San Francisco Giants 3 Up, 3 Down: Winners in Washington
3 DOWN
1 – Inconsistent Starters
The Giants still just aren’t getting the kind of day-to-day consistency they need from their starters. Holland did well but isn’t going to eat a lot of innings, and the guys around him haven’t been able to do that either.
On Friday, Andrew Suarez could only get one out in the fifth. In his defense, he pitched well early in the game and ran into some bad luck in that fifth inning when groundballs kept finding holes, but the Giants need a bit more length. On Saturday, Dereck Rodriguez got only eight outs before his day was over.
Ty Blach definitely helped out by going 3.1 innings out of the bullpen following Rodriguez, but the inadequacy of their starters has been a constant problem this year. Having Madison Bumgarner back in the fold will ease this a bit, but someone else has to step up and give innings. The bullpen can only throw so many innings.
2 – The Bullpen’s Weak Link
The Giants’ bullpen has become a point of strength, but there’s still a weak link in their midst. That would be Cory Gearrin. He only pitched once in this series, but allowed two hits and a run in his inning, which doubled a one-run deficit. He has allowed six runs in his last three appearances.
The most glaring issue for Gearrin continues to be his work against left-handed hitters. With platoon advantage, hitters are batting .400/.500/.700 with three home runs in 40 at-bats against Gearrin. He’s been solid facing righties, with a .230/.319/.377 slash-line and two home runs in 61 at-bats.
Gearrin isn’t being used in a way that would be best-suited to his skillset, as a right-handed specialist, but that goes back to the starting rotation not eating enough innings. On days where one or two of the bullpen’s big arms are unavailable and the starter goes short, that forces Gearrin to take on a bigger role. If they get more innings from the starter, it could help settle Gearrin back into a role where he can succeed.
3 – Still Bad on the Road
The Giants won this series, and it was a huge series win against a very talented Nationals’ team. But looking at the overall numbers, the Giants are still not very good on the road. Even after taking two of three games in the nation’s capital, they are six games under .500 on the road at 15-21 with a -48 run differential.
Next: Duggar Heating Up as Summer Approaches
This is a great start as they attempt to turn the tide on the road, and they’ll need to keep it up in Miami and Los Angeles on this trip.