Giants lose 3-0 to Miami
MIAMI — In Gabe Kapler’s tenure with the San Francisco Giants, he hasn’t referred to his closers as closers as much as “high-leverage relievers” available to pitch in the biggest moments, not just the ninth innings.
So in some regard, it might not have been stunning when Kapler used his saves leader in the sixth inning Thursday night.
The moments Camilo Doval was on the mound were the most significant in the Giants’ 3-0 loss to the Miami Marlins if only because he didn’t do his job.
Kapler pulled lefty starter Alex Wood with a runner on first, one out and the Giants down 1-0. Doval’s mission was to take down the Marlins’ cleanup man Jesus Aguilar and anyone else coming to the plate.
For the second straight night, the first reliever out of the bullpen failed. Jarlin Garcia replaced Carlos Rodon on Wednesday night in Philadelphia and gave up his first four runs of the season, the main reason the Giants lost 6-5.
One night later, it was Doval’s turn. Aguilar greeted him with a sharp double down the left-field line, enabling former Giant Luke Williams to score from first. Miguel Rojas’ single up the middle scored Aguilar, and suddenly the Giants were in a 3-0 hole.
After the game, Wood questioned his manager’s decision.
“It’s tough,” Wood said. “You get Doval, who’s been the eighth and ninth guy all year. And to get yanked for him, theoretically, you feel good about, but it’s tough for a young kid like Camilo to basically not be in his normal role to come in the ballgame, and I’ve had a lot of success against Aguilar.
“So I would’ve liked to stay in, but those aren’t my decisions. That’s what they get paid the big bucks for. I’m sure me and Kap will chat about it like we always do. We both try to see each other’s perspectives on any and all decisions.”
Kapler was relayed Wood’s comments and said he welcomed them.
“Always. I love it,” Kapler said. “We encourage thoughtful discussion
around here. I want to have those thoughtful discussions with our starting pitchers and relievers, and every player on our roster is more than welcome to express their views on anything that's happening in games.
“Alex and I, just about every game, have a conversation like this. He always wants to go back out there and compete again. I love that about him.”
The bullpen is coming off a horrible month of May (6.26 ERA, highest in the majors), and the first two games of June have kept the relievers trending in the wrong direction.
Thursday marked Doval's first sixth inning of the season. He entered the ninth 13 times, eighth five times and seventh once.
“I don't think he's been his best lately, but we're not worried about him,” catcher Joey Bart said. “We know what he could bring to the table and how dangerous he could be. Kap felt like that was the move to go to, and Aguilar had seen Wood a couple of times, so go to the righty and play our numbers with it. At the end of the day, those guys just had good at-bats, and they ended up beating him. I've got full faith in Doval in what he can do down the stretch.”
Offense missing: It's one thing to analyze all day about the bullpen, and it's another to suggest it mattered when the bats were absent. The Giants had just three hits and put a runner on third just once, but Mike Yastrzemski was stranded when Luis Gonzalez struck out.
Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara mowed down the Giants through seven innings and 111 pitches, striking out eight and walking two. The Brandons (Crawford and Belt) were missing, along with Evan Longoria and Darin Ruf, and the players filling in were overmatched.
Bart's encouraging signs: Bart, who hit his first big-league homer off Alcantara on Opening Day, singled, walked and threw out Williams trying to steal second. Considering his rough start offensively, Bart has done some nice things lately to impress management.
That includes Tuesday's win in Philadelphia in which he displayed leadership characteristics during a mound visit by pushing for Bryce Harper to get intentionally walked, an against-the-book move that not only drew praise from Kapler but worked.
Thursday, however, not much worked for the Giants.