SF Giants have a major 9th inning problem (no, it is not Ryan Walker)

The SF Giants blew a chance to take the series against the Los Angeles Angels and finish their road trip with a 6-4 record thanks to closer Ryan Walker's rough outing on Sunday. Yet, he is not the biggest 9th inning dilemma the team has.

SF Giants manager Bob Melvin has a difficult 9th inning dilemma

Sunday was Walker's worst outing of the year so far. It was his first blown save and he simply did not have his best stuff with a three-run lead entering the 9th inning. Blown saves are going to happen, but that does not make them any less maddening especially when the team played so well for the rest of the game.

It is not time to pull the alarm bell on Walker just yet. He has looked fine the rest of this season and we know from last season that he can be elite and absolutely filthy on the mound when he is at his best. However, the biggest problem for manager Bob Melvin will be figuring out who can shut the door if Walker is not available.

The Giants certainly do not want to wear out their bullpen if they can help it. Walker pitched 80 innings last year and setup man Tyler Rogers pitched 70 and 1/3 innings last season. The Giants lean on those two guys heavily in the 8th and 9th inning, but if they are not available things become much more complicated at the end of games. Plus, if you are thinking that Rogers would make the most sense to close games if Walker needs a rest, just consider his incredibly poor record when he has tried to get a save in his career.

At the beginning of this season it looked like Camilo Doval had recaptured his old form from 2022 and 2023 when he was an elite and reliable closer. However, some rough outings dashed those hopes just as quickly as they began.

Doval certainly has the most closer experience out of anyone else in the bullpen, but it is more than questionable whether Melvin should put his trust in him if he needs three outs in a close game in the 9th inning.

Another option could be Lou Trivino who has looked good to start the season and was Melvin's closer for some time back in Oakland. It has been a while since he has gotten a save and felt the rush of adrenaline that comes with getting the final three outs of a tight big league game, so it could be a risk putting him out there for that.

Randy Rodriguez could be an intriguing option but Melvin seems to like using him earlier in games to get out of a jam. The same can be said about Erik Miller, another pitcher Melvin likes to bring in when runners are on base.

Maybe if BoMel is feeling really crazy he could give Hayden Birdsong, typically a starting pitcher, the ball in a save situation. He has a fastball that touches the high-90's and an effective new off-speed pitch. However, he is already adjusting to being a reliever so asking him to close out games may be a bit too much for the 23-year-old.

It is clear that there are no obvious candidates for Melvin to rely upon in the 9th inning if Walker has pitched several days in a row and needs a breather. Of course, the obvious solution to this dilemma is for the offense to give the pitching staff a ten-run lead entering the 9th so they do not need to worry about it being a tight game.

Yet, we know this Giants team is going to play a lot of close games this year and they are not going to have their closer available for all of them. Unless an obvious candidate emerges, Melvin will probably have to opt for a committee approach based on who is available and what the matchups are.

Let's hope the situation does not arise too much this season, but if it does Melvin is going to have to push the right buttons to try and secure victories in those close games when he does not have all of his bullpen weapons at his disposal.