SAN FRANCISCO — In a first half where just about everything has gone wrong, it’s worth pointing out when the Giants’ rookie manager does something right.
And Tony Vitello pushed all the right buttons Sunday afternoon to ensure his down-and-out squad entered the All-Star break on a winning streak, no matter how meager.
It raised eyebrows when Vitello took the ball out of Trevor McDonald’s hand after he cruised through seven innings, and the manager made another curious choice deciding against pinch-running for Rafael Devers, who represented the go-ahead run.
Guess what: The Giants bullpen kept the Rockies at bay, the pudgy first baseman hustled first to third on a knock from Bryce Eldridge, and then he scored the decisive run in a 3-1 win.
“Kind of the theme of the day was: We might as well empty the clip,” Vitello said.
With wins in their final two games of the first half, the Giants managed to end an immensely disappointing first half on a positive note. They took three of four from the Rockies to only claim their 13th of 30 series, but still entered the break with the third-worst record in the National League, 14 games below .500 and 19 1/2 games back of the Dodgers.
“We kind of expected to take the world by storm to start the season, and it didn’t happen right away,” Vitello said. “There was early frustration right away and a multitude of other things. But those days are gone. All’s we got is the second half in front of us.”
Before Devers got things started in the eighth against Antonio Senzatela with a walk, the Giants had mustered so little against the worst pitching staff in the majors that it almost looked like they would allow arguably McDonald’s strongest, inarguably his most efficient effort of his career go to waste.
The only run yielded by any Giants pitcher came on McDonald’s second pitch of the game, which Jake McCarthy turned into an inside-the-park home run. He went on to complete seven innings, allowing only four other batters to reach base, on only 73 pitches.
“He seemed to gain strength as the game went on,” Vitello said.
That made it a surprise when Keaton Winn emerged from the bullpen to begin the eighth inning, and the plan almost faltered when he issued a two-out walk, but Vitello then called on Erik Miller to gain the platoon advantage against Mickey Moniak, who struck out to end the inning.
The lineup was about to flip over to McCarthy, which was the matchup Vitello was worried about.
“We didn’t want traffic for McCarthy, and Keaton’s been our best guy on righties,” Vitello said.
Still, McDonald tried to plead his case.
“I was trying to go back out there. The competitor in me argued a little bit,” he said. “But they played the matchups well and Keaton and Miller shut the door at the end, so it all worked out perfect.”
Vitello apparently didn’t want to risk repeating what happened the last time Devers was lifted for a pinch-runner, though the situation didn’t quite mirror the mishap in Miami. Then, Devers needed to score in order to tie the game. In this case, San Francisco was already at least in line for extra innings, meaning it probably wasn’t worth the risk of losing Devers’ bat.
It all worked out, as Devers easily went first-to-third on the single by Eldridge, who was lifted for pinch-runner Grant McCray — another move that couldn’t have worked out better.
The speedy outfielder took off on Senzatela’s first pitch to Willy Adames and, even with a runner on third, catcher Hunter Goodman attempted to throw him out at second. The ball sailed into center field, Devers scampered home and McCray made it to third.
Vitello credited McCray’s preparation for the pinch-running opportunity but also gave Adames a shoutout for distracting Goodman, calling that “one of the most underrated things he did” in addition to a couple slick plays at shortstop and three hits, including an RBI knock to give them some cushion in the eighth.
The insurance proved to be unnecessary as Miller had no problems finishing a four-out save.
JT Brubaker closed out their win the previous day by recording the final six outs. Despite waiting three months to name a closer, the Giants appear to be back to a by-committee approach just a month after Vitello inserted Caleb Kilian into the role. Kilian has blown three saves in 12 chances.
“We kept saying [we were] trying to play Tetris at the end of games and settle on guys,” Vitello said. “But at the end of the day, we’re scratching and clawing for every win we can get.”
What it means
McDonald may have saved his spot in the starting rotation heading into the second half.
Although roles are expected to open up if and when Robbie Ray and/or Tyler Mahle are traded, McDonald was trending in the wrong direction and Carson Whisenhunt has made a case for a full-time job with his performances in two recent spot starts.
Who’s hot
McDonald allowed McCarthy to round the bases in one go on a drive into the alleyway in right center — a leadoff inside-the-park home run — and didn’t surrender another run.
The ball was initially ruled a triple and an error on Jung Hoo Lee, who misplayed the carrom of the wall, and with the way McDonald immediately beared down, you have to wonder if McCarthy even would have scored if he was forced to hold up at third.
From thereon, only four Rockies reached base against McDonald, who breezed through seven innings on only 73 pitches and faced the minimum over his final three frames.
“The main thing was just not to let it rattle me,” McDonald said. “Obviously the last outing spiraled a little bit.”
The 25-year-old right-hander was coming off the worst start of his career, getting tagged for eight runs and 11 hits in only 2 ⅓ innings, and responded with one of his best.
The circumstances made the bounce back effort “very” satisfying, McDonald said. “I’ll take that into the break, for sure, and come back with some confidence and momentum for the second half.”
Who’s not
Despite facing one of the handful of pitching staffs worse than their own, the Giants failed to score more than four runs in any of the final three games of the series.
In each game the Rockies rolled out a starting pitcher with an ERA that started with a six or worse, but Michael Lorenzen (3-9, 6.46) had just as few problems as the previous two.
Heliot Ramos continued a strong stretch of hitting since returning from a quad strain with a 2-for-4 showing, but when he came up with the bases loaded in the fourth trying to turn Drew Gilbert’s RBI single into a fully fledged rally, he flew out to end the inning.
It was the 61st time in 96 games that the Giants were held to four runs or fewer, more than any team besides the Guardians (64) or Mets (62), and improved to 12-49 in those contests.
Up next
The All-Star break, or another way to look at it after two wins over the Rockies: a guaranteed six days in a row that the Giants will go without losing a game — something that hasn’t happened all season.
Five days is the longest the Giants have gone without a loss, when a day off and a rainout interrupted one of their season-long three-game winning streaks. They’ll try to make it a full week since their last loss when they open the second half Friday against the Mariners at T-Mobile Park.
Landen Roupp will start the series opener, Vitello said.
Logan Webb, who said he’s unlikely to pitch in the All-Star Game after participating in the World Baseball Classic and dealing with injuries, is set to go in the second game Saturday.
Kurt Helin