Error plague includes catcher’s interference

When pitcher Kevin Gausman signed with the Giants in December, he figured he’d enjoy the luxury of throwing to sixtime AllStar catcher Buster Posey.

Of course, that won’t happen in any 2020 regularseason games with Posey opting out, so Gausman and his fellow pitchers are throwing to worksinprogress Tyler Heineman and Chadwick Tromp.

They had caught a combined 13 games in the big leagues through Tuesday.

“It’s a little different,” Gausman said. “I probably lead the meeting a little bit more than I would if Buster were here. It’s a learning curve.”

In Tuesday night’s 52 loss in Denver, the Giants committed three more errors, giving them a whopping majorsleading 16 in 12 games, including three catcher’s interference calls against Heineman, who got his latest in the fourth inning.

Daniel Murphy lined out to right, but he was awarded first base because of the catcher’s interference. That put three men aboard with nobody out, and the Rockies rallied for two runs and a 30 lead.

Without Heineman’s miscue, the Giants might have avoided much of the damage and put up a better fight in the game. It’s not all on him, however. He had been asked by the coaching staff to move closer to the plate to improve his framing, for a better chance to have a low strike called, and now another adjustment will be made, manager Gabe Kapler said.

Posey had three catcher’s interferences the past 11 seasons. Heineman had three in less than two weeks.

“We have to find a happy medium there,” said Kapler, adding that bullpen coach Craig Albernaz addressed the issue after Tuesday’s game. “It’s a skill. It takes practice, but it can really change games.”

Kapler’s point is that a catcher who frames well, such as Posey, can more easily put a batter in a pitcher’s count.

“It’s a really valuable tool we work really hard to achieve,” Kapler said. “But at this point, it’s reasonable to try to find a happy medium. I don’t think we need to overcorrect and push him way back in the box.

“I’ll ask if there’s something in the middle between the adjustment that he’s made and that sweet spot where he can still get up underneath that low pitch and have it called a strike and not have this happen.”

Gausman was impressive with a 97 mph fastball and effective changeup, but he could have had better results if the defense weren’t sloppy again.

Reliever Conner Menez’s error on a pickoff attempt led to Colorado’s final run.

“It needs to be addressed. It needs to be acknowledged,” Kapler said. “Our defense has to make plays behind our pitchers in order for them to really see the best possible results of their efforts.

“I don’t want to discount that and am never singling anybody out because it’s not the way to think about it. It’s a team game. We play team defense. We’re all in this together. We have to figure out a way to correct this and improve this so when a guy pitches his tail off, we can reward him.”

Gausman credited Heineman for how the catcher called the game, shaking him off just a couple of times.

“I think communication is the biggest thing,” Gausman said. “We can talk to (Heineman) and Tromp and really just kind of hone in on their pitch calling and talk through different situations in the game. They’re only going to get better. You only learn at this level by going through it. I feel like we definitely made some strides going forward.”