Junis feels ready to fill hole in rotation
SAN FRANCISCO >> The inflammation in Anthony DeSclafani's right ankle will cause the right-hander and Giants No. 3 starter to be shut down for at least the next two weeks, opening a hole in San Francisco's starting rotation.
Doctor's orders for DeSclafani are to rest until the swelling and pain begin to decrease. For the Giants, the immediate task at hand is filling his spot the next time through the rotation, which is due up Wednesday in the finale of the twogame Bay Bridge series.
After pitching five shutout innings of relief Friday against the Nationals, right-hander Jakob Junis appears set up to get the first shot at filling the rotation spot.
“I'm built up,” Junis said. “I'm in a position workload-wise where I could do that.”
Junis threw 61 pitches on Friday — and said he was built up to at least 75 — and will have a normal four days of rest for Wednesday, though manager Gabe Kapler declined to name a starter before Tuesday's game and said they could employ Sam Long or another reliever as an opener, too.
You might look at Junis' 8.74 ERA in three starts at Triple-A to begin the season and wonder if he can handle a major-league rotation spot, much less how he tossed five shutout innings in his first appearance in the majors this season.
Well, as Junis tells it, he had a bit of a breakthrough during a bullpen before he was called up last week.
After spending years tinkering with his changeup, “things started to click a little bit,” said Junis, who signed with San Francisco on the strength of its reputation for getting the most out of its pitchers.
Junis said the improvement with his changeup, which he now holds with a traditional circle change grip, can be credited to the TrackMan technology the Giants use to meticulously track every bit of data when a pitcher is on the mound.
When it came time to relieve Long in the third inning Friday night, Junis was locating his twoseamer and getting effective movement from his changeup, which runs in on right-handers, and his slider, which runs away from them. Maybe the biggest difference was that he didn't throw his fastball much at all. His changeup and slider accounted for 52 of his 61 pitches.
That's how a pitcher allowing almost a run per inning in Triple-A allowed none over five against Washington and why he's a strong candidate to take on DeSclafani's spot in the rotation.
“I like where I'm at right now,” Junis said. “I've relied heavily on sliders in the past. To have another offering that goes in another direction and keeps guys honest is going to be huge for me.”