Cobb squares off against Ohtani in his Giants debut
There are a number of perks that come with a job in San Francisco. Perfect weather. Gorgeous scenery. Abundant culture. And about as little of a chance of facing Shohei Ohtani as there gets, playing in the opposite league of the Angels.
So, imagine being Alex Cobb, making his Giants debut Sunday, and the first batter he has to face is none other than Ohtani, the guy who asks about world records because he has a realistic chance of breaking them. All of them.
Cobb knows this about Ohtani because he was teammates with him last year with the Angels — and trained with him this offseason.
“Watching him hit a firstpitch curveball out the other day in a spring training game gets you a little rattled,” said Cobb, who goes first-pitch curveball more than any other offering. “He’s an animal. … Another reason I went to the NL. Of course I pulled him first up.”
So, Cobb didn’t feel too bad about issuing free passes to Ohtani both times he faced him Sunday, while working into the fourth inning without surrendering a run in his first start of the spring. No, Cobb is more concerned that his first start in black and orange will also be only one of two he makes this spring before slotting in at the back end of the Giants rotation.
Cobb used only 40 pitches to work through an efficient first three innings, so he petitioned manager Gabe Kapler to let him back out for the fourth and recorded a quick out, giving him one more chance at Ohtani. But he worked the count full again and laid off ball four, prompting Kapler to make his way to the mound.
Cobb has thrown two sim games and plans to go through another at Oracle Park after his final spring start, but nothing can replicate real, live action.
“You can’t hire three or four thousand fans to pile in and watch your live (BP). To get even the real umpires back there, seven fielders behind you, none of that’s really there,” Cobb said. “Arizona has its own challenges. You’re chewing on your tongue out there, it’s so dry. There’s no moisture in the air, you can’t really feel the ball. You have to understand that once you get on the coasts, the ball’s going to move a little bit more, you’re going to have a better feel. But I wasn’t really happy with the way my changeup is moving. Curveball did OK. But I liked the life on the fastball today.”
Hobbled by injuries since his first three years with the Rays, when he was one of the best pitchers in baseball, posting a 3.21 ERA in nearly 500 innings, Cobb is tasked with building up his durability during a shortened spring while having totaled only 158 innings the past three seasons. With a similar plan for other fragile starters such as Anthony DeSclafani, the Giants are confident in his ability to round out their starting five.
“We can get him to where he needs to be,” Kapler said. “We feel a lot of confidence that with Alex, with our medical staff, with our pitching coaches, we are in a good position to help him take down as many innings as possible, which we think will be more than he’s had the last couple years.”
With Cobb’s 3 shutout innings Sunday, the Giants’ projected starting rotation has thrown 19 frames this spring and allowed only two runs, a 0.92 ERA.
After facing a number of former teammates — none more intimidating than Ohtani — Cobb made it clear that he would have been interested in a reunion with the Angels, who acquired his expiring contract before last season. The relationships he made there in one year feel like he’d been there for a decade, he said. An extension would have allowed him to finish his career with Joe Maddon, his manager when he broke into the big leagues more than a decade ago with Tampa Bay.