen, has been extremely inconsistent, but with Lopez and Mijares pitching as well as they have been, they haven’t needed Affeldt to be as sharp as he normally is.

Jake Dunning has done pretty well so far this season, but has been a little inconsistent recently. George Kontos hasn’t been as effective after a stellar season last year. Kontos has simply been overworked though, like many other relievers were earlier in the season.

Because the starting pitchers were struggling to get through even five innings, the Giants’ bullpen was overused. However, they’ve seemed to be more fresh and effective recently.

Grade for the bullpen: B+