SF Giants bullpen nightmare vs. Mets could've been seen from a mile away

If SF Giants fans could have designed a game that would have exposed the worst fears about the team heading into the regular season, they could have done worse than Sunday’s loss against the New York Mets in which the bullpen really struggled while manager Tony Vitello got tossed for the first time as a big league skipper. 

The bullpen was the big concern coming into the season, but so far the team had gotten the goods out of its relievers. That came to an end as the bullpen blew it for the Giants on Sunday.

SF Giants bullpen blows lead as Tony Vitello gets tossed

San Francisco was leading 2-1 entering the eighth inning and the Giants went with Keaton Winn who looked like a legitimate setup man last series against the San Diego Padres. He struggled, recording just one out while allowing a runner to reach first  and third.

Left-handed pitcher Erik Miller was brought in to try and clean things up, but all he did was cash in the runners Winn allowed to get on base and then allowed two more of his own runners to score. Those two relievers allowed four runs in the inning and just like that, starter Logan Webb’s great start was wasted.

Vitello had to watch it all from the clubhouse as he got tossed in the bottom of the seventh inning after arguing a call with the umpire crew after Jerar Encarnacion was called out for running out of the baseline.

It was just a matter of time before the bullpen blew a game, and it is surprising it took this long to happen. This was the nightmare scenario for many fans coming into the season. A great start from Webb, the offense barely does enough to give the team a chance, and then the bullpen ruins it.

That happens every season to every team, but it seems like it could happen a lot to the 2026 Giants. There are not many arms in that bullpen who are reliable, shut-down guys. It’s a marked change from last season when the Giants had an elite bullpen in the first half of the season. 

The team has to move forward now, though. There’s no use dwelling on it as they will take on the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night. 

The bullpen is going to be a story all season long. Maybe Vitello could see the writing on the wall and wanted to get tossed so he didn’t get blamed for the bullpen implosion. 

In all seriousness though, Vitello was put in a tough position by the front office. They didn’t do him any favors by making extremely modest bullpen additions in the offseason.

Maybe the bullpen will sort itself out and be a strength by the end of the season, but Sunday’s game perfectly encapsulated the fears many fans had coming into the season.