San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Gausman roughed up again, by Pirates
After lasting just three innings Monday at Dodger Stadium, Gausman labored through 41⁄3 Saturday and was charged with six runs on eight hits and four walks. He struck out just two batters.
The Pirates aren’t known for their offense, ranking last in the majors in runs and homers, but they were an aggressive and potent machine against Gausman, outhitting the Giants on the night 165 — including three hits off outfielder Mike Tauchman, who pitched garbage time in the ninth — and are one win from pulling off an unlikely sweep.
Gausman’s splitfingered fastball, which is nearly unhittable when on, fooling batters into swinging at balls below the zone, was not the same effective pitch. He didn’t have a feel for it and hardly used it.
It’s a pitch Gausman had thrown 38.6% of the time in his first 19 starts, but he threw just 10 splits Saturday in his 89pitch night, amounting to 11%. The Pirates mostly laid off it.
Gausman’s velocity was a tick down, too, and he was working in traffic from his very first pitch, a 92 mph fastball that Adam Frazier blooped onto the outfield grass.
Gausman walked his next two batters and was fortunate to escape the inning with no damage beyond Gregory Polanco’s sacrifice fly. Polanco also singled and homered off Gausman, a mighty 426foot poke over the wall in rightcenter.
The homer came with one out in the fifth, and Gausman was chased after putting the next two batters on. Reliever John Brebbia inherited the runners, both of whom scored on Kevin Newman’s single.
The game was so out of hand that Brebbia batted in the fifth (a strikeout) and Tauchman pitched in the ninth (three quick hits, three quick outs — if nothing else, he worked fast).
Gausman’s first start after the break was pushed back because he was on emergency family leave to be in Louisiana with his wife, Taylor, who was experiencing pregnancy complications.
With the trade deadline next Friday, management is seeking different ways to add depth, and that likely includes the rotation. Like Gausman, Anthony DeSclafani was AllStar worthy, and it’s anyone’s guess who’d be a No. 3 starter in a playoff series.
Before Saturday’s game, manager Gabe Kapler was asked about his roster strength beyond his top two and said, “I think (Logan) Webb, (Alex) Wood and Johnny (Cueto) have all performed well. I don’t feel a need to rank them out at this point, but they have all performed well.”
As for the anticipation of the deadline and possibility of roster changes, Kapler suggested veterans know the drill and realize the games should remain the focus.
“It’s not that we don’t understand the trade deadline is nearing. We do,” Kapler said. “We know what that means every year. We have a lot of guys in this clubhouse who are very experienced and have been around this time of year many times before.
“What I’ll say is, we believe in this group and the group we currently have, and we think it’s a high bar to be on this roster. It’s a really good roster.”
The Giants scored their first run on a doubleplay grounder and second on LaMonte Wade Jr.’s 10th homer. The team has eight players with doubledigit homers, most in the majors.