SF Giants bullpen fails first true test at preserving lead in Sunday's loss

On Sunday, the SF Giants entered the eighth inning with a narrow 2-1 lead over the New York Mets. By the end of that inning, they were down 5-2, as the bullpen failed its first true test at preserving the lead.

SF Giants bullpen fails first true test at preserving lead in Sunday's loss

The Giants have won three games this year. Two of those wins were by at least five runs, so the bullpen was not truly tested in those games.

In the third win, they held a 3-0 lead for much of the game before Ryan Walker came in and nearly blew the save against the San Diego Padres. For most of that game, this was not an extremely high-leverage spot by the bullpen. Sure, the game was within reaching distance, but they had the cushion of a three-run lead.

For the most part, the bullpen has not been much of the story. Perhaps, the struggling offense and poor infield defense have been more of the story this year.

That said, bullpens are evaluated based on how they do in leverage spots. When a reliever pitches a scoreless inning when the team is down by seven, it is not nearly as informative as when that same reliever pitches with the game on the line. This is to say that high-leverage innings are an entirely different animal.

On Sunday, the offense scratched and clawed to score two runs in the sixth inning. With how the lineup has performed, it did not feel like they would be able to get much more than that. That turned out to be true.

Logan Webb did a nice job to get through seven innings. He turned the ball to the bullpen in the eighth inning. Jacye Tingler took over as manager after Tony Vitello had been ejected from the game in the seventh inning.

Tingler handed the ball to Keaton Winn. Winn pitched in Saturday's game as well when the Giants were down by six runs, and the game had pretty much already been determined. This was done to get him some work after not appearing in a game since March 30.

This is where Vitello can show improvement as a manager. Winn needed the extra work, but Vitello might have needed him to throw in a close game on Sunday. This requires a little more foresight.

Winn recorded only one out while allowing two hits. He departed in favor of Erik Miller, who was not able to preserve the lead or keep the game close. By the end of the inning, the Mets had scored four runs to give them a 5-2 advantage. The game was still going in by the team looked defeated.

The Giants dropped the game and the series against the Mets. They were the inferior team in nearly every facet of the game.

Bullpens can be a tough area to evaluate. The bullpen turned into a liability by the end of last season, and the Giants returned many of the same relievers. This did not feel like the most promising bullpen, but there are some intriguing arms, including Winn. However, in the club's first true test, the bullpen faltered.