SAN FRANCISCO — In a first half where everything went wrong, it’s worth noting when the Giants’ rookie manager does something right.
And Tony Vitiello pushed all the right buttons Sunday afternoon to ensure his struggling team entered the All-Star break with a winning streak, no matter how meager.
It raised eyebrows when Vitello took the ball out of Trevor McDonald’s hands after going seven innings, and the manager made another bizarre decision to go against running back Rafael Devers, who represented the go-ahead run.
Guess what: The Giants kept the Rockies at bay, as the portly first baseman first rushed to third on a bunt by Bryce Eldridge, then scored the decisive run in a 3-1 victory.
With wins in the final two games of the first half, the Giants took three of four from the Rockies, improved to 13 games below .500 entering the break and finished a very disappointing first part of the season on a positive note.
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 seemed like they would let McDonald’s strongest, undoubtedly his most efficient effort of his career, go to waste.
The only run hit by any Giants player came on McDonald’s second pitch of the game, which Jake McCarthy turned into a home run inside the park. He went on to complete seven innings, allowing just four more batters to reach base, on just 73 pitches.
That made for an upset when Keaton Wynn walked out of the bullpen to start the eighth inning, and the plan nearly faltered when he issued a two-out walk, but Vitello then called on Eric Miller to get a platoon advantage against Mickey Moniak, who struck out to end the inning.
Vitello clearly didn’t want to risk a repeat of what happened the last time Devers was lifted for a pinch runner, though the situation didn’t quite mirror the unfortunate incident in Miami. Devers then 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 moved from first to third on a single by Eldridge, who was lifted in favor of pinch-runner Grant McCray — another pitch that couldn’t have worked out better.
The speedy outfielder led off 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 to center field, Devers rushed home and McRae reached third.
Adames then snuck one up the field to give the Giants some insurance that proved unnecessary as Miller had no problems finishing off the save on four goals.
What does it mean
McDonald may have saved his spot in the starting rotation heading into the second half.
Although the roles are expected to open up if and when Robbie Ray and/or Tyler Mahle are traded, McDonald has been trending in the wrong direction, and Carson Whisenhunt has made a case for a full-time job with his performance in two recent games.
Who’s hot?
McDonald allowed McCarthy to round the bases in one go on a drive to the alley in right-center — an inside-the-park lead — and did not surrender another run.
The ball was initially ruled a three-and-out on Jung Ho Lee, who misplayed a wall ball, and with the way McDonald immediately beat him, you have to wonder if McCarthy would have scored even if he had to hold out on third down.
Since then, only four Rockies have reached base against McDonald, who pitched seven innings on just 73 pitches and faced the minimum over his final three frames.
The 25-year-old right-hander was coming off the worst start of his career, in which he had eight runs scored and 11 hits in just two and a half innings, and responded with one of his best.
Who is not
Despite facing one of a handful of worse pitching staffs 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 have released a starting pitcher with a starting ERA of six or worse, but Michael Lorenzen (3-9, 6.46) has had as few problems as the previous two.
Heliot Ramos went on a strong hitting stretch since returning from a four-run dynasty with a 2-for-4 showing, but when he came with the bases loaded in the fourth inning trying to turn Drew Gilbert’s RBI single into a complete walk, he flied out to end the inning.
It was the 61st time in 96 games the Giants were held to four or fewer runs, more than any team besides the Guardians (64) or Mets (62), and they improved to 12-49 in those contests.
the next
The All-Star break, or another way to look at it, is a guarantee of four straight days in which the Giants won’t lose a game — something that has happened only twice since the season opener on March 25, when they punctuated an off day in one of their three-game winning streaks all season.
The Giants open the second half on Friday against the Mariners at T-Mobile Park.