Blach gets by all right
DETROIT — Ty Blach could not have found a tougher lineup of right-handed hitters for a left-hander to face Wednesday night. Detroit’s top six hitters were Ian Kinsler, Nicholas Castellanos, Justin Upton, Miguel Cabrera, J.D. Martinez and switch-hitter Victor Martinez, batting right-handed.
Without throwing a pitch harder than 91 mph, Blach blanked the Tigers on three hits through six innings before Cabrera and the two Martinezes got hits in the seventh to chase him from what became a 5-4 Giants win.
Blach’s victory not only assured that he will go into the All-Star break as the only Giants starter with a winning record, at 6-5, but it also underscored why the 26-year-old has been one of the few bright stars in an otherwise dim constellation this season.
“That’s a tough lineup for a lefty, a right-handed lineup, but he commanded the ball well and did a nice job, didn’t he?” manager Bruce Bochy said. Bochy praised Blach for using his fastball on both sides of the plate, not afraid to challenge the power hitters inside, complemented by a changeup that seems to get better with each start.
Blach held the Nos. 3 through 6 hitters — Upton, Cabrera and the Martinezes — to three singles and a double. The experience should help him against good right-handed lineups in the National League.
“For sure,” Blach said. “Those guys, what they’ve done, their history, I kept them off-balance and made pitches. It’s good to get a quality start against that lineup.”
Blach replaced Madison Bumgarner in the rotation in April. Bumgarner is expected to return July 15, notwithstanding the four homers and nine runs he allowed for Class A San Jose on Wednesday night. One of the current starters will be pushed out.
The two candidates seem to be Blach and Matt Cain .On performance alone, Blach would remain, but the club could stand on ceremony and let Cain pitch out his contract as a starter.
As for Bumgarner, Bochy said, “For three innings, he was really good. He hit his spots well. The fourth inning was a long inning.”
Bumgarner said he felt fine physically.
“It would have been nice to get up and down one more time, but we got the pitch count up, and that’s ultimately all we’re looking for,” he said, as reported by NBC Sports Bay Area. “I felt good with the way my body felt. The command felt good. Obviously, that’s kind of a lopsided outing but my body feels pretty good.”