Major offseason concern haunts SF Giants in latest heartbreaking defeat

One of the major questions during the offseason was the probable lack of depth and defined pecking order in this bullpen. Monday night was the perfect example of how valuable a definitive closer — or even an established set of trusted arms — can be for a baseball club. And the SF Giants do not have that right now.

Tony Vitello and his pitching staff needed their ace, Logan Webb, to take the mound on Monday night and deliver one of his signature deep-into-the-game performances. In his third start since coming off the injured list and fresh off his best outing of the season in Milwaukee, the 29-year-old one-upped himself.

After putting together the longest no-hit bid of his career against the Milwaukee Brewers last week (6 1/3 innings), he pitched a season-high eight innings, allowed just one run on five hits, struck out seven batters and didn't issue a walk, but somehow, it wasn't enough, as the Giants fell 4-3 at Oracle Park in their series opener against the Washington Nationals.

Keaton Winn, who came into the game having pitched the previous two days in Chicago, entered in the ninth inning with a two-run lead. After getting the first batter to ground out, Winn gave up a double, hit a batter, and eventually allowed a two-run single to CJ Abrams to tie the game and the go-ahead single to Daylen Lile that gave the Nationals a one-run lead. Winn picked up his first blown save and second loss of the season.

"Where he's (Webb) been at with pitch count and a little bit of time off, long delay in the inning, decided to go with the guy who's been late in the game for us," Vitello said postgame about his decision to pull Webb. "Obviously with Keaton, he's got experience of it going his way and not going his way. We needed a guy who has gotten it done for us in the past, so we went with him."

Given the state of his bullpen, the Giants manager's options were limited. Caleb Kilian was unavailable after pitching in both games over the weekend against the Cubs, and Erik Miller has been shaky with his command over his last few outings. So with both Matt Gage and Joel Peguero on the injured list, his only other viable option was Dylan Smith, who had just recorded his first career save in the Giants' 2-1 extra-innings win in Chicago the day before. Smith eventually came in to record the last out after the damage had already been done. It marked just his fourth appearance in orange and black.

So Vitello went with Winn. He opted for the guy who was familiar with those situations. The guy who had experienced the good and the bad of pitching in the late innings. It was Winn who allowed the game-tying home run to Pete Crow-Armstrong with two outs in the ninth inning on Saturday. But it was also Winn who pitched through the ninth the following night, forcing the same PCA to ground out to send the game into extra innings. And now, it's also Winn who blew a two-run lead in the ninth inning. Some will use the fact that he was pitching for the third straight day as an excuse. Some will say he just didn't do his job.

Blowing leads in the ninth inning has become an unfortunate habit for these Giants. But there was no doubt entering the season that this group was going to win games with their bats. So scoring three runs against one of the worst pitching staffs in the league isn't enough either. The opportunities were there; they just didn't capitalize on them.

A red-hot offense failed to provide when it mattered most

The Giants have come a long way offensively. They started the season as one of the least productive lineups in the league and remained near the bottom of the rankings for a few weeks. But since May 8, they've put up the second-most runs (160), posted the highest batting average at .280, and their 122 extra-base hits during that span are the most in the majors by a large margin — the Nationals rank second with 100.

On Monday night, the production looked great, as they collected a total of 13 hits, but when it mattered most, they couldn't make it count, going 2-for-12 on the night with runners in scoring position.

Down by one run in the ninth, Bryce Eldridge — who extended his on-base streak to 15 games — was given one last opportunity with runners at the corners, but the 21-year-old struck out, something he hasn't done often (according to his history) during his current streak. The professionalism of his at-bats has been impressive, especially for a rookie. Prone to chasing pitches and striking out at a high rate, Eldridge has struck out just 11 times during this streak, while also drawing eight walks. His 11.1% walk rate is the highest on the roster and 2.7 points above the league average.

But more importantly, Eldridge is playing. He's playing every day, no matter the handedness of the pitcher on the mound. Following his start at first base Monday night — his third of the season as an infielder — he's now played in 14 consecutive games. He's also already taken 14 at-bats against southpaws, and his single off lefty Mitchell Parker was his sixth hit off left-handed pitchers this season. In his 10 games last season, Eldridge faced just two lefties and went 0-for-2.

As surprising as it may sound, Eldridge isn't the hottest hitter on this roster, but one of his fellow lefty teammates is. By collecting four of those 13 hits, Jung Hoo Lee became just the fourth right fielder in Giants history to record at least five four-hit games in a season. He still has 95 games to dethrone Ross Youngs, whose seven four-hit games rank at the top of the list.

The long flight back from Chicago and the 4 a.m. return to San Francisco didn't prevent Lee from extending his hitting streak to 16 games, now the longest by a Giant since Donovan Solano's 17-game streak in 2020 and the longest by an outfielder since Angel Pagan in 2016 (19 games).

"Back when I played in the KBO, we would have two three-game series throughout the week and sometimes you would have to go down to the countryside and when you come back from the road it'd be 3:00 AM in the morning," Lee said through Korean interpreter Justin Han. "So I'm kinda used to getting back from the road around like 3:00 and 4:00 in the morning, so this wasn't that bad."

One unique aspect of his streak is that he's basically reached base solely by making contact with the ball. He's reached base safely 39 times during the streak without drawing a single walk. The only time he didn't reach with a hit was when he got hit by a pitch against the Cubs on Friday. He's gone 32-for-63 (.508) with 15 runs scored, four doubles, a triple, and a home run.

The offense was incredible during their 10-game road trip, which they ended by winning four of the last five games. They even broke a couple of long-standing records. Their .312 batting average was their highest mark on a road trip of 10+ games since batting .339 over a 10-game span in June 2000, and the 68 runs they scored were the most on a trip since putting up 73 runs over an 11-game road trip back in July 2010.

But as has often been the case this season, the numbers on the scoreboard have been less impressive at home, as the Giants are now averaging just 3.72 runs per game at Oracle Park — the fourth-lowest mark by a team in its home ballpark this season — compared to 4.39 on the road.

The Giants could go back to a familiar face

The Giants still have a few key relievers on the injured list who are expected to return at some point. Jason Foley, who's posted a 2.08 ERA in eight appearances in Sacramento, had to be pulled from his rehab assignment due to shoulder fatigue but should pitch again over the weekend. Matt Gage — whose 29 appearances this season are tied with Winn for the most on the team — was placed on the IL on June 2 with right knee inflammation and is eligible to return on June 17. Even Tyler Mahle — whose role on the pitching staff remains uncertain — began his throwing progression on Monday and could be back on the mound over the weekend.

But their most viable option might just be the player they sent down about a month ago. Ryan Walker — after posting a 6.46 ERA in 16 appearances this season — has allowed just five hits and one run in eight appearances with the River Cats.

"I think everybody feels like he's throwing the ball really well, a little bit more fundamental mechanically," said Vitello on Monday afternoon. "And then from our standpoint the next thing is to give him a little bit of length after that time off, give him a time or two where he throws multiple innings or at least is up and down once or twice."

Walker has shown over the last two seasons that he has the potential to be the guy the Giants are looking for. He posted a 1.91 ERA in 76 games in 2024 and also recorded 17 saves last season despite some rough outings. He's probably not the answer to the whole problem, but the Giants simply need arms right now — arms they can trust in tense situations.

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