San Francisco Giants Morning Minute: No Re-Run This Time

On this edition of the San Francisco Giants Morning Minute, we discuss a different result to game that seemed quite familiar to the Giants.

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Good morning, San Francisco Giants’ fans, and welcome to another edition of the Giants Morning Minute. On Tuesday, the Giants came away with a 2-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Johnny Cueto (17-5) was the winner, while Rich Hill (3-2) was on the bad side of the decision. Sergio Romo finished the game for his first save of the year.

The Giants’ win puts them five games behind the Dodgers in the NL West. The wildcard is a bit hairier. The New York Mets lost, and the St. Louis Cardinals won. That leaves those two teams, plus the Giants, with 80-71 records and in a three-way tie in the wildcard race. Buckle up, folks, it’s going to be a wild ride.

1 – No More Re-Runs

Tuesday’s game was beginning to look a bit like a re-run of Monday’s contest. The Giants went into their bullpen with a one-run lead, and needed the relievers to go multiple innings to hold on to it. In that scenario on Monday, the Giants’ watched that lead disappear as the Dodgers walked off in the ninth inning.

Tuesday’s rendition turned out to not be a re-run. Instead, it was a new episode with a different cast of characters. The plot was slightly changed, as well.

A night after Madison Bumgarner was removed after seven innings because he was (presumably) out of gas, Johnny Cueto was pulled after getting 16 outs. With one out in the fifth and a pair of runners on, Cueto called to manager Bruce Bochy to get him because of a left groin strain. He was replaced by lefty Steven Okert, a rookie making just his 14th appearance.

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Facing the Dodgers for the first time, Okert was tasked with keeping runners on first and second in a 1-0 game. He was up to the task, striking out right-handers Yasiel Puig and Enrique Hernandez to preserve the lead. He was back out for the seventh, and worked around a two-out single by Justin Turner to retire three extremely tough lefties. Chase Utley, Corey Seager, and Adrian Gonzalez couldn’t figure out the rook.

The rookie lefty gave way to a more experienced southpaw for the eighth inning. Will Smith made quick work in the frame, retiring the three Dodgers’ hitters he faced in order, including a pair of strikeouts.

After a rough start to his Giants’ tenure, Smith has settled in incredibly well. Tuesday marked his 14th straight scoreless appearance as a Giant. During that time, he has 16 strikeouts in 10.1 innings pitched, and has allowed just three hits (all singles).

But getting to the ninth inning hasn’t been the problem. The ninth inning has been the issue, and it seemed like no one could solve the problem. Bochy dug a bit deeper into his bag of tricks, and went with an old tactic. Sergio Romo, the team’s closer for all or parts of three seasons, was the man tasked with getting through the cursed ninth inning.

And wouldn’t you know it, that was exactly what they needed. Romo cruised through the ninth inning. He struck out Puig before setting down a pair of lefties, including striking out Utley. It was Romo’s first save of the season, and the 81st of his career, and may have been one of the team’s most satisfying this year.

With 11 games left in the regular season, the wildcard race will be a doozy. Three teams are locked together in a tie for two spots. The Giants need someone that can lock things down, and maybe Romo is that guy. The trial-and-error has had less-than-stellar results to this point, but maybe the experiment can end. We can only hope.

Next: Giants: Another Blown Save? You're Kidding!

And that will do it for this edition of the Giants Morning Minute. Up next, the Giants and Dodgers finish their three-game series. Matt Moore will look to build off the near no-hitter in his last start against the Dodgers, and face Kenta Maeda on the other side.